Philipsburg:--- The Members of Parliament posed several questions on the 2012 budget that was debated during a Central Committee meeting on Wednesday. The entire Council of Ministers comprising of seven Ministers was present when Minister of Finance Hiro Shigemoto presented the draft 2012 budget. It is unclear why the other Ministers appeared on Wednesday since they were not the ones questioned after the opening of the meeting. Member of Parliament Frans Richardson suggested to the Chairlady that it would have been better if the Ministers reported to Parliament separately to answer to Parliament on their respective Ministries. However, the Chairlady did not entertain the proposal claiming that she preferred to have the Ministers present during the first half of budget presentation.The 2012 budget has a ball park figure of 432.5 million guilders compared to the 2011 budget which was 420.9 million guilders. The increase stands at 2.8% which amounts to 11.6 million guilders. While youth unemployment stands at 30% according to the 2012 budget.
Minister of Finance Hiro Shigemoto said the budget does not comprise of any grants from USONA or other entities. However, there are measures that were taken to increase the country's income. He said wage and income tax stands 24 million guilders. The Finance Minister said that government is focusing on the compliance tax laws to generate more income. The 2012 budget he said is balanced. There is no deficit neither surplus. Personnel expense exceeds 40% of the operational cost of the budget, while goods and services have a price tag of 27% of the budget.
Shigemoto said that based on the projections, Government and Parliament will not surpass the annual income. The 2012 budget shows 9 million guilders set aside for traveling expenses, especially for Members of Parliament.
Member of Parliament from the Democratic Party Leroy De Weever requested clarity on certain figures regarding the interest on the loan to be paid to the Windward Islands Bank. De Weever also requested more information on the real estate tax that has been added to the 2012 budget. De Weever said it appears as though government intends to go after foreign real estate owners, but that is not something he will buy. He said he cannot understand how government can realistically include such tax in its budget.
Independent Member of Parliament Patrick Illidge blasted government for the lack of control on the government owned companies, especially GEBE. Member of Parliament Illidge said he has no questions about the budget since he knows we are struggling as a young country. He however, wants to know what government is doing to soften the burden of the people. He said government has a task to undertake and as such it is not always about the dollars and cents but it is about the services that are given to the people of St. Maarten. The Independent MP called on government to take some time and focus on the quality of service that is provided to the people of St. Maarten by government owned companies, especially GEBE. He said he wants to know if government will sit and wait on GEBE to respond to them or if they intend to take control of the company. Illidge said government is busy fiddling with figures to make ends meet while the government owned companies are walking around with deaf ears.
Leader of the National Alliance William Marlin asked the Finance Minister to give Parliament some clarity on the collection of loans given through study financing mentioned in the budget because according to him government is not authorized to grant loans to students through study financing. Marlin also called on Government to provide more data on the amount of ghost employees that are currently being paid every month. Marlin also wants to know what government intends to do with the government owned companies regarding accessing their financials. Marlin requested from government the Service Level Agreements that were signed since St. Maarten became country. Marlin said he wants to know with whom these SLA's were signed, for what period and the cost of each SLA. He also asked government to provide more clarity on the pension plan for civil servants and the placement of civil servants that are still not placed after 10/10/10. Marlin said he wanted to know exactly how many civil servants are sitting at home awaiting placement.
