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Central Committee Meeting

Budget 2012

Round 2

MP George Pantophlet

Minister VROMI: 1. Issue of taxes of 2005, please explain the matter of the long lease of “erfpacht” question.

Upon request of the ministry of Finance an additional overview, which is a financial

synopsis regarding long lease as per December 31st 2009 and per September 30th 2011,

is presented. As per example per September 30th 2011 the total amount of long lease

contracts is 2.280 and represents a total collectable income of NAf. 4,121,472.

Once again this information is based upon long lease contracts known to government

as per set dates. Together with the long lease contract management the pertaining

database is held under the responsibility of the Department Head of Domain Affairs.

Furthermore the pertaining information is also registered by the Cadastre.

2. Question nr. 9; why has the concession fee of Airport not paid/ collected as yet.

PJIAE is of the opinion that it does not have to pay concession fees as they have been

exempted based on a letter from the former governor Mr. Dennis Richardson, this in

addition to the loan agreements signed.

3. Succession land: when was the tax on succession land established and why does

government go back only 3 years?

The National Ordinance on Inheritance tax is introduced in 1908. In the past 10 years,

due to lack of enforcement capacity in the tax department, this tax has not been

assessed. According to article 13 of the General Ordinance on General Taxes, the tax

inspector can issue a supplementary assessment for the insufficiently levied tax 5 years

after the end of the calendar year in which the tax debt originated. In the event the

taxpayer has acted in bad faith, the tax inspector can go back 10 years. If too little tax

has been levied on the component of the taxable object which is held or has arisen

abroad, the tax authority can issue an additional tax assessment 15 years after the

point in time on which the tax debt originated.

For pragmatic reasons, the assessment of the Inheritance tax will only go back for 3

years for now. An officer within the inspection department has been appointed for the

handling of the Inheritance tax.

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Minister FIN 4. Question 13; Is this the same as condominium tax? Please elucidate on this answer.

No, the tax we are referring to is the income tax. Sint Maarten does not have a

condominium tax.

5. Question 17: what is actually owed by companies what is owned by individuals?

We don’t have the percentages available of what is owned by companies or individuals.

There are several business related taxes(e.g. TOT, Wage Tax, Carrental tax, Roomtax,

etc) that companies as well as sole-proprietorships (individuals) pay. Therefore it is not

possible to determine what is owed by companies or individuals. All tax payers are

identified by a unique crib number and not categories. A query can be done for what is

outstanding in for e.g. car rental tax, but this figure will represent businesses as well

sole proprietors (individuals doing business)

6. What is was happening with these types in the past? How much can government go back?

Before 10-10-10 tax on rental cars, hotel rooms and timeshares, the so-called Island

taxes, was levied by the Department of Finance. This department also took care of the

auditing of these tax types. So auditing till 10-10-10 was performed on a regular basis.

After 10-10-10 the levying of all tax types (Federal and Island taxes) has become a task

of the Inspectorate Department of the Tax Administration and auditing has become a

task of the Audit and Criminal Investigation Department. The Audit and Criminal

Investigation Department is still understaffed, 50% vacancies, and therefore in 2011

there was not enough capacity to perform audits on rental cars, hotel rooms and

timeshares, because the focus was on Income Tax, ToT and Profit tax. In 2012 the Tax

Administration plans to perform audits and on the spot checks on the tax on rental

cars, hotel rooms and timeshares.

According to article 13 of the General Ordinance on General Taxes, the tax inspector

can issue a supplementary assessment for the insufficiently levied tax 5 years after the

end of the calendar year in which the tax debt originated. In the event the taxpayer has

acted in bad faith, the tax inspector can go back 10 years. If too little tax has been

levied on the component of the taxable object which is held or has arisen abroad, the

tax authority can issue an additional tax assessment 15 years after the point in time on

which the tax debt originated. Again this is only in the cases as described “if too little

tax has been levied on the component of the taxable object which is held or has arisen

abroad, the tax authority can issue an additional tax assessment 15 years after the

point in time on which the tax debt originated”.

Minister TEZVT

7. Has the casino and the lottery institutions paid their fees? And how far back are they?

Not all the casino fees are up to date. Giving the fact that some arrangements were

made with previous Executive Council of the former Island territory St. Maarten the

matter is being looked into, now we are country St. Maarten.

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Minister AZ

8. Ref. Marven NV: who are the directors and shareholders of Marven NV? What is the

value of the land on which the building the VKS is housed as well as the current

Government Administration Building?

The first part of the question was already answered. The land and the buildings are

owned by Marven N.V. We don’t have this information.

9. How did government come to the NAf. 346.000,- that is planned on renovation the

former Fire Department to turn it into an Archive Department?

The answer given to this question was misinterpreted. The NAf 346.000,- is the budget

available for the realization of the National Archive. We are awaiting the plans for the

renovation of the former fire department.

Minister OCJS

10. Financial report for Sports Upkeep Foundation: can we get a copy of the report that was

made up by Sports Upkeep Foundation?

A copy of the report by the Sports Upkeep Foundation has been provided to

Parliament.

MP Frans Richardson:

Minister OCJS

1. Page 16 of the budget: Sports Upkeep Foundation: NAf 16 million is on the balance sheet,

but it is not in the budget. Is this a type error? Can this be clarified?

The Sports Upkeep Foundation does not have an outstanding loan. The amount on the

budget allocated to the foundation is NAf. 1.602.78,.00 guilders and not 16 million

guilders. This is a typo.

2. Youth employment issue: how much persons have been hired based on these programs?

Number of persons hired in the various programs:

1. GB3

a. In February 2011, there were 106 applicants registered, and 4 of them were

employed. In January 2012, 90 applicants were registered and 25 of them

employed. Three of them went away for school, one refused to continue the

program, and two have since passed on.

2. Youth Entrepreneurship Program:

a. Currently there are 24, and 4 of them are GB3 participants. They are taking

courses in web-design, sewing, and cake decoration.

3. Youth Development Program:

a. Between 2010 and 2011, 86 persons officially graduated. These graduates are

no longer part of the after-care program. Of those, 35 are working, 21 are

following another course.

Employability through Training: this is a recent and ongoing training program.

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3. Clarity is needed regarding the announcement that St. Maarten won the bid of the Kingdom

Games. Did the Minister put in a bid, yes or no, before the announcement that St. Maarten

won the bid? Is it still the case that St. Maarten will be hosting the 2013 / 2014 Games? Will

we be on time with the upgrading of the sports facilities?

On September 14, 2011, the Minister announced at the weekly press briefing that St.

Maarten had practically won the bid to stage the 2013 Kingdom Games. This

announcement was based on an internal memo of July 2011 between the members of the

Kingdom Games Steering Committee, on which St. Maarten has two members. After the

Kingdom Games Steering Committee meeting in St. Maarten September 14 – 16, both St.

Maarten and Curacao were asked to submit a bid to host the games. The official bid by St.

Maarten to host the Kingdom Games was submitted on November 1, 2011. To date, there

has been no official response from the Kingdom Games Steering Committee. Whether St.

