PHILIPSBURG:--- The task ahead for St. Maarten is daunting said Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams when addressing the media on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers weekly press briefing. She said St. Maarten will do what is necessary to implement the recommendations given in the PWC integrity report which the Kingdom Council mandated the Governor of St. Maarten to conduct. She said that the current government established the priorities that they had intended to tackle and she also believes that the incoming government should have a say in how they will handle the recommendations made by PWC. Wescot Williams said that implementing the recommendations cannot be done within a short period but for sure government will have to establish a committee as well as monitor the process which is an extremely difficult and urgent issue. She said both Government and Parliament of St. Maarten as well as social and civil stakeholders should come together and be part of the recommendations that were given in the PWC report. "Many of areas will require both financial and other resources therefore I think St. Maarten should undertake this project seriously. I believe a commitment to improve and deal with the many deficiencies that have been highlighted must be dealt with outside of politics and this commitment should be made by the entire country to clean up our act." Wescot Williams said from that standpoint the current government of St. Maarten already indicated to the Dutch Government the position St. Maarten has taken however, she believes that going forward on how the matter is handled the government and the people should take on. Wescot Williams made clear that this should not be about politics but instead it should be about getting their acts together in the interest of the country.
When asked what are her thoughts on the statements made by the Dutch Parliaments calling St. Maarten and a banana republic, SMN News also asked the Prime Minister how would she feel if St. Maarten is placed under higher supervision, knowing the government that was in formation was high-jacked last week. Wescot Williams said that she knew that the second chamber was going to handle the PWC report on Wednesday but she did not hear what they intended to do. She did admit that she read the reactions of some of the Dutch Members of Parliament and she wants to make clear that St. Maarten asked for support on several occasions and never got it from the Kingdom Government. "This is what St. Maarten's Government placed in its reaction to the Dutch Government. She said there are areas in the justice chain and the tax department where both organization needs to be strengthened in order for government to do the things they would like to do. Our requests for support from the Dutch Government have fallen on deaf ears until now. The Minister of Justice and I feel very strongly about the Dutch Government using the right instruments to interfere or meddle. I agree St. Maarten has several areas that has to be dealt with. The PWC report is not the only report that highlighted this but the report of Bob Wit and the Audit Chamber are very clear on some of the points in the PWC report. Wescot Williams said they have a lot of information and they also have a lot of work to do in strengthening several departments if they intend to execute the recommendations and take the necessary actions. "I want to make clear that the Kingdom Government would have to follow the law starting with the charter when dealing with the overseas countries. St. Maarten expressed their disappointment on how the Kingdom Government handles the affairs of the countries and this is no secret to anyone. This is something expressed before and it was done again after the PWC report was made public." Wescot Williams said she personally is awaiting keenly on the response from the Kingdom Government however, she still believes that it's the government and people of St. Maarten that have to put the necessary structures in place to deal with the current situation. When asked for a reaction where St. Maarten was labelled as a "banana republic" and where certain politicians are called mafias. Wescot Williams said she cannot speak for politicians but one thing for sure there should be some level of respect for their sister countries. St. Maarten is a country in development and this is what she would like to see manifested in the Kingdom. Wescot Williams said that the Dutch Government basically closed down on St. Maarten when they had the dispute with the BES islands. She said that for months St. Maarten did not get any cooperation from the Dutch. She did state over and over that the Government of St. Maarten worked together with the team that was conducting the integrity investigation and it is clear that the days ahead are daunting. She said that St. Maarten should be given an opportunity to clean up its act with the necessary support the country needs. She said she would have an issue if the Kingdom uses unconstitutional measures to shove things down their throats.
