~ Budget will be heavily affected says the Minister of Finance.~
PHILIPSBURG: --- The government of St. Maarten would have to dip its hands in its liquidity to sustain the extra costs of the parliament of St. Maarten since there are nine factions in parliament.
Just last week nine members of parliament each representing their own faction left the island for the Netherlands to attend IPKO meetings. The ten-day trip with ten members of parliament will place a real dent in the government's budget. Government was asked to provide a daily per diem for each member of parliament and the staff that travelled with the delegation while they also paid for first-class tickets for each MP.
This of course brought on an unexpected expense that was not budgeted for, and it will affect the government’s liquidity, Irion said.
SMN News asked the Minister of Finance for a breakdown of the extra costs brought on by the parliament of St. Maarten. Irion promised to provide the exact figures for the IPKO trip costs and the additional cost the government of St. Maarten has to bear.
The Minister of Finance did say that government cannot deny parliament what they ask for as such the government’s liquidity would have to be used to sustain the extra financial burden. Minister Irion said that the IPKO trip alone will cost more than previously budgeted and that these extra costs were not budgeted since the government did not anticipate having nine factions in parliament.
The Minister of Finance said the members of parliament don’t have to hire more faction staff; however, the government does not have a say in the decisions taken by members of parliament.
