FOR LAND COMPENSATION $36-M needed to pay owners

The House Ways and Means Committee is again considering plans to compensate landowners whose properties have been acquired by the government for public use, such as for roadways and buildings, through outside borrowing, according to its chairman.

Rep. Antonio M. Camacho projected funding need of at least $36 million to meet long-due obligations to hundreds of families on the islands.

While there is no specific action plan either by the House or the Tenorio administration, he said one measure they are eyeing is flotation of bonds that will generate sufficient funds to pay the landowners.

This will be undertaken jointly by the Marianas Public Land Trust, the Division of Public Lands, the Legislature and the administration, added Mr. Camacho.

“The [Ways and Means] committee would look into some sort of initiative to assist the public lands to start making payment,” he told reporters in an interview yesterday.

“It’s long overdue and the people have been asking for payment since way back. It’s not fair to prolong this because they have already signed agreements for the exchange of their lands,” said the representative.

Land exchange instead of cash compensation is another option being looked into by the committee, but Mr. Camacho pointed out that this could be more difficult as there has been shortage of public lands that can be used as payment.

He pledged to continue the discussion on the issue together with Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio, public lands officials and members of the Legislature in order to draw up solution to the long-standing problem which has been compounded by the financial difficulties confronting the CNMI.

Last year, the governor expressed support for plans, including bond flotation, to reduce its debts to landowners, that had been brought by the previous Legislature. None came through, however, as the government remained under severe cash flow problems.

Initial estimates placed the amount to between $70 million to $80 million from dealings done as far back as early in the 90’s, involving more than 200 properties now owned by the government.

While the government appropriated $2.5 million in 1997 to provide partial payment to some landowners, there was no funding budgeted in the last two years.