18 Jun 2003

Guam Government says it might shut without approval for a bond bill

4:56 pm on 18 June 2003

The Guam government says it could close down if the Attorney-General doesn't approve a bond bill which could be worth more than 218-million US dollars.

The Governor, Felix Camacho, is planning to go to court to get permission to borrow the money on the bond market, after attorney-general, Douglas Moylan refused to approve the bill.

Mr Moylan says the government has exceeded its borrowing limit but Mr Camacho wants lawmakers to create a definition for aggregate tax valuation which would help his case.

The governor's spokesman, Shawn Guamataotao, says the bond bill is vital for Guam's well-being.

"Health, education and public safety....Those three areas will be up...but the rest of the government will shut down, and that's where we'll go, I mean we need this kind of infusion to help push our program forward, and by stopping this, it's going to further erode our economy and make it much more difficult for us to turn everything around in the territory."

Shawn Guamataotao says the role of the attorney-general need to be clarified.