The Rules of the Road in Chuuk

Hezel, Francis X. (2007-10-01). [www.micsem.org The Rules of the Road in Chuuk]. Micronesian Counselor (Report). Kolonia, Pohnpei: Micronesian Seminar. pp. 1–8.

• Has attachment: File:T8AGII53.pdf

Abstract: ...Manila traffic may bear some resemblance to the condition of the Chuuk State government in ways that will be clearer as you read on.

The truth is that Chuuk and Manila are two of my favorite places, but the bedlam in both can drive an outsider crazy. This is not to say that it doesn’t also test the patience of the resident. Indeed, the government gridlock in Chuuk is as frustrating to most Chuukese as the traffic situation in Manila was to those who battled traffic each day. But in both places, people simply learned to accept what they came to consider the inevitable. The total government debt in Chuuk, unpaid loans and liens included, is now estimated at about $35 million. The debt in the General Fund alone stands at about $27 million–worse than in the mid-1990s when the FSM National Government was forced to intervene. (See Figure 1) The annual deficit has grown to nearly $2.5 million, but it is hard to put exact figures on this because the government accounts are in such disarray. The accounting firm that was to have provided an audit of the Chuuk State government could not do so this year or last year because the data they had to work with was declared unauditable. The financial status of the state, bad enough during the last administration, has deteriorated further and is now judged a disaster...