THE world is moving forward " except for the CNMI.
This was the message that Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, who has been in office for five years now, delivered to lawmakers during their closed-door summit at the Saipan World Resort on Friday.
Fitial along with Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos met with the members of the Senate and House of Representatives to discuss ways to revitalize the CNMI economy.
Speaker Froilan C. Tenorio, Covenant-Saipan, Senate Vice President Jude U. Hofschneider, R-Tinian, Sen. Juan M. Ayuyu, Ind.-Rota, and Rep. Edmund S. Villagomez, Covenant-Saipan, were off-island.
œThis is something Ive been looking forward to, the governor said, referring to the summit. œI told everybody that the whole world is moving forward and the CNMI is the only one moving backward. So the only way to go forward is to get together, Fitial told the media after the five-hour meeting.
He said they reached a consensus regarding a lot of issues facing the commonwealth, including possible ways to end the governments austerity measures.
The governor declined to elaborate but assured œthere are plans that we will be working on.
He said they also discussed a possible solution to the delayed payrolls.
According to the governor, he and Inos urged lawmakers to approve the incentive program proposed by the Marianas Visitors Authority several months ago to cushion the CNMI tourism industry from two œdeath valley periods.
The first occurred in September-November last year when no flights came in from Osaka and Nagoya, Japan. The second one will happen from March to May this year.
Fitial said Inos will submit draft legislation next week.
House Minority Leader Diego T. Benavente, R-Saipan, said this measure will identify the funding source for the $6.2 million in incentives to travel agents who will bring in tourists from Osaka and Nagoya.
Benavente, who was interviewed during a break in the meeting, said they want to see 60,000 arrivals.
This number, he added, may not seem a lot but it will at least stabilize the air service to the CNMI from these two Japanese cities.
Members of both houses of the Legislature made a commitment to pass this measure, Variety was told.
Benavente said not everyone was in agreement with some of the other proposals discussed during the summit, œbut that is okay.
He added, œI just hope that as we continue with these discussions we can come into an agreement.
Among the other topics discussed were Article 12 or the land ownership rule, Saipan casino, revenue generating legislation, pozzolan mining on Pagan, the reduction of government workforce, the privatization of some government services, alternative energy sources and the Retirement Fund.
Variety learned that during the summit, some of the House minority bloc members œcongratulated Fitial for being accepted to the Republican Party, which drew laughter from the governor, Inos and the Covenant Party lawmakers.
When one of the House leadership members questioned why they seemed to be skipping a discussion regarding the Saipan casino, a senator answered that they should œexhaust all means achievable before resorting to something controversial.
If none of the proposals brought to the table would work, then thats the time they should consider a casino on Saipan, the senator said, adding that the people œshould see first that all things possible have been tried.
None of these lawmakers wanted to be identified.
Article source: http://www.mvariety.com/2011010733264/local-news/breaking-news-governor-says-nmi-moving-backward.php
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