Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
The decision in principle to transfer 300,000 guilders of Parliament’s travel budget to the Justice Ministry for the fight against crime (see Tuesday paper) is certainly a sympathetic move in light of two recent shootings in Philipsburg, one of which resulted in the death of a police officer. On the other hand, it also sounds familiar.
In January 2014 the legislature passed a motion to slice its NAf. 700,000 travel budget in half and divide some NAf. 370,000 among three cash-strapped foundations. It took until July of that year for Finance Minister Martin Hassink to announce that the pending budget amendment included giving NAf. 100,000 directly to Charlotte Brookson Academy, while the Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) would receive the remaining funds to disperse them between the Heineken Regatta organisation and the St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF).
But it was not before the end of September that the amendment finally was approved by Parliament. Current chairman Dr. Lloyd Richardson even queried at the time whether the budget already had been surpassed by just over NAf. 100,000 and how that would be handled in light of the proposed cutback and reallocation.
It is not entirely clear precisely when and to what extent these subsidies ultimately were paid out as planned, but in any case the process was not a very smooth one.
As one is to learn from the past, it might be good idea to see how this latest initiative may be translated to concrete action a bit more promptly. The latter can take place only once Parliament adopts a new motion that again must be ratified in an amendment. Moreover, the entire 2015 budget is on hold because of issues with its required approval by the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT.
Taking all this into account, it could be a while before law enforcement actually disposes of these additional means. However, having said that, the local elected representatives deserve credit for their obviously well-intended gesture.
