Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
~ He has not resigned from (DP) ~
PHILIPSBURG--Democratic Party ((DP)) leader Sarah Wescot-Williams says the counterpart policy was a "moot point" and could not be the reason (DP) Member of Parliament (MP)-elect Cornelius de Weever had pulled his support from the slate on which he was elected to help United People's (UP) party form a one-seat Parliamentary majority.
Wescot-Williams told reporters at a press conference at Holland House Beach Hotel on Sunday that the policy never had been an issue, as De Weever's proposal in the Council of Ministers on August 12 to establish a counterpart policy had been approved.
De Weever indicated at the time that the policy would be introduced as a pilot programme in collaboration with social partners and said there were some businesses that were willing to work with him on the initiative. He also informed the Council that the policy would be tabled in the tripartite committee comprising government, business and labour.
With government's approval of the policy, which now has to go through the regular channels before it can be introduced, Wescot-Williams said this was not an issue for her.
"The counterpart policy is a moot point. It was not an issue and never was an issue," she told reporters at the press conference attended by a number of (DP) members and supporters.
She said De Weever had not yet explained his reasons for signing an agreement with United People's (UP) party and its seven candidates and she did not want to speculate.
De Weever said in a press release last week Friday that the counterpart policy was "a principle" on which he "was not willing to compromise." He said that when his input, proposals and vision were not being supported by some in (DP) it had become clear that he had "no other choice than to go into Parliament to protect the health, social and labour reform that I started and that St. Maarten needs to continue."
According to Wescot-Williams, the larger issue of narrowing the gap of supply and demand in the labour market is and should be an ongoing one and should include training and internship for nationals. She said this issue was catered to in the governing programme put together by the NA/(DP)/US Party coalition which makes reference to government continuing to seek ways to address this issue.
Government cannot supply all the labour the country needs to operate, hence the need for businesses to apply for employment permits for immigrant labour, she said. It was concluded years ago that the gap in the labour market exists because of the lack of training for St. Maarteners in the education system.
Wescot-Williams said it was important for her to give the people of St. Maarten an explanation of the political events that had transpired recently. She said that when the three-party coalition had been formed Cornelius de Weever, Roy Marlin and Emil Lee had been appointed to represent the party in the group that had been working on the coalition's governing programme.
Tireless efforts had been put into finalising the document and parties had been "on the ball," she said. Lee had to go off-island at one point and Michael Ferrier was brought in to represent the (DP). The process to form a government had been so far along that a prayer service had been held last week Tuesday.
Wescot-Williams said De Weever had informed her on Tuesday that he no longer wanted to become minister and would retain his parliamentary seat. She considered it a "fair" request and did not make it an issue.
She said "rumours" had been circulating in the community that the three-party coalition no longer had a majority and it had been apparent by Wednesday that "one of the (DP) seats" had gone to another coalition to which De Weever had been signatory.
Wescot-Williams said she has not received any further information from De Weever since he had indicated his preference to sit as an MP. A meeting was supposed to have been held to address his concern, but the meeting never took place. When asked, Wescot-Williams did not rule out the possibility of continuing to reach out to De Weever to discuss the issue.
If the current trend of pulling support continues, elected MPs would be of the opinion that each one of them would need to appoint a minister whom they could control. However, Wescot-Williams said each minister has a responsibility and cannot be anyone's puppet.
While the executive and legislative branches of government are supposed to be separate, Wescot-Williams said an MP who is appointed to the position of minister can hold that position for a period of three months.
She questioned the reasoning behind Governor Holiday's move to appoint informateurs last week when it was said that the United People's (UP) party has a one seat majority. She said informateurs were appointed when there was no indication as to who would form a government, while formateurs, as in the case of William Marlin, are appointed when it is clear who will form a government.
Wescot-Williams does not understand why informateurs have been appointed if UP has a majority. "What is the difference in the mind of the governor?" she asked.
Wescot-Williams said she had not been approached by the informateurs. Asked whether she was willing to consider lending support to UP if approached, she said this depended on what the informateurs presented. She said the people of St. Maarten deserved a government and the practice of "jumping ship" would continue unless the issue was addressed.
Commenting on the political developments, (DP) Board President Hasani Ellis said the current trend of MPs was "not a fair practice" and was an issue Parliament should address in the 2014-2018 governing period.
