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‘Act now, or it’s too late’
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Posted on Dec 07 2006
Words never so true were spoken during the recent Saipan Chamber of Commerce meeting by the PTI CEO when he stated that to survive, urgent changes are needed.
Yes, the billions of dollars being generated by the gargantuan U.S. entertainment venues and casinos in Macau, Hong Kong and soon, Singapore, is increasing as we speak. There is much more, as stated in my letter to the editor on Dec. 1. We could be part of this reward if we make the commitment.
And yes, the CNMI’s controversial Article 12 shall remain the stigma unless recast. Though modeled after the state of Hawaii, which thrived by originally leasing lands to Japanese investors beginning in the 1960s, much of those leasehold rights have been modified over the decades. Guam faced the same land alienation problem, which they adequately handled after the 1950 Organic Act. But we are confronted with our own reality of today’s economic crunch.
Will our elected officials pursue an immediate change in course?
My comment about attracting select and monied permanent residents is the quickest arc of revitalizing our economy. In a form, it happened here not too long ago. Japanese investors, primarily of the mom-and-pop store kind and flush with monies they never had before, came and spent during the “bubble years” circa 1986-1991 (1996). I believe it will happen again.
Delgado’s entreaties are real-life. Unfortunately, however, an insurmountable obstacle still looms ahead: the mindset of those who are presently in authority in which he wishes to alter. Given how these elected officials were “taught” by 30 years of just-getting-by and rampant corruption, and being influenced by those hangers-on still on the hill, the solution could be next to improbable.
Thanks to Governor Fitial’s leadership and his focused ability to guide these newly elected public servants on a just course, the community stands a chance for these stated reforms.
Though our path is arduous and the present is still the past, I see what Delgado sees: don’t debate the issues, act now, or it’s too late.
[B]Holani Smith[/B] [I]Tanapag, Saipan[/I]
