MANY of us complain about “politics” in government — as if they don’t go together. (Spoiler alert: they do.) And usually, to minimize “politics,” we turn to…politicians.
That will be the primary consequence of the legislative initiative, S.L.I. 23-02, to “authorize the election” of a public auditor. The proposal calls for a “nonpartisan” public auditor, but to brand someone elected by voters as “nonpartisan” is like describing a cat as a “nondog,” which is true, but it is still a cat.
There are, in any case, not a lot of persons who turn into “angels” when elected into office. As James Madison would put it, if men (and women) were angels no government would be necessary.
With OPA, the main “problem” for many of us is our impatience with the rule of law and due process. Many of us take these concepts for granted. We cannot conceive of a world where they do not exist. But whenever we see a “problem,” we want — we demand — action, a solution, now! Whenever we suspect injustice, unfairness, abuse or worse on the part of government officials (especially those we dislike or don’t support), we insist that they be held accountable immediately and hauled to court. But when they are, we complain that it is “taking too long,” that OPA, the AG’s office, the judges, the court itself are too “slow,” too “lenient,” too “lax” or even “biased,” “bought,” etc.
Can you imagine a justice system that runs on suspicion and/or clamor of “the people” based on online comments, social media posts, and the number of their likes? Would you want to live under that system?
The only alternative to the rule of law and due process is the rule of those in power and their arbitrary action — their whims. How is that working in China, Russia, Iran or North Korea? Does arbitrary rule even work? Of course it does. Like a lynch mob.
But we’re veering away from our main subject, which is the proposal to turn the public auditor into an elected official. According to S.L.I. 23-02, “The people of the Northern Mariana Islands and its government rely on the Office of the Public Auditor to serve as guardian so that it ensures the effective and efficient administration and management of public funds and programs.”
OPA only? Isn’t “ensuring effective and efficient administration and management of public funds and programs” one of the primary duties of all government officials?
S.L.I. 23-02 also declares that “the Office of the Public Auditor is charged with the task of proactively preventing the squandering of public funds….”
Again, OPA only? It’s not the job of the AG’s office, the governor, lawmakers and other top government officials to prevent “the squandering of public funds?”
Under the S.L.I. 23-02, OPA would have more responsibilities, requiring more personnel and a bigger budget. The two main features of the perennially cash-strapped CNMI government.
And what are the additional responsibilities that an elected public auditor must fulfill?
Among other things, the elected public auditor will conduct “program evaluation and review of compliance by various government programs with performance standards established by the CNMI Legislature.” In addition, OPA “shall implement a continuous program of evaluation and justification review of all CNMI government agencies and shall submit a report of evaluation and justification of the review findings and recommendations….”
Which begs the question. What is preventing the two houses of Legislature and their numerous standing committees from performing such tasks now? Each year, government departments, agencies, programs, municipalities, etc. appear before lawmakers to discuss their budget requests. They are also required to submit annual citizen centric reports. Why can’t lawmakers conduct an evaluation of these agencies’ performances, and their cost-effectiveness? Why do we need an elected public auditor to perform what should be one of the duties of lawmakers?
S.L.I. 23-02 also mentions that “Guam has successfully adopted the process of electing the Territory’s Public Auditor and as a result has significantly curbed the amount of misuse and cemented greater efficiency since its adoption.”
Do CNMI lawmakers and/or their writers read or watch the news from Guam? About a year ago, Guam’s elected public auditor — a former Democratic speaker of the Legislature — complained that his office was “underfunded and understaffed,” and “burdened with 79 additional tasks.” His predecessor, incidentally, is a former Republican senator, who was elected as the island’s public auditor in 2000. And yes, Guam’s public auditor is “nonpartisan.” In 2019, in any case, the University of Guam announced that based on a survey it conducted, “two-thirds of respondents believed that corruption was a very serious problem in Guam from 2013 to 2015 and that corruption levels have increased from 2005 to 2015.” In July 2023, seven GovGuam officials were indicted by the island’s elected AG — a Republican senatorial candidate in 2008 and 2010. Incidentally, the CNMI’s elected AG is a former chair of the local Democratic Party. Guam and the CNMI’s AGs are “nonpartisans.”
There is no “magic pill” in governance — or politics. But once upon a time, a reformist CNMI governor appointed a “total outsider” as public auditor. He was someone from the states with over 30 years of experience in the auditing and accounting profession, and until he was hired as CNMI public auditor, he knew absolutely no one in the Commonwealth. He took his job seriously and was soon regularly issuing critical reports pertaining to many CNMI government departments, agencies, programs and services. The level of corruption on the islands was “quite intolerable,” he said. The opposition party loved him — until they became the party in power. He wasn’t re-appointed.
Before leaving the CNMI, he said the government “should find a public auditor who is from outside the islands and is secure in his life in order to dispense his duties and responsibilities without being influenced” — someone, he added, who doesn’t have to “kowtow” to anybody.
You don’t need to amend the CNMI Constitution to accomplish that.
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