Pacific News Minute: World Bank backs Tonga with $15M grant to create jobs

Pacific News Minute: World Bank backs Tonga with $15M grant to create jobs

The World Bank is backing a series of measures to improve the economy of Tonga. The Pacific Island nation is facing a number of challenges, and the first goal is helping with job creation.

The World Bank says that more than one in four Tongans are unemployed.

Residents lack access to education or training, and that means that many go overseas to look for jobs.

By some estimates, nearly a third of the country's economic activity comes from remittances — money sent home by Tongans working overseas.

The World Bank is supporting a program to widen economic opportunity with a $15 million grant.

Tonga's First Growth and Jobs Development Policy Financing is the first of a two-part program.

The World Bank says the new operation backs government reforms to strengthen workforce skills, improve conditions for private investment and advance better management of Tonga's ocean resources.

The bank notes that a development policy grant does not create jobs overnight.

Its value depends on whether reforms are carried out clearly.

For households facing underemployment, the real test will be whether more Tongans can find proper training and paid work without leaving the country.