Chairman of the Corporate Governance Council (CGC) Louis Duzanzon outlined the reasons why the CGC was established and who were the signatories to the agreement made on January 22nd 2008 at the Belair Community Center. Duzanzon also reminded the Members of Parliament of the oath they all took when St. Maarten obtained its country status on October 10th 2010. That oath was to uphold the country's constitution and to abide by the laws that govern the country.
The CGC also reminded the Members of Parliament of a letter they sent to them requesting that they call the Council of Ministers to order since they have failed to execute various responsibilities assigned to them. That letter was dated February 23rd 2011 which also called on Government to uphold the laws of St. Maarten and to deal with the various requests of the CGC. Duzanzon said eight months after expediting that letter he is yet to receive a response from the Members of Parliament. The CGC said that due to the lack of a response they have no other choice than to believe there is a crisis in government where it relates to conforming with the rule of law. He further said that the integrity of government is under siege and when there is a crisis, corrective measures will have to be taken. The current situation within the government apparatus is of concern to the CGC, Duzanzon said.
Duzanzon in his final appeal letter is calling on Parliament to ensure that the Council of Ministers award the CGC its budget since they have been working for almost two years without an office, staff and an adequate budget. CGC supplied parliament with the letters and the budgets they submitted to the Council of Ministers for the year 2009 and 2010.
In the meantime, the National Alliance Faction of Parliament submitted a letter to the Chairlady of Parliament requesting that a meeting be scheduled to discuss the issues facing the Corporate Governance Council. Leader of the National Alliance William Marlin said in an invited comment that he submitted the request to the Chairlady of Parliament earlier this week requesting that she convene a meeting to discuss the functioning of CGC as well as its letter of October 25th 2011.
Click here to view the letter CGC sent to Parliament.
