SEPTEMBER 10, 2010
Japan backs $1.7m poverty reduction program
The Marshall Islands was awarded a $1.76 million poverty reduction grant from Japan through the Asian Development Bank on Wednesday. The grant, which is aims at “improved energy supply for poor households,” will aid Marshalls Energy Company with its recovery plan — installation of prepaid meters, retrofitting one MEC generator to use coconut biofuel and connect power to poor households.
Tax revenue drops nearly $2m in 2009
Tax collections are down from two years ago, according to the Public Accounts Committee’s report. “The Heads of Ministries have admitted a general decrease in the collection of revenue for fiscal year 2009 — revenue collection for income, import and gross sales taxes, and others,” the report said following three weeks of public hearings. Total tax revenue dropped nearly $2 million in FY2009 compared to FY2008. The government collected nearly $26.2 million in FY2008 but only $24.3 million in FY2009. The report recognized the “significant contributions” from large businesses in the RMI. But “while there has been a steady increase of mom and pop shops, they have contributed very little to the general revenue.”
Private
school numbers take a dive
The number of Marshall Islands students attending private schools has dropped dramatically in the past four years, according to enrolment data provided by the Ministry of Education. A four year review of enrolment reports for both public and private schools — from school year (SY) 2006-07 to 2009-10 — shows that the number of students attending private high schools has dropped 33 percent, while the number attending private elementary schools has dropped 11 percent over the four-year period. During the same period, public elementary enrolment increase seven percent, from 9,068 in 2006-07 to 9,738 last year. Public high school attendance increased 16 percent during the same period, from 2,038 to 2,373 — picking up the losses from private schools.
Team Kwajalein Texas’
Paul McGrew puts in the
big effort to land a tuna
on board XXXX
during the All Mike tournament. Ben
Reimers is at the
helm, while crew
member Rudol
Muller stands by
to help the
fisherguy.
Winning All Mike team Kwajalein Tight Lines with their fish caught on Celinda. Photos: Curtis Childress and Karen Earnshaw
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The resolution also gives the Ministry of Health requirements to bring its statistical data up to acceptable standards, a project that was supposed
GIFF JOHNSON
Resolutions from last week’s JEMFAC — the annual US-RMI Compact funding meeting — highlight the RMI government’s failure to deliver on resolutions passed during the 2009 session. “We are aware that more needs to be done at our end regarding the follow-up after the JEMFAC meetings,” said Foreign Minister John Silk, who
USAKA says high paid staff not a target
In the wake of last week’s announced layoffs affecting 28 Marshallese workers at Kwajalein, so-called “grandfathered” workers are reportedly considering legal action to challenge their impending layoffs. US Army officials indicated that of the 28 workers affected by the cut back, six are grandfathered — the term used to describe Marshallese who have been working at the US Army Kwajalein Atoll since before the first Compact came into effect in 1986, and retained their US-wage levels. But Ebeye sources said the number is eight, and indicated that some of these grandfathered workers are considering taking legal action to retain their jobs. There also is the belief among some workers and Ebeye residents that the higher-paid grandfathered workers are being targeted for termination — a charge the Army denies. Of the approximately 800 Marshallese workers at Kwajalein, 150 fall into the grandfathered category, according to the Army. In response to questions from the Journal, Joe Moscone, Deputy to the USAKA Commander Col. Joseph Gaines, said, “Grandfathered employees were never singled out for layoffs because of their level of pay.” Moscone said the level of pay “was not one of the criteria used when decisions were reached in the workforce reductions, which affected both US and RMI workers.” The reductions were “directly associated with those functions and areas that USAKA/Reagan Test Site, given the budget cutbacks, determined could be cut without placing the mission in jeopardy.” Kwajalein Range Services developed a workforce reduction plan that was approved by USAKA/RTS, which impacted operations to some extent across the areas of logistical support, teachers, medical personnel, and mission technicians, Moscone said. “Of the 150 grandfathered employees, six (or 4 percent) were affected by the reductions, compared to 3.6 percent among other RMI employees and 5.9 percent of non-RMI employees,” he said. “While the workforce reductions could not be avoided, every effort was made by USAKA/RTS and Kwajalein Range Services to ensure equity and fairness in our decisions.” The 28 Marshallese workers and 51Americans are being cut by September 30.
