South Tarawa Sanitation Improvement Sector Project

Inadequate staffing levels and frequent staff turnovers make training efforts less effective and sustainable. Under their existing structures, all the key project agencies faced challenges due to the perennial shortage of key personnel, made worse by high staff turnover. Therefore, it has been essential for ADB to continually review staff skills and capabilities and corporate structures, and implement measures to fill capacity gaps. These included leveraging central support from the Kiribati Fiduciary Services Unit (KFSU), with funding assistance from development partners, as well as engaging external consultants recruited regionally and internationally. However, over the long-term it might be necessary to combine continued staff training with institutional measures to enable executing and implementing agencies to retain trained staff. Greater training collaboration with development partners on key areas like procurement, safeguards, and financial management will optimize training coverage and outcomes. Increasing women’s participation in skills training programs will be particularly valuable to increasing their engagement in technical fields.