NIMO pushes for passage of 3 legislation

The Northern Islands Mayor’s office has pressed anew lawmakers to act on three pending legislation envisioned to benefit residents of the remote islands as well as the Commonwealth’s tourism industry.

Northern Islands Mayor Joseph T. Ogumoro said passing the proposed initiatives is the least the Legislature can to do to assist Northern Islands residents resettle safely to the islands and become active and contributing members of the Commonwealth family.

Tailored to foster developments in the islands of Anatahan, Sarigan, Alamagan, Pagan, Agrigan and Asuncion, the mayor underscored it is about time that the government set the initiatives into motion, citing that in its Capital Improvement Projects agenda for the whole Commonwealth, the Northern Islands has been inadvertently overlooked.

“There are a lot of obstacles in these efforts but we have to go beyond these obstacles and focus on concrete plans and actions,” said Mr. Ogumoro.

One legislation NIMO is eyeing is the Northern Islands Transportation and Infrastructure Financing Act which would allow the government to borrow money from lending institutions (such as the NMI Retirement Fund, the Commonwealth Development Authority, and the federal rural development program) for the purpose of establishing transportation and initial infrastructure projects in the remote islands.

“The money will be used as an up front financing for the purchase of passenger vessel, a cargo vessel and the construction of ramps on Saipan and other four islands targeted for the development of the terminal facilities,” he explained.

Establishing ports or terminals would eventually open up the Northern Islands to other neighboring islands so that people can have easy access to travel to the either Anatahan, Sarigan, Alamagan, Pagan, Agrigan and Asuncion even on a daily basis, according to the mayor.

Mr. Ogumoro has proposed that loan payments be generated through the implementation of passenger and cargo fees with aid from government agencies and federal grants.

Another legislation that NIMO hopes would become law is the Northern Islands homesteading program which proposes to provide the Dept. of Lands and Natural Resources Board of Directors guidelines to implement a hybrid homestead program (village and agricultural) for NI residents.

“What we’re trying to do because of the limited amount of land and the distance over there, is try to come up with a compromise. If the land is not available to implement both, we will probably examine the possibility of incorporating it into one, maybe a rural homesteading program or whatever it will be called in the future,” Mr. Ogumoro explained.

The mayor’s office is also awaiting the passage of the Northern Islands economic development and incentive act, an initiative that would provide incentives or tax credits to Northern Islands developers or investors.

NIMO is planning to lure in investors who would bring in regular water and power supplies, as well as spearhead the construction of public roads in exchange for a land lease.

“So they don’t have to pay lease directly to the CNMI government. The lease will offset the cost of developing the infrastructure,” the mayor said.

Mr. Ogumoro stated that without the support of the three legislation, NIMO’s proposed economic development plan would be hard to implement.