Marshall Islands hopes to access Compact funds

BY GIFF JOHNSON
Marshall Islands Correspondent

MAJURO, Marshall Islands — Large funding streams under the Compact of Free Association for the Marshall Islands have yet to be released as the start of the third year of a 20-year funding package approaches.

Difficulty meeting the terms of the agreement have delayed release of funding for more than a year in two funding streams that, if endorsed by the United States, will inject $47 million into the Marshall Islands with the start of the new fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1.

President Hilda Heine, in an interview with the Journal in late July, expressed her optimism that several long-awaited multi-million dollar U.S.-funded programs will roll out come Oct. 1 this year. At the same time, she acknowledged that while the Marshall Islands has now done its part to submit paperwork needed to access funding, it is now in the hands of US officials to give the green light.

The two big programs with perhaps the most immediate impact on Marshall Islands citizens are the so-called “Enra” program or universal basic income distribution for all citizens in the country and the Extraordinary Needs Distribution program that will inject funding to 11 local governments for programs on remote outer islands.

“All the paperwork for the Enra program has been submitted,” she said. “I’m confident Enra will be implemented. We’ll have money issued no later than Dec. 1.”

Finance Secretary Ayako Yamaguchi-Eliou described details of the universal basic income program, noting that the quarterly payments are expected to be $200 per person, with about 33,000 people currently on the Enra registration list. The government has budgeted $27 million for this program for its first year of operation.

The Marshall Islands also submitted proposals for 11 atolls and islands for END funding of $20 million, the President said.

Foreign Minister Kalani Kaneko, in an interview, said a joint RMI-U.S. team worked literally into the 11th hour to ready the END package, getting it submitted 14 minutes before the July 15 deadline expired.

Heine said although the END proposal has been submitted, there still may be back and forth discussion on details with the U.S. before the joint U.S.-Marshall Islands Trust Fund Committee meets to review both the END and universal basic income plans. The trust fund group is expected to meet at the end of August. Heine said many of the 11 local government submissions were “pretty much approved,” while some may need to iron out details. “I’m hopeful the entire $20 million will be released (for the new fiscal year).”

Both Enra and END funding was available since last year, but it proved difficult to access due to various requirements of the Compact of Free Association agreement governing the two programs. 

A third funding stream in the Compact for the Ministry of Health and Human Services, like END and Enra, has also yet to be accessed.

A “Joint Health Dialogue” group, comprising both Marshall Islands and U.S. government representatives, “is still working on programs” to submit for review and approval by the U.S.,” the president said, adding that some have been accepted and she expects funding for those will move ahead Oct. 1. She said the entire amount — a $20 million one-time fund and an annual appropriation of $8 million — of $44 million may not be available for the upcoming fiscal year. 

In addition to the challenge for the Marshall Islands to meet Compact requirements, there were additional delays earlier this year as the new administration in Washington needed to appoint people for the various committees governing different funding streams in the Compact.

Other issues that remain unsettled, potentially impacting agreed-to services under the Compact, are the future of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, under which weather services are provided, Heine said.

“The whole issue of climate change and the U.S. position is concerning,” Heine said. On taking office in January, one of President Trump’s first actions was to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement, the second time he has done so. 

“We want to make sure the carbon emission level goes down but the U.S. is taking the opposite (position),” she said. “The U.S. administration is now focused on reducing use of clean energy and increasing the use of fossil fuels, she added. These are all the opposite of what the RMI is seeking.

“It’s a major issue for us to see the U.S. moving away from climate action,” she added.

The US anti-climate policies could potentially impact money in the Compact, which contains a funding stream establishing a $20 million fund to help the RMI “cope with challenges of climate impacts, including sea level rise…”

Heine pointed out that the U.S. has yet to appoint members of the committee to oversee $20 million of climate funding. 

She said for the upcoming fiscal year 2026, “we’ve been more focused on END, Enra, and the Ministry of Health and Human Services funding.”

She also pointed out that the lack of a Compact implementation office in Washington D.C. complicates implementation of Compact provisions in the Marshalls. 

“There are too many moving parts in the Compact and when there is no clear definition (of a provision), everyone waits,” Heine said. “It would be nice to have a Compact implementation office in Washington.” 

There is presently no Compact coordinating office in the U.S., which means the Marshall Islands sometimes deals with the U.S. Ambassador in Majuro, or Interior Department staff in Hawaii or Washington, or State or other agency people in the U.S., she said, adding that when new people are appointed to these offices or to specific Compact committees, “It’s back to square one because there is no (coordinating) office in the U.S..”

The president said Compact issues remain at the forefront for the Marshall Islands. “We want the Compact provisions fully implemented,” she said, adding that “two years later we are still struggling with them.” mbj