THE Governor’s Council of Economic Advisers on Friday presented to the House of Representatives a 10-year plan to make the CNMI a world-class destination.
The council was established in May 2020 to “serve in multiple facets, including establishing policy initiatives for economic growth, providing exemplary management of the CNMI economy, and alleviating any barriers toward business development and growth.”
Its chairman, Tan Holdings chief executive officer and president Jerry Tan, said the plan includes recommendations “to aid in the development and recovery of the CNMI economy and to reach lasting achievements in [improving] the quality of life of residents of this community.”
Attending the presentation were Gov. Ralph DLG Torres and Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios.
Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez presided over the meeting.
In his opening remarks, the governor said the council’s top goals will not be accomplished “next year” or even “two years from now, but [we’re] definitely [laying] a strong foundation in the community [through] the partnership that we have” between the public and private sectors.
He said he looks forward to bills that need to be passed “hopefully sooner than later.”
Lt. Gov. Palacios, for his part, said “It is not just [about] the tourism industry…but also other policies relative to sustaining the health of the community and [having] an economically viable community.”
He said the Commonwealth should look into “diversification of investments.”
He also commended the council’s members for sharing their time and expertise to help improve the economic well-being of the Commonwealth.
In its report, the council said it has “set in stone the ambitious agenda of transforming the CNMI to become a world-class destination by 2031 and create a lasting framework for our economy to be competitive with the world.”
Tan, in his remarks, said, “We also [have to] remind ourselves that it is not about just economic development for the sake of development. Whatever we do, we are doing for the people. That is the bottom line. It is the people that we are actually working for.”
Tan said one of their goals is quality over quantity.
With hotel accommodations, for example, he said it is not just about the number of rooms available that is important. “We want quality rooms,” he added.
“And we want quality tourists, not just any tourist that comes here. We want quality investors, too, not just anybody who wants to come here and open a new business, especially a major undertaking. We want quality investors,” Tan said.
Quality over quantity, he added, is one of the guiding principles of the council.
Tan said the shutdown implemented in response to the Covid-19 pandemic has also allowed the community to “sit back and reflect.”
“We look around the island and say, ‘we have to really make sure that by the end of the year, we have to do better than before the pandemic [hit the CNMI] and before we welcome tourism back to the Commonwealth,” he said.
Recommendations
These are among the council’s recommendations:
• Utilize the community of businesses and civic organizations to develop community ownership of parks, public facilities and tourist sites.
• Implement a “tourism resumption blueprint,” which involves dialogue with the Governor’s Covid-19 Task Force and the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. to provide a roadmap “to risk mitigation framework” as the CNMI “slowly and cautiously resumes tourism in a manner that is safe for CNMI residents and visitors.”
• Rename the Commonwealth Development Authority to the Commonwealth Economic Development Authority and “advance [its] ability to drive economic growth to enhance the quality of life for CNMI residents.”
• Amend the qualifying certificate program because it requires “substantial updating” to keep the CNMI competitive.
• [Launch] universal garbage collection.
• Allow developers infrastructure tax credit for culturally appropriate designs.
• Increase enforcement authority for tour guide certifications by imposing criminal penalties on tour operators who do not operate tour packages with certified personnel.
Governor’s Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Jerry Tan speaks before House members on Friday in the House chamber. Also in photo is council member Gary Sword of KKMP.
Photo by Emmanuel T. Erediano
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres and Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios join Speaker Edmund Villagomez at the dais as members of the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisers present its end-of-the-year report in the House chamber on Friday.
Photo by Emmanuel T. Erediano
