By Zaldy Dandan – Variety Editor
Over and over
THE Senate vice president wants the Arts Council to pay what it owes local artists and cultural practitioners. The Arts Council is an agency of the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, whose secretary at the time appeared before lawmakers during a budget hearing three years ago and said, “Honestly, I’m very depressed coming here. I want to cry because what am I defending? Zero.” She said that whenever the directors of the agencies under DCCA were in dire need of anything, they would come to her office, but “I don’t know how to help them” due to a lack of funding. (Two months later, she would resign for “health reasons.”)
That was before the local economy got worse — before the near collapse of the tourism industry and before a super typhoon plowed through these islands.
Government officials say promoting and preserving local culture is important. So why are local artists and cultural practitioners getting stiffed by their own government?
But then again, everyone on Capital Hill is “for education.” Yet they passed a budget that forced PSS to reduce the number of its school days. Elected officials are also “for public health,” but they have consistently underfunded the medical referral program. They want CUC to provide better and more affordable utility services while not paying their utility bills on time, even after “forgiving” a significant portion of their arrears. They wring their hands over the FAC rate hikes, but no one among them has yet to propose scrapping the FAC and subsidizing CUC’s fuel expenses instead.
Because that is the solution. The legislative and executive branches should provide adequate funding to DCCA, CHCC, CUC, and other critical agencies. But what’s the funding source?
Anyone?
Again and again
ANOTHER lawmaker says the Arts Council should be placed under the Marianas Visitors Authority. Okay. But will MVA receive additional funding to take on this added responsibility?
As for presenting “a cohesive cultural identity to visitors” — that has been a recurring goal in several tourism plans commissioned over the years. A 2011 master plan, for example, not only emphasized the importance of providing visitors with a “cultural experience of the Marianas,” but also explored the potential of niche tourism, educational tourism, nature-based tourism, sustainable tourism, agritourism, sports tourism, U.S. military R&R, the “silver” market, and other specialized tourism sectors. “History and culture go hand-in-hand in tourism,” the master plan stated.
How was that plan implemented? Or was it implemented at all? If not, why not?
The same questions can be asked of numerous reports addressing longstanding problems that seem to worsen whenever the CNMI government runs short of money. Consider CUC. For years, CUC has been the subject of legislative hearings, audits, court filings, and government reports. It has operated under federal stipulated orders since November 2008, generating a steady stream of findings, recommendations, and analyses regarding its condition and the challenges it faces.
What have elected officials done with all those findings and recommendations?
As the Office of the Public Auditor noted in a 2017 report regarding CUC: “No other CNMI autonomous agency has experienced this degree of legislative and executive branch interference.”
But where is the legislative or executive action needed to resolve, once and for all, the well-documented “weaknesses” and “structural defects” that have been identified repeatedly over the years?
Like CUC, MVA is another government entity entrusted with responsibilities that are vital to the welfare of the Commonwealth and its people. Yet agencies such as MVA and CUC continue to struggle with inadequate funding. They are underfunded by the very officials who later criticize them for lacking the resources necessary to fulfill their missions.
Zaldy Dandan is the recipient of the NMI Society of Professional Journalists’ Best in Editorial Writing Award and the NMI Humanities Award for Outstanding Contributions to Journalism. His four books are available on amazon.com/.