to have happened during the past year. The resolution extends to September 2011 the deadline for the RMI to present the US with a plan of action for a new Majuro Hospital — another project that was supposed to have been ready for review at last week’s meeting. Prior to release of US funding for school lunch program this year, the US is requiring a detailed plan of how the RMI will fund the entire school lunch program this year, and how it will fund the program from FY2012 and on without US Compact money.
The US said its funding cannot be used for lunches after this year because declining US money needs to be focused on core education programs. “We voted in favor of these resolutions this year because we voted in favor on the same issues last year,” said Silk. “Addressing these matters are just part of good governance, and we should be doing these things anyway regardless of the US. This is what it means to take ownership of the Compact.” The meeting approved Compact funding of $33.5 million to include: $11.8 million for Education, $6.8 million for Health, $10.3 million for public sector infrastructure, $300,000 for public sector capacity building, $3.5 million for Ebeye Special Needs, $325,000 for environment, $225,000 each for Kwajalein environmental impact and the RMI disaster fund.
along with Finance Minister Jack Ading led the RMI delegation to the talks.Last week’s resolutions call on the RMI government to submit a plan for how the government will deal with declining US funding, particularly for health and education, which are now using close to 70 percent of their Compact funds to pay salaries. A special meeting is being called in February next year to review this report, which was supposed to have been completed earlier. Silk acknowledged that the RMI agreed to do this plan last year, but there was confusion over who was in charge of the report in the RMI and “we got a late start in developing the plan because we were awaiting the final audited financial numbers from last year which were not available until June.” “The failure by the RMI to complete a plan … will result in appropriate remedies,” said the resolution in what is the first ever reference to a possible sanction against the RMI from a JEMFAC meeting. Silk said he does not believe this statement refers to withholding funds “because withholding would not be an appropriate remedy in this situation. I don’t believe this will be an issue in the future, however, as the government is fully engaged in managing the decrement (decline in Compact funding), and the sustainability of Ministry of Health and Education activities.”
MEC receives $9.5m loan from ADB
Punctuated by a 3pm power outage underlining the urgency of MEC’s situation, RMI, Asian Development Bank and MEC officials signed a $14.5 million loan package Wednesday at the ICC. $9.5 million goes for MEC, most of which is to buy down a higher-interest loan with Bank of Guam. The RMI is eligible for an additional $5 million in fiscal year 2012 based on it continuing to reform government. Finance Minister Jack Ading, ADB Pacific Director Sungsup Ra, and MEC General Manager David Paul signed the loan documents.
Kabua raises poverty isssue
Signs of economic hardship and population over crowding on Majuro are clear, according to Wotho Senator David Kabua. In an impassioned speech Monday at Nitijela to beg members of Nitijela to address the issue of economic hardship Kabua said he now regularly witnesses children on the reef at low tide harvesting food during school hours. “There is overcrowding and hardship on Majuro,” Kabua declared. Kabua pleaded the plight of Marshallese parents who can’t afford school registration fees and uniforms because they have so many children. “We need to help these people who are living in poverty,” said Kabua. “They have no money to meet school fees, let alone hospital fees — isn’t there anything we can do to help them?”
17 swear to protect and defend USA
Seventeen new Army recruits gave their oath to serve the US armed forces last week Wednesday at RRE’s Bokanake. Friends and family, US Embassy officials, and Army officers joined the group to witness the event. According to Army officials, the 17 recruits will depart the Marshall Islands February next year and head to the US mainland for a nine-week basic training. Photo: Douglas Henry.

Journal 9/10/1993
P5 During a dinner party hosted by Chinese Ambassador Zhou Jinming for local media people recently, the ambassador suggested that Chinese doctors could perform a sex-change operation on editor Joe Murphy. This comment was in response to Murphy’s question as to whether doctors performed cosmetic surgery in China. When the Ambassador didn’t immediately understand the question, the editor asked if Chinese doctors could make him look better.