Maarten will host the Games or not, it is the intention of this government to have the

facilities upgraded/repaired by 2013.

Minister JUS

4. question 11 of MP Frans Richardson ref. Constitutional Court: more clarity is needed on the

answers provided.

The functioning of the Constitutional Court is based on article 127 of the ‘Staatsregeling’.

The Constitutional Court reviews laws and decrees submitted to the Court by the

Ombudsman in case the Ombudsman is of the opinion that the law is at variance with the

‘Staatsregeling’. The Ombudsman has a period of 6 weeks after approval of the law or

decree to review and submit these. The budget for the Constitutional Court is determined

by the total amount of sessions it held the year before. In 2011 the Constitutional Court

held no sessions. The average budget is NAf. 500.000.

Minister FIN 5. Outstanding taxes, amnesty provision was given to business with unreported taxes that

moved their money out of Curacao; can the minister elaborate if Parliament was to submit a

proposal, will the MINFIN entertain such a proposal as to bring the money back and be given

a one-time fee and their issues will be cleared up. If the Minster is interested, Parliament can

assist.

Since 2001, a tax amnesty provision (de “inkeerregeling”) is already included in the tax

legislation of St. Maarten. Last year, Curacao has further eased the “inkeerregeling” by

lowering the penalty from 100% of the tax debt to 5% with a maximum of NAf. 5.000,

applying a 10% tax rate on the unreported income (instead of max. 47,5%) and not

bringing a criminal action against the taxpayer.

In principle, tax amnesty creates certain unfairness towards taxpayers who have been

compliant, especially in the case where as Curacao a lower tax rate would apply on the

concealed income. It sends out the wrong message that if you evade your tax by not

reporting your income (and therefore committing tax fraud), you will be rewarded with

huge tax breaks when you come clean. This would undermine the tax morale even further

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and would serve as an incentive for tax payers not to declare their income at all. According

to many international studies and country experiences on tax amnesty, such a provision is

only effective when it is supported by other severe measures to make tax evasion even more

unattractive, such as higher penalties/imprisonment and greater risks/chance of being

caught. Strengthening the tax enforcement, updating the tax database and simplifying the

current tax system are the key to improve tax compliance. The Minister would support

such a motion if it was strictly a one-time exercise which included the stiffer

penalties/imprisonment for those who repeatedly try to evade paying taxes.

6. bond proposal of development bank was also put together by the Central Bank. What are the

possibilities to set up a National Bank or Central bank such as Anguilla has, that will allow

residence to buy shares? Would like to hear the possibility of this.

Development Bank shareholders may consist of government, commercial banks,

institutional investors where as commercial bank shareholders consist of other banks and

investors. According to the information at hand, the National Bank of Anguilla is a full-

fledged commercial bank. The possibility to set up a National bank in St. Maarten such as

the one in Anguilla, that will allow residents to buy shares, must be initiated from the

commercial bank/institutional investor/investor side and not by the government of Sint

Maarten. Furthermore, the Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten has certain rules

for individual shareholders of commercial banks such as:

A natural person, shall not, without the approval of the Bank, directly or indirectly,

control or hold more than 5% of the bank's capital.

The total of individual shareholding by natural persons shall not, without the approval

of the Bank, exceed 25% of total share capital.

Minister VROMI 7. Two million is budgeted for the purchasing of land. Clarity is requested on the land in Cole

Bay that belongs to the James family. Is the 2 million budgeted to help some of these families

that government made promises to purchase their land? Also the matter of the Van

Heyningen family in Zaegersgut issue: can this be clarified as well.

Most parcels were acquired for the future link 2. Because the exact design of the

intersection between Link 2 and the Zaegersgut Road was not complete, the exact amount

of land needed from the Van Heyningen family was not yet determined exactly.

Notwithstanding, negotiations have been held with Van Heyningen about the property, but

a conclusion on the form of compensation (money or an alternative parcel of land) has not

been completed as yet.

The purchase of the lands with the James family is under negotiations. The government

has had 2 appraisal reports prepared to assess the value of the land of the James family as

needed for the road construction. The 2 appraisal reports have valued the property in

question at respectively US$ 103 and US$ 110 per square meter in October/November

2011. In January 2012 the James family submitted an appraisal report valuating the

property US$ 140/m2. Based on the disparity in the appraised values of the property, as a

compromise an offer was made to the James family to purchase the property at a value of

US$ 120/m2, being approximately 14% higher than the average of the appraisal reports

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commissioned by the Government and about 14% less than the appraisal report

commissioned by the James Family. The negotiations are not yet complete; the James

family have not accepted the offer of the government and have put forward that

considering the long period of time that discussion have been ongoing with the

Government about the land purchase for the road they propose that the government

accepts the appraised value of US$ 140/m2 for 3 parcels of land with a total area of 7,979

m2, being a total amount of US$ 1,117,060.

Finally, it is noted that the negotiations with the James family for the land in question

have not been finalized, pending the approval of the budget 2012, wherein reservations

have been made for the purchase of land for infrastructure projects. With the approval of

the budget 2012, the assurance is there that the resources needed to acquire the land are

approved by the parliament and available.

Minister VSA 1. Can members of Parliament be provided with how much persons have been hired based

on these programs, “Employability Through Training”.

The SEI project “Employability through Training” strives to employ 250 currently

unemployed Dutch nationals throughout the next year and half. In trying to achieve

this, participants of the project will be strategically placed in traineeship positions

throughout the Private Sector; stimulating employment opportunities for these

candidates. While the candidates are waiting to be placed it is important to note that a

number of businesses have already indicated their willingness to partner with us in

ensuring placement is achieved for these participants which may eventually result in

their employment. The business community has shown tremendous support thus far

and has been contacted with suitable matches for these placements. The project has

made remarkable endeavors to reach out to the Private Sector with great success and

will continue to do so.

2. Letter to the minister of Labor: there is a tool that can be used and if carried out

accordingly based on the labor law, I will submit to the minister that, I sure will ease a lot

of those youngsters that we do have the law that gives the minister the authority to hire

counterparts.

The proposal as received from MP Frans Richarsdon has been submitted to the

relevant departments for review.

MP Romain Laville

Minister AZ 1. Wants is the status on USONA in funding programs on St. Maarten?

The Government of the Netherlands has stated on various occasions that after 2012 its

role as donor shall be completely finished. This means that after 2013 Sint Maarten

we will be able to round off the current projects; new partnership programs from the

Netherlands cannot be counted on.

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The intention is that after 2013 Sint Maarten is self-sufficient and capable financing

projects out of our own financial resources. This is one of the reasons the Government

is pursuing a policy of getting our financial situation in order. The reality is however

that the budget position of Sint Maarten makes the acquisition of alternative funds an

important topic. Although it goes beyond doubt that this government will continue to

question the position the Dutch government has taken, our policy is to see the

acquirement of funds in a broader context. It is related on the one hand to the

promotion of good relations with the EU, and on the other hand to a partnership

agreement with the UNDP. With regards to the EU relations we are referring to the

participation of Sint Maarten in the recent conferences off the OCTA meetings. In the

second half of this year a strategic vision with regards to our relation with the EU will

be presented. Pertaining to the UNDP we can inform that in the framework of the

cooperation with the UNDP an extensive 360 degree inventory of other possible

donors shall be made up and that strategies will be drawn up to involve these donor in

the further development of Sint Maarten.

