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Administration yet to finalize transfer of 3 DCCA offices
The Fitial administration is still finalizing the transfer of three offices under the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs to the Indigenous Affairs Office, according to press secretary Angel A. Demapan.
The merger of the Historic Preservation Office, the Commonwealth Council for Arts and Culture, and the Language Policy Commission with the Indigenous Affairs Office under the supervision of the Office of the Governor was among the recommendations of a desk audit done by the Virginia-based Management Analysis, Inc. last year.
Demapan said the administration “heeded” the recommendation “in an effort to achieve greater efficiency in the overall organization structure of the CNMI government.”
The transfer was originally scheduled to become effective on Oct. 1, the start of fiscal year 2012.
Since the transfer process is still being finalized, Demapan told Saipan Tribune that the appropriations for the affected offices under the new fiscal year 2012 budget “are structured so that it can easily be lifted out of the DCCA budget” and moved under the Indigenous Affairs Office.
“When the time comes to effectuate theses organizational changes, the administration does not anticipate any problems with the budget for the respective offices,” added Demapan.
