Parliament’s Role is Still a Full Fledged One, Its Dissolution Notwithstanding.
Philipsburg St. Maarten, November 19, 2019 – “It has been some time now since the Parliament has been apprised of progress with the Trust Fund and the execution of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). In this, the overall financial situation plays a big role, as there is more money necessary for the execution of the NRRP than the Trust Fund alone can provide. We need to now also focus on the building up of the country that is not covered by the Trust Fund.”, stated MP Wescot-Williams.
The MP recently requested a meeting of the General Affairs Committee of Parliament for an update on the Trust Fund (WB) Program and Projects, and for a status report to be given of the European funding programs and projects for St. Maarten. It is also requested that the relevant Ministers and agency (NRPB) be in attendance.
“There appears to be some serious setbacks. And the question begs: “why is this the case?” The Joint Wastewater Management Program e.g was initiated during my tenure as Prime Minister and the need for wastewater treatment on St. Maarten/St. Martin has only become more urgent.”, she stated.
“While the NRRP also factored in insurance proceeds etc., there remain other parts and sectors, such as infrastructure, housing etc. that need our attention. The National Recovery Program Bureau (NRPB) was established to execute the NRRP. How successful have we been with the parts for which the Trust Fund has already earmarked funding? What progress has been made?”, MP Wescot-Williams, continued.
“Even in this time of political insecurity, the Parliament remains in place to demand account from Government for its actions. I have therefore requested that Parliament be provided clarity with respect to this Plan, and the focus should be on the home and housing (repair) programs and the dump. I continue to keep a close eye as well on the part of the Small and Medium Enterprise and look forward to that program soonest.”, the MP concluded.
