Austerity that never was

Lame duck Gov. Juan N. Babauta declared subsequent to his gubernatorial victory in November 2001 the importance of “cutting back and saving money” with the issuance of two executive directives regarding austerity measures. The austerity measures were presumably in place but they were never adhered to over the past four years.

Recently, Babauta lifted the austerity measures subsequent to the revelation that he would be replaced by Benigno Repeki Fitial as CNMI governor. Were the austerity measures lifted because the fiscal health of the government improved over the past four years? The answer is no simply because the government is currently cash-strapped and in dire straits fiscally.

In order to keep the fiscal picture from continuing to be disarray, governor-elect Fitial and lieutenant governor-elect Timothy Villagomez respectfully requested that Babauta terminate any actions that would make the overall fiscal picture even worse. As far as whether Babauta respectfully adheres to the new administration’s requests remains to be seen.

So what was the motivation for Babauta to lift the measures that were supposed to help the government recuperate from fiscal woes? Could it be that he wanted to “go hog-wild” with spending taxpayer dollars between Nov. 19 and when the inauguration Fitial takes place on Jan. 9, 2006?

Because Babauta is still obligated as a public servant to answer to the island community, it is imperative that he make an official announcement to explain his decision to lift the austerity measures. To not bother to communicate with the people of the island community who he is supposed to provide leadership for would be a blatant display of disregard, disdain, and utter disrespect.

When the Office of the Public Auditor submitted their reports in 2005 and revealed that the deficit for the CNMI government soared from $98 million to over $120 million, it became quite apparent that the Babauta administration never took to heart and was clearly not serious about any cutting back or reducing the crippling deficit.

And when the actual numbers are revealed in terms of just how much money in the public coffers was expended for travel from the time Babauta took office in 2002 up until he officially leaves in January 2006 (projected to be from $5 to $6 million for four years), the island community will know outright that there was never any austerity measures period. This coupled with the fact the deficit increased over $20 million under Babauta’s leadership substantiates that austerity never took place.

Politicians who provide “lip service” to the electorate will always lose credibility simply because it will inevitably and always come back to bite them on the backside. Since Babauta will not be in office and be allowed to continue providing lip service, the island community can now turn to their new governor who has a solid fiscal track record as a House Speaker and has never been known to blow smoke and give lip service.

Dr. Jesus D. Camacho
Delano, California