RB Camacho
SAIPAN Mayor Ramon “RB” Camacho said a public hearing should be held on the Department of Public Lands’s proposed changes to the commercial rules and regulations pertaining to Managaha.
He said the proposed changes are “very discriminatory” for all CNMI residents.
“As the mayor for this municipality, I am concerned about these proposed changes,” he added.
“DPL is assisting the creation [of] this discriminatory policy against our own people. DPL is just looking for the best interest of the investor and not of the people,” Camacho said.
“Tasi Tours was the previous concessionaire of Managaha for more than 30 years, and their policy had always been one of inclusion. They welcomed our residents and even transported residents on their own boat, back and forth for free,” he added.
“I never saw a schedule of a public hearing — I only saw a deadline for comments,” Camacho said, referring to the proposed changes to the rules.
“As mayor of the municipality, I demand from DPL a public hearing before they approve or pass that proposed policy. Let’s bring the people in and let the people voice out their concerns,” he added.
“We are talking about public land, and the owners are the indigenous people of the islands. I’ve heard from the community that they are very disappointed. What are we trying to do with our people? Are we trying to restrict them, put a boundary? I thought we are marketing the CNMI as a tourist destination. Tourists want to see who we are and what we are. By making it exclusive, they are not allowing tourists to mingle with the local people, to establish friendship and to see what kind of people we are,” Camacho added.
“The CNMI is being marketed for our hospitality, for being friendly and for being a safe destination. But with this policy, what you are doing is you are putting up a…wall. We need economic recovery, but we must do it right. The Saipan Mayor’s office is promoting tourism, Japanese tourism, Korean tourism, Chinese tourism, sports tourism and now we are exploring agri-tourism. We are exploring all avenues for tourism to drive our economy. But by doing this exclusive Managaha rule, it’s not friendly, it is not building relationships between the islanders and the visitors.”
The proposed amendments should be voided, the mayor added.
He asked the public to monitor the schedule of a public hearing. “And let’s all show up. I will show up because this is a serious issue,” Camacho said.
The House Standing Committee on Natural Resources has announced that it will conduct a public hearing on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, at 5:30 p.m. in the House chamber on Capital Hill.
On July 15, DPL announced its intention to amend the commercial rules and regulations for Managaha. DPL wants to prevent the consumption of outside food and beverages in its main concessionaire’s exclusive concession area; restrict certain personal floatation devices in the designated swimming zone; and “further define” the type of commercial activity that may only be conducted by the main concessionaire and authorized sub-concessionaires.
The main concessionaire for Managaha is Marianas Global Inc.
