Northern Islands residents surveyed

The Office of the Northern Islands Mayor has now collected close to 300 survey returns from current and previous Northern Islands residents in a bid to determine Commonwealth citizens eligible to own land on the remote islands.

The survey, which started at the beginning of this month, is being administered to evaluate and assess the needs of Northern Islanders as well as to solicit opinions on Northern Islands Mayor Joseph T. Ogumoro’s efforts to repatriate the islands’ inhabitants.

“This will give us a clear picture of the number of residents who are ready to resettle back to their homeland in this interagency project with the Public School System, Dept. of Public Lands, Dept. of Public Health,” said the mayor.

Residents of the islands of Anatahan, Sarigan, Alamagan, Pagan, Agrigan, Asuncion, or other islands north of Saipan are the target of the survey for the one-month study.

The six-page survey contains a total of 27 questions on resident’s background (name, age, date of birth, occupation, etc.), opinions and ideas on possible infrastructure projects on the islands, and more importantly, their interest to resettle up north.

“We want to gauge the interest of the people, those who are serious in helping develop the Northern Islands and are anxious to go back there,” said Mr. Ogumoro.

The survey is also designed to determine the number of Northern Islands residents who legally have claims to own land at the remote islands.

“With this survey, we hope to develop priorities where perhaps those who were truly born in the Northern Islands can be attended to first,” he said.

“We are also asking for input about how much they think they can afford to pay if they were to start paying for the land that they would eventually own. We just want their voices to be heard so we can plan according to the people’s consensus,” the mayor added.

Survey returns are expected to pour in before the end of the month, as the Mayor’s Office has also distributed questionnaires via the Internet for residents who are currently based outside the CNMI.

Though the pilot project has been set to be conducted for only a one-month period, Mr. Ogumoro said the his office will not close its doors to other residents who, due to certain unavoidable reasons, could not submit their survey questionnaires on time.