Opinion

Pohnpei’s new “government” website—a work in progress

“Welcome to the Official Website of Pohnpei State Government,” the home page of the website at www.pohnpeimet.fm says. The website was published to the international web community on July 5, 2010, according to Pohnpei State Public Affairs Officer Heinrick Stevenson. At the top of the screen, the words, “Peace, Unity, Transparency” and “Accountability” float by one at a time from left to right before they fade away, superimposed over the word,“Kaselehlie,” the beautiful and meaning filled greeting so often taken for granted by many of us who use it. Though the website has been published for the world to see, it’s obvious that it is a work still in progress. The home page of the new website, along with several others pages doesn’t quite fit horizontally on a computer screen. The drop-down headings don’t fit in their spaces. Neither do the menus below the headings. Additionally, the website isn’t, in the fullest interpretation of what the word “government” means in FSM, the official website of the “Pohnpei State Government” since only the Executive Branch is represented. “The website is designed primarily to inform and to share with the people of Pohnpei and the general public true and realistic information concerning what the government (executive branch) is doing, and at the same time to seek public input and guidance on how best we can improve delivery of public services to those that we serve,” says the message written by Pohnpei State’s Governor John Ehsa which dominates the home page. Under the heading of “Latest News” on the home page are the words, “Welcome Governor Ehsa from your trip from South Korea,” followed by the words writ in blue, “Contact us…” At least in its start up phase the website doesn’t have a great deal to offer yet and though “contact,” as Governor Ehsa said in his message, is the purpose for the site it is also a missing component. While every page has an alluring blue lettered, “Contact Us,” clickable link, the link doesn’t work. I clicked the blue letters, filled in the requested information boxes including my name and email address and wrote a fairly long comment in the box provided for that purpose and clicked submit. The next page that came up said, “The contact form you are testing needs to be setup.” Apparently, the Allwebco template hasn’t actually been finished by the designer of the website so no contact can yet be made by the website without sending an email by other means. I clicked the link that said This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it under the heading “email us” and the email address that popped up in my Outlook Express page showed the address This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Two days after writing to that email address there still has not been a response, which, I suppose is not too surprising given that there currently is little to no Internet access in the new Pohnpei State Government Complex. Indeed, the spreadsheet formatted page that represents the Executive Directory lists the names of some of the people working at the top levels of government but contained absolutely no information as to how to contact them. Though the spread sheet implies that there should be, there are no recorded fax numbers, no home, cell or office phone numbers and, not a single email address. News is currently scant on the new website. At press time one could find out which four bills were signed by Governor Ehsa last month but you can’t read the bills. Some websites carry disclaimers and the new Pohnpei State website is no exception, “Any person who intends to use the information is hereby advised to confirm its accuracy with Pohnpei State Office of the Governor or the party to which the information is related, before acting on that information.” I suppose that this means that whoever the webmaster is has carte blanche to post whatever he or she wants to post without having to worry too terribly much as to whether it’s accurate. It’s probably not what they meant but that was my immediate knee jerk interpretation. Under the heading “Pohnpei Met” are the following words: “Our objective is to provide a better life for our people, to live in a healthy environment and to live a long prosperous lives in Pohnpei.” There is a box devoted to “What's New in Pohnpei,” that takes up a good portion of the left side of the computer screen. The box below it says, “Click on the resources links in this website to find out more about opportunities, programs, projects and much more here in Pohnpei State.” Why not leave those boxes out and save the screen space? Having said all of these things, the Governor’s office is to be congratulated for making the effort to have a new website. It seems like a natural thing to do since so many Pohnpeians rely on the Internet to get news about goings on their homeland. With the arrival of high speed communications in the FSM more and more Pohnpeians who still live here are connecting to the Internet for information. I applaud the Governor’s office for making this effort and look forward to great improvements in the site in days to come. The website is miles better than the non-existent one that was available a few days ago. It’s been a long time since the Pohnpei Governor’s Office has had a website. Former Governor Johnny David had one that can still be found online at www.fm/PohnpeiGov. The date of the last press release on that site was 2006. The Pohnpei Legislature has a website (www.fm/PohnpeiLeg) as well but until today I had no idea that its use had been diverted for use by the now adjourned Second Pohnpei Constitutional Convention that began in 2009. Before that time the last update of the Pohnpei Legislature website had been in 2005 as far as I could see. The Kosrae Legislature has a website (http://www.kosraelegislature.org/) but I didn’t see any updates on that site more recent than 2008. I did see a notice on the site saying that due to staff shortages the Kosrae legislature was behind in its updates of bills and other information. “We expect to have everything back to normal shortly,” the webpage says. Apparently that function is the responsibility of John McKenzie, who as the Attorney for Kosrae’s Legislature must be up to his neck in paperwork and has very little if any support staff. I couldn’t find a website for the Kosrae Governor’s office. I also could find no governmental websites for Chuuk State. By far, the most up to date and best produced State website I found for the FSM was the Yap State Government page (www.yapstategov.org.) It takes a while to load up on a dial up line but the information in it is practically up to the minute. Every link in it works. I was able to sign up for a daily news update from Yap State Government. Immediately after signing up I checked my email and there was a welcome message for the service for which I’d just signed up. Larry Raigetal, who is in charge of Yap’s Department of Youth and Civic Affairs said that the website was started two years ago, using Compact Capacity Building Sector Grant money for the startup. Garrett Johnson serves as the webmaster for the site. Though the Yap webpage has a disclaimer similar to the one on Pohnpei’s website I was able to find out how to apply for a foreign investment permit something that isn’t on the Pohnpei State website. The only mention of Foreign Investment on Pohnpei’s site is an incomplete sentence. It would be petty to overly criticize a startup website because of typos or grammatical errors so I won’t do it. I did, however, find the description of Pohnpei’s economy to be quite informative even if I didn’t really quite understand what was being said despite having lived here for nearly 10 years. “Pohnpei has a typical mixed economy consisting mostly of government, households and businesses. The economy can best be described as a blend of subsistence and economic dependency.” Perhaps in time, the Pohnpei Governor’s site will be just as good as Yap’s. They might have waited to release the site until it was fully functional but they didn’t choose to do so. But then, there is a website and that’s a very good start.

