Ministers and MPs salaries should be cut by 5% - MP Leona Marlin
PHILIPSBURG:--- The 2015 draft budget was heavily criticized during the budget debate that started on Tuesday. The first speaker MP Leona Marlin made it clear that government should live by example and one of the ways they can cut cost and save monies is to let Ministers and Members of Parliament travel business class rather than first class. MP Romeo Marlin said that government including Parliament could further cut the traveling expenses by not attending certain meetings but use technology instead. Marlin Romeo said that if the civil servants cannot get their Cost of Living Allowances (COLA) payments then the salaries of Ministers and Members of Parliament should be cut by 5%. She said if the civil servants cannot get what is due to them because government says they have no money then the politicians and Ministers should also give up some of what they have. Romeo Marlin further questioned how energy efficient is government, furthermore government should be using email for official communications and other digital methods. She asked what would it cost to invest in solar energy (solar panels) and how much government would save if that investment is made? It is clear that the rookie MP will lose some friends when she said that government should take back mobile telephones from persons who are no longer entitled to them, especially from the non-active department heads. She asked government to explain why they are not selling the cars they have parked up in the VROMI yard? MP Romeo Marlin wants to know exactly how many buildings government is renting and how many of them are unoccupied. She asked for more information on the "white elephant" Government Administration Building on Pond Island. Romeo Marlin said its time for government to get rid of S4 in the Netherlands and turn over their responsibilities to the St. Maarten House. In the meantime government should work on ensuring that the University of St. Martin (USM) is accredited. Schools on St. Maarten should be upgraded.
Member of Parliament William Marlin said that the people of St. Maarten deserve a better and realistic budget. Marlin said based on the answers provided to Members of Parliament Monday night, it is clear that government is trying to approve a budget in a timely manner in order to avoid an instruction. Marlin said right now there is a standoff between the Government of St. Maarten and the CFT. He said the CFT suggested that the draft 2015 budget be cut by NAF 26M because in their view it's not a realistic budget. However, government does not agree with the proposal of the CFT and what they want to do is get a budget approved by Parliament even though the CFT and Council of Advice gave a negative advice on this budget.
Marlin then asked for further clarity on the deal government has with APS and the Government Administration Building. He said that government told Parliament that the APS deal is not yet a done deal. He asked if the government could not work out a payment plan with APS instead of trying to sell them property that was built for the people. Marlin said government could take a loan to pay off the debt they have with APS. "The Minister said that if the deal goes through it will take another 12 months before civil servants could move into the building. MP Marlin said that government stated that they have no legal obligation to make the COLA payments and while one MP proposed to squeeze the Ministers and Members of Parliament, he wants to know what happen to the persons that are on the boards of government owned companies are traveling the world on the companies expenses.
Marlin give an example of GEBE whom he said the supervisory board believes that this company belongs to them and they don't owe parliament any explanation. Marlin said that GEBE is a government owned company but management and members of the board believes that the company is theirs and they each have a blank check to do what they want especially when hiring consultants while the people of St. Maarten cannot get the promised relief. "The answers provided to Parliament by GEBE are unacceptable. As Member of Parliament I want to know how many consultants are on GEBE's payroll." Marlin further asked government to provide parliament with an overview of all government owned companies with the amount of consultants they have on their boards. Marlin said politicians are placed under the microscope while the board members of the government owned companies are traveling the world and they are not giving anyone any type of accountability. "I want to make clear that these government owned companies do not belong to the boards but they belong to the people of St. Maarten who still cannot get relief."
Marlin asked government to provide parliament with the travel expenses from all government owned companies for the years 2013 and 2014.
He said that parliament asked for more information on the St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF). Marlin said even though parliament asked for this information a while back to date the information is not forthcoming. Former Minister Maurice Lake stopped the forensic investigation that was commissioned by the board. Marlin asked where is that investigation today and what is government doing about this matter.
Marlin also asked about the casino fees, he said parliament asked for detailed information on the casinos that are not paying their dues. "Government does not have to go anywhere for this information yet still they did not provide it to parliament."
