Philipsburg:--- Chairlady of Parliament Gracita Arrindell was fully exposed on Thursday during a central committee meeting when she tried to have Parliament approve the expenses she endured when she traveled to Washington DC to meet with US Vice President Joe Biden.The National Alliance faction and Independent Member of Parliament Frans Richardson voted against the approval of the trip which the Chairlady took last weekend without having Parliament's approval. Members of the United Peoples Party Faction voted in favor of the trip but their coalition partners from the Democratic Party were not present in Parliament to give the UP members their support.
Leader of the National Alliance William Marlin and Independent Member of Parliament Frans Richardson said they have been asking the Chairlady to follow proper procedures as is laid down in the ordinance that regulates travel and travel allowances for Members of Parliament.
Marlin said the constitution of St. Maarten states in article 58 that travel and travel allowances must be regulated in an ordinance, while article two of that ordinance states that Members of Parliament must travel first class while they receive Naf 500.00 per month for transportation. Article four of the same ordinance further states that when Members of Parliament travel on a business trip they are to be compensated for the expenses they endured and a decision must be taken in a central committee meeting by majority vote. It should be noted that the Chairlady has to also inform the Governor of St. Maarten each time a Member of Parliament travels on business trips.
Marlin said that Chairlady Gracita Arrindell seems to think that she is above those laws and rules because according to her she is the Chairlady of Parliament and not a Member of Parliament. Marlin said the National Alliance faction requested from the Minister of Finance a breakdown of the traveling expenses endured by Members of Parliament because Parliament did not approve most of the trips taken by the Members of Parliament. Marlin said that while the Minister of Finance submitted their request to the Chairlady of Parliament she purposely withheld the information claiming that some of the trips were cancelled. Marlin said if the trips are still booked at the Ministry of Finance then there are Members of Parliament who probably kept their traveling monies and the tickets were not reimbursed by the airlines. Marlin further stated that the Chairlady wants to tamper with the information provided to her by the Ministry of Finance and that should not be allowed. Marlin insisted that he wants the information that was provided by the Minister of Finance for Members of Parliament the way it was given and if corrections have to be made then it will be done by the Ministry of Finance and not by the Chairlady of Parliament. A source within the Ministry of Finance said that the Chairlady racked up $100,000.00 in traveling expenses for the year 2011 and if she is not stopped now she will double that amount in 2012.
Member of Parliament Silvia Olivacci Meyers said that when she was notified that she could not travel to a Palatino meeting to Aruba because proper procedures were not followed, she returned her ticket and the check given to her as traveling allowances to the Ministry of Finance. Meyers said when she took office she was not fully aware of all the laws but she is learning by the day. However, she felt it was not nice of the Members of Parliament to bring anyone's dirty laundry on the floor of Parliament or to the Central Committee meeting. Marlin quickly reacted by stating that he did not hang out anyone's dirty linens because he has been indicating to the chair on a number of occasions that she is not following proper procedures. Marlin further explained that he did not request the meeting to discuss the chairlady's traveling expenses instead it is the chairlady who placed it on the agenda for Thursday's central committee meeting. He said the chair wants Members of Parliament to approve the expenses of a business trip she already took. Marlin said the chair wants Parliament to vote on something retroactively, yet she did not provide all the necessary information. Member of Parliament George Pantophlet however made clear that the money that is spent by Members of Parliament is the people's patrimony and they have a right to know what is happening.
SMN News learnt that while the chairlady is receiving Naf. 500.00 monthly for transportation allowance she is using a car that is provided by Parliament and her gasoline is paid for by government bonds.