Planned policies to set direction

The first CNMI Fiscal Response Summit yesterday ended on a pragmatic note: Despite many disagreements, all in the community represents “One Commonwealth,” and everyone has to move forward together and address all differences along the way.

Leaders on the island—from all three branches of the government as well as the private sector—digitally congregated for days to discuss and carve out policy plans, in a collective effort to correct and improve the direction of the CNMI fiscally, and set the tone for the next three years.

The economic standing of the CNMI was at the forefront of the discussion and, according to Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, issues raised during the discussions included over-expenditure, travel, accountability, positions that need to be audited, and the right-sizing of the government.

‘Right time but difficult’

The governor disclosed that the fiscal summit gave rise to decisions that are difficult but necessary, in order for the CNMI to move forward.

“None of us want to furlough anyone, but at the same time we have to live within our means. …We’ve furloughed already close to 400 employees. …Unfortunately, more needs to be done,” the governor said, as he talked about measures that had been done and those that are yet to be implemented.

“We can sit here all day and blame each other, or we address and we acknowledge where are we at today, what are we facing, but more importantly, where do we go from here,” he added.

The overarching goal is to have the right number of employees, to ensure that the government obligation to provide safety, health, and education will continue to move forward.

“This is one Commonwealth, one direction, and one community. A lot of the decisions that’s been made, I’m sure that each one of us had some reservations or total disagreement, but at the end of the day, what is the most critical part is how do we move forward,” he said. “We have a lot of things that we need to move forward and address—there’s tax structure, annual leave, rebate, or the community chest funds.”

With legislations needed for the planned policies, Torres said he wants to continue to work with Speaker Blas Jonathan Attao (R-Saipan) and all the members of the House of Representatives, Senate President Victor B. Hocog (R-Rota) and the senators, as well as the Judiciary.

The governor also proposed a timeline—on May 14, July 14, and Sept. 14—for continued discussions and implementations to be made, based on the plans that the government has set, and was advised to do, during the summit.

“I hope that every time we meet, there is progress on both sides in making sure that we address the concerns, that, after this summit, there won’t be bloated government, that there won’t be over-expenditure on travel or other expenditures, and there is complete accountability.”