Saipan Tribune

Monday, May 20, 2013

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Enforcement Task Force underway

Gov. Benigno R. Fitial and Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos unveiled the Enforcement Task Force plan during the leadership meeting at the governor's conference room Tuesday last week.

The ETF, as presented by Department of Commerce Secretary Sixto K. Igisomar, laid out a very optimistic plan. The current ad hoc task force committee members are expected and charged to implement a plan within two to three months starting by end of November, and initiate the first field visit before the start of the second quarter of 2013.

Members of the ETF ad hoc committee include Igisomar, Finance Secretary Larrisa Larson, Labor Secretary Gil San Nicolas, and WIA executive director Edith Deleon Guerrero.

According to Igisomar, the first item on the agenda would be planning and assessment during the first couple of months, then eventually fieldwork by the third to fourth month. The beginning and planning phase includes overall inventory of permits, certificates, licenses, as well as consolidation of forms, checklist, vehicles, staffing, legal support, and so on.

“The idea is to group our enforcement officers together and consolidate our resources and capacity,” stated Fitial. “It is our intention to canvas the island and hopefully find only a handful of non-compliances, if not zero, as the businesses and public will be informed well ahead of time before we get out on the field.”

Fitial also informed the leadership that the ETF has always been a plan of action for the administration and applauds the ad hoc committee members. Echoing the governor and lieutenant governor, Rep. Ramon Basa applauded Commerce and the ad hoc committee members, but stressed the importance of making sure that Commerce and the Commonwealth Development Authority do not lose sight of the significance of looking for outside investors or looking for other ways to increase investments or the CNMI tax base.

The ad hoc team assembled by the administration is the same team responsible for initiating the CNMI Prevailing Wage & Workforce Assessment Survey in late 2011. The PWWAS is now complete with the publication of the Prevailing Wage part on April 30, and the Workforce Assessment part in September 2012.

“With the new ETF charge or task to this phenomenal group, I am always happy to contribute to anything that brings positive movement in our community,” stated WIA's Deleon Guerrero.

“People may not realize, but sometimes someone has to do the not so grandiose plan, but yet significantly imperative to the interconnectivity of our economic fabrics and contributing to the greater scales of economic sustainability, innovation, and expansion,” added Igisomar. (Office of the Governor)