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PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The Council of Ministers of St. Maarten held a press conference Wednesday morning in which they outlined the various plans which they had for implementation as well as a status report of ongoing matters.

VROMI

Minister of VROMI the Honorable Claret Conner stated on Wednesday that the street repair program is now in progress. The Minister stated that more extensive work will be done next year when the season is over. He also stated that most of the work will be done at night.

ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

Minister Ernest Sams who is responsible for Economic Affairs gave an outline Wednesday of the islands Economic Development plan.

Speaking during the Council of Ministers press conference the Ministers stated that when taking office among the areas he intended to give attention to were the gaming industry as well as the need to support small business development.

FINANCE

Martin Hassink the Minister who is responsible for Finance confirmed on Wednesday that he held talks with the Chairman of the Cft, Professor Age Bakker.

He told reporters that the Government is still moving ahead to meet the Cft deadline for the end of this month, he however noted that the terms of the instruction and the allotted time remains an obstacle.

JUSTICE

The Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson announced his plans for fighting what is perceived to be an increase in crime.

The Minister noted that there has been no increase in crime however more violence is being used in the crimes that are being committed.

He gave a comparison with 2014 in which there were 10 murders however for 2015 only 7 murders have been committed.

YOUTH AFFAIRS

Minister responsible for youth affairs the Honorable Rita Bourne-Gumbs stated on Wednesday stated that Youth Affairs is the direction of her current focus. She further stated that this falls within the scope of the “Empowering of the Community Program”.

The Minister noted that youth issues are one of the responsibilities of her department and that this issue also plays a vital role in dealing with the crime problem that the island has been experiencing recently.

HEALTHCARE & LABOR

The Minister of Labour, Health and Social Affairs the Honorable Raphael Boasman stated on Wednesday that the island of St. Maarten is currently spending 30 million Guilders for health care services abroad.

He indicated that it is his plan to keep that money on St. Maarten by developing the islands Health care Services. The Minister is hopeful that he will be able to give a proposal to this effect before the week is over.

CONSTITUTIONAL

The current constitutional crisis facing the island was deliberated on by the Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Marcel Gumbs on Wednesday.

The Prime Minister stated that there is no political crisis on the island as it is being stated.

The Prime Minister stated that all actions taken by the political bodies are all contained within the constitution of St. Maarten.