Ombre Ga’chong: Thanks, front liners. Elected leaders, get off your bums and fix this mess!

By Lee Webber

The real core workers getting Guam moving again are the front line employees who are out there getting needed services back to their fellow community members.

Without these hard working and dedicated people the conditions on Guam would be far, far worse.

This is yet another example where the base of the pyramid is the location of the actual stability for those sitting at the top enjoying the fruits of the labor of those at the bottom.

What is so incomprehensible to this writer is the near total lack of dissemination of actually useful information by the government of Guam officials.

An example being, rather than clearly explaining when and where power and water are to be restored the community is given percentages restored.

This leaves the voting and taxpaying community hanging wondering where work is being conducted and where workers will be expected next.

If this were the first of such storms it would be easier to understand but as an example historically we have had trouble pumping water after storms because individual power generation system at wells have failed.

They have failed because those in charge have not done their due diligence in ensuring the systems were properly installed – based on previous storm history – and then tested monthly to ensure they were fueled and solidly encased and protected.

Given the number of significant typhoons we have had on Guam there is really no excuse for having to deal with the number of inoperable wells following the storm.

Then there is the general lack of the ability for government leadership to properly communicate with citizens as to the daily and even hourly status of infrastructure improvements as the island begins to return to some sense of normality.

There was far too much dependence on the use of the internet, when actually getting radio stations back in operation would have accomplished a much broader based of information distribution.

The general failure of the private internet, public power and water has left the community hungering for information on a consistent basis.

The ability for island leadership to be capable of broadly communicating with the masses is critical at times like this.

Getting elected into public office is the first step in a long journey to serving the people who pay your salary for ensuring their safety and welfare all the time, but particularly at times such as this.

Take a moment and look around you and see who bounced back to near normal operations and those who did not.

Those are the people and businesses that took the time to plan and prepare for disasters ahead of time so as not to have to suffer more than necessary after the event.

Such work takes planning and foresight and cannot be left to the weak at heart or the self-serving who want to simply nuzzle up to that large sow called the government of Guam for their comfort.

What politicians are out there meeting with and talking to their constituents to see how they are faring and asking what may be needed?

What elected officials are working behind the scenes to ensure adequate, consistent daily communication gets to the people so they know what to expect in the next 24 hours in their respective area?

It is time for all involved in communications to significantly harden their respective systems and for this government to take off the — let’s-have-fun-getting-elected gloves — and putting on their coveralls, work boots and gloves and plan for the future.

It is definitely time to ‘harden up Guam!”

Esta.

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Lee P. Webber is a businessman and civic advocate, the former publisher of the Pacific Daily News, a former president and publisher of the Honolulu Advertiser, and a former director of operations for USA Today International/Asia