"As a Member of Parliament I will not deal with a draft law unless I know what was discussed in The Hague."
PHILIPSBURG: --- Member of Parliament Christopher Emmanuel is calling on the Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson who travelled to the Netherlands last weekend to meet with the (Raad van State) Council of State and Minister of Interior Affairs Ronald Plasterk to further discuss the draft integrity law that was discussed in parliament and higher supervision that the Kingdom wants to impose on St. Maarten.
In a newspaper article the Minister of Justice was quoted as saying that he could not disclose what was discussed in the meeting he had with the Council of State because of a non-discloser agreement. MP Emmanuel said he cannot and will not accept for the Minister of Justice who is supposed to represent and protect the interest of the people of St. Maarten to make such an agreement with the Netherlands (Council of State) and then expects the Parliament of St. Maarten to further discuss this law and vote on it when St. Maarten's Minister of Justice knows that this law would have serious consequences for the people of St. Maarten. " I cannot speak for the entire Parliament of St. Maarten but as a Member of Parliament who was duly elected I need to defend the interest of my people and for me to do that I need to know what Governement does." When asked by SMN News if the Parliament of St. Maarten will be willing to discuss with the Minister in a closed door session so that they will be fully apprised on the matter, Emmanuel said he is not interested in any close door meeting because this draft law will affect all the people of St. Maarten and not just elected officials. "I want the Minister of Justice to know that this is not about him it's about St. Maarten and its people and everyone has a right to know what they are facing."
Already Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot Williams dispatched a letter to the chair of Parliament and to the Ministers seeking information on the status of the draft integrity law.
Last week Friday Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs and Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson told reporters that the Council of State requested that St. Maarten should not vote on the draft law, until after their discussion which began last Monday and is continuing throughout this week. The MPs upon hearing this news via the media were upset that the Council of Ministers are not showing Parliament any respect, because they did not inform them directly of the request made by the Council of State and instead they were informed through media reports.
In an invited comment from Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson who is still in the Netherlands said that when he returns to St. Maarten, the public debate in Parliament will continue. Minister Richardson said he cannot and will not make any statements at this point in time because the discussions with the Raad van State (Council of State) and the Minister of Interior Affairs are still ongoing and unless an agreement is signed by both parties he cannot say anything. Minister Richardson stated that pending a final agreement‎ or lack of one and during the consultations public statements should be avoided as much as possible about the content of the ongoing meetings. The parliament of St. Maarten will be duly and properly informed about results or the lack thereof during the upcoming public meeting. He did say that thus far the discussions are positive but they still do not have anything on paper. Minister Richardson further stated that he has no intention of hiding anything from the people of St. Maarten and when the public meeting of Parliament is held everyone will know what the outcome of the meetings were and what St. Maarten has achieved from these meetings.
Further to that Emmanuel is calling on the Prime Minister of St. Maarten Marcel Gumbs to take the bull by its horns and deal with the Supervisory board of TELEM who have been operating without a CEO for years now. Emmanuel said that TELEM is a government owned company and it cannot be so that the company has been operating without a CEO for years now and the supervisory board or Prime Minister does nothing to remedy the situation.
