GIFF JOHNSON The US Army Garrison, Kwajalein Atoll had its first long-distance brush with coronavirus when one of the 15 base workers scheduled to return this week tested positive for Covid-19 in Honolulu prior to departing for Kwajalein. Contract tracing by Army authorities identified three others in the intending repatriation group to have had contact […]
Two Majuro businesses received RMI government-provided coronavirus economic relief funds at Cabinet July 10, the first businesses to receive aid since the government approved a $6 million Covid-19 relief fund. More businesses applying for the Covid-19 economic aid are currently under review for possible assistance, said government officials. President David Kabua and members of the […]
HILARY HOSIA It looks like the Marshall Islands government will follow the Federated States of Micronesia and begin allowing stranded citizens living abroad to return home. The FSM government has indicated it is considering plans for a phased return of of its citizens over a period of months. The development for RMI was shared by […]
GIFF JOHNSON Pacific islanders living in the United States have an infection rate two to three times the average in at least four American states, according to data released April 26 by the Pacific Islander Center of Primary Care Excellence, a California-based group. The organization cited the “alarming disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on Native Hawaiian […]
Had the Nitijela audit public hearings been a basketball championship game, the Judiciary System would’ve been named “MVP” — most valuable player. The Judiciary team, led by Chief Clerk Ingrid Kabua, literally controlled how their audit report played out following a never-before used stunt: Ingrid provided the panel with a drawing that depicts the cash […]
HILARY HOSIA The Nitijela audit panel conducting public hearings for government and state owned enterprises this week is following a new method: they are looking beyond the numbers and zeroing in on how to improve services. The Public Accounts Committee is chaired by Maloelap Senator Bruce Bilimon, a longtime employee at the Ministry of Finance […]
HILARY HOSIA Nitijela senators began endorsing a plan to repeal the postal absentee ballot ban Wednesday following the presentation of a petition to restore voting for islanders living off-shore by Evelyn Konou and Biram Stege. Over 800 Marshallese citizens endorsed the petition, for which Parliament Speaker Kenneth Kedi and Maloelap Senator Bruce Bilimon publicly announced […]
KELLY LORENNIJ While Nitijela (Parliament) was split in half during Monday morning’s vote of no confidence, both sides reiterated one common concept: “Kien eo en jerbal ippen armij ro, kon armij ro, im nan armij ro ilo jokkwin wot juon.”* President Hilda Heine’s opening remarks were met with applause from the packed audience, resonating most […]
HILARY HOSIA Arguments over a reported bribe attempt, the RMI’s “SOV” plan, and the proposed Rongelap investment zone dominated Nitijela’s first session day Monday after a three-week break for committee hearings. You could describe Monday’s session as a rugby scrum, with battling parties locked head to head and kicking the ball back and forth.
Despite expectation that the Kili-Bikini-Ejit session with the Nitijela Public Accounts Committee would offer some drama — fueled by repeated rescheduling from Public Accounts to allow KBE more time to go through its audit reports — the dialogue went smoothly compared to a majority of the PAC hearings. The hearing, in short, can be described […]