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NMA shells out for Micro Games debt
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Posted on Nov 13 2006
Though it has been more than four months since the close of the 6th Micronesian Games, one of the local sporting organizations disclosed that they had to settle an outstanding balance during the most recent meeting of the Northern Marianas Amateur Sports Association—one they feel was not their responsibility.
According to Northern Marianas Athletics secretary general Robin Sapong, his organization recently paid out $1,500 to a local vendor for the use of sound equipment that was used at the Oleai Sports Complex track and field facility during the Games Micro Games.
Sapong contends that the cost was to be covered by the Micronesian Games Organizing Committee but that the funds have not been forthcoming.
“The vendors keep on asking me so we just went ahead and paid them. I had to pay $1,500. The vendors are asking us because we negotiated with them so we paid them for the sound system for the track. MCOC was supposed to take care of it but they never got back to us,” he said.
While the MCOC wasn’t returning calls to the NMA, the vendors had no problem picking up the phone to ask for the money they were promised in advance of the Games, and that’s what they did.
“They kept on leaving messages on my phone and on my answering machine at home and I got fed up so I went to the (NMA) board and asked if we could take care of it. It was too much stress,” he said.
Sapong said that the NMA ratified the decision to pay for the equipment, and the bill was later satisfied because the NMA originally negotiated with the vendors for the use of the equipment and felt it was only fair that the vendor receive compensation for services and materials rendered.
During the meeting, NMASA president Mike White said that he still hasn’t heard anything regarding the progress of the MCOC’s official report that Palacios previously said would be furnished no later than a month following the Games.
