MARIGOT: --- Leader of the Union Pour le Progress and senator of St. Martin Louis Constant Fleming in an interview with SMN News late last week confirmed that the one-year sanction he received from the State Council last July is officially over on July 25. Fleming said that since the people elected him he felt it was necessary for him to give them an update on some of the progress he has been making in the State.
One of his achievements is the fact that he managed to get the European Union to accept St. Martin as an Ultra Peripheral Status, which allowed the fiscal policies of St. Martin to be conformed as of June 4. Fleming said the discussions on St. Martin began some two years ago when the EU had declared the island a “No Man’s Land.”
The Senator said he is rather pleased with the results, which he believed was achieved in record time.
Fleming said St. Martin also made progress in improving its justice system over the last two years since the third judge is expected to arrive on the island within short. When this happens, Fleming said several persons who committed crimes will be tried locally, something he felt would restore justice the island’s people.
Regarding the organic law which the senator said was not written in marble since there will be other organic laws. He said very soon St. Martin would be proposing a new organic law, which would deal with a number of issues such fiscal while others are technical, which would also clean up the current organic law.
The senator said the organic law that is to be proposed would be a ‘projet de loi and not a proposition du loi”. Fleming said the reason he chose to accept a projet du loi, which is proposed by the government, is because there are going to be both fiscal and financial instances. Fleming said laws that have financial matters inside which would affect the State budget then it has to be proposed by the government if not it would face throwing out by the Constitutional Council.
Fleming further explained that St. Martin would have total competences on all fiscal matters as of 2010. “In the beginning the government had wanted to exclude persons not living on the island but owns apartments here all of which was regulated as of June 9.
All of that has changed for the up coming year.” One of the visions of the president is to build a university on St. Martin that would give students the opportunity to further their education locally.
Fleming said that people may not agree with him but he felt that the students who are presently in school should get a chance to further their education at less cost to their parents. Fleming also explained that they are looking into having an Institute of Regional Administration(IRA )to further upgrade the 850 staff of the Collectivity. Fleming said they are going to reassess the entire human resource since these people have to be trained. Several persons he said will be moved from their present function and some would be promoted. The UPP led government he said wants to give each employee the opportunity to upgrade himself or herself since it is their objective is to offer the best opportunities to everyone which would keep them motivated.
With regards to the justice system, he said there is an urgent need for people who are willing to work in the police force. “We need people who are career minded and dedicated to their job” if not St. Martin would have to go for a commissariat of police since there are enough inhabitants living on St. Martin. He said that right now, there is a gross lack of manpower in the Territorial Police and if there were enough people to fill the vacancies then he would have to opt for latter even though the island has avoided that route to prevent an influx of people from Guadeloupe and France.