PHILIPSBURG:--- Leader of the Party for Progress (PFP) leader Mellissa Gumbs in her address to parliament indicated that her faction intends to submit a motion of no confidence against the Minister of VROMI Egbert Jurendy Doran.
Gumbs in her presentation to parliament in round one explained the reasons that her faction has decided to such the motion. She referred to the report submitted on the Systemic Investigation on the garbage contracts tender process.
The MP said that based on the contents of the Ombudsman report it can clearly be seen as “bid-rigging”, especially with the contents of the Terms of Reference for the tender.

PFP MP Raeyhon Peterson said the Minister operates a Gestapo management of the Ministry of VROMI. He said civil servants that do not do what the Minister wants to get a warning letter. He said there is blatant nepotism since he has issued land to friends and family while securing contracts for persons within NV GEBE.

Independent Member of Parliament Christopher Emmanuel in his presentation said he was not surprised by the Ombudsman report as he asked questions regarding the bidding process for the garbage contracts.
Members of Parliament asked the Minister several questions regarding the Ministry of VROMI mainly the tender procedures he met when he took office and what has he had done to change the procedure since there was no policy in place.
The Minister asked the Parliament of St. Maarten for a period of two weeks to prepare the answers. He informed parliament that his ministry is short-staffed and that he would need the time to do the necessary research in order to provide the parliament of St. Maarten with the answers to the questions they posed.
Chairlady of Parliament Grisha Heyliger Marten tried to force the Minister to answer the questions immediately and even questioned him if he needed two weeks to answer 21 questions.
The Minister maintained his stance that he needed a minimum of two weeks to put the answers together, he informed the chairlady that he should be granted the time he asked for since the rules of order nor the constitution of St. Maarten have not changed.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament Solange Ludmilla Duncan declared herself an Independent member of Parliament on Wednesday afternoon and has resigned from the National Alliance Political party that is led by Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs.
Duncan said that the party on which her father served no longer shares her core values since she has been a civil servant for a number of years.
It was anticipated that MP Duncan would have left the national alliance since they seemed to have drifted apart.
The Parliament of St. Maarten has 7 factions with its 15-member seat. They are the National Alliance, (3) United Peoples Party,(4) United Democrats 91) Party for Progress (2), Independent Members Akeem Arrindell, Christopher Emmanuel, Chanel Brownbill with now Independent Member of Parliament Solange Ludmilla Duncan.
The National Alliance coalition government has eight members they are representing United Peoples Party Rolando Brison, Grisha Marten Heyliger, Ludmilla de Weever, Sidhardt Brijlani, George Pantophlet, William Marlin, Hyacinth Richardson, and Angelique Roumou.

~ Parliament must approve the law in order for the country to move forward.~

PHILIPSBURG: --- Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs announced on Wednesday that the conditions to remove the 12.5% cuts from the salaries of civil servants and workers from semi-public sectors have now been reduced to 4.
The Dutch government had proposed 8 new conditions which were not accepted by the Caribbean countries. She said after collaboration and discussions with the State Secretary Alexandra van Huffelen the conditions have been reduced to four, however, St. Maarten still has serious conditions with one of those conditions as such St. Maarten is not in agreement.
Jacobs said the condition that St. Maarten is not in agreement with would actually bind the hands of parliament, this she said has to do with the law for top income earners and the 25% cut. She explained that the Dutch Government is of the opinion that the cuts on employment benefits can only take place when they receive approval from their parliaments. Therefore, the government of St. Maarten cannot agree to the conditions that were put forth and as such will continue to work on the law.
The Prime Minister explained that St. Maarten already passed the law, and the country is not in arrears of having the law, so having that as a condition for St. Maarten before the measures can be de-escalated is very much unfair.
Due to this development, the Prime Minister said that this would cause a delay for the payments to be made before the summer recess, especially since parliament will be going on recess, this she said could jeopardize people’s ability to properly prepare for the hurricane season especially seeing it was done as a means of solidarity.
Jacobs said St. Maarten has met all of the other conditions and has continued to move forward based on agreements made with the unions while they continue to work on the law that would allow them to deescalate the measures.
She indicated that Aruba approved their law on Tuesday while Curacao is yet to do so. She made clear that St. Maarten will not agree with the conditions unless the law goes to parliament.

PHILIPSBURG:--- On Friday, June 24th, 2022, importers and shipping agents met with the Ministry of TEATT (the Department of ETT and the Inspectorate Department) and the Customs Department as it pertains to the submission of invoices prior to the release of the containers in order for the Ministry to calculate the maximum prices correctly. It was in agreement that importers will provide the Customs Department with the requested information (i.e. invoices), in order for the Ministry of TEATT to properly calculate the maximum price for the basket of goods based on the latest invoices/prices. Due to global developments, such as the rise in fuel cost, importers have expressed that prices are changing very rapidly, mainly on a weekly basis. Therefore, the Ministry felt it necessary to adjust the current maximum prices prior to publishing, as these businesses may experience a loss, which is certainly not the intention. The Community can anticipate the Maximum Prices to go into effect within 2 weeks (approx. July 15th, 2022).

During the same meeting, importers were informed of all processes and procedures that will be required moving forward from the Ministry of TEATT and the Customs Department respectively. In particular, an emphasis on the enforcement by the Inspectors of TEATT was mentioned to ensure that the maximum prices are adhered to at all times. However, given that we have limited controllers (6), we will rely heavily on the public to assist with reporting any violations. The more eyes and ears (including camera’s/pictures) we have out there, the more compliance we will receive from businesses. The Ministry is currently in the final stages of developing a digital platform (website/app) where the community can view the maximum prices for the Basket of Goods, Price comparisons published on a monthly basis (to encourage shopping around) and most of all submit a complaint when required. In addition, for consumers that may not have the capabilities to submit a complaint via the digital platform, they too can do so via WhatsApp or Phone to the Inspectorate Department for processing.