Palacios, Covenant-Saipan, is expected to pre-file today a resolution urging Gov. Benigno R. Fitial to tap private collection agencies to recover the “misused” funds as reported recently by the Office of Public Auditor.
The improperly spent money, Palacios said, is reflected in the 46 audit recommendations which OPA tracked in the last six months of 2010.
Of these audit recommendations, 42 were considered “delinquent.”
Many of these cases, Palacios said, involved former executive directors and board members who got excessive per diem during off-island trips.
Some amount involved overpayments to professional service contracts, uncollected rental fees, unpaid nonresident workers application fees and “numerous misused and improperly expended public funds.”
The misused public funds, originally amounted only to $2.6 million as of June 30, 2010. OPA referred the matter to the Attorney General’s Office for legal action.
At the end of the fiscal year 2010, OPA requested for an update on the matter but the AGO had yet to respond.
Palacios said the number of delinquent recommendations has increased and the “potentially recoverable” amount is now $3.7 million.
The government, Palacios added, has missed many opportunities to recover misused public funds either because of the statute of limitation or the period within which the government could sue has already expired.
“Many individuals and groups have made a mockery of the CNMI government for not collecting millions in misused and improperly expended public funds from those who have cheated the system to enrich their lives. Yet, they remained unpunished or have gotten away scot-free,” Palacios said.
Once these recoverable funds are collected, he hopes that it will somehow ease the government’s financial problems and deter people from misusing public funds.
