FLASHBACK — March 1999-2003

Budget comes down[/B]

With the island economy showing no signs of improvement, Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio plans to reduce the appropriation level that will usher the new millennium, cutting back 2 percent to $206 million the proposed budget for FY 2000 from the current spending package. But some skeptics say anticipated revenues to be collected in the next fiscal year are unrealistic considering the expected decline in user fees the garment industry will pitch in to the local coffers. According to garment representatives, the slowdown in production could go beyond initial estimate of 25 percent because of the sharp drop in orders from US buyers worried over the $1 billion class action lawsuit.

Amid mounting calls for her resignation because of allegations of mismanagement of the Northern Marianas College, Agnes McPhetres has informed faculty members that she is retiring as president of the island’s only higher learning institution in December. The news of her retirement came as a surprise to the college even if she had expressed her intentions to retire to members of the Board of Regents late last year. Sources from NMC who spoke on condition of anonymity said McPhetres informed the faculty Tuesday that she wrote to the Board explaining her plans to step down as president, a position she has held since the inception of the college in 1981.

Hiring ban now on[/B]

Citing the need to safeguard national security, the CNMI’s Department of Labor and Immigration has banned the hiring of new nonresident workers from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Chinese coming from China’s Fujian Province. In a related development, the DOLI also said it will strictly enforce the deadline on the filing of applications for nonresidents’ renewal of employment, saying the department would no longer accept those filed beyond the legally prescribed period. The two directives were contained in separate public notices issued by the department’s acting secretary, Dr. Joaquin A. Tenorio. The hiring ban became effective last Friday.

The CNMI tourism industry rebounded from the tragic events of 9-11 as tourist arrivals to the Commonwealth registered a 6.7-percent increase, from January’s 38,699 total visitors to February’s 41,280. But the continued increase in visitor arrivals to the CNMI remains below the total number of tourists that the Commonwealth played host to in February 2001, which totaled 44,178 or 6.56 percent more than last month’s. Total visitors for February 2002 slid slightly by 6.56 percent due to decline in the number of Japanese tourists who visited the CNMI last month compared to the same period last year.

BoS elects new board officers[/B]

The Bank of Saipan has elected a new set of directors, bringing back to order what bank receiver Antonio Muna described as a formerly “chaotic” board. Ten board seats were filled Saturday in an election among the bank’s majority shareholders, Muna said. Muna is ex officio member, pursuant to a court order that approved the bank’s rehabilitation plan. The receiver exercises veto power over the board’s decisions. Elected board chairman was Paul Calvo, the receiver said. Save Our Savings depositors’ group representative Anthony Pellegrino was installed board secretary. “Everything was reconstituted,” Muna said. “The reason for this reconstitution is that the board was in disarray.”

The CNMI’s largest business organization is urging the local government not to rush into more tax increases, but instead to look at ways the government “can tighten its belt and increase efficiency.” In a 12-page letter addressed to Gov. Juan N. Babauta released to the media on Friday, the Saipan Chamber of Commerce outlined its position on the Administration’s Integrated Fiscal Plan. “The downturn in our economy over the past 5 years is an unfortunate reality, and must eventually be dealt with through a sustained reduction in government spending in proportion to the economic decline,” said Chamber President Jay B. Jones. “With the threat of a potential war in Iraq, the possibility exists that both tourism and apparel sales could greatly decline in the near future. The local government must similarly be prepared for reduced revenue,” said Jones.