2. Alternative energy use: does not know what kind of comprehensive study is needed?

A comprehensive study is needed because not everyone is able to purchase solar panels

and/or windmills. The energy policy for this country calls for 20% of green energy by

2020, which implicates that a large amount of the household will have to go green.

We live in a hurricane prone area and the placing of a solar panel on ones roofs brings

the necessary adjustments and cost to your home. The cost savings using the home

panels or windmills of a small KW amount is not for all but only for a few. This

government is for all and not the few.

When 20% of GEBE's production of electricity isn't dependent on the price of fuel, the

savings will be substantial for the consumer. The future is green energy and it should

be for all and not a few so as for government a comprehensive study will be done to

review all possible areas to have green energy produced by the various manners

possible to enhance the lives of all the people of the country of St. Maarten

Minister VSA 3. why are these numbers remain the same for pension and welfare in 2011 and 2012. Is the

minister thinking on raising the pension age? Same amount of pensioners that passed

would equal the same amount of new pensioners in order for the figures to stay the same.

With the anticipation of the success of the project from “Welfare to Employability” and

the application of the existing laws the amount allotted should suffice.

As stated in the Governing program, the old age pension system will be researched.

The policy department is researching the old age pension system and will advise on

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sustainable pension reform for St. Maarten. Prior to implementing any new measures

and or legislation the necessary data needs to be collected.

4. What new work requests 2009, 2010, 2011 were signed? What type of permits were

given out? What control has been done to rectify that the job given is for the permit

handled.

period: January 2011 – December 2011

Total requests are as follows:

1st time requests is: 1114

Renewal is: 1682

Total requests is : 2796

The types of requests ranged from primarily jobs for un-skilled workers ( requiring

secondary education) and those requiring a minimum education of Bachelor Degree.

Total number of successful job placement / referrals for the past two (2) years is

seventy (77).

According to CBS figures of 2009:

Unemployment rate by age group

15-24 29.4%

25-44 10.8%

45+ 8.7%

The amount of persons registered as unemployed in 2011

Quarter

1

Quarter

2

Quarter

3

Quarter

4 Totals

Total Registered Unemployed 45 61 40 42 188

Total Male Applicants 21 27 15 16 79

Total Female Applicants 24 34 25 26 109

Applicant Count By Age Group

16-24 17 25 18 20 80

25-34 11 10 7 11 39

35-44 5 16 5 6 32

45-59 11 10 10 5 36

60+ 1 0 0 0 1

188

Applicant Count By Education Level

Primary 14 15 6 10 45

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Secondary 23 25 20 18 86

Vocational 2 9 3 2 16

MBO/ Associates 0 2 5 4 11

HBO/ Associates 0 2 1 3 6

WO/ Masters 0 0 0 0 0

DRS./ Doctorate 0 0 0 0 0

Specialized Course 2 0 3 2 7

No Education 4 8 2 3 17

188

According to CBS figures of 2009:

Unemployment rate by age group

15-24 29.4%

25-44 10.8%

45+ 8.7%

The amount of persons registered as unemployed in 2011

Total Registered Unemployed 188

Registered Unemployed by Gender

Male 79

Female 109

Registered Unemployed by Age Group

16-24 80

25-34 39

35-44 32

45-59 36

60+ 1

5. How many French nationals do we have that reside on the French side but work on the

Dutch side of the island. How many Dutch nationalities we have to have employment on

the French side?

The actual amount is not known as no registration of this group is done.

Minister OCJS 6. How many dropouts in school in the last 2 years, how many of our young people found

jobs in the labor department in the last 2 years, how many students finished school but

not granted a scholarship, how many finished school but are undocumented, how many

students have finished school with no documentation and cannot register at the labor dept

as unemployment, how many don’t go to register as unemployed.

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For 2010, in the VSBO (preparatory secondary vocational educational education) this

was 29 out of 1,690 students (or 1.72 percent). The drop-out rate for the Youth

Development Program in 2010 was 13 out of 92 students or 14.1%. For 2011, the drop-

out or number of students who left our secondary school prematurely stands

approximately 20. Figures for other areas of education are not yet available.

For the 2010-2011 school year, 401 students passed secondary school. Of the number

of students that finished secondary school in the last two years, 125 applied for study

financing in 2011 and 94 in 2010. From this number, 61 were granted study financing

in 2010 and 85 in 2011. In 2010, the total amount of applicants was actually 209, and

the total granted were 136; in 2011, 272 applied in total, and 183 were awarded study

financing. Do note that government does not grant full scholarships in the broadest

sense of the word but study financing, which is partial loan and partial grant.

7. No monies were put aside for the culinary. Wants clarity

This matter will be looked into.

Minister JUS 8. What is the percentage of our young men and women incarcerated in Pointe Blanche?

Total population 154 persons of which 149 men and 5 women.

Total youth (16 to 24 years): 64 persons (= 41%) of which 63 men and 1 woman.

Minister TEZVT 9. SBDF: what huge economic impact can SBDF do with the amount given for the young

people?

Government strongly supports the SBDF foundation, and has provided an annual

subsidy for several years. The subsidy granted to SBDF is for administration and

operational expenses. Currently, SBDF has access to various funding for programs for

2012 and beyond, including the 10th EDF, valued at 15 million Euro, divided among

the 11 OCT’s. Each organization is simply required to prepare the necessary proposal

and submit for approval.

The overall objective of the Programme is to contribute to the economic diversification

and prosperity of Caribbean OCTs by improving the competitiveness of SMEs in the

territories.

The Programme has three (3) specific objectives, these are:

(A) To strengthen the capacity of Governments of the Caribbean OCTs to service the

business sector.

(B) To improve the capacity of business service organizations (BSOs) to engage in

public-private policy and administrative reform dialogue with Governments and

provide services to their constituency of SMEs.

(C) To promote stronger collaboration, trade and investment relations among the EU,

CARIFORUM and the Caribbean OCTs.

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10. Would like to see a youth maintenance program in the district and increase the amount of

SBDF to one million NAf., also no more work permits signed for one year, counterpart

program: what is government opinion on these.

Based on the Subsidy ordinance the government provides, SBDF with funding for its

operation. SBDF programs are funding by various programs, worth several million,

including the SESNA program which is now completed, The SEI program, which is

still ongoing and the 10th EDF. The government will continue to support SBDF in its

programs including a youth maintenance program.

