Hope in unity among leaders

The Issue: NMI Leadership unite to forge and rebuild ruined local economy.

Our View: Gratitude to Speaker Fitial for bringing the triad–House, Senate and Administration–under a single roof.

It was a surprise luncheon gathering among members of the bicameral legislature and the titular head (governor) arranged by Speaker Benigno Fitial last week.

It’s an encouraging beginning in the sense that familiar key faces have not engaged in any meaningful gathering and delibverative discussions to rechart a ruined local economy and image.

The pillars of ruination–assaults of the Asian Crisis and federal takeover–are major issues that have destroyed the image of paradise as a healthy venue for investment.

However it isn’t obvious to the naked eye, the threat of a federal takeover, has discouraged major investors from making these isles their permanent home. Rather than risk sinking their money in an unstable investment venue, they have headed elsewhere at our expense or loss.

It’s gratifying too that the local economy has started out on the road to recovery however slow it may be. But even with the emergence of new businesses, the NMI still needs to diversify its economy in order to reboot wealth and jobs creation beyond conventional investments. It is here where Speaker Fitial took the initiative to re-awaken local leadership that despite the odds, it can and must be done for posterity.

Already, Speaker Fitial has received expressions of interest from two regional airlines who wish to provide direct flights from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines. We hope that one of these airlines would consider direct flights out of Saipan into Honolulu. Opportunities abound for the NMI to see the tourism industry rebound to a level we enjoyed when direct flights out of Tokyo provided healthy arrivals of tourists.

Fitial also looks forward to working with friends in the US Congress to suspend CIP matching requirements until such time that the NMI is back on its feet. And we look forward to seeing positive results on this matter in that it’s the only means by which we could rebuild the basic infrastructure to encourage lasting investments beyond institutional investments now on island.

The gathering of local leadership is a good beginning in our determination to build greater prosperity for the NMI via protecting current investments while seeking to encourage more wealth and jobs creation up ahead. That the NMI isn’t a beneficiary of military bases (economy) is more the reason to proactively and aggressively seek for other forms of lasting investments. It isn’t a question of option but of dire necessity! Si Yuus Maase`!