Results for Development

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) announced an extra USD$4.5 million for the second phase of the Tonga Rural Innovation Project (TRIP) this week after officials visited ‘Eua and Tongatapu. IFAD Associate Vice-President, Donal Brown said TRIP was one of the most successful projects they had in the Pacific. By Eleanor Gee.

A gift from Japan of emergency relief equipment worth $1.24 million pa'anga was handed over to Tonga’s National Emergency Management Office (NEMO) at Vaololoa on August 13.

Tonga’s current development budget of $235.86 million pa’anga will be funded entirely by development partners according to the 2019-20 National Budget statement, which is now published on the Ministry of Finance website. It supports projects aligned with national development goals as well as international frameworks such as the SAMOA Pathway and the UN Development Assistance Framework 2018-2022.

A handful of church leaders and groups attended a public consultation session on the PACER-Plus Agreement on 10 June at the Wesleyan Church Moulten Hall, in Nuku’alofa. PACER-Plus promotes a free trade agreement between Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific countries.

A second tugboat for Tonga, the MV Olovaha, was launched this morning by HM King Tupou VI and HM Queen Nanasipau’u at the domestic wharf terminal in Nuku‘alofa. Costing $2.1 million pa’anga, the vessel was financed by the Ports Authority Tonga, with a 55% loan from the Bank of the South Pacific and 45% from its own funds.

Tongans will soon benefit from improved digital access to key public services, including significant upgrades to Tonga’s civil registration and national ID systems, following the approval of a US$4.65 million grant by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today.

A workshop to address issues that hinder the delivery of World Bank funded projects in Tonga was opened this morning, 3 May, by the Acting Minister for Finance, Hon Mateni Tapueluelu, at the National Reserve Bank Building in Nuku’alofa.

An upgraded water system was handed over to Talafo’ou on April 8 by the Government of Japan.

People living in remote communities in Tonga are expected to have better access to a range of social support services when teams are mobilized there under a pilot mobile service launched on February 5.