PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams was much calmer and relaxed on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers' weekly press briefing when she updated the media on the Integrity Investigation that was ordered by the Kingdom Council of Ministers on September 27th, 2013.
The Prime Minister said she will be traveling to the Netherlands at the end of the week where she intends to meet with the Minister of Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte, the Council of State, and several St. Maarten based organizations. Wescot Williams said that these meetings were planned way before the Royal Decree was issued which was published last week. She said the Council of Ministers and her person met with the Governor on the matter but to date no official information was sent to the Government of St. Maarten to indicate when the integrity investigation will commence. Wescot Williams said that the Government of St. Maarten will not cooperate with the investigation unless they get the legal advice they requested from the Council of State. When asked if civil servants were officially notified that they should not cooperate with the investigators, the Prime Minister said that they have not sent out any official information such as a "memo" to the government apparatus simply because the Government of St. Maarten has not yet been informed.
The Prime Minister also informed the media that she prepared a package with information such as the letters that were sent to St. Maarten in April 2013 giving indications that the Kingdom would come down on St. Maarten if they did not heed the concerns of the Kingdom regarding the ToT that is applied on goods sold on St. Maarten. Wescot Williams said some Members of Parliament turned the entire Integrity Investigation into a political problem instead of looking at how such an investigation would impede on the country's rights. She said the Royal Decree had some things missing and if the Kingdom Council could explain that which is missing then St. Maarten will cooperate. The use of article 43 according to the Prime Minister is the main issue for St. Maarten.
Transparency International to cost Country Euros 200,000.00 --- No Agreement signed yet.
Wescot Williams also acknowledged that no official agreement was signed with Transparency International even though parties agreed in principle to have TI conduct an investigation on Integrity within the Government of St. Maarten. Wescot Williams said the investigation done by TI will cost the Government of St. Maarten Euros 200,000.00.
COLA payments to be made in Lump Sum payment on November 15th, 2013.
Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams also announced that the COLA payments for the year 2011 should be made by November 15th, 2013 now that the 2013 budget has been approved. Wescot Williams said that the 50% that was budgeted will be made in a lump sum payment and not indexed to the salaries as requested by the unions. She said however the payment will not be made at the same time as salaries which will benefit the civil servants. The Prime Minister could not say if the remaining 50% of COLA that will be owed to the civil servants would be placed in the 2014 budget. She said the 2014 budget is just as tight as the 2013 budget and government's projections are to have that budget ready by October 2013.
