A radical course change is laid out for steering the Nitijela (parliament) and the Marshall Islands efficiently and effectively into a better, sustainable future for Aelin Kein Ad (Our Islands), said Speaker Alvin Jacklick in launching the parliament’s first ever corporate plan.
Jacklick is calling for major changes to the Constitution and laws of the Marshall Islands and to Nitijela rules to affect reforms aimed at cutting the membership of the 33-seat parliament by 30 percent, beefing up accountability requirements for elected and other government leaders by requiring full financial disclosure and establishing a special prosecutor as a watch dog, and creating a legislative and regulatory environment to support business development, stimulate development opportunities for outer islands communities, and increase the number of women in local and national leadership positions.
Jacklick took over as speaker last September in a shakeup instigated by a vote of no-confidence.
Although still in a minority of reform minded leaders, Jacklick is joined by two other members of parliament in pushing change: Finance Minister Jack Ading recently gained cabinet approval for management changes in state owned enterprises, while Public Accounts Committee Chairman Sen. Frederick Muller called on the government to halt subsidizing non-performing agencies of government. Muller is calling for the government¹s auditor general to conduct regular performance audits because he says it is apparent that many government entities are underperforming or not performing.
Jacklick’s reform plan has been issued just a year from a national election in 2011.
“Unfortunately we are on the clock,” said Jacklick. “The time to remedy the ailments in our nation is rapidly running out and we can no longer afford to conduct the business of the Nitijela as it has been done in the past.”
He expressed worry about the country’s heavy reliance on foreign aid that now accounts for two-thirds of the country’s annual budget of $130 million, and a bloated government workforce that consumes about 30 percent of the budget but is not producing results.
The speaker said future leaders must put politics aside and subscribe to and support the implementation of the priorities articulated in this plan.
“To do otherwise puts the future of our nation and the well-being of our people in serious jeopardy,” he said.
