SXMElections.com

By Suzanne Koelega

THE HAGUE/PHILIPSBURG--Assistance from the Netherlands to enhance integrity in the St. Maarten Government and to carry out the integrity programme is necessary. Philipsburg is pressing on the Dutch Government to give its cooperation to strengthen the National Detectives Department, the Prosecutor's Office and the Tax Department.

Incumbent St. Maarten Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams and Justice Minister Dennis Richardson sent a letter to that extent to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Thursday. The letter was sent on the eve of the Kingdom Council of Ministers meeting in which the "Integrity Inquiry into the functioning of the Government of St. Maarten" report was discussed.

The integrity report, drafted by an inquiry team of the New York-based accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), was compiled under the auspices of St. Maarten Governor Eugene Holiday. The Kingdom Council of Ministers ordered this report by Royal Decree via the Governor in September 2013.

Wescot-Williams and Richardson stated in the letter that St. Maarten was "certain" in carrying out the integrity programme and that the majority of the recommendations of all three integrity reports, the PwC report, the report that the Wit-Samson Committee drafted in July this year and the integrity report of St. Maarten's General Audit Chamber, would be implemented.

However, the tempo and the extent of the implementation does depend on government's financial capacity and the expertise that is locally available, stated Wescot-Williams and Richardson. "It is known that St. Maarten has trouble realising a balanced budget, without taking the financial consequences of an integrity programme into account."

The ministers explained that support for the implementation from elsewhere in the Kingdom would surely have an accelerative effect on the implementation of the recommendations from the integrity reports. "Therefore the question is justified as to whether the Netherlands is willing to contribute," they stated.

In order to get rid of the backlog for example in combating corruption and fraud in the public sector, swift support for the National Detectives and the Prosecutor's Office is crucial. In that sense, it is a pity that so far St. Maarten's request for such has not yielded tangible results after almost a year of discussions with The Hague, Wescot-Williams and Richardson stated.

St. Maarten is also in need of assistance from the Netherlands to strengthen its civil apparatus, for example at the Tax Department. "We would appreciate it if talks could be held on short term to discuss the possibilities for cooperation," they stated.

Referring to PwC's integrity inquiry report, Wescot-Williams and Richardson said that its findings confirmed the picture painted in the two previous reports of the Wit-Samson committee and the General Audit Chamber. "The recommendations of these American consultants are entirely in line with the advices in the recent reports."

The recommendations of the PwC report will be taken along in the Integrity Implementation Plan which is almost completed, Wescot-Williams and Richardson assured Mark Rutte. The implementation of this plan will be supervised by an independent progress committee.

Also, an independent and professional Integrity Chamber will be established soon, as was recommended by the Wit-Samson committee. The findings of the audit by Transparency International which is currently being carried out will be included in the integrity programme as well.

Wescot-Williams and Richardson reminded Rutte of the fact that the current government had a lame-duck status since the August 29 elections and that as such the position of government on the integrity reports was a preliminary one. "St. Maarten's new Council of Ministers should, in all fairness, have the opportunity to give a definite position on this matter," they stated.

The letter of the incumbent Prime Minister and Justice Minister was accompanied by an attachment containing government's formal response to the individual recommendations of the PwC integrity report. They promised to execute the majority of the recommendations, some of which will be implemented through the Integrity Chamber and the integrity programme.

PwC's recommendation to launch a "Fight Against Corruption" campaign will be discussed with the Chief Prosecutor and the Head of the National Detectives. The idea for a strategic communications campaign around the "Fight Against Corruption" to encourage public scrutiny will be taken along.

"The Council of Ministers acknowledges the importance of the involvement of the private sector, civil society and individual citizens in the fight against corruption and the enhancing of integrity," Wescot-Williams and Richardson stated.

The recommendation to establish a specialised Anti-corruption/Organised Crime Task Force within the Prosecutor's Office will have to be discussed with the latter department. St. Maarten is willing to engage in talks with the Dutch Government to prolong the term of dispatch of Prosecutors from the Netherlands, which was one of the recommendations in the PwC report. "St. Maarten agrees with PwC that a longer term can have a positive effect."

The Prime Minister and Minister of Justice will be politically responsible for the execution of the integrity programme. In charge of its execution will be the secretaries general of the Ministries of Justice, General Affairs and Finance. The secretary general of the Ministry of Justice will head the programme. Several government departments have been working on a Code of Conduct for its employees.

In the letter to Rutte, Wescot-Williams and Richardson once more objected to the way in which the Kingdom Council of Ministers decided late September last year that it would give the Governor an instruction to carry out an integrity inquiry.

According to Wescot-Williams and Richardson, the handling of the Kingdom Government as "unconstitutional and therefore illegitimate." St. Maarten "constructively cooperated" with the integrity inquiry team, despite government's grave constitutional objections, they stated.

Wescot-Williams and Richardson also used the opportunity to criticise The Hague for what they called the "stubborn" position of the Netherlands to institute the Dispute Arrangement ("Geschillenregeling"). This arrangement is deemed necessary by all Dutch Caribbean countries. The Dutch position takes down the legitimate character of the Kingdom as a whole, they concluded.