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House endorses non-partisan summit
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Posted on Dec 17 2004
The House of Representatives adopted yesterday a resolution calling for a non-partisan summit that will extensively evaluate the CNMI’s economic status and formulate plans to safeguard the future of the local population.
House Resolution 14-30, introduced by House Speaker Benigno R. Fitial, said that “the CNMI stands at an economic crossroad fraught with very real and alarming consequences that threaten the economic stability and livelihood of the indigenous people.”
It cited that the Jan. 1, 2005 lifting of the worldwide quota on imported products would be a make-or-break date for the CNMI garment industry.
It added that the cumulative effect of the Commonwealth’s garment industry, which includes the employment of some 25,000 nonresident workers, low minimum wage, and high government salaries, has resulted in the sluggish growth of the private sector, which has in turn, contributed to a displacement of the local workforce.
This, and some other issues—nonresident workers’ petition to the U.S. Congress for permanent residency status, 9/11 terror attack’s impact on economy, SARS, and the on-going war in Iraq—contribute to the unemployment of local residents.
“It is now time to set aside political differences to develop a strategic economic policy for the good of the indigenous people,” the resolution reads.
The call for the summit came earlier from Washington Rep. Pete A. Tenorio. (Liberty Dones)
