PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister of St. Maarten Sarah Wescot Williams made clear during the Council of Ministers' weekly press briefing that the Government of St. Maarten is prepared to close its doors if they have to and not cooperate with the Kingdom with regards to the instruction given to the Governor of St. Maarten to conduct an integrity probe.
The Prime Minister went as far as saying that the Government of St. Maarten has more rights over civil servants and they could prevent them from speaking to anyone who was sent by the Dutch Kingdom to conduct the Integrity investigation. Prime Minister Wescot Williams gave reporters a lengthy explanation as to what transpired in July when the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte visited the island and informed the Council of Ministers that he intended to give an instruction to the Governor of St. Maarten. Wescot Williams said that it has been quite some time now that St. Maarten was informed by the Minister of Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk that if St. Maarten does not cooperate with Saba and Statia the relationship between the Netherlands and St. Maarten would be hampered. She said one of the main contentions of the Dutch is the Turn over Tax (ToT) tax that is applied to the goods sold on St. Maarten. Wescot Williams said that the Government of St. Maarten explained to the Dutch Government that the Turn over Tax (ToT) is not a Value Added Tax (VAT) and the real reason cost of living is high on Saba and Statia was because of the taxes imposed by the Dutch on those islands.
When asked by SMN News what motivation the Kingdom Council gave for the motion to instruct the Governor of St. Maarten to conduct an investigation on integrity, Wescot Williams said that the Dutch is claiming that the general image of St. Maarten is tarnishing the Kingdom, she said in order for the Dutch to use Article 43 of the Charter they alluded to the fact that the image of St. Maarten is affecting the Kingdom negatively. She said that in the Royal Decree specific cases were not mentioned but they did mention vulnerable areas such as immigration, prostitution, gambling, projects, permits for large projects and other permits in general. SMN News also asked the Prime Minister if the cases that are laying down at the Landsrecherche for the past years may have caused the Dutch Kingdom to come to such a conclusion. The Prime Minister said that St. Maarten is also concerned about the cases that are not moving as fast as they would like but she said that Bonaire is having problems with the Kingdom representative and the Kingdom has refused to meddle in the matter. She said even though the Prosecutor's Office and other Justice Departments are not working fast no one on St. Maarten told them not to work on the cases they have before them.
Wescot Williams said up to this date St. Maarten does not have a signed off Royal Decree but she assumed the one given to her on Friday last week is the last draft that will be signed off. The Prime Minister said that St. Maarten already asked the Council of State for an advice on how the Kingdom Council came up with the Royal Decree and the articles they used to formulate the instruction given to the Governor of St. Maarten.
When asked by SMN News if she as Prime Minister of St. Maarten met with Governor Holiday and if she was in a position to share his sentiments, the Prime Minister said she will not go into what was discussed with the Governor but she made clear that the Governor is a St. Maartener and so is she and other politicians on St. Maarten.
The Prime Minister said that the Government of St. Maarten signed an agreement with Transparency International and the scope of the investigation to be conducted by TI will be much broader than the instruction given to the Governor. She also made clear that she really does not have a problem with an investigation but the real problem is the principle of the matter, especially the articles that were used to formulate the Royal Decree.
No Decision Taken by Council of Ministers to file Complain against VDSM Head.
In a follow up question, SMN News asked the Prime Minister if the Council of Ministers took a decision as to whether or not they will file a complaint against the head of VDSM (Secret Services) James Richardson. Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams said no such decision has been taken and the only decision they took thus far is to suspend Richardson.
The Prime Minister initiated an investigation against the head of VDSM when it was brought to her attention that a substantial amount of monies were missing from the department. The SOAB was asked to conduct an investigation on the operations of VDSM. The SOAB already submitted a report to the Government of St. Maarten which it is believed was used to suspend the head of VDSM.
While the Prime Minister in her first press release stated that a substantial amount of monies went missing from VDSM, it is still not clear why the Government of St. Maarten, namely the Prime Minister whose role is to oversee the operations of VDSM did not file an official complaint with the justice authorities.
It should also be noted that the Oversight Committee that has to overlook the operations of VDSM was never operational. Even though there is a law that states who should be on this committee, the Prime Minister did not establish the committee because the Prime Minister did not want the President of Parliament to be on the committee.
Community asked to wear Pink in Respect of Breast Cancer Awareness.
The Prime Minister of St. Maarten Sarah Wescot Williams called on the community of St. Maarten to wear some pink during the month of October which is the month that is dedicated for Breast Cancer Awareness. Wescot Williams said that there are a number of activities planned for this month one being the Zumba which will last for three hours this weekend. A march around Philipsburg and other major activities to highlight the importance of taking the necessary measures for early detection of breast cancer are also planned. The Prime Minister also showed reporters a special flyer that was created to promote breast awareness for the month of October 2013.
