Journal 11/8/1985
P1 AMI’s Dornier arrives! The first Dornier is here! The long-anticipated arrival of the first Dorner 228 aircraft from West Germany became a reality last Friday, when, with Captain Helbert Alfred at the controls, the brand new plane touched down at Majuro’s International Airport at 3:30pm. A are crowd watched the arrival, and then flooded out through the arrival gates and over fences to get a close-up view of the Airline of the Marshall Islands $2.5 million plane.
P13 Top program Trust Territory Food Services administration Linda Parkinson of Saipan awarded Majuro Food Services Director Saeko Shoniber a certificate and a check for having the best school feeding program in Micronesia.
P16 At Ebeye fun with a purpose Fun with a purpose — that’s Girl Scouting. Eleven Girl Scout leaders met on Tuesday, October 29 at the Ebeye Public Elementary School to explore the role of adults in Girl Scouting. Three trainers led the event: Angelina Aron and Minnie Matthew of Ebeye and Becky Hynicka, a staff member of Girl Scouts of the USA from New York. Participating in the training were Hanako Amlej, Here deBrum, Cathrina Harry, Nira Harry, Rolly John, Eoju Keju, Bernice Iamon, Jabwe Laieo, Marcella Laubon, Helen Lome and Neirose Stephen.
P19 Halloween humdinger Coop School students and teachers dressed for the occasion of the Halloween party last Friday.Kokki, Roxanne and Carlo showed off their exotic costumes. First graders Twaila, Motina, Luke and Jacqueline with teacher Mrs. Cabral. One of the student’s signs read: “Make our Majuro Clean and Likatu…Please Recycle Me (Kakuat).”
Journal 11/7/1997
P1 Few firms pay tax The fiscal year 1996 audit of the government’s management of finances produced 30 findings by the independent auditors Deloitte and Touche, including of 25 businesses tested, 13 did not file gross revenue taxes for all of 1996; two did not file GRT for two quarters; and four had no records of ever having filed GRT. This lack of compliance with RMI tax laws was also pointed as a problem in the 1995 audit.
P3 704 days to get from Uliga to Delap Just how fast do government agencies turn in cash they collect to the Ministry of Finance? The Ministry of Internal and Social Welfare’s Registrar General’s office set the record for lateness in depositing money — it took the Registrar 704 days (that’s almost two days) and 642 days, on different receipts, to turn in $2,151 it collected to Finance, according to the latest audit report. Compared to their government colleagues at the Registrar’s office, the High Court’s 14 days to turn in $267 was downright speedy.
P7 RMI earned $9m from passports The Marshall Islands earned $9.9 million from passport says in FY1996, but there wasn’t an “audit trail” providing adequate information for auditing the sales program, according to the latest government audit by Deloitte. The audit said there were “inadequate controls” over the issuance and sale of passports and the collection of money from the sales. Government officials replied that they stopped the sale of passports “beginning this year 1997.”
Journal 11/7/2008
P3 RMI nixes US at UN The Marshall Islands abstained in a key vote at the United Nations last week, abandoning more than 15 years of supporting the United States’ embargo against Cuba. The UN’s 192-member General Assesmbly voted overwhelmingly — 185-3 with two abstentions — to condemn the US government’s economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba. Voting against the resolution were the United States, Israel and Palau. The Marshall Islands was joined by the FSM in abstaining. Foreign Minister Tony deBrum told the Journal, “we didn’t vote against the US,” and described the vote cast by the RMI’s UN Ambassador Phillip Muller as “neutral.”
P3 Bellu aims PO for auditable state Marshall Islands Postal Services Authority revenues nearly doubled from FY2007 to 2008, according to a recently released annual report. The RMI PO generated $483,089 in FY2008, compared to $262,184 the previous year. Postmaster General Heran Bellu, who took over earlier this. Year, told the Journal the MIPSA is planning to be audited for FY2009, one of the key steps that he hopes will lead to a return of US Postal Service money orders. The PO’s annual report points out that the return of domestic US mail status in November 2007 means RMI POs have been able to resume providing registered, insured and return receipt mail services.