~Parliament tells COM that he cannot equate Crisis with too Expensive. ~
PHILIPSBURG: --- Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina told parliament on Monday during a Central Committee meeting that the power barge that NV GEBE was thinking about leasing is too expensive for NV GEBE and the country.
Mercelina said that the other option NV has at its disposal is to lease the containerized generators. While breaking down the projected cost to at least the power barge or the containerized generators, he did not say when a definite decision will be made to move forward with the leasing of the containerized generators, which would take at least three months before they arrive on St. Maarten.
Mercelina said that NV GEBE would know by Friday if the crankshaft for engine 19 can be repaired.
Member of Parliament Omar Ottley broke down the presentation given by Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina and said that the Prime Minister used words like crisis, safety, and security. Then, he concluded that the barge was too expensive. He asked the Prime Minister if there was a price tag on the safety and security of the people. Ottley further stated that the prime minister did not provide parliament with any new information because everything he told parliament on Monday was stated last Wednesday in the Council of Ministers press briefing.
Member of Parliament Ardwell Irion, the former Minister of Finance, questioned the Prime Minister on his statements from the moment he took office. He said the same thing: the Prime Minister and his cabinet have said the country is bankrupt. If the country is bankrupt, how can the country (Government) be the financier for NV GEBE? “I would like to know who will lend and bankrupt country money and what will be the interest rate. Will it be 10%, which is above the market rate?
Ardwell further questioned the Prime Minister on the EU funding he mentioned in the presentation. He wants to know if the Netherlands or St. Maarten have the necessary legislation to access those funds. He also asked if GEBE could access the fund independently.
Member of Parliament Ludmilla De Weever made the following statements "Whether I am part of a coalition or in opposition, every solution that I have come up with, every advice that I have come up with, from my past and my experience, is one for the country. Every time I share information, it is for the benefit of the public. That is who I represent. When I was part of the opposition last time, I also emailed solutions to the then minister of VROMI, which was ignored.
Again, I offered solutions, advice, and suggestions to this coalition.
Every time I am here, I represent the greater interest of our Sint Maarten public. This coalition and the prime minister have indeed taken my advice. What I wanted to hear today is, 'OK, Sint Maarterners, we are going to have to load shed for the near future, for the foreseeable future, and within the next six weeks or two months, we are going to have these containers (generator) here. That's it—a very simple solution.
I know that everyone is talking about financing and everything that comes with it, but it is literally just a matter of, as most of the people, whether coalition or opposition, have been saying today: Here is the short-term solution. We have a financing schedule coming out of it, and I hope that when we have another meeting, we will have something that is more than just words, therefore for public consumption.
This is not me pointing out the errors of a past government or this government. We just need to move forward right now. June 1st marks the beginning of hurricane season.
I have been ignored when I've offered solutions in the past, but I wasn't ignored 100% this time around."