11. What is policy of selling alcohol to young people?

The Penal Code (‘Wetboek van Strafrecht’) is applicable in Sint Maarten. Article 475

of the Penal Code states that a person or his replacement while practicing his

profession sells a beverage containing alcohol to a person who has not reached the age

of 18 years yet is punishable by law with a maximum prison sentence of 6 months or a

maximum fine of NAf. 7.500,-.

Minister FIN

12. What is the progress on the sin tax?

Currently, the Working Group on Tax Reform is revising the tax system of Sint

Maarten. At this moment, it is too premature to disclose any information regarding

how the new tax system will look like, but a study is being made to include taxes on

alcohol, tobacco and cigarettes in the new tax model.

MP De Weever:

Minister FIN 1. The actual law that exist on real estate taxes. Is government intending to invoke, come

alive with this law that is on the books but not ‘inwerking’?

The Ministry of Finance is currently doing research into revising the current tax

system. At this moment, the government has no plans to enforce the property tax, since

all property on Sint Maarten will have to be assessed for this law to go into effect. This

is very time as well as money consuming.

2. Is government aware of the burdens that being planned to be put on the citizens of the

island, increased taxation while we have zero growth in the economy?

As was previously mentioned, the Ministry of Finance is busy doing research into

revising the current tax system. The social aspect will also be taken into account in the

new system. The underlying principles of the reform exercise is aimed to simplify the

tax system and broaden the tax base so that tax rates can be as low as possible for Sint

Maarten in the long term. The new tax system should actually ease the tax burden on

the citizens of the island.

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3. Transfer tax: what is the present status on tax holidays, any tax holidays have been

requested, any application pending, what concessions have been made to the Indigo

project.

The Netherlands Antillean tax holiday legislation still exists in St. Maarten. The tax

reform exercise will also include the evaluation of the tax holiday legislation and tax

incentives in general. Since 10-10-10, 3 tax holiday requests have been submitted to the

Governor. Currently, there are approximately 15 tax holiday requests pending, among

others the Indigo project. No concessions have been made yet regarding the Indigo

project, since this application is still in process.

4. ‘Huurcommissie’ and nature foundation: mention the amounts for each.

Huurcommissie NAf 25.000 and nature foundation NAf. 200.000

Huur commissie NAf. 25.000,-

(Chairman NAf 750,00 per hearing, other

commission members NAf 500,00 per

hearing, plus other administration costs)

Nature Foundation NAf. 200.000,- to be granted based upon their specific subsidy

request to cover operational costs (break-even operation). Within this specific activities

are agreed upon with the responsible department in the Ministry.

5. Ref. article 12, lid I, comptabiliteitsverordening: overzicht van de deelnemingen in

privaatrechtelijke rechtspersonen: can the Minister provide parliament with this list.

See page 58 of the memorie van toelichting. For the record this was submitted with the

draft budget 2012 but for comfort and ease we will supply again. See also appendix 1.

Minister TEZVT 6. Wants to know the number of persons working on the Dutch side and vice versa.

The answer will be forthcoming.

MP Louie Laveist:

Minister TEZVT

1. Repeats Question 1 (policy plans and labour mediator)

Ministry TEZVT has a draft plan of action 2012, which was already discussed with our

stakeholders such as SHTA, Chamber of Commerce and the SMMTA and reflected in

the year plans of the management team. In the Policy Document,

The five key objectives of the plan are:

- 1. Economic Growth;

- 2. Economic Relief;

- 3. Tourism Development;

- 4. Control/Regulation/Enforcement;

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- 5. Info Campaign & Service Improvement.

The draft version will be submitted to the Council of Ministers for final approval.

Additionally, we are also in the process of developing a Strategic Economic Plan 2012-

2022 together with the stakeholders as well. The final versions of both documents will

be provided to Parliament thereafter once approved.

Minister FIN + Minister TEZVT 2. Want to hear gvt opinion to give tax breaks to companies that hires local people to the

young and not so young.

The Ministry of Finance is of the opinion that it is very important to strengthen the

labor market for our local citizens. However, if our labor market does not have the

local expertise, then the companies may have to acquire the expertise from abroad.

Training our local people to acquire the expertise needed for these companies to be

able to operate efficiently as opposed to giving out tax breaks would be a win-win for

all involved.

Minister VSA 3. How many have requested welfare, who many you have been able to find a position for?

The Head of Social Services department along with the Head of Labor Affairs met with

WIFOL and all parties agreed that a list would have been submitted to the Head of

Social Services in order for the necessary arrangements to be made for these persons to

apply for social assistance. To date the Head of Social Services has not received

abovementioned list. One person has taken the initiative and applied on their own and

their application is being processed. Resources: during 2011 SOD had three case-

workers working on the material assistance (financial, medical and legal); from

October 2011 two social workers joined the department for the immaterial assistance(

counseling), these two persons are supporting the case-workers by doing house-visits

and supporting other departments like the labor Affairs department(SEI-project “

Employability through training”) and the community development, family and

humanitarian department(“community help desk”/”Integrated neighborhood

Development Program”/INDP). In 2012 the working relationship will be strengthened

much more with the two above mentioned departments and other organizations. In

2011 SOD provided the following assistance for material aid:

Medical assistance: Renewal: 164 1st request: 172 Total: 336

Financial assistance: Renewal: 674 1st request:193 one time: 30 Total: 897

Legal assistance: Total:141

Total: 1374

4. Repeats Question 3, how are we dealing with the request of the Simpson Bay Resort?

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The issues of the workers of the Simpson Bay Resort are being handled on a structural

case by case basis.

5. Pensioners: Is government giving consideration into reviewing the pension policy such as

Aruba?

As stated in the Governing program, the old age pension system will be researched.

The policy department is researching the old age pension system and will advise on

sustainable pension reform for St. Maarten. Prior to implementing any new measures

and or legislation the necessary data needs to be collected.

Minister OCJS

6. Cultural policy framework: By what means is the budget tweaked to facilitate the

tweaking of the Cultural policy?

The Cultural Policy Framework document left behind my MP Laveist is being tweaked

in the sense that it is being revisited and given content to express the vision for culture

of this government.

Minister JUS: 7. Question 11 wants to see amounts plus difference in gender.

Total Buitengewoon agenten van Politie (BavPol): 68 persons: 35 men / 33 women

Police: 32 persons of which 19 men and 13 women

Immigration: 15 persons of which 4 men and 11 women

Customs: 11 persons of which 6 men and 5 women

House of Detention/Prison: 10 persons of which 6 men and 4 women

Minister VROMI: 8. GEBE issue and the leaky pipes under the ground. Some kind of germs can get into these

pipes. How is the Minister tends to approach a potential health outbreak; Formation of

the board wants information on this, the breakdown of the rates, futuristic plan of the

relaying of the pipes to avoid potential health outbreak how to deal with the water losses.

All the water that is sent into the distribution pipes by GEBE after production are

treated with chlorine and other needed chemicals to prevent any outbreak of disease

which may threaten the countries hygiene. In addition GEBE’s lab continually tests

water at various tap points throughout the community.

