The Fund has called multiple emergency meetings in recent weeks to explore ways to cut costs and boost contribution payments, all to no avail.
While Fund officials worry about pension obligations, wringing their hands over minor regulatory changes, the administration and Legislature travel and do little else that might preserve the pension agency in some fashion.
One lawmaker, to be sure, has proposed the abolition of the Saipan mayor’s office. Fine. But what about the municipal councils and the other redundant government offices headed by so many “special assistants”?
There is also no benefit for the Legislature’s continued membership in the APIL. The CNMI hasn’t even paid its dues for the last two years, but it did not stop lawmakers and staffers from boarding a plane to vacation in Palau for a week. Dues and the trip cost a minimum of $50,000, an amount that would have covered at least one hospital vendor payment, ensuring a continuing supply of tests, laboratory work medicine and vital life saving supplies.
Continued subsidies for the Youth Congress, Liberation Day festivities and other worthy but not urgent expenses must be eliminated. Funds should be directed to address serious shortfalls at the island’s only hospital and the Retirement Fund.
Downsizing government, if done carefully and methodically, will protect and improve vital public services and solve the CNMI’s financial crisis. It is not on the table, however, because the primary consideration on Capital Hill, then and now, is how to reward supporters so one can remain in office.
Another distraction
THE governor’s repeated calls for reunification with Guam are interesting but not helpful. It’s more like an annoying distraction from the enormous problems on hand. The NMI and Guam have been separated by over 100 years of history. The NMI, moreover, has a Covenant that establishes a political status very different from Guam’s. The NMI’s political status is so different that the governor even named his political party after it.
A recent poll conducted by NMC students reveals that a majority of residents on Rota favor reunification with Guam, but this is not surprising given their proximity to Guam. Many Rota residents move to Guam for education and employment. Moreover, the politicians on Rota have not served their community well and this is reflected in the local preference for Guam over Saipan as the center of government. Perhaps this is where the political reunification discussion should begin — not for any reason other than that Rota residents feel that Guam is more responsive to their needs and is the political entity which provides the best future prospects.
The people of Rota, however, need to be cautious. The proverbial grass always looks greener on the other side. The CNMI still has a great deal to offer its residents and its future can be much brighter than it is, but it must begin by electing better leaders, expecting better results from them and holding them accountable for their actions.
