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Lesson
In small island developing countries with limited policy reform capacity, ADB should avoid targeting multiple reform areas in one policy-based operation—i.e., debt management, civil service reform, management of the wage bill, public procurement, and private sector development—and keep prior actions to a minimum.

Project Number: 48361-001, 48361-002, 48361-003
Project Name: Building Macroeconomic Resilience Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Policy reform programs with complex and multiple interventions require rigorous identification and assessment of the political economy and capacity risks to ensure overall effectiveness.

Project Number: 48361-001, 48361-002, 48361-003
Project Name: Building Macroeconomic Resilience Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Actions that demonstrate the achievement of program policy matrix milestones should indicate what has been achieved, rather than the process of their accomplishment. For example, Cabinet approval is an inadequate indicator to demonstrate a successful policy reform in Tonga.

Project Number: 48361-001, 48361-002, 48361-003
Project Name: Building Macroeconomic Resilience Program
Report Date:
Lesson
The governance of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector in Tonga needs strengthening.

Project Number: 44172-022
Project Name: Tonga-Fiji Submarine Cable Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Capture and utilization of lessons from completed projects are vital to enhancing efforts to develop the ICT sector of Tonga and other Pacific island countries.

Project Number: 44172-022
Project Name: Tonga-Fiji Submarine Cable Project
Report Date:
Lesson
A more detailed, formal assessment of individual, organizational, and institutional capacity before program design that could then be monitored during implementation might also have helped strengthen program implementation.

Project Number: 48361-001, 48361-002, 48361-003
Project Name: Building Macroeconomic Resilience Program
Report Date:
Lesson
The level, timing, focus, number, prioritization, sequencing, and flexibility of the reform actions are likely to be unique to each program of reforms and to change.

Project Number: 48361-001, 48361-002, 48361-003
Project Name: Building Macroeconomic Resilience Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Limited capacity of government staff should be considered in designing reform programs. The 34 policy actions for a crisis response operation stretched out the government’s capacity in absorbing a substantial reform agenda. Constraints to capacity were reflected in the delays in complying with the policy actions, in particular with the policy action on financial ratios, which resulted in waiver of this action.

Project Number: 43152-012
Project Name: Economic Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Reform prioritization and sequencing could lead to more durable results. A steady, step-by-step pace of reforms may be more suitable in the Tongan context, given prevailing capacity constraints. The process of implementing reforms takes time, especially for reforms that require specialized skills, such as those in PFM and those that are structural in nature; these types of reforms take time to implement and cannot be completed by a single quick-disbursing stand-alone program.

Project Number: 43152-012
Project Name: Economic Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Limit the policy matrix to a few critical actions. While Kiribati had an incentive to reform, the country also has limited reform capacity. It needs to focus on a few critical actions and to be clear on the development outcome of each prior action, including identifying an indicator that can be monitored. The requirement where the five largest SOEs were to submit audited accounts may have underestimated the institutional capacity that was required to achieve it.

Project Number: 47314-001
Project Name: Kiribati: Strengthening Fiscal Stability Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Clarity between the policy matrix and the DMF is important for monitoring and evaluating results. A clear line between the prior actions and the overall development outcome is important so that the program achievements can be judged consistently.

Project Number: 47314-001
Project Name: Kiribati: Strengthening Fiscal Stability Program
Report Date:
Lesson
TA support is important. If a TA grant is not directly provided to support reform implementation, it is important to link reforms to existing areas of technical assistance. ADB helped support SOE reforms before and after grant release, so there was existing support in the area, which would continue after the PBL. The program also benefited from the government and development partners creating a joint policy matrix, which listed a series of policy actions that preceded grant release and supported a post-partnership framework.

Project Number: 47314-001
Project Name: Kiribati: Strengthening Fiscal Stability Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Joint donor support in a small country can provide a significant incentive for reform. Joint support provides an incentive because of its potential significance in overall GDP. Nevertheless, it is still important that reform is country-owned. In Kiribati, the government could see the cost of maintaining its existing fiscal policy because of its negative impact on the RERF, so the external shock also provided an incentive to reform.

Project Number: 47314-001
Project Name: Kiribati: Strengthening Fiscal Stability Program
Report Date:
Lesson
The program grant enabled the Revenue Equalization Reserve Fund (RERF) drawdown to be reduced in 2014 and expedited reforms. Ongoing actions under the post-program partnership framework can be combined into a multi-year matrix linked to ongoing budget support. The program also highlighted the importance of partnership (with government and other development partners) through creation of a joint policy matrix.

Project Number: 47314-001
Project Name: Strengthening Fiscal Stability Program: Program Completion Report
Report Date:
Lesson
The grant pre-conditions were an incentive for the government to reform state owned enterprise (SOE) governance and operation and improve management of government revenue, expenditure, assets, and liabilities. An ongoing ADB technical assistance (TA) was timely in supporting SOE reforms that preceded and continued after grant release.

Project Number: 47314-001
Project Name: Strengthening Fiscal Stability Program: Program Completion Report
Report Date:
CSV