PHILIPSBURG:---- Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot Williams in a press release questions the motives of the Parliament of St. Maarten. MP Wescot Williams was referring to meetings the oppositon factions of parliament requested and are not being called on a timely basis. Wescot Williams said if any-one is holding his or her breath for answers regarding the harbor's pay-out to the Zebec company, these answers will not be forthcoming any time soon.
"At least not in a meeting of Parliament. The meeting requested by the NA and DP on this matter can not take place next week, because the Prime Minister has other engagements on Monday, Parliament has other meetings on Tuesday and as of Wednesday, the Prime Minister will be off-island until September 27th. MP Wescot Williams said. She then posed two questions which are the following:-
- Where is the Minister responsible for harbor affairs, namely the Minister of TEATT?
- where is the deputy prime minister?
It is by now public knowledge that there will be no meeting about the landfill and the plans for a waste-to-energy plant any time soon either, because up to Friday last, the new minister of VROMI was still ill, so no date could be set for that meeting.
If Parliament accepts this type of behavior from the government of the country, then Parliament deserves every bit of criticism that is levied against it regarding its below par functioning as the oversight body for government.
At least in the case of the harbor, we might get some answers from the ongoing investigation by the Public Prosecutor's office.
Imagine, the harbor that threatened to sue Zebec for damages not too long ago, now turns around and borrows money to pay the same company out. If it was all a big to-do about nothing and more saber-rattling, do not the people deserve to know? Oh, I forgot, "non-disclosure"!
And, we, the members of parliament should not ask anything?"
