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Friday, June 5, 2009
Outer island schools go solar
A million dollars worth of solar equipment has arrived in Majuro for installation in six public elementary schools on five outer islands. The European Union-funded program for local schools follows on earlier EU funding that recently provided home solar units for Ailinglaplap Atoll. “These are big systems,” said Katerina Syngellakis, the program manager for the EU-supported Renewable Energy Project in five Pacific islands. Schools on Ine, Arno; Mejit; Majken,
Namu; Namdrik; and Ebon and Taka in Ebon will receive the equipment. The Ministry of Education requested the EU funding be directed to solar equipment, and named the six schools to receive it. “The Marshall Islands is lucky to have MEC installing the systems,” Syngellakis said. “There are few utilities in the region with experience in solar installation. This is a real advantage (for RMI).” It is expected to take about six months to install the equipment in the six schools, given transportation and other issues. Leney confirmed that all the solar
This Week's
Inside Stories
Fresh water issue a health 'time bomb'
Planning Director Carl Hacker recently told the Journal that accessibility to clean water in Majuro continues to be a “major public health issue.” Under current conditions, Hacker believes Majuro is “playing with dynamite,” yet little appears to be in place to deal with the situation. Persistent periods of dry weather have exacerbated problems associated with inadequate water supply in Majuro’s overpopulated areas, particularly the prevalence of water-borne illnesses.
Fiber optic cable
project underway
Construction work has started at NTA headquarters in anticipation of the submarine fiber optic cable project starting later this year. “We’re doing civil work now,” NTA General Manager Tony Muller told the Journal this week. “We’re building a cable station next to our generator room (ocean side of NTA building).”
Chamber: 'CMI
beer tax a failure'
The beer tax is not working. That was the conclusion of business people at the Chamber of Commerce meeting. The revenue generated from the tax on beer is down 32 percent over 2008. This tax (adding 25 cents per beer can, doubling the tax to 50 cents) was instituted by the Nitijela in the mid-2000s when the College of the Marshall Islands was in financial crisis. Chamber Secretary Jim McLean commented that when tax on beer was lowered in the late 1990s, sales of beer went up. Since the CMI beer tax was implemented, sales went down.
$2 million deficit
The Marshall Islands government is operating at a nearly $2 million deficit in the current year through last month, with tax revenue falling significantly below 2008 levels. This new debt is piling in on top of the RMI government’s fiscal year 2008 (September 30) deficit of $4.5 million, giving the RMI a cumulative deficit approaching six and a half million dollars.
Wellness Center gets pat on the back
The Diabetes Wellness Center received praise from Secretary of Health Justina Langidrik in the Ministry of Health’s 2007-2008 report to Nitijela. “One of the successful preventive programs that started in 2006 is the Diabetes Wellness Center (now called Kumit Lifestyle Wellness Center),” she said.
Alice Leney with some of the solar batteries.
equipment is now on island, though some wiring supplies are still on their way. He and MEC officials
have been inspecting the equipment at the MEC yard in Delap. “There are five containers of batteries,” said Leney, “and 333 solar panels.” Part of the project will be to build “battery rooms” at each of the schools. “This is very high-quality equipment,” said Leney of the German-manufactured solar equipment provided by the EU. “It will make quite a difference to people on the outer islands who won’t have to use generators and buy fuel.”
Will MEC sue you?
The Marshalls Energy Company has filed suit in the High Court against 24 individuals and local businesses to collect nearly $100,000 in unpaid electric bills — and people with unpaid debt to MEC should expect to have a court bailiff come knocking on their door in the near future to serve them with a civil charge. These are the first lawsuits filed in the High Court by MEC in many years to collect from customers, but are only the first salvo in a campaign to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars owed to the power company. “The previous (debt given to the Attorney General’s office,” said MEC
MEC Manager Steve Wakefield.
Push to collect the big bucks
Manager Steve Wakefield. But, he said, the AG’s office “is swamped with work” and has not filed cases on MEC’s behalf. “There are several hundred pending through the AG’s office. But because the AG’s office is short staffed we are using a private attorney.” Local attorney Dennis Reeder filed the cases over the past two weeks. Wakefield promised more court action as MEC takes aggressive action to collect debts. “There will be many, many more cases filed in the near future,” he said. “So if people know they owe MEC for outstanding power bills, then they should go and pay their bills before they get a summons to court. “If people do not pay up for the power they have used then MEC can not buy fuel to make the power. It is as simple as that. People have to decide if they want stores with frozen food, if they want hospitals with power, if they want schools with lights and power for learning. Because if we cannot buy fuel then you do not have the power.”
The 24 court cases filed over the past two weeks involve debts ranging from as low as $1,489.12 to as much as $31,513.47. The total debt involved is $96,480.35.