Philipsburg:--- Minister of Health Cornelius de Weever confirmed on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers' press briefing on Wednesday that he met with the supervisory board of the St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC), the Director of SZV, and APS (Pension fund) to further discuss the loans that the St. Maarten Medical Center is requesting from the two entities. De Weever said the supervisory board of the St. Maarten Medical Center pleaded with the Council of Ministers last week saying that SZV was setting some criteria for the loan they requested from them.
The Minister said that the SMMC said because of this, they are being held up for the bond, the deadline for the bond is August 15th and they needed to respond by August 14th. The Minister of Health said at that time, he assured the St. Maarten Medical Center Board that he would call a meeting with SZV and SMMC so that they could address the issue with him present.
Minister De Weever said on Tuesday SZV and the Inspector of Health gave a presentation to the Council of Ministers to ensure that everyone is on the same page. Minister De Weever said shortly after that meeting he also met with SZV to further discuss the bond issue. Minister De Weever said that meeting went very well and he already sent an email to the St. Maarten Medical Center on the matter and he is now awaiting a response from them. He said the email sent to them is to ensure that parties are on the same page when it comes to getting the monies they are in need of for the expansion of the medical institution and its services.
The Minister further confirmed that SMMC is not cooperating when it comes to releasing information on their other creditors. Right now, he said he knows of APS (Pension Fund) and SZV. He stated that SZV indeed has that as one of their requirements and when the time comes then all the creditors would have to sit at the same table before pumping their monies into the institution.
Minister De Weever said that SZV has to do due diligence when it comes to spending or investing the people's monies. "SZV is the one financing the hospital because they pay for services which amounts to 80% of the hospital's revenues and their concerns are valid for patient care as well as for the monies they will invest in the expansion of the institution. We are talking about AOV money, and everyone has to know that the money that SZV is going to commit to the SMMC is a sound investment and proper financial procedures must be followed. SZV has an investment committee that has to do due diligence and I think it is a responsible way of doing business."