AIRPORT:--- Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte told SMN News on Saturday just prior to his departure from St. Maarten that the major concerns for the Hague right now are the financial situation on St. Maarten, integrity, good governance, and matters related to justice. The Prime Minister said because of these concerns he asked the Governor of St. Maarten to conduct an investigation into the issue of integrity on St. Maarten.
Prime Minister Rutte said that on this matter the Prime Minister of St. Maarten Sarah Wescot-Williams has agreed to allow Transparency International to conduct the inquiry he requested that the Governor conduct. Another good thing PM Rutte said is that St. Maarten has decided to accept the report and recommendations from the US on human trafficking.
PM Rutte did not want to comment on specific cases but said that the Hague will monitor the state of finances, integrity on St. Maarten, and the rule of law. He gave an example of what the Kingdom did last year by giving instructions to Curacao in order for them to get their finances in order. He said in Curacao the result was spectacular because the instructions they gave worked. PM Rutte said he wants to stick to the agreement signed prior to 10/10/10 and that is why the CFT is monitoring the budget while an evaluation on the status change and the progress the islands have made is scheduled for 2015. PM Rutte said during that evaluation process it would be the ideal time for St. Maarten to bring up or look at new ideas but for now he does not want to speculate. He made clear that he is quite happy with his position as Prime Minister and Chairperson of the Kingdom Council of the State which gives him the power to intervene when it is deemed necessary.
When SMN News asked PM Rutte if he was happy with the justice situation on St. Maarten he made clear that he was not at all happy but is more than happy that the Minister of Justice has been replaced and that Minister Dennis Richardson is now heading that Ministry because for the Hague Minister Richardson brings hope for the country. When SMN News asked PM Rutte for his views on the integrity of St. Maarten's Prime Minister whose relatives were part of the negotiations of the Justice Park and the Government Administration Building, PM Rutte said he did not want to issue a judgment on that because those things have not yet been proven. "This is one of the reasons we asked the Governor who is a representative of the Kingdom to conduct an investigation on integrity, not particularly about Wescot Williams but in general." On the cases that are to be investigated by the Landsrecherche, Rutte said that he could not speak about individual cases but one of the main concerns of the Hague is integrity and good governance and that is the main reason they asked the Governor of St. Maarten to conduct an indepth study and to submit its findings to the Kingdom Council of Ministers. "These cases that you speak of are the responsibility of St. Maarten but I just cannot discuss case by case but we have the right to ask the Governor to conduct the inquiry since he is a representative of the Kingdom."
RST and Coast Guard Performances.
The tripartite committee involving the Ministers of Justice of Curacao, Aruba, and St. Maarten have been meeting and have been discussing the RST and Coast Guards. During these meetings all three countries have said that they are not satisfied with the performances of those two entities and so far they have not approved the budget of the RST for the year 2013. SMN News asked PM Rutte for his views on the role of the RST and Coast Guard in the Dutch Caribbean and he said during his working visit this past eight days he did not hear anything negative about the RST and Coast Guard, on contrary he said each of the countries are satisfied with the two entities. "I have not heard any complaints, I had endless discussions on both issues and none of the three countries expressed discontent, to contrary I have heard very positive remarks. I believe if these countries had issues they would have discussed it now and what I am hearing is all new to me. If there are concerns then I think these countries would place the RST and Coast Guard on the agenda for the evaluation that is to take place in 2015."
As for debt relief PM Rutte stressed that the books on debt relief are closed, in their view they all lived up to the deal that was signed for 10/10/10 so that issue will not come up again not even in the evaluation process that has to take place in 2015.
US Monitoring St. Maarten and its Integrity Issues.
It should be noted that PM Rutte gave the Prime Minister of St. Maarten Sarah Wescot Williams credit for wanting to involve Transparency International in the integrity inquiry. SMN News got hold of emails that were sent to the Prime Minister of St. Maarten Sarah Wescot Williams and the former Minister of Justice Roland Duncan in March 2013 by the Consul General of the United States Valerie Belon advising her that the United States have been monitoring the "Bada Bing" allegations on St. Maarten and her advice to the country is to have Transparency International conduct a comprehensive, systemic review of anti-corruption laws and procedures, as was done at the time in Curacao.
The US Consul General also provided a link where contact could be made with Transparency International and numbers at which they could be reached. More interesting is the former Minister of Justice Roland Duncan sent an email to Prime Minister Wescot Williams informing her that he is in full agreement with the recommendations made by the US Consul Valerie Belon and requested that she (Wescot- Williams) place it on the next meeting of the Council of Ministers. A decision was subsequently taken by the Council of Ministers to have the inquiry conducted as suggested by the US Consul. As proof, SMN News has the email that was sent by Valerie Belon to the Prime Minister which is below. SMN News also got the email that was sent to the Prime Minister by the former Minister of Justice which is also below this article.
{saudioplayer}interviewwithmarkrutte21072013.mp3{/saudioplayer}
Click here to view photos of PM Mark Rutte as he arrived at the PJIAE on Saturday for his departure.
Sent: Wednesday, March 20, 2013 11:10 AM
Subject: corruption allegations in Sint Maarten
Madame Prime Minister –
I hope this email finds you well. I wanted to let you know that my government is following with interest news reports about the unfolding Bada Bing bribery allegations in Sint Maarten.
I would like to take this opportunity to suggest, if I may be so bold, that the Government of Sint Maarten consider inviting a well-respected, neutral nongovernmental organization – like Transparency International -- to conduct a comprehensive, systemic review of anti-corruption laws and procedures, as they are currently doing for Curacao. I really think such a review could be extremely beneficial for Sint Maarten, helping to improve Sint Maarten's reputation and the perceived investment climate and thereby stimulate economic growth.
http://www.transparency.org/news/pressrelease/transparency_international_to_conduct_national_integrity_system_assessment
Transparency International's Regional Program Manager for the Americas is Zoe Reiter, who can be reached at tel: +49-30-34-38-20-24 or email: zreiter@transparency.org
I hope you will give serious consideration to my suggestion.
Best wishes and warm regards,
Valerie Belon
Consul General and Chief of Mission
for Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Saba,
St. Eustatius, and St. Maarten
J.B. Gorsiraweg #1
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Roland E. Duncan <roland_e_duncan@yahoo.com>
To: William V. Marlin <williammarlin0@hotmail.com>; Roland S. Tuitt <roland.tuitt@sintmaartengov.org>; Sylveria Jacobs <silveria.jacobs@sintmaartengov.org>; Romeo Pantophlet <romeo.pantophlet@sintmaartengov.org>; Sarah Wescot - Williams <sarah.wescot-williams@sintmaartengov.org>; Cassandra Janssen <cassandra.janssen@sintmaartengov.org>; Cornelius De Weever <cornelius.deweever@sintmaartengov.org>
Sent: Wednesday, March 20, 2013 12:14 PM
Subject: Fw: corruption allegations in Sint Maarten
Dear PM,
In principle i agree with the suggestion made by Ms. Belon. However, what is going to play a very essential role is the 'term of reference' or the parameters of the investigation.
I propose that we put this subject on the agenda of the next meeting of the council of ministers.
Regards,
Roland E. Duncan