Marlin said based on the answers government provided to Parliament they said that the only Ministry that leases vehicles is the Ministry of Justice. They said that they are paying over $22,000.00 per month in leases. Marlin said as a Member of Parliament he wants to know how many vehicles the Ministry of Justice is leasing and exactly what agreement does the Ministry have with the dealer. "Is this a lease to own and if that is so how many years will this lease agreement last."
Marlin further asked questions on the famous counterpart policy, he said government told parliament that introducing this policy will not cost government anything but the private sector will bear the cost.
Both MP Marlin and MP Sarah Wescot Williams asked government to provide parliament with proper information on the $1.5M they promised to contribute to the St. Maarten Harbor Group of Companies to host the FCCA conference. Parliament needs to know if it was a promise made or if Government actually contributed. Marlin said he wants more information on the fuel tanks that are underground at the harbor because he sees monies are being paid to Windward Roads yet the tanks belong to SOL.
MP Sarah Wescot Williams said St. Maarten is facing a real dilemma, she said while the entire budget is standard, the elucidation of the draft 2015 budget paints a horrible picture. She said when one reads the elucidation of the budget then one would realize how ill prepared government is. She said the budget was given all sorts of names but for her it's the country's budget and it should reflect what will be realized and will not be realized. MP Wescot Williams asked about the counterpart debacle, the Emilio Wilson development which Parliament cannot get a clear view on. She also asked about the St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation and wants to know if the Government of St. Maarten is really listening.
MP Wescot Williams also asked about the candidate who will be taking up the position on the Council of State. She said government said they are looking for a suitable candidate. "I would like to know if someone served in the Parliament of St. Maarten it makes them suitable." It should be noted that former chairlady of Parliament Gracita Arrindell will be taking up that position which was vacated by Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson.
MP Wescot Williams made it clear to the Minister of Justice that the youth programs within his Ministry are at risk. She said the youth programs that fall under the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports are also at risk. Wescot Williams said right now is bleak because it is clear that there is no monies for critical positions and training. "This budget shows that there is no money for the justice sector and clearly there is no possibility for growth in the national police agency." Wescot Williams said that in her view everything has to be reviewed. One of the statements is that the lack of scholarship opportunities will exacerbate youth employment. Another note MP Wescot Williams mentioned is the fact that nothing was mentioned about the Mental Health Foundation. "I need to know if this foundation will get a subsidy or not because it's not mentioned in the draft budget. It is also mentioned that the country's marketing is under extreme stress, Minister I caution you this is only the tip of the iceberg." Wescot Williams said nothing whatsoever was mentioned about the St. Maarten Medical Center.
MP Frans Richardson questioned the Ministers on the cost of registering companies at the Chamber of Commerce. He said he wants to know what happens to these monies. "I need to know if any of the money goes back to government because I want to know what the Chamber of Commerce does for businesses other than registering them. Right now the Chamber Elections has become the biggest thing nowadays.
MP Richardson said that government has to look into job creation even though he admitted that his question was broad he wants government to know that there is a need for development. MP Richardson said the Minister of VROMI must help the boys in Philipsburg because these boys deserve a chance. "We do not need Windward Roads to fix the bricks on Front Street, the boys and girls in Philipsburg could do this easily with some help." He suggested that NIPA give courses on brick-laying so that the younger people could learn how to do this and St. Maarten will not have to bring in brick-layers and these jobs no longer have to go to the bigger companies." MP Richardson said the draft 2015 budget would need a lot of fat and for him the country has a problem. Based on what is in the budget the community centers and the various districts will not be getting any monies. He asked what happened to the Dutch Quarter project that was supposed to kick off. He said during the election there was a huge ground breaking ceremony but to date nothing has happened there. "I believe something is definitely wrong, cost of living and doing business on St. Maarten is going through the roof and something must be done however, we have to be willing to do this. I want to make clear I will not be supporting any expensive purchases," Richardson was referring to the purchase to the purchase of the VORST property. He said that government has to be smart on its spending because they have a lot of land. "As an MP I will be working with the Ministry of Justice to improve that Ministry."
MP Richardson also asked the Minister of Finance to give Parliament some clear explanation on the Profit Tax that AUC got from government. "Parliament doesn't want to know about any court case, we need to know what type of tax AUC got away with. We need the truth because soon the cat will come out of the bag." MP Richardson said based on what he has seen government owns 94.2% of GEBE he said he was of the understanding that government owned 100% of the company. He said if government does not own 100% of GEBE he wants to know who owns the other shares of the company.
