Fitial insists on independent audit of Azmar

House Speaker Benigno R. Fitial reiterated his call yesterday for the Marianas Public Lands Authority to do an audit of Azmar International’s finances amid talks of its mining permit application approval.

He said the audit must be done by a third party to ensure neutrality but its cost should be shouldered by Azmar.

“I must insist, at the very least, that MPLA retain an independent accounting firm to audit Azmar’s submitted financial statement so that Azmar’s financial capability can be independently verified by a neutral third party at Azmar’s expense,” said Fitial in a Nov. 16 letter to MPLA chair Ana Demapan-Castro.

The Speaker said that he is personally against granting any further extension for Azmar since it failed to provide the requested documents before the initial 60-day deadline.

But he said that MPLA has continued to entertain Azmar’s application despite “numerous missteps, including a highly questionable and arguably illegal employee contract draft.”

“Although I would rather not see MPLA grant Azmar further application extensions, if MPLA decides to grant an extension anyway, as expected, then it is my position that, at a very minimum, MPLA should at least insist that an independent audit of Azmar’s financial statement be conducted…,” said Fitial.

He said the audit should be conducted within a reasonable time period designated by MPLA.

The other day, Fitial wrote Demapan-Castro suggesting that Azmar be given 90-day extension to comply with conditions before being given a permit.

“Before MPLA actually grants Azmar a mining permit, I believe Azmar must clearly demonstrate, with overwhelming evidence, that it can meet its financial commitment to the CNMI. It must submit substantial proof of its alleged financial capability,” said Fitial in the previous letter.

Fitial yesterday clarified that it has been his position that Azmar’s application be denied pending a comprehensive study by a multi-agency task force as proposed in his bill, House Bill 14-204.

“However, since the Senate has refused to pass the bill, and since the MPLA itself is apparently unwilling to implement the provisions called for in the bill, I must insist that MPLA retain an independent accounting to audit Azmar,” he said.