THE Open Government Act is now applicable to the CNMI Legislature. We know that Froilan Tenorio will be the House speaker and we know that Paul Manglona will be the president of the Senate.
These two leaders need to encourage participatory democracy by fostering improved communications with the 17th Legislature. I suggest the following:
The speaker of the House and the president of the Senate should make sure that the Legislature’s Web site (www.cnmileg.gov.mp) is more informative. On this Web site, which should be updated at least weekly, I would like to see the plan of action to be taken by each house for the upcoming week, plus reports on past deliberations and proposed actions to be taken based on those deliberations. At present the CNMI Legislature Web site does little to inform the citizens concerning the issues being addressed by our legislators. All it tells us is who the players are and in what capacity they act. As a voter, I want more details. I would like to know, on a regular basis, what each legislator is doing. Perhaps each legislator should have his own Web site. The e-mail addresses of each legislator should be available on this site so voters can advise the lawmakers of our thoughts on the issues, especially where it concerns appropriations. We must stop spending money that we don’t have. Because no legislation may be passed except at an open session, I would expect that all open sessions be videotaped and available on the Internet. In this way we can see the actions or inaction of each legislator.
In keeping with the governor’s commitment to increased transparency, I would also like the executive branch Web site www.cnmigov.net to be updated at least weekly to indicate the major issues that will be addressed by the executive branch during the forthcoming week and actions taken on previous issues. I am not particularly interested in the governor’s proclamations. For the reader’s information, this Web site includes the names of the major players in the governor’s various advisory groups, plus their official e-mail addresses. It also includes the names of all department secretaries and official e-mail addresses. A report from each department head should be included on this Web site on a weekly basis. I am particularly interested in the status of the planning being done to address our current critical issues, e.g. the Commonwealth Health Center; the CNMI Retirement Fund; status of court cases vs. CNMI; et. al.. We have a right to know what our executive branch is doing.
In my research for this letter, I also visited the Web site of the CNMI Judiciary www.justice.gov.mp Here you can find the credentials and backgrounds of all our judges. The Superior Court has a published calendar, but it is not up-to-date. No calendar for the Supreme Court was found. There may be information on the rulings of the various judges, but I was unable to locate such during my brief visit. This website needs updating on a regular basis also. We need to know in more detail and more regularly what our Judiciary is doing.
With the advent of Internet communication, the CNMI has the opportunity to establish a REAL participatory democracy. Can our elected and appointed leaders do so? I’ve just given my ideas on some actions to be taken. I’m sure that other astute observers can add to what I have suggested. Please visit these Web sites and make your suggestions for improvements by sending letters to the editor or by contacting the Web site directly. Improvements in these Web sites and frequent visitation/suggestions by our citizens will mean our government can avert crisis management and work towards a brighter future for the CNMI. Our citizenry must keep informed. We’re all in this together. Participatory democracy is not easy. Like a marriage, participatory democracy requires effort on the part of all those involved. Go browse these Web sites now and make your suggestions!
ROGER N. LUDWICK
Sadog Tasi, Saipan
Comments