Instead of putting people at the back of the line who really can’t afford to do something with their existing homestead lot and giving it to someone who can — our government has done what it does best, NOTHING — no political will. It is tooooo much like common sense to finish filling up one homestead before opening another one that we can’t afford because it will surely need infrastructure. I can remember moving into my new home in Kagman with no power, no water and no stores or anything. We have two lane roads in Kagman III that have turned into “one” lane roads from the jungles taking over a “PAVED” road — what a shame. Opening up another homestead at this point in time would really be “buying a cart and you don’t have any idea where you will get a horse.” I’m not against these people getting their homesteads but I am against the “terrible governance” over the existing homesteads that can still accommodate hundreds if the government ever finds the political will.
A part-time Legislature and elected AG are being discussed once again. The only difference is the new proposal for a part-time Legislature clearly demonstrates the power of diplomatic efforts to reach a compromise in the best interest of the people of the CNMI. The amazing thing is that it only took one change in the proposal to eliminate the loophole for government employment status by legislative members to change people’s mind which I see as a portion of the solution to address the BIGGER problem. Zaldy is very right about the elected AG and the weakness of the Legislature because many of them are representatives of their party and politics than for the people — no political, which is the real weakness of the Legislature. Our Legislature can keep our governor in check if they ever develop the political will to do what clearly needs to be done by law and not resolutions. The CNMI will surely need an elected AG for some time due to the pure dynamics of the politics here, which is still driven by a handful of locals who really process all the political power. Until this power structure is truly dismantled or a perpetual legitimate two-party system evolves, there will always be a problem with an appointed AG. The big question is still the same will the Legislature have the political will to govern themselves and place the necessary “checks” on the executive branch?
What about our young adults? But before I begin, I want to make it perfectly clear that this IS NOT an attack on the two people I’m about to mention but an observation that clearly reflects the magnitude of a larger problem — the old school politics of “once you are IN, you are IN” which is known as “status quo membership.” But I want it known that I genuinely like these two people and I hope they don’t get mad but a point really needs to be made in the interest of the up and coming young adults. The Northern Marianas College president is already over the college and now she is the new chairwoman of the college council which is an organization that advices the college president. Wasn’t there anyone else qualified to give them a chance? Century Hotel GM has re-elected their chairwoman of the board of the Hotel Association, which now makes her chair/president — was there no one else qualified to give a chance? I hope they can appreciate the point because I truly applaud them for being selected and I’m sure they are more than capable. But it just reminded me of why our youth are leaving and why people get so frustrated with the politics of becoming someone on this small island — no chance for growth.
We have so many people wearing two, three and four hats because we NEVER give NEW people a chance and I have seen it over and over again in politics, education and in the private sector. We see the same “retired people” still going from one top job to another top job “at will” but our youth have to leave the island just to find an entry level job. I have personally had a taste of what our youth are experiencing. There is not that much to go around on this island and its being “hogged” by a handful. It’s not only the lack of jobs but the lack of any opportunity to grow in the job you have as I’m sure there are other people who could easily fill some of the positions that are being filled by people who already have one job and it really gets worst when there is the implication of a conflict of interest. My only concern is that we will continue to be the last for change in our politics (government, education and in the private sector) to give our youth some hope and a chance. We must establish a more civic and virtuous will to put forth a conscious effort to create more opportunities for new people to get appointments and employee promotions.
We are still talking about the poker machines being moved almost a decade later, which shows there is no political will on Capital Hill other than picking a fight. It should be clear by now the machines must leave the villages and the only question has been, WHERE? If people truly want them moved to the hotels, which seems to be a consensus, why doesn’t the Legislature just create a legal zone of La Fiesta, which is right across the street from a major hotel, which I see as a another compromise that will solve TWO problems — we call it “killing two birds with one stone.” The question is will our Legislature have the political will to throw the stone — political will.
The biggest political challenge for our government, may not be their political will but their political know-how when it comes to our national politics — so we must keep praying in church like we do every Sunday for our leaders and hopefully they will eventually learn HOW from trial and error before it’s too late. I’m sure people with common sense will agree the old saying, “a wise man learns from the experience of others (history) while a fool has to bump his own head” is very true, especially for some of our leaders on Capital Hill — if it don’t apply, let it fly. For those on the Hill who may feel offended, I wasn’t talking about you. We do have some people on Capital Hill that DO have the political will and know how, but the problem is they are outnumbered by the ones who DON’T!
I’m calling on all citizens that do pray for our leaders to pray for them to adopt the New Year’s resolution to have political will and MAYBE, just MAYBE we can get something done and start heading in a direction because we are literally DEAD in the Water. Happy New Year and please find some POLITICAL WILL on the HILL!
AMBROSE M. BENNETT
Kagman, Saipan
