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No one knows
There are a lot of concerns whether government agencies are doing their job well. It is obvious that there is a lot happening in the CNMI and people want assurance that all these will be good for everyone. It is hard to tell because government agencies have not informed the public how many development applications they have received and approved in the last two years. We don’t know how many hotel rooms have already been approved. We don’t know where these hotels are located.
Even in Garapan, the traffic is a mess. At one intersection, a project began with a square concrete building, got knocked down, began again and stopped again. Who is in charge of this construction? No one knows.
The Department of Labor says it will enforce the law—now. But I think everyone would agree that this department has a big job to inform the public about what the laws are and how they will be enforced because they are not enforced evenly. It should be the same rules for everyone but it doesn’t seem to be.
The new development is good but how much of it is there? No one knows.
Where will all the new development occur? No one knows.
The Legislature should be concerned about these kinds of issues and stop passing new laws after the mistakes have already happened. Most of these laws, most people would probably agree, are unnecessary and make paperwork worse for everyone for no good reason.
So government agency heads need to evaluate their programs, do their jobs, follow their own rules, stop making new rules, above all keep the public informed, and apply the rules evenly to everyone.
Since the CNMI does not print money, the government must prioritize expenditures based on its essential needs, like infrastructure, health and security. Crime is increasing and this is not good for the community. Health concerns are real and people die if the hospital doesn’t work right. Security is not just for homes, it’s for business too. All this publicity is bad for the CNMI but it is important that we all know what is happening here so we can change it.
Juan S. Tenorio (Santiago)
Dandan, Saipan
