The House of Representatives and Senate held a joint meeting with Fund officials yesterday morning about the subject.
The speaker said lawmakers support local investments only if the taxpayers’ money is fully protected.
In the case of CUC, which has liabilities of over $215 million, lawmakers want an assurance that the Fund’s investments will not be wasted.
The Fund has the fiduciary duty to prudently invest collected premiums from government employees for their retirement benefits.
The agency should be self-sustaining with assets of $1 billion by 2045.
Palacios, R-Saipan, said one of the possible conditions they want to see is that CUC is first privatized.
“My take on this is to go ahead and take a look at [the Fund’s] proposal. It’s unfortunate that we see CUC as bankrupt. But there’s no reason why the Retirement Fund or the (Marianas Public Lands Trust) shouldn’t invest in our own public utilities,” he said.
He said the power situation on Saipan is now “so disturbing” that it has undermined economic recovery efforts.
Fund Chairman Juan T. Guerrero said they are interested in investing in CUC.
But he said this proposal is still at the exploratory stage and they will only proceed upon the advice of financial experts.
The Fund’s previous board of trustees rejected the central government’s request to lend CUC up to $25 million to rehabilitate its engines citing its troubled financial situation as main reason.
