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PHILIPSBURG--Parliament still has to readjust its finances to cope with an almost NAf. 2 million budget cut that came with its adoption of the 2015 Country Budget in January.
Parliament originally submitted a budget for its operational expenses totalling some NAf. 12.8 million, said Democratic Party ((DP)) leader Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams at a party press conference Monday in Parliament Building. The approved budget only allocates some NAf. 11 million to the legislature.
The almost NAf. 2 million cut was a result of the Finance Ministry adjusting budgets across government's apparatus to come to a balanced budget that is in conformity with the Kingdom Law on Temporary Financial Supervision for Curaçao and St. Maarten.
How Parliament will cope with the reduced budget has not even been broached as yet among Members of Parliament, Wescot-Williams said.
Parliament's draft budget had NAf. 4.15 million allocated for MPs' salaries, NAf. 1.53 million for faction staff and related cost, allowances and payment to former MPs NAf. 1.96 million, travel NAf. 1.04 million, rent for Parliament House NAf. 1.13 million, secretariat salaries NAf. 1.6 million and related cost NAf. 1.33 million and NAf. 75,000 for legal and other expert advices.
No division has yet been made for the reduced budget Parliament has to work with, said Wescot-Williams.
She and faction advisor hotelier Emil Lee share the view that cuts must be made and serious research must be carried out into the application of the law that allocates allowances and other benefits to former MPs. The law does not make a distinction between an MP who was not re-elected and one who opted not to contest an election. In either case, allowances can be claimed for a stipulated period of time.
The amount in the original budget for legal and other expert advices is miniscule compared with Parliament's travel budget. Lee said Parliament needs to address its priorities.
Possible cuts can come in the area of travel and MPs' salaries. Wescot-Williams said she's "open" to a discussion about MPs' salaries, but stopped short of saying if she is willing to take a pay cut.
The original budget of Parliament which was adjusted by the Finance Ministry was compiled in the last Parliamentary term and was already with the ministry when the current MPs took office on October 10, 2014.
Meanwhile, Parliament's finances are still handled by the Finance Ministry. The legislature does not have a finance/accounting department of its own and no attempt has been made to establish one since the inception of Parliament in October 2010. This leaves MPs to make requests for all disbursements, even faction supplies to government.
Wescot-Williams also reiterated her stance about the need for labour and related statistics from government to support its push to implement the counterpart policy. The policy seeks to place unemployed Dutch nationals as counterpart to foreign workers in specialized jobs. She does not believe the counterpart policy will in any way create job space for university graduates who want to return home.
