A public petition in Tonga calls for investigation to the fact that after two years since the volcanic eruption and tsunami damaging whole villages in Nomuka and Fonoi Islands, homes supposed to be rebuilt are unfinished and building materials abandoned.
The unfinished houses were intended for people who were homeless by the January 2022 eruption and tsunami.
The government planned to build 66 houses in the two directly affected islands in Ha’apai.
But it is alleged the construction workers left because they claim they have not been paid.
A few days after the devastating eruption and tsunami, the World Bank provided an initial US$8 million emergency funding to support Tonga’s response and recovery.
Another $10 million was given by the Asian Development Bank, as well as aid assistance from many countries including Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the European Union, USA, and China.
The cost of the damage was about $90 million according to an estimate from the World Bank, yet millions more was given to Tonga in the form of aid.
Altogether throughout Tonga in various damaged areas, there were 268 new homes planned to be built in the recovery effort. But so far only 120 have been built.
Even in an area on the main island of Tongatapu where those from outer islands were to be relocated, construction has been halted, and some of the families that were promised relocation from flooded areas are still living in tents.
Minister of Infrastructure, Seventini Toumo’ua, who is responsible for the recovery construction, says they have faced challenges but they expect the work to be completed in June.
