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Friday, May 1, 2009
Cut costs
This Week's
Inside Stories
MOH warns about swine flu dangers
The Marshall Islands Ministry of Health warned people in the RMI this week to be on the alert for swine flu, which has spread globally following initial infections in Mexico late last month that have killed more than 100 people.
Dornier to ROC
One of two Air Marshall Islands Dornier 228s was flown to Taiwan last week to undergo major maintenance. AMI General Manager Bill Capelle told the Journal he expects the work to be completed in two months time.
Mike challenges Litokwa
President Iroij Litokwa Tomeing’s recent criticism of traditional leaders’ abuse of customary powers was challenged in Thursday’s Nitijela session by Ralik Iroj and Kwajalein Senator Michael Kabua. Kabua accused Tomeing of making baseless remarks, which he says have “hurt many.”
Who will replace Hess?
College of the Marshall Islands President Wilson Hess indicated this week he expects to leave his post before the end of the year, though he may continue to work with the college. Hess arrived in late 2005 when the college was on the verge of losing its US accreditation. In February this year, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges restored full accreditation. CMI is now establishing a search committee to find a replacement.
Majuro gas stations have us over a barrel
Majuro gas prices are more than two dollars a gallon higher at the pump than in Palau, and more than one dollar above prices in the Federated States of Micronesia, according to data provided this week by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which is monitoring local gas pricing. Palau’s price at the pump is now $2.95 per gallon, compared to $5 in Majuro. In FSM, it is $3.90.
BOMI profit up 13pc over 2007
Bank of Marshall Islands held its annual shareholders meeting Tuesday at the Lanai, with board Chairman Grant Labaun and President Patrick Chen announcing the bank increased its profit by 13 percent in 2008 compared to 2007. “This bank is stronger than American banks,” said BOMI board Secretary Saane Aho, the administrator of the RMI Social Security system.
By GIFF JOHNSON
President Litokwa Tomeing and his Cabinet has named a 14-member team to advise the government on ways it can cut costs and improve money management — and has given it just two months to complete the job.
The Cabinet’s fast-tracking move to get advice for possible cutbacks in government follows on the heels of President Tomeing (pictured) issuing a government hiring freeze last month as the RMI’s financial situation “ continues to deteriorate in the face of the dramatic drop in tax collections since October last year.
Comprehensive Adjustment Program Advisory Group” is the name of the new committee that is headed byChairman Ben Chutaro and Vice 		the Advisory Group are Hilda Heine, Jack Niedenthal, Marie Maddison, Mike Slinger, Alson Kelen, Tommy Kijiner, Jr., Kino Kabua, Jefferson Barton, Tion Nabau, Divine Waiti, Kevin O’Keefe and a representative of the Economic Policy, Planning and Statistics Office. O’Keefe, an independent consultant, has been active in the FSM advising Chuuk and Kosrae on measures to reduce state government expenses, including the number of workers, to bring their spending into line with revenues.
After the Advisory Group’s report is finished for Cabinet and if recommendations are accepted by Cabinet to be implemented, the Advisory Group’s mandate can be extended to assist with outreach to the public on the plans.
Chairman Ben Graham.
The Advisory Group is on a tight timetable, with an initial progress report due by May 15, a framework of fiscal and economic adjustment options to be completed in draftform no later than May 30, and a final report due by June 30 when the work of the group is to wrap up.
The Advisory Group reports to Finance Minister Jack Ading. This adjustment program effort is being supported by the Asian Development Bank.
Other members of
Tune in next week
Technical difficulties forced Nitijela to call off what was expected to be its last meeting day of the current session on Wednesday. With a lineup of 18 bills and about a dozen resolutions awaiting action, Nitijela had more than a full agenda for its final day. But when V7AB’s Arden Sormille began the traditional “warm up” a few minutes before the usual 10am roll call, broadcast quality was poor. Nitijela staff said listeners phoned in complaining of difficulty hearing the broadcast. The senators were ready for roll call when the decision was made to call off Wednesday’s session. The meeting was postponed to next week Wednesday, which will mark the ongoing session since January as the longest-running first session on record.
Colette and Ramsey Reimers youngest daughter Valerie has been manning the new latte and juice machines up at the Tide Table. We tried the iced coffee latte and can report that it is scrumptious (definition: extremely appetizing or delicious). Photos: Karen Earnshaw

