PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister William Marlin announced on Wednesday that the Minister of VSA Emil Lee tried once more to convince the Dutch Government to provide financing for the New General Hospital. Marlin said Minister Lee made the plea on Tuesday when outgoing Minister of Interior and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk visited the Council of Ministers to bid farewell.
Marlin said that while the Minister is trying to get financing for the New General Hospital locally the country would pay less interest if the Dutch government grant St. Maarten the loan.
The Prime Minister said if the loan is acquired locally then an interest rate of 6% would have to be paid compared to 2% if it is financed by the Dutch Government.
Plasterk had informed the Minister of VSA that the Dutch would not finance the New General Hospital, however, the Minister has not given up on securing the financing from the Dutch Government. It should be noted that the Dutch Government already issued an instruction to St. Maarten to implement the National Health Insurance (NHI) by December 2017. The CFT in its last meeting also said that a new hospital is not only and bricks and cement but St. Maarten has to strive to provide proper healthcare for its people.
Minister Lee had said that he would have secured the financing for the NGH by end of July but on Wednesday he confirmed to SMN News that he still did not get the financing for the NGH. It should also be noted that the Supervisory Board of SZV already gave a partly negative advice to the Minister which is in keeping with the advice they received from the investment committee. The supervisory board also indicated to the Minister that should the management of SZV decided to finance the NGH they must meet certain criteria.
