The
August 16 -29, 2023
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Kaselehlie Press
The
August 30, 2023
Free bi-weekly publication
KASELEHLIE PRESS PO Box 2222 Kolonia, Pohnpei, FM 96941
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Vol. 23 Issue No. 20
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Bipartisan US Congress delegation reinforces FSM ties amid geopolitical shifts By Bill Jaynes The Kaselehlie Press August 27, 2023 Pohnpei, FSM—The members of the bi-partisan United States House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources arrived last evening at the Pohnpei International Airport. Chaired by Bruce Westerman, a Republican representative of the State of Arkansas, the Committee members were in Pohnpei as part of their fact-finding and due diligence mission as they work on their report for the body of the whole on U.S. funding of the Compacts of Free Association with the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
of the members of the visiting committee participated in an exclusive interview with The Kaselehlie Press to outline the purpose of their mission and their views regarding the importance of the Compacts of Free Association given the current geopolitical climate in the Pacific region. The members of the committee that participated in the interview were Chairman Westerman; Indo-Pacific Task Force Chair Gregorio Kilili, a Democrat from the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas; Tom Tiffany, a Republican from the State of Wisconsin; Teresa Leger Fernandez, a Democrat from the State of New Mexico; Melanie Stansbury, also a Democrat from the State of New Mexico; Jim Moylan, a Republican from Guam; and, Harriet Hageman, a Republican from the State of Wyoming.
After meeting on Sunday morning with Members who did not participate in the interview but who FSM President Wesley Simina and Click here for continuation on page 4 members of the FSM Congress, several
US Congress Representatives Harriet Hageman, Tom Tiffany, Jim Moylan, Teresa Leger Fernandez, Chairman Bruce Westerman, Gregorio Kilili, and Melanie Stansbury answer questions for KPress Editor Bill Jaynes. US Embassy representative Andrew Posner also on Jaynes’ side of the table.
ONPA questions $13.3 million of payments under the Tourism Mitigation Fund and other matters By Bill Jaynes The Kaselehlie Press August 26, 2023 FSM—An audit released two days ago by the FSM Office of the National Public Auditor (ONPA) calls into question the expenditure of $13.3 million dollars of Tourism Sector Mitigation Funds (TMF). The fund, established by Congress in May 2020, was designed to relieve touristrelated businesses whose livelihoods were curtailed by the closure of the FSM border due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. It also was designed to aid employees who worked for those businesses who were laid off due to significantly decreased business during
that time. The ONPA audit made no mention of having referred any of its findings to its Compliance Investigation Division (CID). CID is the division of ONPA that performs investigations and refers any potential lawbreaking uncovered by an audit to the FSM Department of Justice for possible criminal prosecution. ONPA found “improper authorization of funds resulting in $13.3 million worth of questioned relief payments”. In this matter, the Auditor pointed out that the law setting up the fund and the regulations that promulgated it established a TMF committee to oversee. By regulation, the
members of the TMF committee were the FSM Secretaries for the Departments of Resources and Development, Finance and Administration, Justice, and Environment, Climate Change and Emergency Management. However, ONPA asserted that after only a short period of time, only one committee member, the Chair ended up making all the decisions regarding disbursements under the money in the fund. “The governance structure of the Fund was not aligned with the requirements of the law in terms of the duties and responsibilities of the Committee…As a result, $13.3 million worth of relief payments paid out by the Program may
be deemed as questionable and vulnerable to waste, misuse, or abuse. They were processed and paid not in accordance to the law,” the audit said. ONPA asked for a management response from the TMF Committee. Instead of the Committee response, they received an email from the Budget and Economic Advisor, who was not part of the committee. As a result, ONPA made no changes in its audit findings. The emailed response said that all payments were paid by the Department of Finance and Administration in full compliance with the approved TMF law and regulations. Click here for continuation on page 6