Philipsburg:--- After more than two years being installed and providing services to the Government of St. Maarten, the Corporate Governance Council can now breathe a sigh of relief that the Council of Ministers have finally approved the operational expenses for them for the years 2010 and 2011 while they also approved the proposed budget by the Council for 2012.
Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams made the announcement on Wednesday at the Council of Ministers' weekly press briefing. Wescot Williams said that since 2010/ 2011 has passed the government of St. Maarten will pay the council its operational costs for those two years which amounts to over Naf. 200,000.00 per year while the approximated budget for 2012 is estimated at Naf. 500,000.00. Wescot Williams said these monies include the membership fees for the members of the council and the operations of the council. The Prime Minister said while the figures have been approved, the government of St. Maarten still has to see how they will recoup the monies from the government owned companies. She said government also decided that they will pay the council so that they can do their job while they seek to recoup the monies from the government owned companies.
Wescot Williams said that the government of St. Maarten also established the St. Maarten Development fund which will be used to fund social programs. The fund will replace AMFO that used to manage the Dutch funding.