KPress Vol. 10 Iss. 16
Jaynes, Bill (2010-07-12). KPress Vol. 10 Iss. 16 (PDF) (Report). Kolonia, Pohnpei: Kaselehlie Press.
- Has attachment: File:EN8DXGQE.pdf
Abstract: KPress Vol. 10 Iss. 16: NEWS: FSM Congress debated proposals to “find the rest” of national revenue by looking to the sea, including consideration of restricting access to the FSM Exclusive Economic Zone and bidding fishing rights on an exclusive basis to a single foreign country, with controversy arising after initial language suggested the People’s Republic of China before Congress revised the resolution to remove that reference; infrastructure and procurement reporting covers renewal of bonding requirements for Compact-funded projects, a move that eliminated some local contractors from eligibility and followed concerns that certain FSM construction projects had not been successfully completed, with a pre-bid conference held for three Pohnpei school projects valued between $1 million and $5 million and contracts awarded through the FSM Project Management Unit to firms including PLEC and VCS; governance coverage reports continued legislative dissatisfaction with changes to FSM Telecommunications Corporation board-selection authority, highlighting state claims of proprietary interests based on state-owned easements and infrastructure used by FSMTC, and noting presidential statements that the national government must seriously consider those claims despite insufficient information to confirm them; telecommunications policy reporting situates the dispute within broader regulatory activity focused on FSMTC’s monopoly status, referencing statements made by TC&I officials during a regional ICT-for-development conference in Tonga where FSM delegates outlined national positions on telecommunications governance; OPINION / EDITORIAL: commentary summarizes arguments presented in presidential correspondence urging maintenance of the status quo on FSMTC board composition pending further deliberation among national and state governments, references recent resolutions passed by the Pohnpei State Legislature related to the issue, and includes perspectives from local contractors advocating coordinated representation to national and state leaders regarding infrastructure procurement policy.
