GOVERNOR Arnold I. Palacios said he, Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang and their administration are thankful to the U.S. Department of Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs for providing the CNMI with $1.6 million in technical assistance funding for financial management and accountability.
Palacios said he will continue to engage Interior and other federal agencies in ensuring accountability in the expenditure of funds that the CNMI government receives from the federal government.
“We have met with Assistant Interior Secretary for Insular and International Affairs Carmen G. Cantor on several occasions and have communicated this urgent need for the CNMI to ensure the integrity of its financial management systems and to build and heighten accountability measures,” he added.
The governor said Cantor “has always been receptive to our requests and we appreciate her and her team’s support.”
“We will continue to engage the U.S. Department of the Interior and other federal government agencies to see how we can secure additional resources to build financial, revenue management, and accountability capacity and capabilities,” Palacios said.
U.S. Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan broke the news last week about the $1.6 million in technical assistance program funding that CNMI stands to receive from the Office of Insular Affairs.
Kilili said the funds were requested by Governor Palacios and will be used to help the CNMI address financial management concerns and improve accounting practices.
The funds will go toward the following projects:
1) $885,000 for single audit technical assistance, financial management system implementation, and general financial records management.
2) $526,799 for implementation and training under the Revenue Management Information System.
3) $196,717 for the Office of the Public Auditor.
Arnold Palacios
