Philipsburg, St. Maarten, 20 September 2021 –According to MP Wescot-Williams, “information attributed to State Secretary Knops and the BZK Ministry, St.Maarten while not totally in compliance with all the set conditions will nevertheless receive the 7th tranche of the liquidity assistance from the Netherlands, which according to reports amounts to approximately 22 million guilders.”
For once, the approval of liquidity assistance for St.Maarten has come without too much drama and unnecessary rhetoric between the two Governments. Via media reports we learned of the approval of the 7th tranche, with a brief reference to St. Maarten compliance with most of the conditions attached to the 7th tranche. In the same reports we learned of the 7th tranche not being made available to Aruba and Curacao just yet.
“Considering that it is usually St. Maarten that runs behind when it comes to conditions and compliance imposed by the Dutch Government, it is refreshing, but at the same time, peculiar that at this juncture, St. Maarten is ahead of the pack. No further mention has made of these conditions and whether all conditions henceforth are in the context of the country package and implementation agenda”, stated MP Wescot recently.
With the COHO still underway to the Parliaments of the countries, with next year’s budget still in process, it leaves one to wonder what the strategy of the Government of St. Maarten is at this time.
It seems to be heading in the direction of the Parliament having to rubberstamp both the COHO law and the budget for 2022, as we will be faced with “faits accomplis”. To get some idea of what is unfolding here, MP Wescot-Williams has submitted some pertinent questions to the Prime Minister of St. Maarten.
1. What are/were the conditions relating to the 7th tranche of liquidity assistance?
2. On the basis of what was the amount of approximately 22 million guilders calculated?
3. Did the CFT provide advice regarding the 7th tranche? If so, what was this advice?
4. Please provide an update of the financial position of the government of St. Maarten.
