Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
PHILIPSBURG--The Ministry of Finance continues to work on the preparation of the 2015 budget. The draft budget is due in Parliament in the coming weeks in order for the Gumbs Cabinet to meet the January 31 deadline as set by the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT in December.
Finance Minister Martin Hassink is said to be diligently working on the draft budget
with the goal of meeting the January 31 deadline. As a minister in the Wescot-Williams III Cabinet that demitted office in late December, Hassink has requested more time to get the budget in line with the regulations set out in the kingdom law.
The budget should have been established by Parliament since December 2014. If the Cabinet fails to present the budget to Parliament for its approval by the end of January, St. Maarten could face an instruction to get its financial house in order from the Kingdom Council of Ministers.
CFT continues to review the draft budget as required by the Kingdom Law on Temporary Financial Supervision for Curacao and St. Maarten. However, the process continues without an advocate for St. Maarten on the CFT board.
St. Maarten has not had representation on the CFT board since early December, when then member attorney Richard Gibson Sr. resigned after becoming a minister candidate for the Gumbs Cabinet. He was not appointed due to issues related to his screening.
When a new CFT board member for St. Maarten will be proposed to the Kingdom Council of Ministers by the Gumbs Cabinet is not yet known, nor if the cabinet will opt to reappoint Gibson to his post.
CFT had no information up to Tuesday whether the cabinet has proposed a candidate for the board position to the Kingdom Council of Ministers.
A nominee for the post would possibly first have to be decided on by the United People's (UP) party/De Weever/Marlin-Romeo coalition.
