Lack of funds impedes visit to Northern Islands

The Northern Islands Mayor’s Office had to postpone its planned quarterly visit to the remote islands at the beginning of this month due to lack of funds to support the cost of the chartered trip.

Mayor Joseph T. Ogumoro, however, expressed urgency to conduct the trip before the end of October, citing the immediate need to re-supply Northern Islands residents especially in the Agrigan area of their basic, daily necessities.

“We only have little money left to fund this trip but we need to do so before November,” the mayor said yesterday.

Close to 20 individuals led by Mr. Ogumoro, NIMO employees, and representatives from various government agencies involved in the ongoing Northern Islands resettlement plan are set to leave Saipan aboard a chartered sea vessel at the end of this month.

According to the mayor, the voyage may take six to seven days as the team is projected to hop from one island to another.

The average daily travel costs for a group of less than 20 people usually amount to $3,000, Mr. Ogumoro noted.

The huge expense alone, the mayor added, is a clear manifestation that legislators should reconsider the Fiscal Year 2001 budget previously approved by the House of Representatives for NIMO which provides the agency with only $16,000 or so quarterly.

“So just one charter wipes out the entire office’s operations budget,” he cited.

As Mr. Ogumoro cited in a letter of appeal to the Senate, the amount is insufficient and would surely jeopardize NIMO’s economic development plan for the islands of Anatahan, Sarigan, Alamagan, Pagan, Agrigan and Asuncion.

The mayor said the House’s version of NIMO’s FY 2001 budget is less by over $200,000 than its original request and is also less than the office’s FY 1999 budget by close to $70,000.

“This budget is an insult to the people of the Northern Islands and will cause a major setback in NIMO’s ability to push through with its development project,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ogumoro has also requested the assistance of the Commonwealth Health Center to extend medical services and health care to Northern Islands residents.

He also proposed that the local government consider training several Northern Islanders on effective emergency responses to save costs on charter trips for medical representatives based on Saipan.

The mayor met yesterday with health officials to discuss more on the issue and identify health care needs of the Northern Islands population.