“Clarification on Government Data Hosting and the New Government Portal”
(10th June, 2025)
Issued by the Digital Transformation Department, Prime Minister’s Office
The Government of Tonga wishes to clarify recent misinformation regarding the hosting of government data in Germany. This is incorrect.
The new Government Portal is a key component of the ongoing e-Government Project, which was funded by the World Bank and implemented in partnership with various stakeholders to enhance service delivery to citizens. Through the World Bank’s procurement process, the development of this portal was awarded to Aninver, a reputable firm based in Spain.
The portal comprises two distinct components:
1.Front-End (Public Interface) – This is the public-facing website that citizens and users interact with to access information and services.
2.Back-End (Data Layer) – This is the secure environment where all government data and systems are hosted. Access to the backend is tightly controlled and only possible through secure protocols integrated with the front-end.
To be clear, all government data remains securely hosted at the Government Data Center in Tonga. The front-end component is currently hosted temporarily within Aninver’s secure development environment while final deployment preparations are being completed. This separation of environments is a standard international best practice in system development, allowing added protection of critical data assets in the event of any vulnerabilities on the public website.
It is also important to note that the Government of Tonga does not incur any hosting costs for the temporary front-end hosting, as it is fully covered under the original World Bank-funded project contract.
The transition of the front-end hosting to the Government Data Center is already underway, with full migration expected to be completed by the end of this week or early next week.
We assure the public that no government data is stored outside of Tonga, and the integrity, sovereignty, and security of our national information systems remain a top priority for the Government.
For further inquiries, please contact:
Digital Transformation Department
Prime Minister’s Office
-ENDS-
