CDA cuts funding to BDC

The Commonwealth Development Authority yesterday terminated its annual grant agreement with the Northern Marianas College’s Business Development Center which funds the graduate internship program.

According to CDA Board Chair John S. Tenorio, the decision was fueled by the failure of NMC-BDC to carry out its program this year.

Mr. Tenorio said he was disappointed with the outcome of the program, having attracted only three interns this year despite funding of $93,000 by CDA. The Center usually receives eight to 12 students every year from the U.S. mainland who assist BDC in helping local residents in their businesses.

“I don’t think it is working and we are very disappointed. It is not even reaching many of our clients,” he said. By terminating the program, Mr. Tenorio explained the agency could realign funds to other programs that will benefit local businessmen in areas of taxation, investment workshops –– programs he said could be well taken care of by the Saipan Chamber of Commerce.

Due to the problems confronting one of its programs, the local Small Business Development Center, BDC failed to secure funding for the 1999 graduate internship program, delaying their recruitment of the needed student-interns, said Eric Plinske, acting director of the Center.

From only $20,000 grant in 1995, CDA’s financial assistance jumped to $94,000 in 1998.

But the termination of the grant agreement was largely viewed as an offshoot of the ongoing controversy in connection with the transfer of the SBDC program from NMC to CDA.

Mr. Tenorio lambasted NMC-BDC officials for insinuating that CDA was involved in backdoor negotiations to ensure the transfer of the program to his office.

The subcontract NMC’s SBDC with the University of Guam’s Pacific Islands Small Business Development Center Network has been going on for the past five years. However, the contract will not be renewed when it expires on December 31, 1999.

“I just wanted to handle the SBDC program because I do not want to lose the federal funding,” said Mr. Tenorio. When CDA handles the spending authority for the SBDC program, Mr. Tenorio promised that there will be no merging of funds, a practice which he said has been going on for many years under NMC.

“When you keep on doing this, you run into so many problems which complicate matters,” he said.

Since he is not entirely closing the door on NMC, Mr. Tenorio said he will continue providing grants to the internship program when CDA takes over the handling of funds for the Center.

“Whatever personal vendetta the College has against Jack Peters and vice versa, I hope they do not drag CDA into this. This is just a personality problem among them,” said Mr. Tenorio. He said the controversy surrounding the SBDC program has become an embarrassment since Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio was even dragged into the mess.

“We should take him out of this. There are more important things that he should be doing than be bothered with this problem,” he added. The CDA chief was angry at insinuations that his office was involved in any conspiracy to take the BSDC program out of NMC.

Plinske had earlier said that he had already sensed that there were negotiations behind their back for the transfer of the program to CDA when Mr. Peters tried to ease him out of the scheduled meeting on June 10, 1999 attended by Andrew K. Poepoe, Honolulu district director, and Ken Lujan, Small Business Administration Guam branch manager, with CDA officials.

“So the lid was blown off. Whatever topic or agenda they had was changed and not discussed because I was there,” said Mr. Plinske.

NMC President Agnes McPhetres said the College will just have to look for other sources of funding if the local SBDC program is not renewed.

“If they can look for other sources of funding, then why are they still running after the program? Why can’t they allow the organization that grants the fund to make a decision on who should get it. Why can’t they stop complaining?” asked the CDA chief.