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MVA now behind in paying off its vendors
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Posted on Jan 13 2005
The Marianas Visitors Authority is now delayed in its payments to its marketing offices, as the agency continues to await some $2.4 million of its budget from the Department of Finance.
MVA managing director Vicky Benavente reported that Finance has yet to disburse almost $2 million of MVA’s appropriation for the current fiscal year and some $480,000 from fiscal year 2004, which ended on Sept. 30.
As a result MVA now has accounts with vendors that are outstanding for 30 to 60 days, said Benavente, who also expressed confidence that “the money will be coming to MVA in the next couple of months.”
She added that the situation is nothing new to MVA and its vendors, as the agency has been operating under this system for the past six years.
“Our vendors are very patient. They understand the fiscal situation of the government. They know they will be paid; it just takes some time,” Benavente said.
MVA had a total appropriation of $7 million in FY2004. Like other government agencies, the tourism office is currently operating under the same budget due to the absence of a newly enacted budget resolution.
The $7 million budget includes the $858,000 that MVA has to pass on to the Department of Lands and Natural Resources for the care of Saipan tourist sites, as well as the mandatory 1 percent for the Office of the Public Auditor and the 2 percent budget reserve to help retire the government’s accumulated deficit.
Last July, the MVA board of directors approved a budget identifying $5.957 million as available to the agency.
The board allocated $3.72 million of the total budget to advertising, with some $3 million set aside for promotions in international markets.
The biggest advertising budget-at $1.78 million-was given to Japan, the primary tourism market of the Northern Mariana Islands. The China/Taiwan market came next with $590,731, followed by Korea with $485,000.
MVA budgeted $1.53 million for personnel expenses. The remaining $709,491 will go to other operational expenses.
