PHILIPSBURG:--- During the week of October 25-29, 2021, Members of Parliament participated in part 1 of a series of Refresher Training.
This week of training is the initiative of the Secretariat of the Parliament of Sint Maarten with as objective, to ensure Members of Parliament continue to be knowledgeable of the fundamentals of Parliament and are equipped with all necessary tools to execute their role as a Member of Parliament.
The first session started on Monday, October 25, 2021, with dr. R.J.A. Arduin, as facilitator, in which Members of Parliament examined their role and responsibilities as Members of Parliament in general as it relates to the values and principles of democracy and constitutional law. Members also evaluated Parliament's performance with regard to contributing towards increased stability and organization of the society through national ordinances and other activities. This was done by a self-assessment in which Members were required to answer questions relating to Parliament oversight over Government, the legislative capacity of Parliament, transparency and accessibility of Parliament, accountability of Parliament, and others. This self-assessment was then followed by an assessment per faction which looked at improvements made and deficiencies and the manner in which they can be tackled. Each faction leader present presented the results of the assessment for their respective Faction.
During the sessions with dr. Arduin, Members of Parliament also examined and evaluated actions taken to improve and or resolve the relationship within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Other sessions held during the week of training were the Budget Cycle, presented by representatives of the General Audit Chamber, and Considerations regarding amendments to the draft Budget, presented by Civil servants of the Ministry of Finance.
It is customary for the Secretariat of Parliament to organize a series of training sessions for Members of Parliament upon entering office. These refreshers served as a follow-up to sessions held in February 2020.
During part 2 of these refresher training Members of Parliament will receive training on Rules of Order and Parliamentary Procedures, and also Legislation from the Parliamentary part of the Legislator – Amendments.
The Secretariat of the Parliament of Sint Maarten, in its role of assisting and providing support to Members of Parliament, would like to thank the various individuals and organizations who have contributed and assisted in making this Refresher training possible.
