Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
THE HAGUE--The days of St. Maarten’s Justice Minister Dennis Richardson may very well be numbered now that he has signed a protocol with the Dutch Government to establish an independent Integrity Chamber for St. Maarten and to strengthen the island’s law enforcement sector. Members of the St. Maarten Parliament are not accepting that Parliament is being sidetracked in the protocol.
The protocol Minister Richardson and Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk signed on Saturday states that the St. Maarten Parliament has to approve the National Integrity Chamber Law preferably by the end of May, with a deadline of July 31 (see related article).
The St. Maarten Council of Ministers also may not cooperate with any changes to the ordinance without consulting the Dutch Government. This means the St. Maarten Parliament in fact has been sidelined and has to accept the draft ordinance as is, much to the anger of its members.
United St. Maarten (US) party leader Member of Parliament (MP) Frans Richardson’s first response was that he could not comment on a document that the minister, who sits in government on behalf of his party, “didn’t see it fit†to send to him. “I only got the protocol second-hand,†said Richardson. He called it “unfortunate†that the protocol takes away the responsibility of Parliament.
National Alliance leader MP William Marlin called the move by Dennis Richardson “unacceptable†and said the Parliament not only had been sidelined, but also silenced by a minister “who claimed to defend his country.â€
“It is unbelievable†that the same minister who vehemently objected to the Dutch Government transgressing the St. Maarten Constitution using authority it does not have to impose measures, now signs an agreement with the Dutch Government, Marlin told The Daily Herald on Tuesday.
“This protocol is degrading and insulting and is relegating the Parliament to a mere rubber stamp. I HOPE the minister realises the consequences of the decision he has taken, unless he has done so in consultation with the majority in Parliament, because if Parliament rejects the national ordinance on the Integrity Chamber, there is no opportunity to bring about change to it. It is take it or leave it. The minister should realise that this means the Council of Ministers should also take it or leave it,†said Marlin.
MP Sarah Wescot-Williams of the Democratic Party ((DP)) said her party was not against the establishing of an Integrity Chamber. However, she objects to the way the agreement between St. Maarten and the Netherlands has been reached.
Wescot-Williams said that during the recent debate in Parliament on the Integrity Chamber, Government had made it seem as though it needed time to come back to Parliament on the matter and to possibly include the comments and recommendations of Parliament.
“Now we learn of this agreement. That is not the way to go. It is obvious that this Government has no regard for Parliament. Parliament has been sidelined and that is not acceptable. Government has some serious explaining to do,†said Wescot-Williams.
Frans Richardson said Parliament should never be used as a rubber stamp by Government to sign any agreement. “The people of St. Maarten voted for us to serve them. As such, agreements must have prior approval of the Parliament. The protocol is basically saying ‘take it or leave it’ and that is unacceptable to us,†he said.
According to Richardson, St. Maarten already has enough laws that deal with integrity in government on every aspect. He mentioned that integrity was arranged through article 36 of the St. Maarten Constitution, the LMA law that governs the civil service, the Kingdom Police Law and the St. Maarten Penal Code.
“Yes, we do need help in certain areas of law enforcement, but not the kind of help where we are put aside and things are run by the Netherlands. We should be given the opportunity to remain in charge of our own affairs,†said Richardson, who objected to St. Maarten being used as a “whipping stick†by The Hague.
MP Johan Leonard of United People’s (UP) party didn’t want to comment on the protocol on Tuesday. He said he first wanted to get back to his party on the matter.
The MPs did not say whether there would be consequences for Minister Richardson’s action, but reliable sources said his days were numbered.
