He said during the leadership of SHEFA Chairwoman Felicidad T. Ogumoro, who is now the House vice speaker, a resolution was passed affirming the present membership of John K. Tenorio, Jose Leon Guerrero and Ogumoro only.
On the same date, Oct. 15, Torres said the board also adopted a resolution declaring two vacant seats on the board previously occupied by Maximo Olopai and Perry Tenorio.
Hence, Torres said, the resolutions adopted recently by the SHEFA board are “null and void.”
Unless the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation confirms the appointment of Joe Mafnas as a new SHEFA board member, there will be no SHEFA board, Torres added.
In an interview, Camacho said her appointment was confirmed by the legislative delegation, adding that Torres, who was present during the deliberation, didn’t bother to question it.
Torres said one of the prime reasons that Ogumoro was compelled to reconsider her resignation and extend her un-expired board membership was because of the lapsed confirmation and appointment of two nominees.
The legislative delegation failed to act promptly on the appointments of Camacho and Sablan but both were reappointed by the Saipan mayor.
“Without Ogumoro’s continuing presence on the board, the governing body of only three members will be placed at risk for lack of quorum,” Torres said.
He “strongly believes” that the resolution affirming the membership of Tenorio, Leon Guerrero and Ogumoro remain in effect.
Torres said he continues to provide his services to the board.
“Why is she creating confusion?” he asked, referring to Camacho.
Under the CNMI Constitution, lawmakers cannot serve in any other government position including on a board.
Saipan Mayor Donald Flores earlier said he had already accepted Ogumoro’s resignation.
On Oct. 19, he appointed Camacho as acting chairwoman of the board.
Consultants
There were efforts to retain the services of Dris Student Services, SHEFA’s consultant during the board meeting on Tuesday but not the contract of Torres’ Marianas Pacific Network.
SHEFA awards committee chairman Jose C. Leon Guerrero wanted the board to give Sue Dris of Dris Student Services until Friday at 11:30 a.m. this week to meet with the board members so they will know if the consultant is still interested in working with SHEFA.
Dris’ contract costs $40,000 a year.
Guerrero’s motion was supported by Tenorio.
However, Camacho and Sablan voted against it.
The board then decided not to renew the services of Dris Student Services.
“We made that decision last week and the decision is now sustained because there’s a deadlock,” Camacho told the board.
She reminded the board that they gave Dris until Nov. 15 to inform them if she would still like to continue working with SHEFA.
Camacho said Dris failed to communicate with them
“Nobody is indispensible and I am not playing games here with somebody who doesn’t respect the current chairperson for that matter, and I don’t appreciate that. If we do not get cooperation and I don’t get any cooperation then it’s something that we cannot work with,” she said.
In an interview after the meeting, Camacho said the board also decided not to renew the contract of Marianas Pacific Network.
“We don’t need a consultant anymore, at this time,” she said.
The decision not to renew or extend the consultants’ services will address the issues raised by the Office of the Public Auditor on April 7, 2008 in its review of SHEFA’s compliance with its enabling legislation and other laws, she said,
She said SHEFA is not supposed to enter into contracts with people who have retired and are receiving pension.
Torres and Dris are retirees. Their consultancy contracts with SHEFA expired on Sept. 30, 2010.
“We would like to give that opportunity to a person or individual who is not receiving any form of benefits or pension,” Camacho said.
But she reiterated that they will no longer hire a consultant.
Administrator
Marianas Pacific Network and Dris Student Services worked with SHEFA for some five years.
Camacho said they appreciate Torres and the previous board for drawing up SHEFA policy.
But what the SHEFA needs now is an administrator, she added.
Within this week, she said SHEFA will have an administrator.
They will need additional employees too, she added.
She said the administrator will decide how many employees will be hired based on the available operating budget of $100,000.
Currently, two students under the Workers Investment Act were temporarily assigned to SHEFA.
However, Camacho said the WIA trainees cannot work full time until there’s a permanent supervisor that can oversee them.
She said they will hire one of the WIA trainees as a permanent employee of SHEFA.
A scholarship program for qualified residents of Saipan, SHEFA is funded by the island’s poker fee collections.
