Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
PHILIPSBURG:--- Members of Parliament mostly from the governing coalition requested that the chairman of Parliament adjourn the central committee meeting that was supposed to continue on Friday morning to discuss the draft ordinance to establish an Integrity Chamber on St. Maarten. The Members of Parliament from the governing coalition wanted more time to study the additional documents that were presented to them on Friday morning. During the debate as to whether or not the meeting should continue, Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot Williams made clear that having an integrity chamber established on St. Maarten will not address the issues of corruption and integrity (morals) on St. Maarten. MP Wescot Williams said that government has to have more polices, legislations and guidelines that would strengthen the integrity chamber when it is established. Member of Parliament William Marlin echoed the same sentiments on Wednesday and on Friday saying that there must be policies, legislations and guidelines to ensure that there is no more free for all especially when issuing taxis and bus licenses or when government is distributing long lease land. Marlin said on Friday morning that government lacks transparency, he said that it is not normal for Parliament to ask the acting Minister of VROMI for the MOU they signed with a foreign company and parliament is denied that document. Marlin further explained that is incomprehensible for a Member of Parliament to say on the airwaves that Parliament should not try to look into the dealings of the St. Maarten Harbor Group of Companies and Checkmate Security because that Member of Parliament feels that Checkmate Security is owned by a local and for him the matter is internal. Marlin said that the SMHGC is a Government owned company and if the management of that company chose to amend a valid contract and increase the payments to that company by 300% then it warrants an investigation by parliament.Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson in his address to Parliament on Friday said that it is government intention to have more policies and legislations but that will take time to prepare and be presented to parliament. The Minister of Justice further explained that those polices and legislations are the tools that will back up the integrity chamber. He said that one of the things that must be looked at is that there are policies and legislations in place at this moment but compliance is something that is lacking and he believes that having the integrity chamber in place will definitely block the loopholes.The chair of parliament adjourned the meeting to Monday morning, in order to give the 15 members of parliament enough time to caucus and to further study the added documents they were given on Friday. The meeting will reconvene on Monday morning at 10am.
Central Committee Meeting reconvened for Monday regarding Draft National Ordinance to Establish Integrity Chamber
PHILIPSBURG:---The Central Committee of Parliament will meet in public session on April 13.
The public Central Committee meeting was adjourned on April 10 and has been reconvened for Monday at 10.00am in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelmina Straat #1 in Philipsburg.
The three point agenda is: the draft National Ordinance for the establishment of a Integrity Chamber; second agenda point is approval of the travel schedule for the year 2015 in connection with Committee and Board of Directors meetings of the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino); and the third agenda point is approval of the composition of the delegation and provisions for General Assembly of Parlatino from May 15-16.Members of the public are invited to the House of Parliament to attend parliamentary deliberations.
The House of Parliament is located across from the Court House in Philipsburg.
The parliamentary session will be carried live on St. Maarten Cable TV Channel 120, via Pearl Radio FM 98.1, the audio via the Internet www.pearlfmradio.com and via www.sxmparliament.org.
