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JEMCO Adopts Seven Resolutions at Midyear Policy Meeting

Palikir, Pohnpei (FSM Office of SBOC): April 7, 2011 - The Joint Economic and Management Committee (JEMCO) met on March 24-25, 2011 in San Francisco, California for its 2011 Midyear Policy Meeting. While midyear meetings have been called in previous years, this was the first ever policy-oriented midyear meeting. The outcome of the Midyear Meeting includes a series of seven unanimous resolutions addressing various issues, ranging from guidelines for unallocated funds to better aligned and necessary improvements in the education sector and the creation of a sector grant for enhanced reporting and accountability.

Chairman Nikolao Pula noted in his opening remarks that a third of the Amended Compact's funding period is over and called on JEMCO to assess performance over the past seven years. "I'd like us to ask ourselves questions that jog our minds in new and creative directions. For example, have our actions thus far served the best interests of the Amended Compact agreement between the Federated States of Micronesia and the United States? Have we done what we can to assist the country's goals to improve education services and facilities, and to move toward budgetary self-sufficiency?"

In his opening remarks, Vice Chairman Lorin S. Robert similarly encouraged JEMCO to think creatively about how to increase the effectiveness of Compact funds. "We need to work on 'spending smarter' as opposed to 'spending more.' Simply throwing money at problems will not fix them." At the end of the meeting, both Chairman Pula and Vice Chairman Robert noted that the meeting had an overall positive tone that produced a tangible outcome document, encapsulating the collaborative nature of the bilateral relationship between the FSM and the US.

Among the issues discussed was the creation of a "seventh sector" under the Amended Compact, which was first proposed and endorsed in March 2010 by the State and National Leadership Conference. The new sector is envisioned as an attempt to improve the financial and performance requirements under the Amended Compact.

In letters sent to the four States after the meeting, President Mori thanked the Governors and their key staff for their contributions to the satisfactory outcome of the meeting and indicated his hope that the same type of collaborative efforts and support will become the standard for all future JEMCO Meetings.

To request a full copy of the Midyear JEMCO Outcome document, Chairman Pula and/or Vice Chairman Robert's Opening Remarks or for further information, please contact the Division of Compact Management at the Office of Statistics, Budget and Economic Management, Overseas Development Assistance & Compact Management (SBOC) at (691) 320-6260 or email slowe@sboc.fm.