The tariff reduction is/has been worked out and will be implemented accordingly. Upon

completion of the share transfer which was nearly completed but due to the non-

cooperative behavior of the St. Eustatius representative on the shareholder's board

outside of the instructions given to him by his government has led to a delay.

The replacement issue of leaking pipes is being dealt with at GEBE in their repair

program and at present the ministry VROMI has been instructed by me to report all

leaks to GEBE and my person in writing. This has led to GEBE giving more and faster

follow up with regards to the repairs. The complete revamping of the waterlines is

being prepared.

The Ministry has asked GEBE for a plan, up to this date no reply from GEBE.

15

9. Update to Mullet Beach and the access to it, including parking area. Is parking going to

be provided and what are the intentions regarding reconstruction of Mullet Bay and what

is the policy of the continued access to Mullet Bay beach by the local residents?

In accordance to the law, access must be given to the public beaches of which Mullet

Bay is one. The policy hasn't changed and the access to the public beach hasn't been

denied either. There is presently parking available however not alongside the roads

anymore and is private property.

10. New policy plan on the issuing of land in long lease will come soon. What is soon?

As we speak a renewed ordinance and policy document is being worked on, which is

intended to finalize this year.

11. Levying of the canon: when and how the level of canons was reached?

The law (island ordinance for issuance domain lands in long lease) with regards to the

long lease canon was set at 6% of the land value which is to be established by the

Executive Council in accordance to article 2 sub b of the “Verordening op de uitgifte

van eigendommen Bovenwindse Eilanden 1954, nr. 1”. The 6% was changed to 8% (to

increase the income for government) by AB 1976, nr. 6.

Over the years the value of all properties on the island have increased significantly due

to the heavy demand for land. Government never increased any canon of existing long

leases, unless the deed was changed due to a change in purpose or division etc.

The (majority of the) deeds however allow government to review the canon every ten

(10) years (most of these before the 80ties) or five (5) years.

MP Patrick Illidge:

1. What is the present state and how many licenses are pending?

A total of 1844 licenses request were received for the entire year of 2011 and for the

month of January 2012 combined. From this total, 464 are still pending, the licenses

received that are included in this figure are:

- Business Licenses for NV/BV, Sole Proprietors, Directors, Branches, licenses for

Vending, vending during carnival 2011, extended closing hours, Operational Licenses

for restaurants, bars, hotels, sale of alcohol, licenses for persons selling food and

drinks during public events and cancellations of business licenses.

- Specific on the business licenses, a total of 1,318 license request were received over

the period 2011 including January 2012, from which are 366 pending

Minister VSA

2. Social and Medical: can a budget be set aside that the family of deceased person does not

have to be running up and down?

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This matter will be definitely looked into.

Minister TEZVT 3. Competitors for the tourism destination: before tourists were sent to Anguilla for a day,

now Anguilla is one of St. Maarten’s biggest competitors. What are we going to do about

this?

Anguilla is not one of St. Maarten’s biggest competitors. Tourists still travel to

Anguilla for day trips. Anguilla and St. Maarten are in agreement, that marketing

together is mutually beneficial. The two destinations complement each other, as each

island caters to different target groups within the targeted markets.

MP Janchi Leonard:

Minister OCJS

1. what is government policy in dealing with the University of St. Martin? What are the

future plans for the University of St. Martin? What is the amount allotted ant what is

government planning to do with this amount?

The future policy for USM is taken up in the draft law on tertiary education, which will

be presented to Parliament as soon as it is finalized. The amount currently allocated to

USM is 850,000.00, which is an increase from 500,000.00 in 2011. In the Minister’s

view, there is never enough money for education.

2. Address the youth programs in a more intense manner. Can the minister explain the

increase in the Carnival budget from 100.000 – 500.000?

The Ministry of TEZVT sees carnival as one of the most important, special events,

which is part of our tourism product. Carnival highlights our culture and heritage and

by increasing our funding, which is geared towards marketing, throughout the region

and internationally, it stimulates more arrivals during the carnival period – more heads

in beds, means more revenue.

3. What is understood under ‘talentenbeurs’; what does she think about the gifted students,

is there any provision made for these. How many scholarships are given for sports, arts

and dance? Are there any plans for a school of arts where students can learn to play an

instruments and dance for free.

By “talentenbeurzen” is meant scholarships to students whereby students are not solely

judged on their academic skills but also on other skills in areas such as music, arts,

sports, etc.

Yes, we have thought extensively about the gifted students, and these are taken up in

our Education Plan and the experimental education project with the Ujima

Foundation.

How many scholarships were provided for sports: none; for music: one, at the Berkely

College of Music in Boston; for dance: none.

Is there an intention to start a school of arts? Yes.

Does the minister have a plan to incorporate these in the plan for education? Yes, there

is a plan, and it will be presented to Parliament shortly.

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4. There is a slight increase in the budget but more needs to be done. Wants more on this,

what other programs are planned (see budget post 6130)

The increase under budget post 6130 is for additional personnel.

5. Higher education: repeats his question about the sustainability about higher education.

USM is a private institution. It’s not government’s intention to intervene in the

management and operation of the institution. The board of USM is ultimately for the

management and operation; however, since the institution benefits from funding from

government, government can and will hold the board accountable the quality of

education.

Minister JUS

6. boardwalk and the illegal vendors: asking for more controls specifically on the boardwalk

mainly in the evening. What is going to be done with the illegal vendors on the

boardwalk and what is going to be done with the crime rate in the evening.

The illegal vendors have been tolerated for years to operate on the Boardwalk. This

tolerance has now ended. The police was instructed by the Minister to carry out the law

without exception. An integral approach will take place by the police together with

other departments, in alignment with the Public Prosecutors Office.

MP Roy Marlin: Minister JUS

7. Asked about the status of the answers on the letter that he sent MinJUS as announced in

first round.

See below.

8. What happen to the police officers regarding their salary adjustments? How far is the

‘vereffeningscommissie’?

The claims of civil servants who up to 10 October 2010 worked for the Netherlands

Antilles will be sent to the ‘vereffeningscommissie’ within the next two weeks. It has

been a long process because the information provided had to be completed by the

ministry and verified.

9. What is status of secondary rights of the police, was this taken care of and what is the

status?

The decree on the legal status (‘besluit rechtspositie korps politie’) of Sint Maarten has

not gone into effect as yet. This means that the decree of the Netherlands Antilles is

still in force. The new decree is being revised by the ministry of Justice. The police

chief and the police union have given their comments.

10. What is the state of the transportation of the police?

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The mobility plan has been approved by the minister and as soon as funds are available

it will be implemented in phases.

11. Update of the plans of the prison facilities: Simpson Bay and Philipsburg

The Philipsburg police cells have been prepared for use as a house of detention and

are being used as such under management of the house of detention. The Simpson Bay

facility has been designated as a house of detention and should be put in use in about a

maximum of 3 weeks.

12. How many police officers have the rights to those raises and secondary benefits. What is

the amount of the backpays?

The Antillean wage issues have been dealt with. The planning is now for placement of

the police officers in the new police structure of Country Sint Maarten.

