Building stronger governance

Corruption is a term spouted off by ordinary citizens venting frustration over heavily rumored suspicion of wrongdoing in government. Indeed, rumors are rumors. There’s, however, the saying, “Where there’s smoke there’s fire…” and that smoke must be followed to the source before it turns into a towering inferno.

On the flip side, corruption has also been used cleverly by the savvy few as a political tool to tweak election results in their favor. This we’ve seen in the last gubernatorial election.

Unfortunately, we help them with election into office. Almost instantly we ignore the basic essentials or our moral obligation to hold these people accountable by ousting them from office. We complain loudly as though we never had any part of the mess at hand. We were a part of it, weren’t we, what with our very short attention span, right?

This is a drawback in a weak democratic state pitched by the very people who are supposed to be making a difference. We do so as though suffering from massive dementia or take refuge in obscurity to avoid exercising real citizens’ role. This attitude has got to change! It begins with the self. It’s the only path to strengthening our aspired government of laws!

Corruption from ground up: I’ve seen how politicians (current and former) have used this convenient tool to build upon a foundation of corruption from the ground up. I saw it hatched in 1979. Big shady business bribed legislators for a certain legislation like it’s Christmas in June.

Do we partake in it in perpetuity or do we replace it with a sense of commitment and conviction with politically correct measures? What could we attribute to the metastasizing machinery of corruption that has gained strength here? There are several of them; some familiar others a bit too distant.

Remember the five to six legislators who took free trips Hong Kong and Macau last year to work on the casino legislation? Didn’t they violate ethics law for taking freebies paid for by people who wanted casino legislation approved? Is the OPA on their case or has it waved it off?

We need solid answers from OPA counsel George Hasselback soonest. To ignore it is to contribute to the weakening of the democratic state of our “government of laws.” That impeached and convicted former governor Benigno R. Fitial squeaked from serving his sentence via politically convenient commutation isn’t a reason to let our guards down!

Investments: The development of private industries via lasting investments is one of the ways to neutralize the growth of political corruption. That the CNMI remains the largest employer is itself a vehicle to roll corruption in perpetuity. This has got to change.

Unless the CNMI lures more lasting investments we’d make it to the Guinness Book of World Records as a people who know government from A-Z, NOT! What a vehicle to consistently corrupt the multitude. It seems a reflection why the economy hasn’t moved forward under the Republican charge for all the promises made in recent past.

We’ve heard towering promises including “better times” turned woefully “beastly” to “solutions-driven…” an epic folly drowning in the shark-infested sea of bankruptcy. Nothing has moved forward in stride to improve the lot of families throughout the villages on all inhabited islands. Do we sleepwalk it in grand mañana once more? Stand up, for together we could instill brighter tomorrows for our hardworking folks and most importantly, posterity.

Do it right! For all that may have gone wrong in paradise I humbly ask: What have we done right? There’s the impeachment and conviction of a corrupt former governor. Though his sentence was commuted, it’s more statutory, political camaraderie and lawlessness than anything else. I also look forward to more public officials securing their ouster via the rule of law. Unless we clean house forthwith, ours would replicate the once infamous Puerto Rico Dump.

Trouble ahead: Lasting investment is an issue that feels like a terribly bad hangover. We see the descent of large investment projects. Yet we’re troubled by their need for thousands of foreign workers that ends on 2019. It’s an issue that warrants realistic discussion with U.S. immigration.

Perhaps the imposition has its upside: it grants the CNMI the opportunity to reset its development buttons to determine how much development must we have in tourism and related sectors. Tourism is fine on its face. But it shows a different picture when you dig deeper.

We had to endure economic paralysis when IT&E’s underwater cable went completely down. Add to that the poor airline services out of Guam. It turns life in paradise into a complete hellish hole. With a deepening fiscal mess, is there hope ahead for these isles? You be the judge and share your views with us please.