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PHILIPSBURG--Ministers of the Marcel Gumbs Cabinet are to be called before Parliament's Permanent Committee for Kingdom Affairs and Inter-Parliamentary Relations to provide information the committee has requested for several months.
The committee became displeased two weeks ago with the sluggish pace of government's response and issued a 48-hour deadline for all information to be submitted. This deadline was partially ignored by the ministers.
Members of Parliament (MPs) serving on the committee needed the information in its meeting in Parliament House on Monday, especially on the economy, energy, health and education, to prepare for the Tripartite Consultation and the Inter-Parliamentary Kingdom Consultation IPKO to be held in The Hague, the Netherlands, May 25-29.
Committee Chairwoman MP Sarah Wescot-Williams (Democratic Party) said answers on several topics had been received from ministers, but not covering all areas requested by the committee.
Independent MP Cornelius de Weever asked about the follow-up on the deadline for government to provide the information. He was informed that government had been sent a letter outlining the deadline, but the cabinet had not properly adhered to it.
Independent MP Leona Marlin-Romeo said the ministers should be called in post-haste and should come prepared to present the information the committee needed for its preparations.
Wescot-Williams also urged MPs to submit requested information about their party structure and ways of dealing with integrity matters, if this had not yet been done, to Parliament's Secretariat by 5:00pm Monday.
Also present for the meeting were MPs Dr. Lloyd Richardson and Franklin Meyers of United People's Party.
