Philipsburg:--- Minister of Finance Roland Tuitt announced on Wednesday at the Council of Ministers' weekly press briefing that the CFT wants the government of St. Maarten to cut another 25 million guilders out of the 2013 budget before they approve it. Minister Tuitt said his Ministry is currently working on the cuts which would affect all seven Ministries, this amendment he said will be done by the end of the week and hopefully after the CFT approves the budget it will go to Parliament for approval before the end of February 2013.
The Finance Minister also made clear that while he as Minister of Finance is discussing or having disagreements on how the CFT functions, that does not mean they are having a bad relationship. He said as Minister of Finance for St. Maarten he has to ensure that the same rules are being applied and that the rules the CFT is using are understood. "My contention with the CFT is that it should be made clear what measures they are using to control and audit the budget of St. Maarten. I need to know what criteria the CFT is using to audit the budget. When I know the rules and criteria then I will know how to work and what to present to the CFT when making the 2014 budget. The aim right now is to cut the budget by 25 million guilders and that process should be completed by Friday this week." Tuitt said the Ministry of Finance already did the cutting in its Ministry and on Thursday and Friday he plans to sit with the other Ministries to make the cuts in those other Ministries in order to comply with the CFT. Tuitt said when this procedure is finalized he expects the CFT to live up to its promise and approve the budget so it can be sent to Parliament for approval.
The Finance Minister also explained that while he is doing what the CFT wants, he will ensure that he gets from the CFT their criteria and rules they are using to audit the budget of St. Maarten. Tuitt said he is ready to walk the necessary road in order to get clarity so that when he is preparing the budget for 2014 he will not have these issues with the CFT.
It should be noted that Minister of Finance Roland Tuitt was a former member of the CFT prior to St. Maarten becoming a country. When asked on Wednesday what criteria and rules were used when he was on CFT board back then compared to now, Tuitt said when he was on the CFT board there were two accountants (he being one of them) and they made some suggestions to the CFT board and to date those suggestions are not taken into consideration or even reflected on how the budgets are being audited. Tuitt said that is the reason he will continue to make his case even though he is complying with the requests of the CFT to cut the 2013 budget by 25 million guilders. One example Tuitt gave reporters on Wednesday is the Advisory Council who just recently sent him an advise on the road tax amendments, they were able to include in their summary the criteria and measures they used to evaluate the legislation on the road tax. "The Advisory Council made clear that they got together with all the other Advisory Councils from the different countries in the Kingdom and they came to an agreement that they will apply the same rules and regulations when evaluating laws. This is what I am asking the CFT to give me. The budget is a law and I need to know as Minister what rules and criteria they are using for the evaluation. I need the CFT to put on the table what they expect from me so I can work." Tuitt further explained that he sat down twice with the CFT prior to presenting the 2013 budget and he asked them to provide him with their requirements in order for them to accept the budget when it is sent to them. "During those meetings they told me X and I did X plus Y and still it is not to their satisfaction, that is why I need them to tell me what rules and criteria they are using to evaluate the budget of St. Maarten."
The Finance Minister said the financial statements for 2011 are its final stages and it will be sent to the SOAB early February so they could start their auditing process. Tuitt said when the SOAB finishes their task they will then send on the statements to the Audit Chamber for them to work on it before it is sent to Parliament. The Finance Minister said that the 2010 financial statements are currently enroute to Parliament for finalization.
When asked what the government feels about the statements made by the CFT last week during their press conference where they said that St. Maarten can no longer use the excuse that St. Maarten is a young country and that the situation of debt relief can no longer be a discussion, Tuitt said as a responsible country he will never use excuses that St. Maarten is a young country instead he is doing what is expected of government. Tuitt said whether or not a country is young or old government officials have to do what they are elected to do. Tuitt further explained that the division of assets is now stagnated and they are now in the process of moving the division of assets forward. Tuitt said several of the issues that are of concern to St. Maarten will be discussed with the Netherlands.