GREAT BAY– Leader of Government and Commissioner responsible for Constitutional Affairs William Marlin, says the involvement of the community in the national development of the island starts from the bottom up.
This statement he made to the Government Information Service (GIS) when commenting on the seminar with the theme, “Tripartite Consultation in Social-Economic Policy-Making,” that will take place on Wednesday, November 25 in the UTS Training Center from 9.00am to 12.00pm.
The seminar is the first step in the preparation towards a strong and realistic Social Economic Council (SER) for country St. Maarten.
One of the advisory institutions of Government that has to be in place on October 10, 2010 is the SER.
The National Alliance-Heyliger Government believes that policy-making should take place with the involvement of the community.
This involvement of the community should take place through consultation with a formal and institutionalized SER. The SER needs to have a constellation with representation of both business and labour.
“By having a strong SER for country St. Maarten, one that is functioning properly, the government will ensure participation of a great part of our community in the policy-making of this new country.
“The government really believes that the approach this time needs to be a practical one. We have a Social Economic Council on island level and for many reasons it hasn’t been functioning,” Commissioner William Marlin stated on Tuesday.