PHILIPSBURG: ---Minister of Finance Richard Gibson Sr. was all smiles on Wednesday now that the committee that was working on the establishment of a law school has completed their assignment and that the law school on St. Maarten could begin as early as September. Gibson Sr said this project is something he worked on because it is close to his heart. He said that people have to be judged by their peers. The law school will be accredited as it will be aligned to the law school in Curacao, and that students will not have to pay high tuition fees.
Minister Gibson said there are enough funds in place for the establishment of the law school which could take them for the next four years, and since students that are interested in studying law will have to pay tuition it will sustain the school. The courses will be given in English and Dutch but students that are interested will have to be able to speak and read and comprehend Dutch fluently. Courses he said will be provided also for students to sharpen their Dutch.
The Minister of Finance who is also an attorney said that they are a number of students that already show interest in studying law. Some of them he said are qualified to start the program immediately while some are not fully ready.
For the students that are not fully ready, courses will be given to them to bring them up to par. He said the program will have students in three phases.
1. Students that have the required diplomas to start as soon as the school opens its doors.
2. Those that need some more diplomas to fully comply would be given courses
3. The last group will consist of students that are desirous of becoming lawyers but have to study much longer before they could comply to enter full-fledged law courses.
Council of Ministers approved legislation to repatriate funds.
Establishment of Development Bank on St. Maarten.
The Minister of Finance also announced on Wednesday that the Council of Ministers has approved the legislations to repatriate funds from people and or businesses that did not fully declare their taxes but took it overseas. The Minister of Finance has been calling on the residents to come clean and fully report their income which will give them an incentive such as paying back less to government and also which would give them the opportunity to buy shares in the St. Maarten Development Bank.
Those persons who did not take heed will have to face the full measure whereby their funds will be brought back to St. Maarten and they will have to pay government that is owed to them.
Ministry of Finance working on meeting deadline with 2018 Budget despite ICT setback.
Minister Gibson also said he met with the CFT when he was asked by SMN News if the ICT setback will affect St. Maarten with meeting the deadline for the 2018 budget.
Minister Gibson had said at earlier press briefings that if St. Maarten managed to balance its budget for three consecutive years and submit it on time based on the financial regulations then the CFT would have to pack up and leave and St. Maarten would then establish its own entity to control its finances.
When questioned about that on Wednesday the Minister said that he hired extra manpower and his Ministry have been working diligently on meeting the August 31st deadline. Gibson said he cannot guarantee that that date will be met but that is the date he is looking forward to mmeeting He said his work is not about the CFT and if they should leave, his focus is on doing what is right for St. Maarten.
