Rep. Stanley T. Torres, R-Saipan, urged Speaker Arnold I. Palacios to set aside partisan politics as the CNMI’s most precious resource — its educated workforce — is slowly leaving their home to seek greener pastures elsewhere.
Torres told Palacios, R-Saipan, that his constituents urged him to bring back the people’s “trust” in their government.
“Our job is to create policies to make our government more efficient and to pass legislation that will enhance the quality of the lives of our people,” Torres said in his letter to the speaker.
“Many of our people are leaving our commonwealth to seek for better lives on Guam and the mainland. Our educated populace is also leaving, creating a brain-drain. Some of them were educated through the help of federal and local scholarship programs,” he added.
The lawmaker said the exodus of the CNMI’s educated workforce could still be prevented given the right public policies like enacting a balanced budget.
The cash-strapped CNMI government continues to operate within the revised FY 2007 budget of $163.5 million which was enacted in 2006.
The administration’s proposed spending limit for FY 2009 amounts to $158.4 million.
“In our quest to do our constitutional duties, we are forced to make hard decisions which are not popular. However, under these hard times, we have to make tough decisions to rescue CUC from perpetuating ‘blackouts and brownouts,’ ” said Torres.
“We have to pass FY 09 budget soon. Let us put party politics and tackle these pending issues. We must act now and try to save our government,” he added.
The government projects its tax collections to remain low as the islands’ tourism industry continues to struggle.