 
Obsidian
Antiquated sewer system continues to cause problems in Pohnpei PDF Print E-mail
Written by Bill Jaynes   
Friday, 12 June 2009

PUC receives ADB loan to upgrade and expand the sewer system

closeupsewage.jpgPohnpei, FM – Imagine sitting down at home for a relaxing evening on your porch. The gentle breeze runs its cooling fingers across your skin. Moon glow sparkles on the soft ripples of Pohnpei’s peaceful lagoon. The stars are only just the slightest bit dimmer because of the company of that great light of the night. It’s a wonderful evening marred only by one bothersome problem that simply can’t be ignored. You turn to your loved one who is at your side, set to enjoy a pleasant evening together and whisper, though you’re not entirely certain that you should, “Honey, what’s that awful smell?” “I am so glad you asked,” she groans. “I didn’t want to say anything. I thought it was you!” The cloying odor of raw sewage is an all too familiar smell for some residents of Pohnpei, particularly for residents who live anywhere near the overflow pipes of Pohnpei Utility Company’s sewer system. When pumps at any of the seven “lift stations” fail in the PUC sewer system in Kolonia and in parts of Nett, raw sewage dumps out of overflow pipes into rivers or into the lagoon. The pipe in what has come to be called “China Town” dumps directly into the lagoon in the water behind Do It Best Hardware. Whether or not the overflow pipes dump directly into the lagoon that is where the raw sewage ultimately ends up. Lift stations are pumping stations that move raw sewage through the sewer lines on to the treatment plant. Because of the age of Pohnpei’s pumps and the lack of spare parts, the pumps fail frequently. They run on electricity and when the power to the pumps fails, the pumps stop. Gravity takes over and the sewage runs out of the overflow pipes directly into a river or into the lagoon. When power is restored the pumps do not automatically restart. They must be manually reset before they can start their seemingly invisible but vital work again. One resident of Komwunlaid said that he has been pestering PUC, EPA, and any government official whose ear he can get for help in solving the problem in his area. When overflow pipes at the lift pumps situated on land near the INS Store stop working, copious amounts of raw sewage dump directly into a river. The river flows into the mangrove which is next to his house. Not only is the stench oftentimes unbearable but he says that he worries about the health risk especially in a time when cases of Hepatitis A are once again appearing in Pohnpei. He said that the problem has been ongoing for at least twenty years.

Last Updated ( Saturday, 11 July 2009 )
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Ehsa says of his campaign promise, “It’s a go next school year” PDF Print E-mail
Written by Bill Jaynes   
Friday, 12 June 2009

Governor Ehsa holds his third press conference in Pohnpei

 

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Peilapalap, Pohnpei – June 5, 2009 - Pohnpei’s Governor John Ehsa held the third press conference of his administration in the Governor’s Conference room at 11:00 on June 5, 2009. The event was broadcast live on V6AF, the Baptist Radio Station and retransmitted by the State radio station V6AH. He said that he held the conference so that “we could tell ourselves (his administration) that we are being transparent.” Governor Ehsa has made it a practice to make himself available to the press and has not been afraid to field difficult questions. His first press conference was held on May 23, 2008. He said at the time that to the best of his knowledge, it was the first press conference held by a Pohnpei Governor since Trust Territory days.

Ehsa announced that the school lunch program that he promised during his campaign for the office of Governor will begin in August with the next school year for grades 4-12. He said that he knew that the people of Pohnpei had become impatient waiting for the promised program to start. He had not wanted to start the program until he could be sure that it was sustainable. Though there are still some specifics to be arranged the program will start in August with the new school year for students in grades 4 through 12. Ehsa said that meals would cost the state 63 cents per meal for a total of $800,000 for the school year. The projected cost for the program including staff and other overhead expenses is expected to be $1.2 million per year.

