PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Finance and acting Minister of Justice Richard Gibson Sr. told reporters on Wednesday when he was quizzed by members of the media at the weekly press briefing on Wednesday that the people of St. Maarten especially the various Ministries will have to ‘bite the bullet” roll up their sleeves and tighten their belts as their will be some severe budget cuts come 2016.
The finance Minister said in the past the strategies used by St. Maarten to balance its budget did not work which created a debt with APS and SZV and a budget that could not be balanced over the years. Gibson said that he intend to use a different strategy which is to “slice up the cake” he has among the various ministries in order to present a well balanced budget for 2016. The newly appointed Minister said that St. Maarten generate between NAF.440M to NAF.445M per year which means the country can only spend what it has, therefore as Finance Minister he said will place most of his efforts to work on a balanced budget for 2016. The Minister said he also intends to ask for an extension on the instruction given to St. Maarten where they have a period of three years to settle the debts government has with APS and SZV.
Minister Gibson said that the country cannot ‘eat all their cake” and then behave as if they have more to eat by wasting. If the country wants to spend more monies then government will have to generate more monies and when it’s in government coffers then it will be divided among the ministries. Minister Gibson also sent out a stern warning to persons that are not paying their taxes. He said that the delinquent tax-payers must know that non-compliance does have consequences. He also made clear that he has no intention to increase the taxes that are already in place because he is of the opinion that the taxes are already high. “I am making it known now that people must pay their taxes because there will be consequences for non-payment of taxes.” Already the former government submitted a request to Parliament to increase the license plate fees which still has to be dealt with, however, he did say he did not know what the new amount looks like since it was done by the former government.
Police do have rights but there is no money.
When asked about the ultimatum given by the police union Minister Gibson said that it is unfortunate for the unions to set demands and give timeline to a government that just took office. He admitted that the police do have rights to their promotions and increase in salaries but these matters have been pending for some time now. The acting Minister of Justice further stated that he had meeting scheduled with the unions and only one person showed up to the meeting. Minister Gibson said he waited for 25 minutes for the other persons to attend the meeting but they did not show up and he had to leave in order to attend another meeting. He said another date and time has been scheduled for him to meet with the unions to discuss their concerns.
“I want to make clear that everyone has to understand that I know the police do have rights and they do deserve certain things but if the country does not have the monies then these things cannot be given to those who have rights to them. There are people riding bicycles, some in the best cars but those on bicycles also want a good car and the only reason they are using a bicycles is because they cannot afford an expensive car.”
Crime and police assistance --- Six experts expected to arrive to combat crime.
Asked about the escalation of crime the acting Minister of Justice said that crime has been an issue for years now. He said he could go back to as far as 35 years ago when people call the police and none ever showed up. Today the police force has expanded and there is much more available to the people but the country simply cannot afford to put cameras everywhere. The police has to make do with what they have for now in order to reduce the spate of crime on St. Maarten.
The Minister said during his recent visit to the Netherlands he managed to secure a commitment from the Kingdom who will send six experts for a period of three to six months. These persons he said will be coming to St. Maarten to study the current crime situation and then formulate a plan on how they intend to cope and combat the current crime rate on St. Maarten.
Asked if he dealt with the CID issue that has been brewing for quite some time now, Minister Gibson said that while he left St. Maarten the day after he was sworn in to attend the meetings in the Netherlands he did read up on the issue of the CID which he said can be considered a “storm in glass.” He explained that the issue of the CID has a lot to do with the Attorney General who mashed some persons’ toes and also did things he should not have done. Minister Gibson also agreed that St. Maarten have been fighting for its own attorney general for years now even since St. Maarten was under the Netherlands Antilles and St. Maarten was never successful in getting its own attorney general. He said that St. Maarten is still fighting to achieve this because most of the time the Prosecutors office on St. Maarten have to do everything relating to justice. The Minister said that a delegation is expected to arrive from the Netherlands mid December where the country will try to iron out some of the issues facing St. Maarten and the issue of an attorney general for St. Maarten will also be discussed. He said that while St. Maarten does have a solicitor general that is living on the island, St. Maarten's wants its own attorney General who should be residing on the island in order to make proper decisions for St. Maarten. He however, made clear that the appointment of the Attorney General lies in the hands of the Kingdom.