13. Policy of max 30 hours overtime, is minister still has the intention to implement this?

This policy has not been implemented by the ministry because the new decree has not

entered into force of law. The increase of man power is scheduled to take place over a

period of 4 years; an increase from 189 police personnel to 389 police personnel. There

is a tariff attached to the overtime in the decree (‘rechtspositiebesluit’). An advice to

change the tariff system into a system of compensation for hours worked has been

submitted by the chief of police to the minister of Justice and is under consideration

but not approved by the minister of Justice.

14. ‘Huisvestingstoelage’ of police officers: some are receiving some not, needs to get clarity

and wants to know the status

A total of 59 police officers receive the housing allowance based on the Decree on staff

residences (Publication Sheet 1989 No 32, as amended). A new overall policy is in

preparation.

15. How many request are there for police officers for housing allowance, when will these

request be handled off?

There are seven (7) requests for housing allowance in process.

16. Filling in of management functions, are ads placed for these, selection committee who is

part of this?

The job descriptions are ready. The valuation of the functions is being developed. The

complete job description of the Police Department will be submitted to the ministry for

approval. After approval the placement of the personnel in the functions can take

place. As of October 10, 2010, the personnel was placed on a temporary basis with their

legal status (‘rechtspositie’). The placement of the personnel will be carried out along

the lines of the ‘sociaal statuut’ . After the placement of the personnel the vacant

management positions can be filled in. The next step will be the placement of all police

personnel in the new organizational structure of the police department of Country Sint

Maarten.

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The selection committee is put in place when a vacant position is advertised. The

committee interviews the candidates and submits its proposal to the ‘korpschef’. When

the ‘korpschef’ agrees to the proposal of the committee, this is submitted by the

‘korpschef’ to the Minister of Justice for approval. The minister is of course not bound

by the proposal of the ‘korpschef’.

At this moment the selection committee consists of the head of the Department, a co-

worker of the Department, a co-worker of the human resources Department and a

representative of the unions.

17. Is it the minister policy to grant internal candidates preference for management functions

over candidates from outside?

If an internal candidate is proposed for a management function by the ‘korpschef’ and

that proposed internal candidate is found suitable by the minister, then this person gets

preference over a candidate from outside.

18. If minister takes a different direction than the selection committee, which direction will

then be taken by the Minister?

In case the view of the Minister on a proposal submitted by the ‘korpschef’ deflects

from the view of the ‘korpschef’, then the Minister will make his motivated view known

to the ‘korpschef’.

19. “Openheid”, fairplay, “gelijkheid” en transparency: wants to see the minister policy on

this. He wants a copy.

These are principles of good governance and are applied in all policies and decisions.

Judicial review by the Courts in civil servants matters (‘ambtenaren gerecht’), the

administrative court (‘administratieve rechtspraak’ - LAR) or the civil court

20. Wants update on the latest escape of prison?

This subject matter is still under investigation. In the meanwhile a prison warder has

been officiallysuspended and has seven days to react to this suspension as stipulated by

law. Measures have been taken to prevent as much as possible future outbreaks.

21. Amount of required functions in prison, how many functions are currently filled in prison

At the moment 97 functions are filled in the prison. Fifty (50) additional functions are

needed when the plans concerning the expansion of the detention capacity are

implemented.

22. Wants exact planning on update pointe blanche prison; Is there enough funding available

for this.

Usona funding is in place for the upgrading of the prison cells in Point Blanche. The

preparation of the Simpson Bay facilities to house the detainees temporarily will be

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finalized in the next 2 weeks. Then the upgrading of the cells in Point Blanche can

start

23. Exact planning on the Box and the work needs to be done, which consultancy will be

charged with the supervision. Is there a civil servants group that will carry out this

process and will this proposal of the Box come to Parliament.

The answer of this question will be given verbally by the minister.

24. MinJUS: the law of admittance and expulsion (‘toelatingswet’). Intention to implement

the same fees?

The draft law has been reviewed by the Advisory Council and the proposed

amendments are being reviewed by the ministry. The intention is to implement the

same fees.

Minister FIN

1. Can the Minister of Finance give the MP’s an update on the Central Bank within short?

Bonds to Aqualectra, how did this come to place? How will Aqualectra pay this loan

back.

Yes the Minister can give an update on the Central Bank within short.

\

On December 28, 2009 a 30 year bond was issued by the Curacao based Integrated

Utility Holding N.V. (Aqualectra, then owned by Marobeni and the Curacao

Government). The bond issue concerned a floating rate bond loan of 4% to 6% per

annum and interest paid out quarterly. For each interest period, the coupon interest

rate is 80% of the latest official (legal) interest rate as published by the Central bank,

with a minimum of 4% and a maximum of 6%. At the time of issuance the coupon

interest rate was calculated to be 4% whereas the market rate was 6%. In order to bring

the coupon rate in line with the market rate, a discount of 20% of the nominal value

(NAf. 300 million) had to be applied bringing the issue price at NAf. 240 millon. Apart

from the NAf. 300 millon nominal that were purchased by the Central bank, of which

effectively NAf. 240 million was paid, an amount of NAf. 45.000,- was bought by

another investor. The fact that institutional investors had not subscribed to this loan is

attributed to the little time (one month) between the announcement of the loan and the

closing date and to the fact that it is a callable loan.

The maturity of the loan is 30 years, starting effective December 15, 2009, being the

payment-date of the loan. Therefore the bond was issued with 13 days accrued interest.

The bond redeems every quarter in equal amounts, starting effective March 15, 2015

and ending on December 15, 2039. This bond is callable after 10 years of the issuance

date.

Thus far Aqualectra has made all the required interest payments. However, since

January 2011, shortly after the Schotte government came into power, there have been

some worrisome developments. Firstly in January 2011, under the instruction of the

Curacao Government there has been a transfer of NAf. 65.5 million of share capital of

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CUC/Build Own Operate (amount) from Aqualectra to Refineria de Korsow. This

transfer of shares effectively reduced the equity of Aqualectra by NAf. 65.5 million.

Secondly, later in 2011, also based on an instruction by the Government of Curacao,

water tariffs of Aqualectra have been reduced. This action is estimated to worsen both

the liquidity and solvency of the company. Thirdly, Aqualectra reportedly has suffered

a loss in 2011 of Naf. 23 million and is projected to lose NAf. 28 million this year as

well. These actions have been implemented as a result of instruction given by the

Government in their capacity as the sole share holder of the company. Given these

developments it is not sure whether Aqualectra will be able to meet its financial

obligations including that to the bond holder. In that situation the Central bank as a

holder of the Aqualectra bonds will incur substantial losses with consequences for both

Curacao and Sint Maarten as share holders of the Central bank. It is in that context

and to protect the financial interest of the country Sint Maarten in the Central bank,

that I decided to send a letter to the Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister of

Curacao to hold them liable for any damages Sint Maarten may suffer as a

consequence of their actions.

2. Tax office going back collecting 15 years ago. We should look forward not backwards.

Want to get the opinion of the Minister. It should be taken off the books or put it on hold.

