Setting a reform agenda for the Marshalls

By Glff Johnson By Glff Johnson

The opposition United Democratic Party - expected to throw off the

“opposition” monicker by

forming the government in the Marshalls in early January - campaigned on an anti-corruption, reform-oriented platform.

UDP spokesman Alvin Jacklick says it’s now time to make words a reality.

In a country where politicians have become used to special privilege and conflict of interest, his words may come as a bit of a shock.

Jacklick won reelection for his third term in the Nitijela during the November election, gaining the most votes ever - 855 - for a Jaluit senator.

While the mayor of Kwajalein Atoll in the 1980 s, Jacklick successfully established functioning community services for the first time on overcrowded Ebeye Island.

This led to a new look and community spirit for an island long called the “slum of the Pacific.”

“We asked the people to vote for us,”

Jacklick said of the aggressive UDP campaign. “Now that they’ve done that, we have to fulfill our obligation. What we promised the people, we have to do. If we don’t deliver, it will be a big fiasco for our

organisation.”

The UDP’s difficulty is its combination of, what Jacklick describes as, newcomers and oldtimers. It is made up of senators who have never been in cabinet, including Jacklick, and those who served in both Amata Kabua’s and Imata Kabua’s cabinet.

While the party is led by oldtimer Senator Litokwa Tomeing, it is many of the younger newcomers who are motivating the push for major reforms in government policies and operations.

Second-term UDP Senator Witten Philippo, a former chief justice of the high court, said he was pleasantly surprised to see others take up the mantle.

At a UDP meeting in late November, four other members hammered away in support of ministers and the president being required to divest themselves of all business interests, or not take up the posts. “For once it wasn’t me doing the talking,” he said.

Jacklick said while the UDP hasn’t yet completed its specific plan of action for the January session of parliament, these are the leading items on its “to-do” list: • To restore people’s confidence in government, cabinet ministers and the president need to divest themselves of business interests before taking the posts. • All laws that place cabinet ministers on boards of directors need to be amended to eliminate ministers’ presence on the boards of statutory agencies. Utility companies such as the National

Telecommunications Authority,

Marshalls Energy Company and others should have business-minded people appointed by the government to oversee their operations, not government ministers, Jacklick said. • Cabinet ministers who already have homes in Majuro will no longer be eligible for housing allowances. One of the perks for cabinet ministers has been the US$75O monthly housing allowance, regardless of whether the representative is from Majuro and has their own house.

“The November vote showed the public

was dissatisfied with how the government was handling its affairs,” Jacklick said. “If Marshallese were happy with the current administration, there would have been no reason to change.”

It’s up to UDP, he said, to restore not only the faith of Marshall Islanders in their government, but also that of the

international community.

The new government needs to address scandals involving hundreds of thousands of dollars in mismanaged or misused funds from the Social Security programme. There is also the scandalous sale of passports, and problems of discrimination in hiring practices involving the public service commission.

“What is being done right should be maintained,” he said. “What’s wrong has to be stopped. If we don’t do it, we’ll have to face the consequences (of the next election).”

The public has given the UDP a chance to reform the government, he said.

“We have to deliver. It’s critical at this stage to build the confidence of people in our government.” ■

UDP Senator Witten Philippo, former Chief Justice of the High Court

UDP spokesman Senator Alvin Jacklick