Everywhere, both the public and their governments are taking stock, from the Middle East to Europe, the United States, Japan and the rest of Asia.
They’re evaluating government policy and objectives in an effort to avert financial ruin. The NMI has the same opportunity.
Commissioning new plans while old ones, not discredited, sit on shelves or in boxes collecting dust, won’t solve today’s problems — they merely add more cost. Plans are only as good as one’s ability to execute the actions they specified. For example, when will the NMI finally provide security to tourists?
To address this concern, the Legislature wants to impose harsher penalties on those who attack visitors. While this is a good sign for tour operators, it says little about the value legislators assign to robberies and burglaries perpetrated against island residents. Moreover, the local criminal code is outdated and the judiciary seems out of sync with law enforcement, meting out public apologies, time served and other soft punishments for assaults, batteries, burglaries and other violent crimes. The judiciary is discounting bad behavior and is failing to recognize that setting predators free harm the general population.
To avoid the revolving door problem, perhaps the judiciary can build on its earlier record of recommending deportations for all non-citizens charged with felonies. This would lighten the load on the judiciary, law enforcement and corrections, and spare the community from the actions of repeat offenders. It won’t solve all the commonwealth’s crime problems, but it will eliminate some of the undesirables and cut prison costs without the need to pass more laws.
Garapan upgrades
SO rather than build new roads to the outlying parts of Saipan, the government will install traffic lights in Chalan Kanoa where it seems that thieves and burglars are having a field day. In any case, whatever capital improvement monies remain should pay for historic and scenic developments at existing tourist sites, and a continuation of the upgrades slated for Garapan, the commonwealth’s main tourism area.
Maintenance should be provided for as well.
In addition, the police station in Garapan should be manned with officers and bicycles for patrol. Police rarely prevent crimes, but their obvious presence can be an effective deterrent in an area patrolled by the more ambitious petty criminals. Crime prevention spares taxpayers the cost of arraignment, detention, defense, prosecution, trial and incarceration costs.
More for less
THE commonwealth is blessed with natural beauty not yet completely destroyed by hideous development. This is the right time to allow for attractive development that improves the quality of the experience for tourists and the quality of life for all residents. This is the only way that life can improve for everyone in the long term and it might even help negate some of the sting that comes from the hardship of paying CUC more money for unreliable service.
After the power rate hikes closed businesses and forced consumers to conserve on energy use, CUC jacked up water rates to “compensate” for the reduction of fuel rates. Now folks are charged with paying astronomical sums for water they don’t use. Some individuals claim that meter readers don’t read the meters at all, resulting in sharp hikes in monthly consumption charges. CUC recently announced a new power rate hike to make up for costs involved in paying higher Retirement Fund contributions. All this without having to demonstrate any austerity, any financial or operational justification for the huge personnel costs CUC carries.
