Philipsburg:--- The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams appeared on the daily radio talk show Viewpoint with Lloyd Richardson on Wednesday afternoon.
The Prime Minister started out by emphasizing that the current debate on matters that effect the citizens of St. Maarten is healthy and that she is indeed pleased that persons are starting to discuss matters regarding the Constitution. "I believe that the current debate is healthy and necessary, however as politicians we need to make sure that we keep to a certain standard, simply because we have a leadership role to play in the community and are examples to persons out there.
The Prime Minister by explaining the various roles and responsibilities of the individual Ministers as it pertains to the ongoing political developments during the program. "Based on the Rules of Order outlined in the Constitution, the Prime Minister has a certain responsibility just as every Minister has their own responsibilities. My responsibilities are centered on the upholding of the democratic state etc. No one can act in within the responsibility of the Minister of General Affairs except the Minister of General Affairs, in this case the Prime Minister. And similarly I cannot decide on matters related to the responsibilities of the other Ministers that fall within their portfolio."
"Hide a letter? I realized that after I heard what was being put on the blogs it took a complete different turn; accusing me of fraud etc. As politicians we need to raise the bar.
"I must also add that I am not going to put the Office of the Governor in this kind of polemic. Again if we don't raise the bar we cannot expect the members of the community to reach out higher. Debate is fine but let us remain civil. I do not care if people make comments in favor of me or against me. But we need to show a difference. I know what my responsibilities as the Prime Minister are. Not everyone is pleased by my actions but let us keep it on a level," stated the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister also took the time to also answer questions, some of them quite tough, regarding not only the issues of the past few weeks but also regarding electoral reform and additional constitutional matters.
From the Cabinet of the Prime Minister