MP Christopher Emmanuel said that AUC got away with profit tax, he said that the MP Richardson is correct when he said that the Minister of Finance must provide information on the AUC affair. He said since the Minister is refusing to answer the question he will provide the people with the information, MP Emmanuel said AUC got away with NAF 148M in profit tax. He said if government had collected their taxes Parliament would not have to be debating a skeleton budget and CFT would not have been on government's back. He said he wants to know if the inspectorate of taxes sent an assessment for NAF 70M. He asked the Minister to provide more information on the sale of AUC, the exact sale price, on the court case and if the Minister of Finance tried to make a settlement with AUC to avoid the court case. He asked the Minister of Finance to show parliament the monies because he does not want to get fat on the budget, but wants to see muscles. MP Emmanuel said he wants to know if government is crazy to think that they will rush the budget and pass it without asking the right questions. He said when private citizens owe taxes they are targeted and their laundry is hung out in the newspapers. MP Emmanuel said that prior to the sale of AUC they had a 10 year tax holiday and while he asked the Minister to provide parliament with the exact amount AUC was sold for that answer cannot been given. He said AUC was sold for $235M of which government is entitled to 35% in profit tax. But government only collected 10% and allowed this one entity to get away with $100M and what is unacceptable is that government is refusing to provide answers. He said that whatever transpired with AUC, the Minister of Finance knew of it. He also reminded the Ministers that Parliament is their house and when they go to Parliament it is for them to provide answers to Parliament. MP Emmanuel said the Council of Ministers consists of people that did not get one vote from the people therefore when they go to Parliament they need to answer the questions posed to them. MP Emmanuel cautioned that he will not let the AUC issue rest.
MP Emmanuel said that he still does not understand what is going on at the Harbor. He said he must admit that what former MP Louie Laviest said about St. Maarten having two governments is true, one is at the A.C. Wathey Square and one in Pointe Blanche. He said the next government will be GEBE. Emmanuel said based on the figures provided nothing adds up when comparing 2009 to 2013. He said in 2009 the harbor made 40.4% in profit on less revenue while in 2013 they only made 26%. MP Emmanuel posed more questions to the Minister in order to bring clarity on the Harbor Group of Companies. One of the questions MP Emmanuel posed was for an explanation as to why the outside security cost the Harbor Group of Companies just over $900,000.00 but the projection for 2015 for outside security now stands at $3.1M. "If none of the questions that are posed by parliament to government are not answered then I want this particular question to be answered. Emmanuel said he wants to know if government intends to charge a toll for the causeway. He said that he also wants to know why is it that the SMHGC has to pay the interest on the bonds for a project that has no benefit to them. The young rookie MP went further and said that while Parliament was told that Rainforest Adventure did not get a deal to develop Emilio Wilson he said it is all true that it is already a done deal. Emmanuel said that government wants returns on the investment they made on the purchase of Emilio Wilson Estate. MP Emmanuel then proceeded by showing photographs he took in the St. Peters and South Reward area where the roads are completely destroyed. He also showed a photograph showing high tension wires are even touching a home in the Reward area. He called on the Minister of VROMI to use the same rush he used to give Rainforest Adventure an audience. He further informed the Minister of VROMI that he will hold him personally responsible for the negligence and lack of concern in which the people of St. Maarten are living in especially after hurricane Gonzalo. MP Emmanuel then moved on to question how much long lease land was given to Monte Vista and who gave the developer the right to sell government land.
MP Emmanuel asked about the Council of Ministers press briefing that was stopped when the new Council of Ministers took office. He asked government to provide parliament with the role of DCOMM.
MP Silveria Jacobs in her presentation said that there is a lack of cohesion in government because it is quite evident in the budget. She said while there is talking about a booming economy the people are not benefiting from that boom as so is the Government of St. Maarten who described their draft 2015 budget as a skeleton budget. MP Silveria Jacobs further highlighted the flaws in the budget even though Parliament asked questions in the Central Committee meeting the answers given do not match up.The budget debate continues. SMN News will bring you updates on the continuation of the debate.
