GIFF JOHNSON
The day after last week Tuesday’s fire consumed Nitijela, parliament staff were already setting up the ICC conference hall as a temporary Nitijela meeting space.
Monday this week, the Appropriations Committee, with Chairman Jack Ading at the helm, completed the final series of FY2026 budget hearings from the ICC meeting location. Nitijela staff last week established temporary offices in one of the ICC meeting rooms and, while disrupted out of the ordinary environment, parliament activity was proceeding without hiccup.
Nitijela is expected to return to full session later this week with 11 days left to meet.
Meanwhile, Speaker Brenson Wase told the Journal that the aim is to use the ICC only to finish the current session, and then Nitijela will return to its old facility, now Public School System headquarters, for the January session.
The Speaker also said it is his aim to conclude the current session by the end of September.
Wase and Minister of Finance David Paul are confident that a new Nitijela building will be completed for the August 2026 session.
“Rise up, dust off and move forward,” said Minister Paul in comments to the Journal this week.
Within a day of last week’s fire, Paul and other RMI authorities were in discussion with Pacific International Inc., which built the capital building and Nitijela in the early 1990s.
The discussion centered around how quickly PII could mobilize to demolish the burned out building and build a new Nitijela using the same blueprints as the original.
“PII has the blueprints and the detailed design from the original Nitijela construction,” Paul said. “It also has the ‘as-built’ design with all the notes.”
Paul said the decision to go with the same design is based on two points: “The Nitijela chamber is iconic and well-designed,” he said, adding that the aim is to get a new parliament built so it is functional as soon as possible.
Based on an Executive Order declaring a state of disaster due to the fire, signed by then-Acting President Kalani Kaneko last Thursday, the government can bypass normal procurement rules to speed up the process of rebuilding Nitijela.
In addition, Paul said PII has already purchased materials for the beginning of airport terminal construction work and has agreed to move those to downtown for Nitijela construction.
“The terminal won’t be built for a few months (because an independent firm) is reviewing the designs,” Paul said. “PII has the designs for the building and materials, so once the building is demolished, it can start building.”
The existing foundation of the building will be evaluated to see if it can be used to build on, he said.
The emergency Executive Order allows the government to sole source the Nitijela construction to PII, which is the only contractor on island that can do it, he said. The cost is unknown at this time, he added, but will be worked out with PII and the Ministry of Public Works Project Management Unit.
“This is the seat of our democracy,” he said. “It needs to be expedited. I am confident that by next year August, we will be using the new building.”
Paul also noted that Taiwan has committed over $31 million for a new capital building. “We will try to work with this amount for both the Nitijela and the capital,” he said. “We’ve identified some money for cash flow for immediate needs like mobilization costs and purchase of additional materials.”
“To me, this is how you respond to a crisis: Monday we get started,” said Paul. “There is nothing to hold us back.