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Fitial to meet with House leadership today
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Posted on Jun 29 2011
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial will meet today with members of the House of Representatives leadership on a host of issues that could include financial challenges and means to generate revenue and cut spending.
“It will be an open dialogue. We want to hear from the governor, and we want the governor to hear us,” said House Speaker Eli Cabrera (R-Saipan).
He said he will raise with the governor the delays in the permitting process faced by foreign investors.
“We want to know whether there’s something the Legislature can do to ensure that the application of investors do not get delayed. Maybe there are laws that need to be amended or the agencies need to change the regulations,” Cabrera said.
He said a group of Japanese investors, for example, has been waiting for months for their permit applications to be approved.
“But the problem is, they’re not even told where the delay is, or which agency has problems with their application,” said Cabrera.
He added that the investor group will be pulling out of the CNMI if the application is not approved by September. They will move to either the Philippines or Bali, Indonesia.
Press secretary Angel Demapan said he has yet to see an agenda for this meeting.
“But the governor would definitely like to discuss matters relating to the budget and the economic challenges that continue to impact the Commonwealth,” he said.
House Ways and Means Committee chair Ray Basa (Cov-Saipan) said he wants to hear from the governor whether there are changes to the $102 million budget package for fiscal year 2012, among other things.
He said the governor may also discuss about other investors eyeing the CNMI, including one group planning to undertake an alternative power project.
As of late yesterday afternoon, there’s no final venue yet for the meeting that the House leadership requested.
The House leadership also invited Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos to the closed-door meeting but the latter won’t be able to join due to previous commitments.
