~ Says the Government lied to Parliament and deceived the People. ~
PHILIPSBURG: --- Six Members of Parliament, all sitting on the Opposition benches of Parliament, told media representatives during a press conference on Friday that they are being sidelined, they were lied to during the budget debate, and most of all, the government of St. Maarten has deceived the people of St. Maarten.
The Members of Parliament said they received the national budget late and that just an hour before the budget debate, they were receiving documents and were not given the time by the chair of Parliament to peruse them. Despite all of this, the MPs said they supported the national budget 2025 because the Minister of Finance, Marinka Gumbs, assured them that the adjustments were made. However, they said that they, as Members of Parliament, were misled by the government because they highlighted to the government that many of the contents in the budget were copied and pasted. Member of Parliament Omar Ottley said that numbers reflect 2024, which they brought up during the budget debate. Ottley explained that as a member of parliament, he opted to give the coalition government a chance and allowed them to do what they said they would do for the country. “At this moment, there is an issue with the budget, and members of parliament are not aware of the depth of the issues.”
Ottley complained of the unfair treatment he received from the chair of parliament, while other members of parliament received a different treatment.
Members of Parliament Omar Ottley, Francisco Lacroes, NOW Lyndon Lewis, and National Alliance Egbert Jurendy Doran, Ardwell Irion, and Darryl York each expressed how disappointed they are with the government for not having the 2025 budget ratified and published. The MPs said that they have been showing maturity in parliament by providing solutions and ideas to the government, but the coalition is hell-bent on leaving them out. They said that they each voted in favor of the 2025 budget in January after Minister of Finance Marinka Gumbs assured them that the errors in the budget, including the amendments, would have been rectified.
Member of Parliament Egbert Jurendy Doran read at least three letters he dispatched to the Prime Minister regarding ratifying and publishing the 2025 national budget. In one of the letters they received from the Prime Minister, it was explained that the government has been encountering some issues with at least two of the seven amendments.
Former Minister of Finance and Member of Parliament Ardwell Irion, in his remarks, said the coalition and government lied to parliament, and they even broke the constitution of St. Maarten when it came to handling the national budget.
Ardwell explained that the government does not have a budget to run the country's affairs because they are still using the budget he prepared while being the Minister of Finance.
The former Minister said when he learned of the government's intention to use the "novelle wetgeving." He personally made inquiries on the procedure, and it was then he discovered that that procedure could not even work in St. Maarten because the country does not have a bicameral system.
Ardwell said with the budget approval being one of the most essential responsibilities of any government, the delays could have ripple effects on government agencies, businesses, and social programs that depend on timely budget allocations, leaving the country in a state of financial uncertainty.
MP Lyndon Lewis explained that the country's people are suffering since the government will not be able to pay its workers. Projects that they promised to execute will not be executed.
The former Minister of Justice also explained that four of the six members of parliament speaking out on Friday were Ministers who expressed to the government that they were willing to assist in moving the country forward, but none of the Ministers approached them; instead, they are lying to parliament.
Lewis said that the current Minister of Justice has been in office for the past three months, and to date, the LBs for justice workers are not being handed out. “The Minister is busy revoking the things that I have approved instead of finding ways of bringing money to government coffers. He said the illegal immigrants living on the island and working are busy sending their money to their country because these people are denied legal residency that they are paying for. He lamented the “humanitarian” permits that are not being handled.
Member of Parliament Darryl York said that he asked several blatant questions during the budget debate because he saw the issues that the government is currently facing. For this reason, he believed it was his duty to highlight the problems he encountered.
York explained that despite the errors in the budget, he gave the Minister of Finance the benefit of the doubt.
The Members of Parliament called on the government, especially the Minister of Finance, to admit that errors were made with the 2025 national budget and that she should take the budget back to the parliament of St. Maarten to fix those errors.
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