Palau gets $5.4 million under Compact, other grants

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Acting Interior assistant secretary Nikolao Pula made available $5,463,578 to the Republic of Palau, most of which is the balance of remaining Compact grant assistance for fiscal year 2017.

Approximately $400,000 is provided through the technical and maintenance assistance programs in the Office of Insular Affairs to help update land surveying and mapping capabilities at the Palau Bureau of Lands and Survey and maintenance training at the Palau Community College for the next three years.

“We are honored to provide assistance to Palau President Tommy Remengesau, Jr., on behalf of the U.S. under the Compact of Free Association,” said Pula. “Furthermore, we are pleased to support proper land planning and management, as well as training in maintenance and infrastructure-upkeep. Both are critical to Palau as an island nation.”

The Bureau of Lands and Survey will receive $324,268 to upgrade systems, equipment, instruments, and computers and modernize the existing Land Information System. The bureau provides logistical support to the Palau Land Court, Public Lands Authority and their relevant counterparts in all 16 states. The bureau is responsible for preparing all official survey drawings, property examinations and survey computations, including map reproduction and printing. Funds will help improve capabilities for conducting land surveys in Palau and provide for digitization of records dating back to the Japanese administration prior to World War II.

All improvements will strengthen an important public service and aid leaders in planning and decision-making for efficient land-use management and protection.

The Palau Community College will receive $75,000 to provide three years of maintenance and infrastructure-upkeep related training at the college, Palau’s only postsecondary educational institution. The goal is to meet technical and maintenance needs throughout the island nation and to promote local capacity building in infrastructure and public utility services.

The project was endorsed by the Minister of Public Infrastructure, Industries and Commerce, the Public Utilities Corp., the Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Tourism, and four state governors, all citing the program’s direct effect on improvement of employee competencies and budget savings. The PCC provides logistical support as well as additional financial support for the program.

The Palau government itself will receive $5,064,310, which brings the total fiscal year 2017 Compact grant payment to Palau to $13,147,000. The Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 (U.S. Public Law No. 111-88 Sec.122) and subsequent discretionary appropriations acts have continued to extend economic assistance to Palau within OIA current budget authority since the financial assistance provisions of the U.S.-Palau Compact (U.S. Public Law 99-658) expired in 2009.

Funds are provided to assist the government of Palau in its efforts to advance the wellbeing of the people of Palau and in recognition of the special relationship that exists between the United States and Palau.

The U.S. and Palau signed a Palau Compact Review Agreement in 2010, which proposed continued financial assistance through 2024 and is still awaiting approval by the U.S. Congress. (DOI)