By B.B
For Horizon

We do not know what information the CRC (Compact Review Commission) has gathered during its many months of work in preparation for a "possible" second-round of talks with United States officials on the Second Compact Treaty we might have with that country. We say "possible" because we recall that a US Government official, on a recent trip to Palau, stated publicly that "there will be no Compact Renegotiation" when the current treaty expires. We do not know what that statement meant, but we believe it would be wise for the Republic to be prepared for any and all eventualities that would come up in the months ahead.
If the United States intends to simply renew the current Compact Treaty with everything intact, except that some dollar figures and obligations would be described in up-to-date languages, Palau might find it useful to let the treaty stand largely as it is today. For instance, if the fifty-three mile Babeldaob Compact road in the current Compact Treaty would be described as "fifty-three miles of secondary roads on Babeldaob", the residents of that island would most probably embrace that stipulation wholeheartedly.
But if the United States has a different ball game in mind when the current Compact Treaty expires, then we would need some very potent arguments, supported by unassailable facts and figures, to present to the U.S. side when we meet at some as yet unknown forums for bilateral discussions on the Compact issue. The areas that could provide us with some potent arguments would be the data and statistics on our population, facts and figures on our people’s state of health, and progress reports on the country’s economy, including its success or lack of it, in the agricultural sector and the fishing industry. All of these, and much more, could be obtained in a well-prepared nation-wide Census Program, which, to be effective and useful, must be conducted prior to the termination of the current Compact Treaty we have with the United States.
Even if we would not need these data and statistics for our talks with the United States, we would still need accurate information and statistics on our population, on our health and housing needs, and on the state of our agricultural and commercial enterprises, in order to plan intelligently for the coming decades.
At the very minimum, an up-to-date population count, which include statistics on age break-downs, would provide us accurate numbers with which to plan and budget for the construction of educational and health facilities and for the delivery of instructional and medical services in the years immediately ahead. Datas on other developmental areas would enable us to plan and build the necessary facilities that would be needed during the period after the First Compact Treaty with the United States.
Therefore, we highly recommend that the Olbiil Era Kelulau, working in close cooperation with the offices and agencies of the Executive Branch, should enact a law calling for a Nation-Wide Census in 2008 for the purpose of establishing up-to-date and accurate data and statistics on the Republic’s population, housing, agricultural, and commercial activities. Such a law should include appropriate funds to carry out the intent of the act within a specified time-frame.