I quote this from Governor Fitial’s emergency declaration, “By this declaration I intend to enable CUC, within the definitions of PL 16-9, to sign a power contract with the appropriate “person.”
The appropriate person? HAVE WE NOT LEARNED ANYTHING FROM THE HUGE MISTAKES COMMITTED BY THIS FITIAL ADMINISTRATION?? DCM? CISCO? AND NOW AGGREKO?
Yes, Aggreko was supposed to be our salvation. Executive Director Tony Muna pressured the House and Senate to give them the money to get the Aggreko contract. He insisted that the 15 megawatts of back-up power are necessary so they can repair and rehabilitate the engines (you know, the engines that sole-source contractors DCM and CISCO were supposed to fix but apparently were unable to). Now that the Aggreko engines are on their way, it sounds like Tony Muna is now changing his tune and saying that CUC’s engines are so bad, we will need to go with new ones. CUC has to use tap water on their engines, because purified water would be too porous and would be bad for them. Are you kidding me? Why didn’t you say that in the very beginning Tony? We could have purchased the Caterpillar engines and we would have OWNED them instead of just LEASING them. Where is your common sense? Even with the 15 megawatts of back-up power, we will still be facing a load shedding schedule! Once again, the Fitial administration failed us!
Are we going to stand by and allow Governor Fitial to sole source another contract, and this time, for power generation for Saipan? Can you trust him to do the right thing? Don’t you ever forget that the Fitial administration sole sourced the repair and rehabilitation contracts with DCM and CISCO. Where did that get us? Nowhere! We are experiencing these current blackouts because Governor Fitial endorsed sole source “emergency” contracts instead of going through procurement regulations and procedures! We would have 24-hour power RIGHT NOW IF WE HAD COMPETENT CONTRACTORS REPAIRING AND REHABILITATING OUR ENGINES! Instead, we are paying the highest utility rates in the nation and are experiencing more blackouts than ever in the history of the Commonwealth! How much more are you willing to take? And why isn’t the FBI investigating the DCM contract? Because federal money wasn’t used? Give me a break!
I have done my very best to rally our people to stand up and fight for the very survival of our islands. If you are not willing to read this and stand up against this tyranny, then all is lost. Mark my words. ALLOWING GOVERNOR FITIAL TO SOLE SOURCE A POWER GENERATION CONTRACT TO THE APPROPRIATE “PERSON” WILL BE THE FINAL NAIL IN OUR COFFIN. WE CANNOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN!
THE TIME TO ORGANIZE AND FILL THE HOUSE AND SENATE IS NOW! WE MUST PRESSURE THE HOUSE AND SENATE TO FIGHT THIS TYRANNY AND THIS EVIL ATTEMPT TO SOLE-SOURCE POWER GENERATION! YOU THINK DCM AND CISCO WAS A BAD DEAL? THEY ARE NOTHING COMPARED TO THIS! THIS IS ANOTHER ATTEMPT AT GIVING A SWEETHEART CONTRACT WHICH WILL BE GOOD FOR THE CONTRACTOR BUT BAD FOR THE REST OF US! The conspiracy theory and prophecy of a CUC firesale is being fulfilled as we speak, and we didn’t need Nostradamus for such a premonition. All we needed to do was to read the signs. Right now, the signs are telling us that we must be willing to fight for our islands or face total meltdown.
You cannot expect a handful of people to make a difference. WE MUST HAVE 1,000 VOTERS READY AND WILLING TO ASSEMBLE ON TO CAPITAL HILL AND DEMAND THAT THE HOUSE AND SENATE FIGHT THIS DECLARATION OF DICTATORSHIP IMMEDIATELY! WE MUST BE WILLING TO DEMAND THAT GOVERNOR FITIAL STOP THIS SOLE-SOURCING NONSENSE WHICH IS ROTTEN TO THE CORE AND HAS PLAGUED OUR ISLANDS FOR FAR TOO LONG! WE MUST BE WILLING TO DEMAND THAT ANY POWER GENERATION CONTRACT MUST GO THROUGH THE PROPER CHANNELS AND THAT ALL PROCUREMENT REGULATIONS BE STRICTLY FOLLOWED, WITH THE OPA WATCHING EVERY STEP OF THE WAY!
Make no mistake about it. If you sit by and allow this to happen, you will not be the only one who will regret it. Your children and my children will suffer the consequences. We have the power to bring much-needed change to the CNMI, but it cannot happen with only a handful of people! You must be the one to come forward and fight for justice! You must be willing to risk your job for the greater glory of getting the CNMI back on the right track!
Many of us have offered solutions to our current power crisis, but it continues to fall on deaf ears with this Fitial administration. They will not listen to ten people, but do you honestly think they will ignore 1,000 strong VOTERS and CITIZENS of the CNMI? It is we the VOTERS who have the real power, and we must remind our leaders that they REPRESENT ALL OF US, AND NOT JUST THE SPECIAL FEW!
I am asking for 1,000 brave CNMI citizens to organize immediately and fight this attempt at sole-sourcing power generation! Are you willing to fight? Are you willing to stop another soul sourcing contract from taking place? If you are fed up and ready to put REAL pressure on our leaders, e-mail me at [email protected] or call me at 483-7361. Let us end the evil sinful old ways of doing business here in the CNMI once and for all. Our lives depend on it.
I’ve said it a thousand times and I will say it once again, change begins with you. Will you be a part of the solution or will you be a part of the status quo?? The fate of our islands is in your hands.
ED PROPST
Advocate for Change