Journal 9/13/1985

Journal 9/11/1971
P12 Book V, Chap. 16: BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!
BLAM! BLAM!The mighty roar of the automatic
weapon resulted in a frozen, wide-eyed crowd in
the airport restaurant — and brought home for the
first time the real seriousness of the situation. “My
God! They shot Mike Senko!” cried Pat Muno in
zona rosa fluster of anxiety and agitation. Pat was a
usually unflappable entity whose tight discipline as
a business lady, artist and sports person demanded the cautious respect of friend and foe alike. Her emotional
outburst at seeing Mike Senko sprayed like a puppet, a
puppet whose only movement was dictated by the
P1 A leaf from the bitter tree of suffering, death and revolution surrounding the incarceration of the famous Soledad brothers came to rest quietly and unceremoniously in Majuro this week with the questioning of a man on Majuro suspected of being the lawyer who is charged with furnishing of a gun to San Quentin prison inmate George Jackson. On Wednesday, Ron Levy, assistant manager of Robert Reimers
Enterprises, was called to the district attorney’s office in Majuro for questioning. According to Levy, the district administration received a letter alerting local authorities to the possibility of Levy being in fact Stephen Mitchell Bingham, a 29-year-old lawyer being sought in connection with a spate of murder and violence at San Quentin prison on August 21. The letter, written by secretary Suzanne Massey in the Trust Territory liaison office at Kwajalein, was sent after Levy returned to Majuro from the US via Kwajalein.
forceful pummeling of the sharking lead projectiles, was totally our of character for
the diminutive airport visitor. Connie Escarpio was the only one in the restaurant
able to think — an ability garnered in several heated instances of crossfire and
attacks necessitated by her father’s chosen profession as a middleman for various
drug dealers in the Florida-to Maine corridor. She was even controlled enough to tell
herself that the machine being fired was of Russian manufacture, that the size of the
round was so and so, and that while most of the sprayed lead actually penetrated
Senko’s body, several simply carped hard off the tiled floor of the lounge and rocketed
up through the plywood paneling out into the opening lobby of the airport terminal
itself. She withdrew to a corner table, sat down, and considered even further: the
American must have balked at going along with the program and needed to be made an example of, so now a vacuum has been created. These gang wars were all the same,
though Connie Escarpio, all hot blooded macho scenes with light words and heavy action. Probably all Senko did was delay a little in giving a reply. Information Minister Riap Meo
was exactly the opposite of Connie Escarpio as he cringed frozen against the dimly-lighted tropical fish aquarium in the alcove. His mind dallied in desperation as he sought the correct words to say so that the same would not happen to him. “Should I say ‘nice shooting!’? or, ‘hey, be careful, someone might get hurt!’ or ‘who do you want me to get to clean this mess up?’” He could not believe his eyes as he saw Von Kotzebue simply return to his seat, pick up a glass, and continue sipping on the beer. ‘Is this a maniac?’ thought Minister of Information Riap Meo. Standing beside Meo, as unperturbed as a cat out of stoning range, Police Chief Mello Anjak maintained his steady regard of the passengers and airport personnel cordoned off in he restaurant…
“Her letter mentioned that I was carrying two small brief cases that ‘could have been’ lawyer papers,” said Levy.” The district attorney here called me into his office and asked me if I had been on Kwajalein recently. I told him yes, and then he explained to me about the letter from Suzanne.” Evidently Levy is not being subjected to further investigation because it has been established that the young man has been living and working on Majuro for the last couple of years. The Levy investigation stems from an incident termed the “Blackest Hour” in San Quentin prison history when three inmates and three guards were killed. George Jackson, author of the book of letters called Soledad Brother, died after he was felled by shorts fired by guards in a reported escape attempt. Prison authorities think the revolver with which Jackson was armed was smuggled into the prison in a tape recorder by Jackson’s lawyer, Bingham.