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Cohen: Privatization results in cost-efficiency
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Posted on Oct 27 2004
The Office of Insular Affairs would support power privatization if the CNMI government decides to go in that direction.
Asked on the issue yesterday, visiting OIA deputy assistant secretary David Cohen said that findings indicate that privatization can often result in more cost-effective services.
“It’s not for me to weigh in on those type of policy issues except to say that economic research shows that privatization can often result in services being delivered more cost-effectively and, if the government wants to pursue privatization, we will be supportive and do what we can to assist,” said Cohen.
Power privatization is one of the issues that Cohen and OIA economist Wali Osman discussed in a closed-door meeting with local officials, headed by Gov. Juan N. Babauta, House Speaker Benigno Fitial, Vice Speaker Timothy Villagomez, and other lawmakers on Saipan yesterday.
Speaking in generalities, Cohen said they discussed about “the proper relationship of the government and the private sector” or “has government taken too large a role,” and “what things the government needs to do to give the private sector comfort.”
“We’re not talking here of CNMI alone. It’s a regional issue,” he said.
All these, he said, are aimed at making the territories become attractive sites for investments.
“We discussed how we can work together to improve the business climate. When businesses come here, we’d make sure that we’ve done everything to make a good impression. OIA’s role is not to support a particular type of investment but to work with the local government to make them attractive to businesses in general,” he said.
Cohen is on-island to follow up on issues in relation to the business conference organized by the Department of the Interior for the territories in Los Angeles.
“We’re doing everything we can do to make sure that the enthusiasm of the conference is not squandered,” he said.
