PHILIPSBURG:--- National Alliance (NA) Members of Parliament are concerned about the manner in which meetings are being convened, adjourned and reconvened in Parliament. A number of urgent Parliamentary meetings pertaining to the hazardous dump, SZV financial situation, establishing the Calibration department, GEBE status and Tax reform (which abruptly ended because the Chair apparently had “somewhere to be”) are all still pending.
The most recent publication of the agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the World Bank (WB) of a grant/loan of $100 million to the Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) for the facility’s reconstruction, on Wednesday January 9, 2019 sent shock waves throughout the island. Primarily, as the faction notes that Minister Johnson publicly stated that the PJIA would not give up any positions on the board and/or the management positions to the Dutch for the $100 million dollar deal for the reconstruction of the PJIA. The Minister’s (or CoM’s) obvious change of position on the deal, after the very public demand made by Dutch State Secretary Knops to the government to make a speedy decision, must be explained. An urgent meeting of Parliament has therefore been called on Monday, January 14, 2018 for government to account for the loan/grant agreement decision by the Government for PJIA.
An earlier public meeting requested on November 19, 2018 by five MPs with the Minister of TEATT concerning the economy and traffic challenges has to date still not been convened.
Another urgent request by NA and USP MPs for an urgent public meeting with Minister of VSA concerning the construction of the Sint Maarten General Hospital on December 5th, 2018 has also not been convened. This meeting was called due to the recent discovery of the ‘financial woes’ of the parent company Condotte d’Acqua, whose subsidiary construction company INSO, was contracted to construct the new St. Maarten General Hospital. Minister Lee’s recent trip to Italy raised even more questions as to why the Minister is so intent on fighting to maintain this company despite its financial crisis.
MP Wescot, in her capacity as Chair of Parliament, is the one responsible for the convening of parliamentary meetings. The dictatorial approach of convening meetings at will by the Chair of Parliament hinders MPs from performing their tasks and duties in a timely and efficient manner. Ministers not being available for meetings is also no excuse as each Minister has a replacement according to the Replacement Regulation.
This lack of prioritization of meetings (especially urgent one) by the Chair gives the people of Sint Maarten the impression the MP does not consider these urgent matters and further encourages the thought that Parliament does ‘nothing’, as meetings are convened and head nowhere and seem to have no end in sight. Even when meetings are adjourned, they are not reconvened in a timely manner, as to afford the Parliament the opportunity to hold Government accountable to the people of St. Maarten.
http://www.smn-news.com/st-maarten-st-martin-news/30987-lack-of-scheduling-of-meetings-hampering-mps-from-performing-their-duties.html
