PHILIPSBURG:--- MP Tamara Leonard claims that in the absence of an official Minister of Tourism & Economic Affairs at the time, several questions were posed to the Minister of Justice, Mr. Rafael Boasman who also functioned as acting Minister of Tourism & Economic Affairs.
An attempt to answer these questions took place in the meeting regarding the affairs of the Princess Juliana International Airport, by Minister Mellissa Arrindell-Doncher on June 28th, 2017.
Member of Parliament Tamara Leonard requested the answers from the minister in written form during the adjournment which was not given before the meeting resumed. The MP stated that she needed to see the answers as she felt some of her questions were not answered or sufficiently so. MP Leonard explained she wanted to compare the questions and answers to see which were and weren't addressed. Since she did not receive them, she then requested to suspend the meeting until she was able to get the answers posed.
MP Leonard decided not to resend her old questions in writing since after the meeting she realized that the majority of the questions were indeed handled, between herself and MP Theo Heyliger, but not sufficiently answered.
Below are the follow-up and new questions from MP Tamara as she mentioned she would send at the beginning of the second round.
These questions were also sent to the Chairlady of Parliament 2 pm on Thursday afternoon, to be sent to the Minister in order to have the answers ready for Friday's continuation of the meeting, on the affairs concerning the airport.
Minister Arrindell-Doncher, stated that the 2015 reports are on the website, according to me this is untrue if they are, when were they posted?
Were the new board members for both boards at the airport approved by the Good Corporate Governance Counsel?
Were the new board members vetted?
Is there a vetting process for new board members?
Who is the CEO at interim?
Who are the COO and CFO?
Is it true that Mr. Larry Donker resigned from the caretaker position?
Is it true that Mr. Donker was subsequently contracted as a consultant for the same function?
If not fact, then what is the contracted function of Mr. Donker?
Can the Minister seek truth or the contrary to, confirm that certain board members are very active in the operations of the airport and sits in the office of the caretaker on a daily basis?
Is it true that a proposal to clean the air conditioner ducks at the airport for an amount of approximately TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS ($200k) was submitted by board member Alex Dijkhoffz before being appointed on the board?
Subsequently, is it true that this proposal is now being pushed to be signed off?
What is, and can I have a copy of the procurement process of the airport?
What are the conditions for deviating from this process?
Is it true that the purchase order process is recently often skipped and invoices for services and purchases are being signed off without following procedures?
Where does the airport purchase their cleaning supplies for private offices now?
What is the average cost of cleaning supplies for the airport private offices on an annual basis?
Is there a company contracted to purchase these cleaning supplies from?
Is it true that there are discussions regarding a proposal or a contract of 10 years for the purchasing of cleaning supplies for the private offices of the airport, being sought after by the very same board member, or a company that he is affiliated with?
Is it true that there are discussions to remove the purchasing of cleaning supplies from the contractors that handle the general cleaning of the airport, so that these can also be purchased by the company seeking a 10 year agreement?
Is it true that threats were made to employees in management namely Mirto Bril, Deniscio Boasman, and Justin Joe, who all apparently refused to cooperate, give positive advice on, or signing off on what they believe lacks integrity or what they consider unethical functioning in the departments they are responsible for, by this very same board member?
Does either of the boards have intentions of changing the organizational structure of the airport?
Are there any special agreements in place for employees of the airport to conduct personal business on the airport, be it for the airport or any of the airport business tenants of the airport?
Member of Parliament Tamara Leonard reminded the Minister that the Government of Sint Maarten has a responsibility as a shareholder to ensure that the airport is functioning in a transparent manner as this is essential for its development.
Press Release MP Tamara Leonard.