We need to start collecting what is there. It will cause more orientation than benefits.

A member of Parliament posed the question “how far back can government go to

collect taxes”. The tax laws were reviewed and the answer was provided. At no point in

time did the tax authority mention that they would go back 15 years.

The main focus of the Tax Department is looking forward and to work on compliance

(updating data, enforcement) and broadening the tax payer’s base to collect the needed

revenues. There is still the need to collect back taxes. As a general rule the tax

inspector will go back five years. Although it is possible to go back 10 years or even 15

years, this will be exceptions to the general rule.

Minister TEZVT

3. Look at money remittance, lotteries, casino’s landsloterij: fees not adjusted for a long

time, want Minister’s opinion. How can we adjust the monies for program such as done

by the SBDF for the youth. These monies can be used for this.

The revision and adaption of the lottery ordinance and the hazard spelen verordening,

has been included in the Ministries general overview of ordinance that need to be

changed and included in the 2012-2016 Wetgevingsprogamma of Legal Affairs

4. Any fees levied by these boats / fast ferry services to St. Barths and introducing fees on

these. Winair at the airport does not collect any tickets on these and airport does not

collect departure tax, can we levy departure tax on this? Needs to get the Minister feeling

on this.

22

Based on the Eiland Vaartuigenverordening there are fees applicable per trip and

passenger for regional and international ferry services.

Based on the Binnenwaterverordening there is a yearly fee of 400 guilders for the

prove of seaworthiness.

MP William Marlin (he refers to many questions of the first round):

Minister FIN

1. Financial statements of government owned companies; no copy of financial statements

yet received. When will they get the financial statements of the other companies?

Attached you will find the copy of the financial statements 2009. The financial

statements 2010 are forthcoming

2. Ref. Question 2, Condo tax: clarify the amount of 21 million

This is not a condo tax it is Income tax from real estate of non-inhabitants and is

based on certain assumptions: number of persons that owns a condo, the average

rental income, high and low season, percentage of tax etc. Based on

“Landsverordening op de Inkomstenbelasting 1943” non-residents have to pay tax on

income that is generated in Sint Maarten. Based on the calculation it is anticipated that

the amount of income tax is NAf. 9,7 million on a yearly basis. Going back five years

this means a maximum amount of NAf. 48,5. In the budget a conservative amount is

taken into account: NAf. 21 million (almost 50%). In other words instead of budgeting

the full NAf. 48,5 mln we have taken a more conservative amount of NAf. 21 mln

3. Ref. Question 4: Receivers hiring additional personnel, a contract of how long was given

to the collection officers. Did government recruit these people via personnel dept or via

an recruiting agency.

The contract is for 1 year with the possibility of being permanently employed

thereafter. The recruitment was done via personnel affairs department. The function

for collection Officers was advertised and the candidates who applied were interviewed

and a selection was made. No government employees applied for this function.

4. Ref. Question 5:Provide us with a monthly overview of the ToT collected 2010, 2011 and

the first months of 2012. What did the increase of 3 – 5 % mean for the coffers?

5. J

a

n

Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov. Dec. Tot.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6,840 5,319 6,244 18,403

2011

Jan Feb Mar Apr. May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Tot

8,278 7,288 9,902 12,029 10,204 9,627 8,678 9,516 8,526 7,898 9214 10,566 111,726

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2012

Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Oct Nov Dec Tot

13,070 12,467 25,537

5. Ref. Question 7: MinFin has the overview of the travels. Still wants to get the

information on the travels of Parliament.

For 2011 our administration shows that Parliament spent NAf. 364,269 on travel and

lodging.

6. Ref. Question 9: Allocation of funds to the different ministries. Every ministry is

responsible for its own budget. Rent should then be reflected in that ministry. It needs to

be corrected.

A decision was made to centralize certain costs. Rent was one of the costs to be

centralized under facility services. The reasoning behind centralization is that once

most ministries move into the new government building, it will be difficult to determine

which costs relates to which ministry because all will be using the building jointly. Of

course we could use the “verdeeldienst” method but we have come away from this

because it is not really practical in government’s situation.

7. Ref. newspaper, minister salary increased. Is this true? Clarity is needed on the increases

of the ministers on the budget. What does it entail?

The basic salary of the ministers remained the same. For the 2011 budget the ministers

allowances, with the exception of child allowance were not known and these were left

out. In the 2012 budget these allowances i.e. rent, car, telephone, and personal were

applied after they were known. Applying these allowances carried up the ministers

overall salary including the vacation allowance, AOV, and AVBZ which are calculated

as a percentage of one’s salary.

Minister AZ

8. Ref. Question 10: no period of the SLA’s has been provided

The SLA with the HCoS is indefinite. The other two SLA’s are for one year with a

provision to extend the SLA automatically.

9. Ref. Question 11: why temporarily and what is due time?

The term temporarily expresses that the allocation of the rent of building of parliament

on General Affairs needs to be adjusted to the “Comptabiliteitslandsverordening”. It is

the intention of the Government to handle this during the budgetyear 2012.

10. Ref. Question 12: no answers why these persons not placed.

VROMI: 15 persons. 14 (long-term sick-leave and no-shows) for which a plan of

action has been established by P&O and the Ministry and which is being carried out

prior to placement. One person has been ‘loaned out’ to SIMARC.

TEZVT: 3 persons, 1 of which will be placed as of March 1st 2012, 2 of which are

functioning in a specified position, but above formation due to the fact that the

departments need the formation but formalization awaits changes in the law.

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OCJS: 4 persons. These functions were not taken up in the formation because the

intention was to make a foundation and place the sport instructors in that foundation.

By 10.10.10 this had not been realized thus the persons were placed above formation

whilst awaiting the realization of a foundation. 1 person needs to be placed in the

function that she is filling but no cooperation from Ministry.

AZ: 9 persons. 1 of which is in the process of being placed at MINJUS, others not yet

placed due to lack of cooperation from the persons as well as of the ministries to place

them.

FIN: 6 persons. One is functioning as a counterpart to someone who will be going on

pension. 2 are working in the parking lot for which there is no formal functionbook

and formation, others have not cooperated with placement suggestions or ministries

not being cooperative.

11. Ref. question 13: Name will be mentioned to the “Griffier” to be passed on to the

Minister to the matter can be clarified.

No name was provided to the “Griffier”.

12. Provide an update on the Corporate Governance Council, provide update results of the

negotiations with them and the agreement reached.

Almost a year ago the first meeting between the working committee including the

chairman of the CGC met to discuss the money that government put available to the

CGC. The chairman did not accept the check because according to him there was not

legal ground for him or any other member to accept the check. Since then the working

committee has drafted a “beslisnota” to structure the CGC after 10-10-10. The

“beslisnota” included the laws that needed to be changed c.q published and a draft

national decree (landsbesluit) to install the CGC again, since the island decree

installing the CGC is no longer valid.

