SPEAKER Judi Won Pat said yesterday the Japanese governments choice not to hold talks with lawmakers last Saturday in favor of a small meet-and-greet photo shoot was œdisrespectful.
The senators were supposed to hold a brief dialogue with Japan Senior Vice Minister of Defense Jun Azumi and his delegation at 2 p.m. that day.
But in the morning, the Speakers office received a phone call from a staffer of the Consul General of Japan saying the scheduled 30-minute meeting between senators and Azumi was changed to a small meet-and-greet photo opportunity.
Won Pat said she was also informed that then Acting Governor Dr. Mike Cruz did not get any notification that the Vice Minister would be visiting Guam, or any information regarding a courtesy visit.
œWe have real concerns, and deserve an opportunity for a real conversation with the Vice Minister, stated Speaker Won Pat. œChanging this to a photo opportunity is disrespectful. Japan made an agreement with the U.S."excluding Guam"to relocate their Okinawan base to our island. Japan has yet to sit down with our elected officials.
Japan and the United States agreed to relocate approximately 8,600 American troops from Okinawa to Guam.
Many outstanding issues need to be addressed, like funding for and timing of the buildup, said Won Pat.
œWe have too much at stake, and too many outstanding issues with both Japan and the United States, continued the Speaker. œWhen they are ready for an actual conversation, we will be too. The Japanese government has committed $740 million in infrastructure upgrades, but how those funds will be identified remains uncertain.
Because the envisioned wastewater disposal improvement project is expected to lose money, the loans for funding the project, if made, could wind up having to be covered by Japanese taxpayer money, according to the Daily Yomiuri.
The only entity in charge of running water and wastewater systems here is the Guam Waterworks Authority which has been debt-stricken in its wastewater services, primarily due to low revenues from sewage bills, a U.S. government report said.
The report suggested that GWA would be unable to repay the sewage system-related part of the loans, saying, œthe ability of GWA to secure necessary funding [for the projects] remains a key concern and a potential impediment to the marines transfer plans to Guam.
In the event of GWA failing to secure the loans from the Japanese government, it would become inevitable for the U.S. Defense Department to œdelay or not issue construction contractsuntil such time as the financing is received from the government of Japan, the report noted.
Such a development œwould severely impact the construction pace and the ability of [the U.S.] Navy to complete required construction to support the Marine Corps relocation from Okinawa to Guam, the report added.
Under the 2006 Tokyo-Washington agreement, the Japanese government promised to make loans worth $740 million dollars to utility operation entities in Guam to improve the islands infrastructure, on the understanding that the repayment would be made via utility fees paid by U.S. military personnel on the island and Guam citizens.
A U.S. report filed in court details how much is needed to upgrade Guams utilities:
" Of the $740 million dollars in loans, $415 million to $435 million dollars would be used for funding the sewage project. " $160 million to $165 million dollars would go for tap water system improvement plans. " $160 million to $170 million dollars would be for funding improvement of the islands electric power supply facilities.
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Halo Sobat, Nama Saya Sofyan Syah, Memulai Dunia Blogging Sejak Nov 2011, Meskipun Masih Baru terjun di Dunia Blogging, Saya tidak patah semangat Untuk menjadi Yang terbaik dari yang Terbaik, karena saya yakin, Tidak ada hal yang tidak Mungkin.Buat saya Blogging Is My Life.Senang rasanya jika sobat sudah Berkunjung di blog ini.
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