~ Business Class travel and per diem of ANG 500 per day included ~
PHILIPSBURG / THE HAGUE – The parliaments of Aruba, Curaçao, St. Maarten and The Netherlands are meeting in The Hague this week for the Inter-Parliamentary Consultation of the Kingdom (IPKO) with St. Maarten attending with no less than 9 faction leaders, plus the Parliament Griffier and the President of Parliament making the delegation a total of 11 persons. With the fragmented state of St. Maarten politics on full public display, sources have now revealed the cost associated with the attendance of IPKO.
Sources have revealed the costs associated for the St. Maarten delegation to attend IPKO which are listed below:
Cost per attendee: ANG 16,011.00
- Return Ticket SXM – AMS with KLM (Business Class): ANG 9,011. 00
- Total per diem: ANG 7,000.00
The total cost for the 11 person IPKO delegation is a whopping ANG 176,121.00 (USD 97,845.00) and excludes any additional expenses MPs may try to claim upon return that may be refunded, if applicable.
The per diem is meant to cover hotel, food and beverage and incidentals. The total hotel cost is confirmed to be approx. ANG 3,060.00 for the 7 nights, leaving ANG 4,000.00 (USD 2,220.00) to cover food & beverage and incidentals for 8 days, which comes to ANG 500 (USD 278) per day (note that 2 days of the total stay are traveling days and breakfast is included in the hotel stay).
Looking at the precarious situation of St. Maarten’s current financial position which is still reeling from the aftermath of the pandemic and the lingering need for liquidity support from The Netherlands, it makes one wonder if the scarce tax dollars could not be spent more wisely, especially looking at the questionable results, if any, prior IPKO’s have delivered for St. Maarten.
It does not matter for Den Haag. They are used to pay for obedient servants. So it was just after Emancipation, and still there are house negros (this title does not distinguish between colors of skin) willing to serve the white colonial masters.
Ministers or members of parliament, and all so-called representatives of a so-called independent country within the kingdom. What’s the difference with the rooms in Legoland with the dolls houses? What’s the difference with the colonial helpers some 159 years ago?
All are so eager to get in the picture of the masters in Den Haag that betrayal of their own people is like the end justifies the means for them. All for the money. There is no one in these parliaments who is clean, honest and to be trusted. All want to be part of the elite.
Sarah says that IPKO is “cautiously and collectively looking at kingdom relations”. That is great news. Looking at relations is very helpful. We were all waiting for this for many years. $ 100.000 well spent. I hope they will let us know when they are done looking. Maybe even tell us what they saw. The people are very eager to know.