Gov’t. prodded to put in place productivity scheme • Plan will help determine size of bureaucracy

Saipan Chamber of Commerce president Kerry M. Deets yesterday recommended that the CNMI government establish a way to measure productivity in various positions which would help determine if there are non-essential jobs in the administration that must be eliminated.

According to Deets, the productivity scheme would also help find out the areas in government that needs improvement, whether some people are properly compensated and the right number of staff that must be maintained.

In short, such task would assist Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio in determining the right size of the government amid calls to downsize the bloated bureaucracy. At least 75 percent of the $206 million budget for this fiscal year goes to salaries and benefits of over 4,000 government employees.

“It is important to consider right sizing the government although it will be highly controversial during this election year,” said Deets.

During a recent meeting with legislative leaders, the Chamber noted the difficulty in encouraging government employees to engage in higher education or training programs.

This is due to the government’s policy which qualifies those that have been in service for four years to have effectively earned an equivalent of a bachelor’s degree in connection with seeking pay increases and higher position.

When the government employee chooses to retire early and apply for a job in the private sector, the number of years he has served in the government becomes useless in the private sector since their work experience would not equate necessarily to a college education.

“We want to encourage them not to become complacent and to show interest in education and training for their own benefit,” Deets said.

At an early stage, the government needs to clarify the disparity between the salary and job position that the employee holds. “Are we getting the kind of service that they are being paid for. What is the level of public service that the people are getting in this kind of salary scale,? she asked.

Deets said the high salary scale makes it difficult for the private sector to compete with the government in attracting locals to work in various companies here.

The Chamber members have earlier told legislators that they would like to see wages and benefits offered by the government to employees almost equal to the compensation offered by the private sector.

Businessmen have strongly criticized measures which are perceived anti-business such as the moratorium law, three-year residency limit of nonresident workers and the $100,000 security deposit requirement to investors.

But House Speaker Diego T. Benavente defended the passage of some measures which many businesses believe have discouraged investors from coming to the CNMI in a move to control the growth of the Northern Marianas.