Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
~But to release BTP report~
PHILIPSBURG--The recent call by Bureau Telecommunication and Post (BTP) to government to make publicly available the Government Accountants Bureau SOAB report, appraisal reports and advice on the bureau to put an end to fraud allegations has left Finance Minister Martin Hassink "no choice" but to explain to Parliament the hierarchical structure of BTP, said Democratic Party ((DP)) Leader Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams in a statement Sunday.
"I eagerly await the Finance Minister's reaction to this sudden outburst by BTP," Wescot-Williams said.
BTP said in a press statement on Friday that neither its present supervisory board nor management "ever took a decision to purchase a building. The Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications TEATT takes such decisions based on the laws governing BTP."
"The way BTP has sought to defend its purchase of a building in Philipsburg, in my opinion truly leaves the Minister of Finance no other choice but to make public the report to which BTP refers in its statement," said Wescot-Williams.
Hassink "in the past has not concealed his concern" about BTP and its significance to the country's budget. Other ministers had also expressed similar concerns in the past, according to Wescot-Williams.
Government, in this case the Finance Minister, is "publicly being admonished" by BTP "to make information public to stem the flow of allegations of (possible) wrongdoings."
