Regions and Countries

	Table of Contents
p. 5 of 18 BACK | NEXT I. Country Performance Assessment A. Economic Performance Assessment B. Poverty Assessment C. Governance: Sound Development Management D. Implementation Assessment II. Country Operational Strategy III. Sector Strategies IV. Regional Cooperation V. Donor Activities and Aid Coordination VI. Cofinancing and Catalyzing External Resources VII. ADB’s Operational Program VIII. Economic and Sector Work Program IX. Local Cost Financing

Country Assistance Plans - Tuvalu : I. Country Performance Assessment

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D. Implementation Assessment

1. The Portfolio

13. On 13 July 1999, the ADB approved its first loan to Tuvalu for $4 million for the Island Development Program. Technical assistance grants totaling $2.7 million have been approved for eleven projects since 1993. Two of the TA projects were for project preparation, while the rest were advisory. Three TA projects were funded by the Japan Special Fund (JSF) and the others were financed from TA Special Funds resources.

14. The Government organized public seminars and workshops to discuss the findings and recommendations made under ADB TAs. The small size of the public service and the consultative decision-making principle used by the Government have encouraged effective local absorption of ADB TA inputs.

15. The first TA to Tuvalu assisted the newly formed Development Bank to draw up a new operational policy manual. The ADB has been operating on a very small scale, using funds from a loan from the European Investment Bank. During the implementation of the TA for the Fisheries Sector Study, TA consultants presented the findings and recommendations in a public forum arranged by the Government. It resulted in reaching a consensus that fisheries development should be achieved through a private sector joint venture with a foreign company. The Government's Development Strategy (drafted under an ADB TA) was put up for discussion in a Planning Workshop (October 1994) and in the National Development Seminar (March 1995) in addition to inter-ministerial reviews conducted by the Development Coordinating Committee. The ADB has also assisted Tuvalu to develop its Foreign Investment Framework. Its main outcome was the Foreign Investment Act.

2. Issues in Project Implementation

16. The experience of the ADB and other donors indicates development constraints mainly due to lack of communications, isolation and smallness, weaknesses in institutional capacity, and limited human resources absorptive capacity. These weaknesses mainly originate in the smallness of the economy and the institution itself. Communication with Tuvalu improved dramatically in October 1999 with the new communication digital link between Funafuti and Telecom New Zealand. The link allowed Tuvalu to have access to Internet.

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