The World Bank and the Kingdom of Tonga have a long-standing partnership since Tonga joined in 1985. The World Bank’s portfolio in Tonga has since grown and diversified, reaching a cumulative total of USD 243 million in IDA loans and grants. Over the past few years, these investments have dramatically increased, with almost USD 80 million in grants being signed during FY2018/2019.

With Government support and implementation, World Bank investments have contributed to a range of priorities, including resilient transportation infrastructure, Information and Communications Technology; Climate Resilience Disaster Risk Management and Multi Hazard Early Warning Systems and Recovery, Sustainable Fisheries, Skills and Employment, Statistical Innovation and Capacity Building and Macro Economics and Fiscal Management to name a few. The last replenishment of the International Development Association, the World Bank’s fund for the poorest, was historic in terms of brining significantly larger resources for Tonga.

The current IDA 18 Portfolio started in 2017 with just over USD68m available to Tonga.  While the scale-up represents an important development opportunity for Tonga, implementation challenges exist across the portfolio and pose a significant risk to the successful outcome of these projects. The Ministry of Finance as the Executive Agency for the World Bank established with the Bank the Central Services Unit (CSU) to provide support to Implementing Ministries. Key implementation challenges include limited project management and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) capabilities, weak procurement and financial management capacity, social & environmental safeguard considerations and general oversight.