OPA ignored, corruption embraced

If I had to name the single most efficient, conscientious, professional and ethical office in our local government, I would have to say it is, without a doubt, the Office of the Public Auditor, headed by Mr. Leo LaMotte. The only people who despise the OPA are those who either (1.) had their hands caught in the government cookie jar or (2) wish to raid that jar in the future without redress.

Over the past few years, the OPA has done one hell of an outstanding job exposing rampant government incompetence and corruption. Under Mr. LaMotte’s able direction, the OPA has exposed all sorts of waste, fraud, theft, and abuse.

To be sure, the OPA has unearthed the goods on virtually every government office, including, but not limited to, the following: the Commonwealth Ports Authority, the Marianas Visitors Authority, the Department of Public Works, the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation, the Mayors’ offices, the Municipal Council, the Department of
Labor and Immigration, the Governor’s Office, the Office of Aging, the Public School System–you name it. The OPA has tirelessly conducted numerous systematic and substantial audits–many of which can be readily found on the OPA’s website (at www.opacnmi.com).

Yet, despite these noteworthy and highly commendable efforts, the OPA has been largely–and tragically–ignored. Indeed, the Saipan Tribune yesterday reported that the OPA was ignored 18 percent more in 1999 than in 1998, when 153 OPA recommendations were ignored by various government agencies.

Significantly enough, nothing ever happened to these government agencies. They remain free to callously ignore the useful recommendations of the OPA without fear of reprisal. The Finance Department, for example, remains free to ignore 50 solid OPA recommendations.

Even more significant, in many cases, nothing ever happened to the government hoodlums who perpetrated these fantastic acts of fraud, waste, theft, corruption, and abuse. In many instances, they were apparently rewarded for their fiscal malfeasance: they got off Scot-free.

The illegal procurements, the double payments, the abuse of government vehicles, the excessive hiring, the unjustified overtime pay, the credit card abuses and travel abuses–all of these wretched, despicable acts were handsomely rewarded by callous government neglect and the pronounced failure to aggressively prosecute.

The government doesn’t seem to mind. The voting public is not morally outraged; they don’t seem to care, so long as they get their fair share of the government cookie jar. Government goes on–business as usual in the CNMI.