Philipsburg:--- The Prime Minister of St. Maarten Sarah Wescot Williams expressed her concerns on the parliamentary meeting requested by the National Alliance which in her view will preempt the public meeting of parliament to discuss the 2012 budget.Those meetings are scheduled to begin on Thursday where the National Alliance has called the Minister of Finance and the other Ministers to explain their involvement and compliance process, policies and rules set by the Minister of Finance.
The National Alliance Faction also wants the Ministers to substantiate the policies and rules that were used in draft 2012 budget.
Wescot Williams said that that the requested meeting is remarkable based on how it has been formulated and she is of the opinion that it was done in such a way to preempt the public meeting to be held on the draft budget.
Wescot Williams said the budget process is regulated by the laws and other regulations which have not been changed. She further explained that government and its departments have many desires on the things they would have liked to do but the sky is not the limit when it comes to their finances. Therefore, the various Ministries are obligated to come together with the Ministry of Finance to see what they can execute based on the projected income.
Wescot Williams said when one reads the request submitted by the National Alliance it might sound as if the Government did not comply with the law when they drafted the 2012 budget.
The Prime Minister further explained that the current government made great strides when it comes to the compliance of rules and regulations in drafting the budget.
The Prime Minister also called on Parliament to revisit the public nature of the central committee meetings that are being held. She said the reasoning that central committee meetings were public in the Netherlands Antilles is partially valid. She said if the central committee meeting on the budget were closed then there would have been more active deliberations taking place between government and parliament. Wescot Williams said closed door meetings give parties more freedom when discussing and deliberating.
It should be noted that while the government of St. Maarten was forced to make several cuts to balance its 2012 budget, parliament is currently paying the radio and cable television stations for each live broadcast that is undertaken.