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Hunter to address basic needs of his ‘boss’
Department of Community and Cultural Affairs acting secretary Robert Hunter said he plans to sit down with the heads of the nine divisions and programs under his office. He said that he wanted to know the views of the different heads.
“I’ve been handling administrative matters and financial matters since I was appointed. I haven’t sat down with the heads of the different divisions but I want to talk about what they wanted to see and have an initial discussion of their immediate needs,” said Hunter.
He said the Office on Aging, which recently made headlines after director Walter Manglona was controversially fired by former DCCA secretary Laura Ogumoro, already has a full slate of programs.
“The man’amko has a whole slate of programs already there under director Walter Manglona. The only concern is their Bingo machine needs repair and they need another vehicle,” Hunter said.
“We want to get something working again in the other divisions. The DCCA is here to provide services to people. We are here to serve them. These are our clients, our bosses,” added Hunter.
He said that he would review some of the programs implemented by each division and to see what needs to be improved.
“We want to put programs into the right direction. We will see what needs to be improved in some of the activities in each division,” said Hunter, who is waiting for his confirmation hearing with the Senate.
The programs in DCCA’s Tinian and Rota offices will also be reviewed.
The Chamorro/Carolinian Policy Commission, Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, Division of Historic Preservation, Nutrition Assistance Program, Commonwealth Council for Arts and Culture, Child Care Development Fund, Child Care Licensing Program, Division of Youth Services, and Office on Aging are the programs and divisions under DCCA.
Hunter, who is in his 25th year in government service, was the executive director of the CNMI Museum before being appointed to replace Ogumoro more than two weeks ago. He previously served as acting DCCA secretary in many occasions and was also a former executive director at the Arts Council.
