Philipsburg: ---The Democratic Party received word on Tuesday that the Central Committee meeting, scheduled for November 26, 2009 to handle the draft budget of the island territory has been canceled until further notice.
The government provided no further elucidation on the reason for this cancelation, but obviously, the draft 2010 budget was rushed to the Central Committee of the Island Council to meet the deadline, without any consideration for the consequences of several decisions taken to “balance” the budget.
Also obvious is the fact that the NA part of the coalition sought to push through this budget without consultation with the Heyliger part of the coalition.
To reduce the budget for garbage collection; pull a number out of the sky for work permit fees; introduce a condominium fee during these hard economic times and several other such inconsiderate actions is clearly a desperate attempt to present a “balanced” budget and at the same time establish clearly, who is in control of the island government.
It is not too long ago that the Commissioner of Finance announced that the budget could not be balanced and that he was going to seek permission of the CFT to present a budget with a deficit.
How was the Commissioner then suddenly able to balance the budget? With a magic wand?
We expect that this budget will be “creatively’ amended to keep the NA/Heyliger government intact with more of the same tactics. The public commitments that the leader of Government makes without any consideration for the budgetary consequences and without any consideration for due administrative procedures will have to be honored.
Commissioner Heyliger will get his garbage collection budget and the people of Sint Maarten will be lead to believe, it was all just an oversight. Yes, right, an oversight after all the consultation with the CFT and with the civil service.
What will the explanation of the Government be? This one for sure they cannot pin on the previous administration like they do everything else.
So what will the “kiss and make-up” cost the taxpayer?
In addition, on whose program is this budget based by the way, since the people of Sint Maarten are yet to see the first page of the NA/Heyliger governing program.