Last Updated ( Saturday, 11 July 2009 )
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Executive submits Budget for FY 2010 sans compact sectors PDF Print E-mail
Written by FSM Congress Public Information Office   
Friday, 12 June 2009

PALIKIR, POHNPEI. May 25, 2009 – Speaker Isaac V. Figir of the Sixteenth Congress of the Federated States of Micronesia issued a strong statement during today’s session, in response to the proposed budget bill for the national government for fiscal year 2010. A budget bill, unprecedented in the history of the Congress of the Federated States of Micronesia, was received at the Office of the Speaker on May 22, 2009, containing only those areas of the 2010 National Government Budget funded by local revenues. The bill proposes the appropriation of $30,459,405 to fund the operations of the three branches, the agencies, the various programs, grants, subsidies and contributions of the FSM national government for upcoming fiscal year 2010 which begins on October 1, 2009.

Last Updated ( Saturday, 11 July 2009 )
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FSM National Taskforce on Influenza A (H1N1) Recommends Cancelling Airport Screening PDF Print E-mail
Written by FSM Information Servives   
Friday, 12 June 2009

In a letter to President Mori, the President’s H1N1 National Taskforce has given a recommendation to cancel airport screenings for passengers who may be infected with the H1N1 Influenza A virus. The Taskforce has based their recommendation on “evidence from other countries, the experience of FSM public health staff, and the science of H1N1,” as stated in the letter. The letter further stated that despite good intentions, the current passengers screening for H1N1 at points of entry (particularly airports) that the FSM States are currently doing has become a burden on the public health resources for some of the states. For example, multiple staff members have been diverted from their usual program duties (tuberculosis, diabetes, maternal and child health, etc.) in order to conduct daily airports screening activities.

As the number of H1N1-affected areas increases, so does the number of passengers undergoing individual screening. At the same time, it has long been recognized that passenger screening CANNOT prevent the introduction of the H1N1 to our country. This has been emphasized repeatedly by international agencies, particularly the World Health. It has also been demonstrated by the fact that Japan, despite conducting temperature screening on every single arriving passenger, has acquired the greatest number of cases of any Asia-Pacific country.

At best it will detect a small number of symptomatic cases, while most cases go undetected (because they are still in the incubation period). In the Southeast-Asia region, of 1.7 million passengers passing through checkpoints, only 3 patients with H1N1 have been picked up through passenger screening. Based on the above mentioned examples and based on the latest information and sciences of H1N1 available, it is recommended that the current active passenger screening for H1NI at the points of entry be discontinued, unless surplus resources are clearly available. It is far more important that limited resources be channeled toward hospital preparedness, good surveillance for influenza-like-illness, and public education. While President Mori endorses the H1N1 National Taskforce’s recommendation and supports the plan to focus more on hospital and other public health countermeasures instead, he has also asked the taskforce to continue monitoring what is going on in our neighboring islands, especially Guam and Hawaii, and periodically review if additional actions are necessary.

Last Updated ( Monday, 29 June 2009 )
 
Graphic images discourage smokers PDF Print E-mail
Written by Secretariat of the Pacific Community   
Friday, 12 June 2009

 Noumea, New Caledonia, 29 May 2009 – With ‘World No Tobacco Day’ on Sunday (May 31), it is a good time to remind Pacific nations of the effectiveness of showing smokers graphic images of the physical effects of their habit. Adding these images to tobacco packaging is a well-tried method of discouraging people from smoking. An adviser on tobacco control at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Ms Jeanie McKenzie, said in Noumea yesterday (Friday May 29) that some countries that have ratified the World Health Organization (WHO) 2005 Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) have not yet fully adopted its recommendations on packaging and labelling of tobacco products.smoking.jpg

“In Asia, Europe and Australia, the graphic images that appear on cigarette and tobacco packaging have had a big impact. I’m hoping that Pacific countries will take note of this and fully implement the FCTC guidelines. They recommend health warnings cover at least half of the packaging.” She said pictorial health warnings are an important part of WHO’s six key strategies to fight the global tobacco epidemic. Many countries had already introduced new regulations requiring graphic pictorial health warnings on all tobacco packaging. Research indicates that most smokers only recall well-known illnesses caused by smoking and that they significantly underestimate its other health risks. Written warnings such as ‘Smoking is addictive’ and ‘Smoking Kills’, were often just not recalled by smokers, she said. However, studies have shown that large pictorial health warnings were the most effective way for tobacco packages to convey the range and severity of risks associated with tobacco use. Of the 14 Pacific island countries that have ratified the agreement since 2005, some are developing their regulations but none have fully implemented the guidelines.

Ms McKenzie said the prevalence of smoking in the Pacific region varied considerably from country to country. She said recent survey data from Pacific Island countries suggested that around a third of adults in Polynesian countries were daily smokers, most of them men. For example, in American Samoa almost 40% of all men smoked every day. Smoking was also common among young men. In Fiji, almost 4 in every 10 young men aged 15 to 25 were smokers, with half of them smoking daily. Ms McKenzie said the use of pictures was effective for all types of smokers, not just those with access to more education and information. Surveys consistently found that most smokers themselves agreed the images were effective. “A picture is worth a thousand words,” she said.

Last Updated ( Monday, 29 June 2009 )
 
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