PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – On Wednesday Independent Member of Parliament (MP) Claudius “Toontje” Buncamper fired off a letter to the minister of general affairs, Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs in which he pointed out that, in his opinion, the process to hire a new department head of VDSM (Vieiligheids Dienst St. Maarten or National Security Services of St. Maarten) is taking extremely long.
MP Buncamper questioned the prime minister as to why the position of department head or director of VDSM has been vacant for so long and enquired into what the procedures are in hiring a new head for VDSM.
The MP asked if the position was advertised, as is required by law, and asked for clarification as to which position was advertised; a department head or a director?
In regards to the selection process, MP Buncamper asked the prime minister if this has started, who carried out the selection process and what the results were.
The MP enquired if any locals have applied for the position and wanted to know if St. Maarten has the final say in who will take up the position or if the filling of the position formed part of the conditions laid down by the Dutch Government, who will eventually decide who fills the position.
MP Buncamper asked when the process will be finalized, while expressing his concerns with the length of time the process is taking.