~ Bearing Point Contract amounts to a conflict of interest.~
PHILIPSBURG: --- Member Parliament Frans Richardson tabled a motion of no confidence against the Minister of Finance Perry Geerlings during the first round of the budget debate on Wednesday. MP Richardson stated in his budget was tabled late, also for having granted a contract to Bearing Point while having the Bearing Point employee working in his cabinet as an advisor.
Draft Motion
The Parliament of Sint Maarten in its meeting of today, June 25th 2019.
Considering:
the draft budget by law must be submitted to Parliament no later than September 1st of the previous fiscal year. Subsequently, members of Parliament are required to adopt the budget for the coming year no later than December 15th of the previous year.
that despite the public statements by the Minister of Finance for submitting the 2019 budget within a timely fashion to Parliament, the preparation of the draft budget 2019 by Minister of Finance Perry F.M. Geerlings leaves much to be desired and has resulted in a delay of close to 10 months;
the amount and severity of the recommendations from CFT, and from the Council of Advice in particular, further underscores the poor budgetary preparations by the Minister; the devastating financial policies that include:
continuous borrowing to pay for in particular government’s daily operations; the lack of investment in activities to generate more revenue for government; the lack of policies to improve the investment climate needed to stimulate the economy, generate government revenue, create stable employment and give support and relief where necessary; that a bidding process for the implementation of a new tax system for the government of Sint Maarten was held during which two finalists emerged, but it appears a conflict of interest with the Minister and a former cabinet staffer/associate has led to Bearing Point being considered instead;
That the Minister of Finance has placed the majority of the capital expenditures on revenue collection (tax collection) and almost nothing in economic development, as is reflected in Naf 1.7 million in investments for TEATT as opposed to 32 million in tax collection investments;
That the Minister of Finance has still not lived up to motions passed on May 8th, 2019 by members of parliament that require his attention related to Tax Reform and Air BnB Tax Collection agreement;
That the Minister of Finance has wasted much-needed capital and human resources in preparing a 2018 budget amendment that was over 280 pages long but was never even handled in the Central Committee of parliament as he brought it too late to parliament; that the Minister of Finance Perry F.M. Geerlings, who is a co-signatory to the governing program 2018-2022, has not adhered to the governing program which states: “A coherent, well-coordinated and transparent prioritization plan and a sequencing process are necessary, and it is essential that the vision for the funding allocation is timely and well documented”.
Establishes:
that the Minister of Finance Perry F.M. Geerlings continues to engage in policies that will eventually bankrupt Sint Maarten, cause the islands total dependency on the Netherlands and further delay the rebuilding of Sint Maarten for the Sint Maarten people;
that the Minister of Finance Perry F.M. Geerlings has compromised the integrity of his office by failing to observe the cardinal principals of Good Governance as he failed to refrain from creating the appearance of a conflict of interest.
RESOLVES:
That Minister of Finance Perry F.M. Geerling no longer enjoys the confidence of the Parliament of Sint Maarten and seeks his immediate discharge as Minister of Finance.
And goes over to the order of the day.
Signature/Signatures
Richardson while addressing the Minister of Education Wycliffe Smith said the Minister is too old and lacks energy for such a heavy Ministry which also includes sports.
MP Silveria Jacobs plastered the members of the Council of Ministers on Wednesday during the budget debate. Jacobs dissected the draft budget and as highlight all the flaws in the draft budget. She asked several questions regarding education. Jacobs asked what was done with the advice she left behind regarding school transportation. Jacobs said the owners of school buses are ripping off the government of millions that can be put in better use had the government follow through on regulating school transportation.
Jacobs fired questions regarding the Chief Financial Officer of PJIAE that is to be appointed by August 1st. Jacobs wanted to know why the government is still busy conducting assessment when several assessments were done post-IRMA and Maria. She asked the Council of Minister to shed light on the “social homes” that are listed in the budget. Jacobs like other MPs questioned the huge amount of money budgeted for consultant fees, she shared her concerns on the money that has been placed under the Minister of Finance for all other Ministries for legal advice.
Jacobs fired some shots at the State Secretary Raymond Knops whom she said along with the Dutch Government is constantly interfering in the affairs of St. Maarten even though he admitted that St. Maarten is an autonomous country.
