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Fitial plans to appoint new MPLT trustees
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Posted on Jan 29 2006
The Fitial administration is looking at simply appointing new trustees to the Marianas Public Land Trust to address issues concerning the agency.
Like the Marianas Public Lands Authority, the MPLT Board of Trustees has been criticized for alleged misuse of public funds. Fitial has already announced that MPLA would be abolished by legislation. But it may not easy to do the same thing with MPLT.
Attorney Howard Willens, head legal counsel for Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, noted that MPLT is a constitutionally created agency. Thus, it could not be abolished except by constitutional amendment.
Since there are three vacancies on the five-person Board of Trustees, Fitial has the opportunity to simply find three persons who meet constitutional requirements to serve on the board, Willens said.
“Every agency provides a different set of problems that may take different remedies. Here, the remedy may be through appointments—appoint three members who will sign up to what’s going to be a reform program that this administration will set forth,” he said.
Fitial said individuals have already been identified to serve on the MPLT Board of Trustees. Their names will be revealed later.
