SXMElections.com

THE HAGUE--The Kingdom Council of Ministers approved a proposal of Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk on Friday to give the governor of St. Maarten an instruction to refrain from signing the decrees to appoint the members of St. Maarten's next government until it has been proven, through an additional, more stringent screening, that the members of the Cabinet are persons of complete integrity. This is what Plasterk told the media in an interview after Friday's meeting.

St. Maarten received an instruction today.

"Yes. Two reports were recently drafted which show that there are serious problems with integrity, which show conflicts of interest, abuse of power, severe integrity violations. A new Cabinet is being formed. The Kingdom Council of Ministers deemed it crucial that there are genuine guarantees of integrity of the people who are being appointed."

You especially want to prevent the appointment of the controversial Theo Heyliger.

"It emphatically doesn't concern individuals, but a Cabinet of which all members are of good character and integrity. That is why we have asked the governor to hold off on the signing of the appointments until he has secured that integrity is guaranteed. I will make experts available so that additional research can take place on top of the regular screening process that the country already has to ensure that integrity is guaranteed."

On what do you base this instruction?

"We base that on the importance of good governance for the Dutch Kingdom. Integrity of government is of great importance in this."

You are once again using the Regulation of the Governor.

"Yes. Article 15 of that regulation says that the Kingdom Council of Ministers can give the governor an instruction. Article 21 describes the authority of the governor to take [into account – Ed.] the safeguarding of good governance when taking decisions. This role also goes back to the Kingdom Charter."

Last year September, St. Maarten also protested when it received an instruction to have an independent broad integrity audit conducted. They will not be happy this time either. Have you spoken with caretaker Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams on this matter?

"I spoke with her before the decision was taken. The minister plenipotentiary relayed the point of view of the St. Maarten government during the meeting of the Kingdom Council of Ministers. I have to point out that the last time, St. Maarten objected, but later on, it did cooperate with the integrity audit. I am happy that we now have a report that was not drafted by the St. Maarten government, but done separately by the governor."

Basically, the Netherlands will be carrying out the screening of the candidate ministers.

"No, it is the governor that will carry out the screening before deciding whether the persons in question can stand for good governance."

But you are making experts available for this process.

"Yes, this process indeed includes the making available of experts appointed by me. These are experts in the area of investigating integrity and background checks so it can be assured that there are guarantees of good governance. I want to add that it is a question that goes a bit further than proving that a person has committed criminal acts. It goes a step further, namely, the guarantee that a person will not still end up in problems after the appointment because of issues or ambiguities."

Did you try to do this without an instruction?

"Yes, this week, after I was in touch with the governor, I contacted the prime minister on his suggestion and I asked her whether she was willing to start a similar investigation independently. She explained to me that she didn't see that possibility, which I respect. I indicated my preference for such an investigation, but I added that I would not exclude that this would be taken to the Kingdom Council of Ministers."

What does this mean for the relations in the Kingdom? Are they not adversely affected?

"I think that ultimately, the relations in the Kingdom will be better when everybody knows that the people that are in government are honourable."

You don't think that St. Maarten was able to offer sufficient redress?

"I think it was good that the Kingdom Council of Ministers gave an instruction given the analysis of the integrity report and the need to guarantee that the new government is solid."

What time span are we talking about for this instruction since the integrity report took some three quarters of a year to materialise.

"Last time, the instruction involved a matter of a very broad nature. This time, it concerns a limited number of persons. I will not mention a time span; that is up to the governor, but we are not talking about months. I assume that it will be a matter of weeks. It is an additional contribution to the screening that would be taking place anyway."

Two weeks ago, you announced an action plan to strengthen St. Maarten's justice sector. How far are you with this?

"I will present a proposal in the November 7 Kingdom Council of Ministers meeting to strengthen the justice system in the area of the Public Prosecutor's Office, Coast Guard, Customs and Police."

Will this also take place in the form of an instruction?

"That depends. The Netherlands will be investing in this action plan. It only makes sense to do so when it is executed by a government with integrity beyond any doubt."