Philipsburg:--- Finance Minister Roland Tuitt told reporters on Wednesday at the Council of Ministers' weekly press briefing that some monies have been allocated by Government in the 2013 budget for the COLA payments. The Finance Minister was responding to questions posed by reporters since the unions on St. Maarten have decided that they will send a letter to Government giving them a deadline for the 2011 and 2012 COLA payments. The Finance Minister also said that he has no problem meeting with the unions to discuss the COLA issue but he prefers to do so when he gets the report from the study that will be conducted next month. "I want to enter into conducive discussions and not just meet with people to talk for the sake of talking. When the study is conducted and we have the report before us, both the union and government will have a document to work with. At that point, we can take decisions based on the advice that is given to government." Tuitt further explained that the Government and unions will have to come to some kind of agreement with the 2011 and 2012 COLA payments because the Government of St. Maarten simply does not have 20 million guilders to pay out. He said Government's intention is to deal with the two back log years after discussing with the unions and the new structure will go into effect as of 2013.
The Finance Minister said that the Government of St. Maarten is also looking into bringing down the cost of living which would also put monies into people's pocket. Tuitt further explained that paying out the COLA is not the only way to put monies in the pockets of the people of St. Maarten. He said that when he took office last year he did what was necessary to make the payments that the previous government did not pay out even though they had a commitment with the unions. Tuitt said when the former Government was in office the unions did not think it wise to write letters and set deadlines for the COLA payments, therefore he finds it unfair that the unions will attack the government who actually did make a payment last year. The Finance Minister stressed that the COLA structure currently in place is outdated and no longer used by any other country. He said that there are organizations such as ILO that held forums that can lead to other ways of assisting workers. Tuitt said he believes the unions should look into these avenues so when they get around the table for discussion all avenues can be discussed.
CFT lied, Annual Statements for St. Maarten were done --- says Tuitt.
The Finance Minister also showed reporters on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers' press briefing the audit report of the General Audit Chamber of St. Maarten that has in the 2010 and 2011 financial statements that were audited by the SOAB. Tuitt said what he has to check and see is if those reports were sent to Parliament so that they could be graded. He said the CFT said in their bi-annual report that St. Maarten and Curacao did not have their financial statements for 2010 and 2011. "I can tell you the CFT is wrong because here is the first report the audit chamber issued on the financial statements of the government of country St. Maarten."
