Insular governments like the CNMI need to assess their relationship with the private sector to ensure an improved business climate, according to Department of the Interior deputy assistant secretary for insular affairs David Cohen.<\/p>\n
Cohen said it is very important for investors to find island economies \u201cattractive\u201d as business destinations.<\/p>\n
To begin with, governments need to ask themselves if they have taken too large a role in the private sector and determine their proper relationship with the business community. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe discussed what type of things the governments need to give the private sector comfort to come here and create opportunities\u2026 We\u2019re trying to stimulate conversations how to make sure that businesses will feel comfortable,\u201d Cohen said in an interview with reporters after a meeting with local officials Wednesday.<\/p>\n
He said he recognized that \u201cthese decisions are for elected leaders to make.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not for us to make, but it\u2019s very important for us to do what we can to assist,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Cohen said that the latest annual business conference for the territories held in Los Angeles has been successful and that the DOI\u2019s job now is to make sure that island territories are ready to welcome potential investors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re having similar discussions throughout the islands on how we can work together to improve the business climate because when businesses come here, we want to make sure that we have done everything that we can to create a good impression,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
When asked, Gov. Juan N. Babauta said that the issue on government role should be taken in the \u201cproper\u201d context.<\/p>\n
He said it is the government\u2019s responsibility \u201cto enhance and encourage the development of the private sector.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s where the goal is in terms of building the economy up in the CNMI,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
One way to do that, he said, is privatizing government agencies and services such as utilities. \u201cAs you know, I have always supported the privatization of power in the CNMI. I believe that with privatization comes efficiency and more effective delivery of services. I truly believe that, if people are provided reliable power, they will pay what is charged them. These are the things we need to continue to talk about and begin to plan for the future in building up the private sector economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Governor special assistant Galvin Guerrero said improving business climate includes promoting \u201cteam work with the private sector.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so hard to put what the role of the government is. One role is to look out for the public good and make sure it\u2019s not compromised,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
A total laissez-faire approach toward the private sector, he said, would not be a good idea. What businesses prefer to find in a local economy, he said, are clear regulations and consistent implementation of rules. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think the government is too much of an interventionist,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In his opinion, he said, the issue in the CNMI is \u201cnot so much about government intervention\u201d but on \u201cconsistent enforcement of rules and applications of laws.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cohen said DOI would support power privatization if the CNMI government decides to go in that direction. <\/p>\n
\u201cEconomic research shows that privatization can often result in services being delivered more cost-effectively and if the government wants to pursue privatization, we will be supportive and do what we can do to assist,\u201d said Cohen. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Insular governments like the CNMI need to assess their relationship with the private sector to ensure an improved business climate, according to Department of the Interior deputy assistant secretary for insular affairs David Cohen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85206\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}