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Election of Assembly members first under new system

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Radio New Zealand International, May 5, 2013) – Voters in French Polynesia are going to the polls today in the second round of the election of a new 57-member assembly.

Three parties are left in the contest being held under a new electoral system.

Walter Zweifel reports from the capital.

"The parties of Gaston Flosse, Oscar Temaru and Teva Rohfritsch are each desperately vying to come first as the winner will get 19 bonus seats and therefore a guaranteed absolute majority. The system was revised by Paris in a bid to avoid small majorities, which in the past decade have been prone to defections and shifting alliances that has led to a rotation of presidents. Today’s election comes amid a deep economic crisis, with a slump in employment and a rise in poverty that has engulfed about a third of the population. In the first round two weeks ago, the number of abstentions was higher...

Illegal power hook-ups facing aggressive enforcement action

By Giff Johnson

MAJURO, Marshall Islands (Marianas Variety, May 6, 2013) – The government power utility in the Marshall Islands has launched an aggressive campaign against illegal power use in the nation’s capital. But the Marshalls Energy Company’s enforcement action has come with a price: people do not like having free electricity taken away.

"Quite a few people have come into our office threatening to kill us," said general manager David Paul.

Paul said he believes these threats are from people who have been allowed to abuse power for years without any penalty. In spite of the threats to Marshalls Energy Company personnel, "we are still continuing to inspect people’s meters," he said. "We have to do it."

When meter readers find private customers abusing power, they have their power disconnected, the utility publishes their names in the local newspaper, and fines them $1,000 before they...

Co-mingling of Interior Department money with local revenue requested

By Fili Sagapolutele

PAGO PAGO, American Samoa (The Samoa News, May 3, 2013) – Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga wants Interior Department funding for American Samoa to co-mingle with local revenues and he will need to write an official request to the federal agency for consideration of this change.

Several years ago, DOI funding for ASG operations was sent directly to the local recipient, such as LBJ Medical Center, after the federal government raised concerns following complaints from LBJ and other recipients that they were not getting their money in a timely manner from the ASG Executive Branch.

The territorial leaders’ meeting held two weeks ago included Nikolao Pula, the Interior Department’s executive director for the Office of Insular Affairs. At last week's cabinet meeting, Lolo told directors that one of the items he raised with Pula during the leaders’ meeting was the issue of DOI’s...

Pacific Islands Development Program, East-West Center With Support From Center for Pacific Islands Studies, University of Hawai‘i

News Release

FSM Information Services Palikir, Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia

May 6, 2013

The FSM Office of Statistics, Budget and Economic Management, Overseas Development Assistance and Compact Management transmitted the Compact Trust Fund Committee’s recently released fiscal year 2012 annual report and audited financial statement to FSM President Manny Mori and FSM Congress Speaker Isaac V. Figir.

According to the Report, the trust fund ended the fiscal year (as of Sept. 30, 2012) with a significant gain in net asset value to $257.3 million- a 30 percent increase from the fiscal year 2011 amount of $198.5 million. The increase was due to a net investment gain of $35.3 million and a U.S. government contribution of $23.6 million.

Overall, the trust fund had a dollar weighted rate of return (minus...