Philipsburg:--- The Prime Minister of St. Maarten Sarah Wescot Williams briefed members of the media on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers' press briefing about her recent meeting with the Kingdom Council of Ministers.The Prime Minister said the two main points on the agenda were the budgets of country Curacao and St. Maarten. She further explained that the meetings held last week can be considered as historical since it is the first time the new countries participated in such meetings as Prime Ministers with the Kingdom Council of Ministers.
Wescot-Williams said that several issues were discussed especially those relating to the Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten. This agenda point was to illustrate the concerns of the Kingdom Government regarding the development and lack of development in certain areas. The Prime Minister said everyone was given an opportunity to express their concerns but she as the Prime Minister of St. Maarten made clear that the party that is suffering the most is St. Maarten in the case of the Central Bank.
Wescot-Williams said the reason she stressed this was because the Dutch Government has a monetary share in the Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten which amounts to 90 million guilders and the Dutch Government already requested their shares from the Central Bank of the former Netherlands Antilles now Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten. She said the Central Bank is an inheritance for Curacao since they are the ones that have the building and staff. However, St. Maarten has an agreement to have joint central bank but they were also keen on having their own branch on St. Maarten but so far nothing has happened in this respect. Wescot Williams said an agreement was reached with the Kingdom Council where St. Maarten and Curacao will present a report to the Kingdom Council by their next meeting which is scheduled for August 24th, 2012.
She said the Council of Ministers of St. Maarten discussed the Central Bank on several occasions and the Minister of Finance has been in touch with members of government of Curacao as well as with the board members of the Central Bank.
The Prime Minister said that in her option that the two countries get together and she intends to send a letter to Curacao requesting such a meeting. She said during the discussion whenever it takes place, a decision will have to be taken as to how the two countries will move forward on with the issue of the Central Bank.
Wescot-Williams said some of the Dutch Ministers expressed that it is St. Maarten that has been clamoring for its own Central Bank. "Yes, we have been clamoring for own Central Bank but not without reason. We did not jump up just after the agreements in 2006 and say we wanted our own Central Bank. Given the developments and the some of the political statements that were made, St. Maarten decided to have its own Central Bank."