Journal 5/2/1970

Journal 5/6/1974
P1 “There is an obvious attempt being made by the Hicom staff in Saipan to establish an excuse for deferring construction of a new airfield for Majuro to a later date,” according to Senator Amata Kabua, President of the Senate, Congress of Micronesia. In an interview this week with Micronitor, Kabua alleged that pet projects of a few men in Headquarters (Saipan) threaten to undermine any serious attempt to implement the new airfield.
P1 The return of the exiled people of Bikini to their former home islands, originally set to take place May 1, has been postponed indefinitely, according to a joint press release issued April 30 by Marshalls Distad Oscar deBrum and legal counsel for the Bikinians, the Micronesian Legal Services Corporation. Contrary to statements issued by high-level Department of Interior sources in Washington recently, the return has been
“This is a typical situation with money earmarked for the Marshalls by Washington and the US Congress. The money gets into the hands of Headquarters and they end up putting the money in other districts.”
P1 The second round of talks between the Congress of Micronesia Political Status Delegation and Washington officials will begin May 4 in Saipan.
P2 In an almost unanimous vote of 18-2 Nitijela approved their sales tax bill, a move that should provide upward of $100,000 in funds for the local legislature.
P2 A drawing of an outhouse (benjo) is accompanied by the note: “These little factories are polluting our water lens — why are they still around?”
P3 It was the unanimous decision of the team leaders of last summer’s survey of selected islands and atolls in the Trust Territory that there is a widespread population explosion of Acanthaster Planci (Crown of Thorns) and that the amount of coral being destroyed is in excess of that which is desirable. The recent studies of crown of thorns starfish infestation in the atolls of Majuro, Arno and Kwajalein were in a report reprinted by the Marshall Islands Education Department.
P4 In these days of moon exploration and proliferating civilization, it is reassuring to know that there are still those among us who do not care a whit whether or not the next moon flight leaves on time or if the indecencies of rhetorical ideology pit one nation against another in a holocaust of perverse invention. Such a man is one of the newest arrivals in Majuro, Ed Boden. He began his trip to Majuro over seven years ago during a countdown for a rocket launch at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The countdown team was running through their series of what to the average man are tense, exciting moments…14…13…12…but Boden was not listening. He was looking past the rocket to the calm blue Atlantic, which lay like a swollen thought of independence off the coast. Suddenly he decided that he belonged out there on the water and with that decision he changed his life…Events carried Boden to England and there he saw the yacht “Kittiwake.” He felt it suited his needs and he picked it up…Evidently Boden’s feeling was correct for if you go down to the lagoon beach in front of Mobil Oil’s bulk plant you’ll see “Kittiwake” sitting there now as though it were alive…And one last word to those of you who expect that one day you might find Boden’s cruise written in a book — don’t. Boden bills himself as the first yachtsman to go around the world and not write a book about it.
P7 Question of the week: Will a 2¢ tax make a 5¢ increase in the price of beer?
postponed awaiting a reply from US government officials concerning a request for an “ex-gratia” payment of $3 million, made during a visit to Washington by Bikini leaders last month.
P1 Official word from Washington is that the United States has assumed a “let’s wait and see” attitude in regard to the Marshalls’ district talk of separation from the remaining five districts of Micronesia. The US, understandably, just doesn’t know what is going on.
Marshallese leadership in the district legislature make careful mention of the need to carry through all the threats of cancelling out of the upcoming Constitutional Convention and participation in the Congress of Micronesia. Arch proponent of the separatist moves, Iroij Namo Hermios, was himself once a member of the Congress of Micronesia before his seat was vacated in favor of incumbent Charles Domnick. Throughout the latest breakaway session of Nitijela, Hermios continually emphasized the need for a complete and emphatic break from everything non-Marshallese in Micronesia. “Otherwise they will not believe us,” he argued.
Despite Hermios’ radical urging, Nitijela leadership is understood to be treading lightly on at least one half of the moves passed in their most recent session. While full accord seems to be the order of the day on the resolve to can the Con-Con, it looks highly probable that the Marshalls will continue to participate in the Congress of Micronesia. But the issue that triggered the whole mess was anger at the Congress of Micronesia for not passing the critical 50-50 revenue sharing legislation of the Marshalls delegation. The Marshallese appear to be willing to discuss that a bit further, possibly intend to give it one last chance in a proposed special session of the Congress of Micronesia, which may be held in Majuro late summer, early fall. What they will not buy, at least in the heavily Iroij-influenced Nitijela, is the idea of a Constitutional Convention in which the chiefs have no vote. So back off Congress of Micronesia and make room for the Marshallese Iroij to vote in the Con-Con. Otherwise expect to see the Convention a good way to tear the Marshall Islands apart.

Journal 5/1/1992
P1 The US military presence at Kwajalein Atoll contributes almost $25 million annually to the Marshall Islands economy — a figure that is equal to more than 40 percent of the government’s national budget. US Army figures show the annual income of the 1,004 Marshall Islanders working at Kwajalein is $11.1 million; the Marshall Islands government tax on American workers’ salaries is $2.3 million; and land use payments to Kwajalein landowners amount to $11.5 million, for a grand total of $24,977,991.
P5 Local wrestlers Waylon Muller and Andrew Peterson were at their Delap gym earlier this week to demonstrate some of their practice techniques for a Journal photographer. They put on quite a show. At one point, Waylon — showing some of his moves that won him the silver medal in Western Samoa two weeks ago — picked up Andrew and flipped him over on the mat. Andrew landed with a resounding thump and didn’t get up right away. He held onto his head like he had a splitting headache, and said: “Just like the Pub on Friday night.”
P6 The Cabinet last Thursday approved a Human Resources for Development report with a series of far-ranging policy recommendations for furthering the 10-year education master plan and for developing human resources to meet economic development needs. The detailed HRD report outlines clearly the difficult challenge the Marshalls faces in attempting to redesign its education system and to come to terms with the critical shortage of trained Marshall Islanders.