The Dutch Government has imposed restrictions on any new Ministers being appointed to the St Maarten Government. Although the Dutch article refers to Dennis Richardson as being the governor, the actual governor is Eugene Holliday, Dennis Richardson is our outgoing Minister of Justice.
The Dutch first want to investigate the candidates who are appointed themselves, to see if these candidates meet the prerequisites for the job that they are being appointed to.
The candidates would be screened by an expert appointed by Minister of Interior Affairs and Kingdom Relations, Mr Ronald Plasterk.
” A new government is being formed in St Maarten, and it is important that they meet the standards in integrity.” After the latest “Integrity Report” on St Maarten by Price Waterhouse Cooper
The recent Integrity Report, was also used as a basis for Plasterk’s latest actions
“Therefore we are asking the the Governor of St Maarten not to sign off on any appointment or naming of anyone to any position that cannot pass the integrity screening.
An ‘expert’ will be in place, to ensure that the candidates qualify, and meet these special requirements.
The Minister had also outline a special ‘Action Plan’ at the end of September to counter fraud and corruption within the political and justice system in St Maarten.
The plan is to be debated by the Dutch Ministry at the beginning of November
The “Action Plan” he continued, “only makes sense, in a government where integrity is very uncertain”
Plasterk gave no names or other details about his soon to be appointed ‘expert’ that the governor will be appointing, but emphazised that the investigation would go further than just a mere glance.
“It goes beyond just deciding on punishable crimes. Namely it will also delve into the issue of what would be the procedure if there appointed Ministers etc, get into problems while being in their positions, because that is all still very unclear.”
BEYOND THE SHADOW OF A DOUBT
Plasterk sent the government assistance to sort out an investigation.
According to Dutch Prime Minister Kutte during his weekly press briefing, the screening process has to be a lot more strenous than it is at the moment.
“The integrity of the St Maarten government, must be beyond any shadow of a doubt”
Cabinet Member Van Raak believes that Theo Heyliger would not be able to pass the screening or meet the requirements to become St Maarten’s new Prime Minister.
“I respect the election process, however, it has to be in an honest manner”
Heyliger (bought?) votes, and there is a lot more going on around him.
Roelof Van Laar (PvDA) also thought that Plasterk’s instructions were a good idea.
“The current integrity rules, are not clear”
VVD Cabinet member Andre Bosman found that the screening was necessary in order to strenghten St Maarten’s ties with the Netherlands.
“It would be very disturbing if anyone/such a person could represent my country. In the relationship and interactions between St Maarten and Holland, we have a ‘say so’ on what’s going on right now
TRANSLATION JUDITH ROUMOU, NOT AN EXPERT!
