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Tinian mayor justifies trip to Taipei
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Posted on Apr 27 2000
Tinian Mayor Francisco Borja yesterday underscored the need to nourish the island’s economy which necessitated his trip to Taiwan with other municipal officials and Dynasty Hotel and Casino executives.
Mr. Borja said the trip was taken to show Tinian’s support for the business deal reached between the Dynasty and the Taipei-based Mandarin Air for the provision of charter flights between Taiwan and the Northern Marianas.
“Showing support for the business deal simply means that we wanted to impress upon our new investors that it is indeed important that they decided to invest millions of dollars into the CNMI,” he said in a press statement.
Mr. Borja also clarified that his office did not tap any fund from the CNMI for the trip, stressing that the money used for the travel to Taipei was taken from local funds provided by the Tinian casino gaming tax.
“Meaning, not one penny from Saipan and Rota taxpayers’ money was spent on this trip. Tinian did not spend CNMI funds, it spent local funds,” he pointed out.
The mayor also noted that the local money spent for the trip is expected to reap fruits of success once Mandarin Air starts bringing in more than 300 passengers a week to the island.
He said this will translate to the anticipated increase in the local revenue, which will allow Tinian to fund more programs like the medical referral, Little League, scholarship, road projects among others.
Tinian is the only municipality in the whole of the Northern Marianas to reduce working hours, paving the road for a significant reduction in expenses during the time the CNMI government needed major spending cuts.
“Our municipality has been assisting the central government fund major infrastructure projects like the public safety and the health center with over $50,000,” Mr. Borja said.
Tinian spends over $100,000 each year for local scholarship programs and another $100,000 for other public education projects. (ARF)
