Crisis in the Marshall Islands

While for many in the "western" world the cost of fuel has become something ranging from an inconvenient expense to a serious personal economic issue, in some parts of the world it is becoming a crisis.

One such place is the Marshall Islands, home of The Change 104.1FM, where the government has declared a State of (Econimic) Emergency which could see the government cutting all sales of diesel and coconut oil to private users to save it for government uses.

The Pacific Islands nation has enough power plant fuel to keep the lights on until the end of August.

But the national power utilities need to come up with US$8.5 million, to pay for last month's diesel shipment and a down payment on the next shipment, before their suppliers will deliver further fuel stocks.

The Marshalls Energy Company -projected to face an estimated shortfall of between US$17.5 million and $21 million over the next 12 months, close to 20 percent of the entire national budget - has told Cabinet that without an immediate cash injection, it cannot raise the funds required. And that is despite three electricity tariff increases since January.

The Change 104FM is already planning to diversify it's power sources. A meeting with Missionary Ventures (their partners in the Marshall Islands) is scheduled to discuss wind and solar power generation. Although this will require a large financial investment, it will save money in the long term and allow the ministry to be less affected by the local economy.

Already a donor has offered to pay for a wind generator (which can only be a partial solution because the Marshall Islands sometimes go many days without wind) and meetings have been scheduled with technicicans to evaluate and cost the project.

The Change FM has been broadcasting a general format Christian program in Majuro since April 2008. Missionary Ventures holds a national licence to extend the signal across the other small, populated islands of the Marshalls.

The Republic of the Marshall Islands is a nation of 62,000 people living on 5 small islands and 29 islets and atollsis located about half way between Hawai'i and Australia. The country is difficult to get to with few natural resources. Its economy is dependant on US aid. The islands of Bikini and Enewetak are former US nuclear test sites, and Kwajalein Island, the famous World War II battleground, is used as a US missile test range. The island of Ebeye is the second largest settlement in the Marshall Islands and because of its very small size, is one of the most densely populated places in the Pacific.

• UCB Pacific Partners
• Missionary Ventures