By Zaldy Dandan
Variety Editor

IN the New Year, the people of the commonwealth are looking for leadership that steers the CNMI away from disastrous policies of the past and toward more hopeful policies and actions.
But it is now clear that the administration has ran out of new ideas — if it ever had any — and, together with the usual suspects in the business community, is still hoping that mouthing the same old promises made by its predecessors will stave off the impeding federal wage hike measure that will also apply to the CNMI.
This administration is also remarkably silent on the financial impact of the continuing — yet not surprising — garment factory closures, announcing only that some factory workers are given 45 days to secure future employment. Where are the actions that will be required so this bloated government can cope with its ever shrinking revenue base?
Meanwhile, the administration has made good on its promise to remove small boats from along the island’s western coastline so they will no longer jar the CRMO director’s delicate aesthetic sensibilities. But the same administration that promised to lower the power rates has yet to explain what the money from the rate increase was used for.
Transparency in government, as this governor and his predecessor have lectured us, means that all information is made available to the general public so that the people are assured that government decisions are based on the public interest. This is a vital component of good governance and a key to the creation of a vibrant economy. It is also a concept routinely ignored by the CNMI leadership.
This should change, and it will when voters realize that they can put in office people who will challenge the status quo, end questionable government actions, and discharge public duties for the common good.