Sea change in the CNMI

It’s an understatement to say that life in the Marianas is changing fast. And unfortunately for many, dealing with change is not something that’s easy. It’s just human nature that people like to settle into routines and cling to what they know and the lifestyles they have become used to.

Any way we look at it, times are getting harder. We can see the discomfort in our community through the seething letters to the editor, the raw language in the blogs, and more. Like it or not, it’s a fact that our economy is changing rapidly. The local government, businesses and individual lifestyles MUST change in order to deal with rapidly rising costs and a shrinking number of customers.

Could we have stopped the tide from changing? Could we have done better planning?

Whether we’re talking about how to deal with the fiscal crisis in the local government, the rising costs of power, fuel, shipping, food, or about federalization of immigration and certain changes this means for jobs and livelihoods—the CNMI is in a time of pivotal significance regarding the decisions we make for the islands’ future.

In other words, how we handle the most serious issues of today will determine the future comfort of our community and whether we remain self-sufficient or not.

We don’t have the luxury of waiting to see what will happen next. We need to drive the changes ourselves. Unfortunately, it always seems that in the CNMI, planning and cooperation becomes increasingly difficult as we get closer to each election.

Recently a group of approximately 40 planning experts from various segments of the U.S. Department of Defense were on Saipan and Tinian to work on the blueprint for the military buildup in the region. This was not their first meeting, but just one in a series of gatherings to share briefings and talk about the impact of their task on the Marianas. They listened to a local panel talk about the CNMI’s economic challenges, and they took a trip to Tinian to see what the island and its local infrastructure is like. These planners are on a deadline because the buildup and the changes that will be required will be here fast.

Without a doubt, the CNMI will gain something from the military buildup. Shall we wait for their plan and then react? Or should we put our act together and make stronger, more organized efforts to get our islands back in gear and drive certain readiness from within?

Just one of the things that local companies can do now is register their interest, capabilities and qualifications in performing various services in support of the Guam military buildup initiative. Interested firms can respond to a questionnaire by downloading a market survey form at www.neco.navfac.navy.mil.

Local companies in the CNMI can also plan to take part in the buildup by going through the steps now to register as veteran, minority and/or women-owned businesses that can work with prime contractors. There are federal requirements to give a certain level of business to such firms and this is not just in construction. Those who study up on the military’s requirements and prepare now will likely benefit sooner.

For example, we could work harder and faster to develop our other industries, such as agriculture and aquaculture. Knowing that the cost of food is going up, there will be a growing local market as our sister islands welcomes many more military personnel, their families and contractors. We should build up our farming on Rota, Tinian and Saipan, and get our interisland shipping capability back up to snuff so we can get these local products to market on Guam.

We can resist change or we can plan for it. No one has all of the answers, but if we simply stand still and expect others to solve our problems, we’re likely to get swept away in the changing tide.