Philipsburg:--- Finance Minister Roland Tuitt did not mingle with words on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers' press briefing when he reacted to a press release that was issued by the United Peoples Faction Leader Silvia Meyers.
Tuitt said that everyone needs to give Jack his jacket when they deserve it and if he is in fact reaping the benefits of the work that was done by the former Finance Minister Hiro Shigemoto then why it was necessary for him to meet with the CFT on at least four occasions to discuss the budget amendments which was finally approved by CFT. Tuitt said certain reports were made up by the former government and sent to the CFT but the work was far from over when it comes to balancing the budget.
The Finance Minister also admitted that the CFT had sent a letter to the UP/DP government threatening to have instructions be given to St. Maarten if the former finance Minister could not balance the 2012 budget. He said St. Maarten was facing the same situation as Curacao when the UP/DP finance Minister was in office but somehow that information was not released.
Tuitt said this is the first time St. Maarten got a clean slate from the CFT and that only happened after he took office and worked with the staff of the Finance Department to balance the budget and make the budget amendments.
