Fiji Second Fiscal Sustainability and Climate Resilience Development Policy Operation (DPO) Project

The Development Objective of the Second Fiscal Sustainability and Climate Resilience DPO is to support the government’s effort to: (i) strengthen medium‐term fiscal sustainability; (ii) improve the investment climate; and (iii) build climate resilience.

The Development Objective of the Second Fiscal Sustainability and Climate Resilience DPO is to support the government’s effort to: (i) strengthen medium‐term fiscal sustainability; (ii) improve the investment climate; and (iii) build climate resilience.

Gender Assessment: This operation is classified as a Category 2 gender project as it has the potential to positively impact gender inequalities and biases and introduce or modify activities to affect such change in one or more of the priority areas of the Consolidated Country Gender Action Plan for the PIC-9, FY17-21 and Fiji’s National Gender Policy. Gender Actions:
Establishment of the Personal Property Securities Registries will disproportionally benefit women (Prior Action 5)
Strengthen women’s participation in trainings by introducing a target for female participation (Prior Action 6)
Ensure that training arrangements and schedule are flexible so that women can participate (Prior Action 6)
Gender-sensitive content in trainings (Gender-sensitive design for schools, safety and security in the workplace, basic infrastructure for women and men in the
workplace) (Prior Action 6)

Ministry of Economy Comments: 1. The program objectives and supported reforms of (a) safeguarding medium-term fiscal sustainability while (b) creating an environment for private sector-led growth and (c) building climate resilience are significantly relevant, interdependent, and at the forefront of the Fijian Government’s priorities for the medium and long term. The program correctly highlights the areas in which institutional frameworks, legislations, and polices need to be revised to ensure that ultimately the Fijian Government is creating an environment that leads to private sector-led economic growth which in turn supports fiscal sustainability and also improves climate resilience given the vulnerability of Fiji to climate change-related natural disasters.
2. Although the World Bank, in its assessment, finds the program overall outcome to be Moderately Unsatisfactory, the MoE believes that this series of policy-based operations was invaluable to the Fijian Government. It is important to note that the program was one of the first ever policy-based operation that the Fijian Government had undertaken. First, the Fijian Government benefitted in the achievement of reforms which might not have been prioritized and finalized without the programs. Thus, this was an
avenue for the ministries to push reforms which would be tagged to funding and greatly assist its prioritization. Second, due to the series of policy-based operations which the Fijian Government was undertaking with the World Bank and the ADB, during the COVID-19 crisis, the Fijian Government was uniquely able to access much-needed funding from multilateral and bilateral creditors using the ongoing policy-based operations. With this financing, the Fijian economy might not be as stable as it currently is
given the significant impact on Government revenues brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Related to Fiji Fiscal Sustainability and Climate Resilience Development Policy Operations (DPOs) P165276

Yes

Government decision-making on enhancing resilience: The capacity-building efforts and infrastructure efforts were negatively affected by COVID-19; however, progress on some high-level objectives was achieved and the Government is on track and remains committed to the PDO in this pillar.