Closer NMI-US ties seen

Rota Mayor Benjamin T. Manglona is confident the assumption to office of United States President-elect George W. Bush would pave the road for a smoother and stronger relationship between the federal and commonwealth governments.

In a letter to Mr. Bush, the mayor raised the possibility of once again opening the negotiating tables between the U.S. and the CNMI governments under the Section 702 of the Covenant that created the Commonwealth.

“We respectfully suggest that your Transition Team meet with our Covenant 902 team, led by CNMI Lt. Gov. Jesus R. Sablan. In this way, we could get a running start to improve federal support for our local economy,” said Mr. Manglona.

The mayor also made a pitch criticizing the administration of incumbent President Bill Clinton who, he said, sought restraints on the Commonwealth’s open market economy by scrapping the CNMI’s duty-free access to the U.S.

“We’ve operated under constant threat of federal takeover. Local self-government has been the target. Investors have been discouraged and frightened away,” he told Mr. Bush in a Dec. 15, 2000 letter.

“We have pulled our own weight and relieved the U.S. taxpayer. We have raised local revenues with the tools for local government found in our Covenant with the United States. Mr. Clinton would have done away with these tools,” he added.

In fact, a previous report by the U.S. Congress’ investigative arm — General Accounting Office — disclosed the CNMI has risen to be the most fiscally self-sufficient among other U.S. outlying areas like Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Freely Associated States

GAO has said this was primarily fueled by growth in the garment and tourism industries.

The ratio of locally derived government revenue to gross domestic product in the CNMI is also higher than that of most other outlying areas and is larger than the comparable ratio for all levels of government in the U.S.

The GAO report said the Commonwealth government obtained about 87 percent of its general revenue from local sources while payments from the U.S. Treasury accounted for 13 percent.

In 1998, the garment industry contributed 22 percent of the government’s $234 million budget. The tourism sector pitched in 14 percent of the Commonwealth’s $248 million budget in 1997.

Mr. Manglona said he joins the Commonwealth in supporting the president-elect’s call for the empowerment of local governments. “We agree with you that local officials should make decisions for the community.” (Aldwin R. Fajardo)