Until now the Council of Ministers has taken the decision to publish the law that

governs the CGC in Sint Maarten and has agreed on the new national decree installing

the CGC. The content of the draft national decree has been discussed with the CGC

and it is now ready to go to the Council of Ministers to be approved. Meanwhile the

CGC is meeting with the Ministry of Finance to reach an agreement on the budget.

13. Provide an update on the Secretariat of the Corporate Governance Council.

Because of the “overgang” to country St. Maarten the island decree is no longer valid.

Now a national decree (“landsbesluit”) must be drafted and agreed on to install the

CGC again. This draft has already been discussed with the CGC. In this draft national

decree the secretariat will be headed by the secretary of the CGC and the CGC has to

provide the personnel for the secretariat themselves.

14. Appointment of Dennis Richardson as member of Council of Advice in the Netherlands.

No provisions has been made for him. Clarify this matter.

The budget for the Council of advice in the Netherlands has been submitted the

ministry of Finance after the due date, reason why this budget has not been included in

25

the budget 2012. However the Ministry of Finance is aware of this and will make the

necessary amendments in the first “nota van wijzigingen.”

Minister OCJS

15. Ref. Question 18: studyfinancing; what are the additional incentives as mentioned in the

answer. Provide the mentioned article in writing.

Students qualify for incentives when they finish school and want to return. The

document that regulates this has been submitted to Parliament. The (additional)

incentives that returning professionals get are:

Relocation costs

Travel expenses paid

Transport of household items

Extra luggage allowance

Cash advance of NAf. 6,000.00 guilders

Maximum 6 weeks’ stay in a hotel

Partial conversion of student loan to grant up to 20%

Compensation toward Dutch student loan up to maximum 50%

16. Subsidy for Dutch Quarter community center is being used for what?

The subsidy to the Dutch Quarter Community Center is used for the after-school

program, which was initially sponsored by the Urgency Program and subsequently

taken over by government.

17. Budget for the Youth Council which is only NAf. 15.000,-. Per year als John Larmonie

Center only receives NAf. 50.000, what is it for, to cover electricity and water, personnel,

programs that are run there.

The subsidy to the St. Maarten Youth Council is actually 33,600.00, which is different

from 15,000.00 for the “Jeugd en Jongerenraad” that the Honorable MP mentioned.

These funds are used for the after-school program, which was initially sponsored by

the Urgency Program and subsequently taken over by government.

The subsidy to the John Larmonie Center has been on government’s budget for

operational costs since the rebuilding after hurricane Luis.

18. Momentzorg => monumentenzorg: need clarity on the NAf. 325.000; what is it for?

The amount budgeted for Monument Care is earmarked for start-up of the Monument

Fund. The other part of it is reserved for foundations that request subsidy in the area

of natural and intangible heritage.

19. Synchronization for break Carnival St. Maarten and Curacao. For what reason the

vacation schedule were changed. Was this a deliberate choice to move away from the

tradition or was it an accidental thing. Was a letter written by or on behalf of the Ministry

informing schoolboards that no leave of absence was going to be given, even without

pay. Is it structural policy or was it only for those 2 days?

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The decision on midterm break for schools was taken by the Executive Council on

January 5, 2010 for the next three years. This seems to have been a deliberate decision.

Minister JUS

20. Rehabilitation; need clarity on the increase compared to 2011

The “Stichting Justitiële Instellingen Bovenwinden (SJIB)” needs to fill the vacant

positions. This is needed to guide especially the young ex detainees in finding jobs and

be rehabilitated. For the SJIB to function properly and execute the rehabilitation work,

the budget needed to be increased, compared to 2011

21. Turning Point; need clarity on the decrease compared to 2011

The decrease in the 2012 budget of Turning Point reflects the budget as how it was

submitted by Turning Point

Minister VROMI

22. Problems of the James family in Cole Bay: why were the building stops necessary? Need

clarity on this issue. Are funds allocated in the budget 2012 to conclude the purchase of

the property of the James family?

See response to question 7 of MP Frans Richardson.

The James family was stopped from excavating illegally as they didn’t have a permit in

hand for what was being excavated. The permit is being processed once all

requirements are met as stipulated by law.

There is 2,5 million budgeted in the ‘kapitaaldienst’ for purchase of land in connection

with infrastructural development

Again the price offered by government was based on 2 appraisal reports but they

refused the price of US$ 120,- per m2. The laws on corporate finance are quite clear on

the manner of handling these matters and the government is following the rules

accordingly.

Link 9 offers an immediate alleviation of the traffic congestion coming from the

western side of the island. As appose to Link4 which functions more as an alternative

link between the eastern and western side (vice versa) of the island.

The swap is done to accommodate Link 9.The James problems lies in the fact that we

cannot reach an agreement about the price at present, while we have reached one with

Port de Plaisance land swap.

23. Dutch Village; provide all available information on the Dutch Village. How did it came

about and who are the developers. Can we get copy agreement between developer and

harbor and why no public bidding took place.

Simple a survey was done that the Dutch side of the island was missing a cultural

connection with our Dutch heritage. The historical value was mentioned.

Based on feedback of the from Cruise Passengers the Harbour needed an attraction

and this would help to get more passengers from onboard during their stay at the Port.

27

The developers are Zebec NV. Their proposal was the best for the development of that

Area as approval was need from RCCL and Carnival Corp.

Minister VSA

24. Group came to parliament to make a presentation on a proposal on a building of a facility

to accommodate medical tourism on St. Maarten. Can Governement bring us up to speed

as to what is taking place as to medical tourism. What has happened. The visit to South

Africa, was this a private, or was this trip paid for by government. From period he was in

South Africa, who he met and if it was the same group that was here. Who was part of

the delegation. How many letters of intent were issued and by whom.

It was a Council of Ministers approved trip from October 12 – 18, 2011 and I travelled

alone. During the trip I met with the Industrial Dev’t Corp, South African Airways,

Soyring Consulting, Trade & Investment KZN, Continental Travel Group, African

Link and others. One letter of intent has been issued and it was signed by my person as

well as the Minister of Tourism.

25. About a month ago, we read an announcement ref. the retraction of the mandate of the

head of the social and welfare department. What was the mandate and for what and why

was the mandate retracted? What exactly did these civil servants do that prompted the

Minister to retract the mandate? What is now the procedure that will be followed, will the

minister remove the advisory body or just these two persons and now the ministers

depends on others to give advice and the minister takes a decision. Have these civil

servants been removed from their respective post or relieved from their duties or half

their duties. Have they been violating the policies, if so what are some of these policies

these civil servants have been violating.

Inconsistencies were discovered at the department of Social Affairs / services. Given

the sensitivity and the far reaching consequences I decided to retract the mandate (to

sign letters to clients informing them whether or not they have been granted assistance)

that the head and at times the interim head, had before I took office. The procedure are

being streamlined. Every request is scrutinized in adherence to the law and decided

upon. Improved efficiency through automation and customer service are the objectives

for 2012. A system of checks and balances is in place to ensure that the necessary

scrutiny is taking place.