Torres: $244M CDBG-DR grant must be spent at once to stimulate economy

Gov. Ralph DLG Torres said Friday that the CNMI needs to immediately infuse into the CNMI economy the $244 million it got in Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery funds to help stimulate the CNMI’s economic recovery.

“The idea here is we shouldn’t wait to spend toward the end of that grant. We need to spend that immediately,” said Torres at a radio news briefing.

He said spending this money immediately will get people back in track and jumpstart the economy. Hopefully, Torres said, this will also give the young generation the opportunity to participate in the construction sector and help build the CNMI together.

Of the $244 million, $110 million of that is going to the housing program for Saipan and Tinian.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has already approved the CNMI’s CDBG-DR action plan that will bring in $244 million to meet the unfulfilled recovery needs of the CNMI after Super Typhoon Yutu and Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018.

At the end of the day, however, the CNMI lacks enough construction workers.

Torres said he told NMHC corporate director Jesse S. Palacios that, although they have six years to complete the housing program, they don’t have to wait for six years. “If we can build everything back in two years, then we should. If it takes three years, then we should,” Torres said.

He said the government needs immediate action—whether it’s permits, procurement, or construction management.

“We cannot wait six months to a year for a project because of pending permits and that’s the reason why we are permitting up and hiring more skilled professionals to address the shortfall that we have,” the governor said.

Torres said with the CNMI’s ongoing lack of construction workers, he hopes the federal government will give the Commonwealth more flexibility. The fact that the CNMI was given 3,000 CW workers under a program for construction will already help a lot, he said. Opening up H2-B visa to the Philippines also gives that opportunity for construction companies or labor agencies access to construction manpower.

Torres said the ultimate goal, though, is to also build local capacity and that is the reason why they are funding and prioritizing the Northern Mariana’s Technical Institute. He said it’s the reason he has been meeting with the NMTI board of trustee chair Mario Valentino and NMTI interim chief executive officer Jodina Attao to focus on construction.

“I believe that we do have the manpower here,” the governor said. It may not be enough but sufficient enough to stimulate not just the economy but also create a career opportunity for those who are currently unemployed.

Torres believes construction is the next big career path that the younger generation can seriously consider if the minimum wage is to going go up to $15 an hour.