Taxpayers’ funded junket to Philippines

By Kambes Kesolei

What are the commitments as a representative of the people?

The data provided by the 2009 Household Income Survey raise questions of those who ought to be the ones most aware of the plight of their own people and whether they are doing enough to improve the lives of their citizens.

In Koror, there are 136 Palauan families with no source of income and another 363 who are hard pressed to make ends meet at an income of $5,000 a year or less. Are we doing enough?

The legislators seem incapable of dealing with an operating annual budget larger than the block grants allocated to all of the states combined. Hamlet roads are deteriorating and crimes involving youth are increasing. Several businesses have closed or on the verge of closing down but it is business as usual at the state level. Thanks to ill-conceived belief that national government will intervene to solve every problem faced, which means that, the legislators have no incentive to roll up their sleeves and begin to work for betterment of the state and the people.  What should state legislators do in this crisis?

If you’re from Koror, the choice is easy — take a junket to Manila and Davao!

Earlier this month, a group of Koror Legislators and Koror Planning Commissioners with their staff and attorney flew for a week long sojourn in Manila to attend an investment conference with such topics as Presentation on Global Crisis; The Investment Conundrum; Active, Passive and other Investments Solutions; Corporate Governance Issue, Facing Investment Fiduciaries; Protection against Risk System Financial Meltdown, Emerging Market Investing and Outlook. These are high level topics of business and investment that truth be told, only handful of Palauans are equipped with proper training and experience to follow and understand. And what did Koror State citizens benefited in return for the tax payer funded trip?

Perhaps, to make the trip worthy of its cost a seminar should have been conducted for prospective officials to at least equip them with the necessary information to get the most out of the important conferences. There are Palauans who are capable of giving seminars on such subject. The CFO’s of PNCC, PPUC, PCC, FIC Commissioner Decherong, NDBP President Kaleb Udui, Jr., Social Security and CSPP Administrators, PPUC GM Ken Uyehara, Ambassador Jackson Henry to name some who could prepare Palau government officials with the basics.

After the Manila conference, the large entourage of seven legislators and their attorney, two commissioners and a staff continued their way down to Davao to conduct inspections of the convoy of ships supposedly to be moored by Kuabesengas for monthly fee. If these Koror legislators want to inspect the condition of the ships, there are local expertise and resources that could be accessed that can provide all of the information needed at the moment and at the fraction of the cost.  Two Palauans that comes quickly to mind are Captain Arvin Raymond and Hayes Moses of the Bureau of Commercial Development. The cost saved could perhaps save a job or two in this economy.

Koror deserves much more from their legislators offering real solutions and exercise prudent stewardship over funds entrusted to their care from the people.