PHILIPSBURG--Government will soon present a proposal for the appointment of a "budget-keeper" to the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT, Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams has informed the CFT.
The "budget-keeper," she explained in a letter on behalf of the Council of Ministers dated March 11, will also be a member of a proposed Monitoring Committee.
In the letter in which she outlined the council's views on the package of measures tabled by CFT on St. Maarten's 2011 budget, Wescot-Williams also said the Council of Ministers is "convinced" that the problem of approving the 2011 budget by the CFT is in part caused by the delay in the appointment of the country's proposed CFT board member.
Also, the Council of Ministers made it clear to the CFT that it "does not appreciate" that a CFT board member "made public statements in an unprofessional way" about internal matters. This comment referred to CFT member for Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba Max Pandt who made public objections by Finance Minister Hiro Shigemoto about him attending a meeting between the CFT and St. Maarten.
The Prime Minister again pressed the point that a CFT office should be opened on St. Maarten. She said the centralisation of the staff in Cura�ao "obstructs a good understanding for the local situation." A CFT office here with professional staff would make many of the measures for supervision - as proposed - even further unnecessary.
Those measures include additional supervision and monitoring of the island's finances and budget execution. However, the prime minister doesn't see the need for additional supervision as mechanisms are already in place within government's structure.
The Council of Ministers is of the opinion that a task force from the Netherlands to help with the budget process "will not bring about any solutions" and contended that Dutch experts used in 1993-2003 as technical assistants had "a contrary effect" than was intended. "St. Maarten has to develop on its own strength, not only for the organisation, but in the areas of attention."
In the letter, Wescot-Williams said the Supervision of the Minister of Finance in the Consensus Kingdom Law and the Accountability Ordinance already have "enough measures to guarantee a strict budget discipline" which makes taking other supervision measures "unnecessary."
She explained that all ministerial expenses will undergo a "very lengthy procedure." This will start with preparing of an advice by the minister requesting funds that would be sent to the Council of Ministers for approval together with an advice from the finance minister. The advice from the finance minister will reflect whether the expense is budgeted for and if there is enough on the budget for the expenditure to be made.
The current government structure has each minister responsible for his or her own budget. However, this structure will not be adhered to for the time being and a more centralised model will be maintained as a form of supervision similar to the collective approval used when St. Maarten was an island territory.
The budget-keeper will help to sharpen the implementation of the more centralised approach.
A monitoring committee will be put in place to inform the Council of Ministers about the developments to attain a structurally sound budget. The prime minister proposed that this committee comprises the budget-keeper, a CFT staffer and an independent advisor.
The council of ministers will periodically report to CFT about the findings and conclusions of the monitoring committee and the eventual decisions taken.
Wescot-Williams also pointed out in the letter that for the execution of the Plans of Approach, there are already monitoring committees.
Dealing with the budget ceiling, the Prime Minister said the Council of Ministers will maintain and not lower the NAf. 461 million total expenditures. This amount, she explained, includes more than NAf. 25 million for projects related to the Plans of Approach, NAf. 15 million for pension back service related to the indexation of salaries for past years and other incidental expenditure.
Lowering the budget ceiling to NAf. 416 million as suggested by CFT is "not deemed responsible" as this will affect government in the execution of its tasks. The NAf. 461 million is sufficient since government has NAf. 468 million in available means: NAf. 416 million from tax income, NAf. 20 million advance on Antillean assets and NAf. 32 million from the country's reserves.
On the annual accounts of government-owned companies, the Council of Ministers maintains its point of view that CFT can ask for the annual accounts of the companies only through Minister of Finance and "exclusively through him."
She again stressed that additional measures are not necessary as Shigemoto will give his "full cooperation."
Also, Wescot-Williams said that the Corporate Governance Council has indicated to government that CFT, by enquiring about the government-owned companies, is "trespassing" on its work area.
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