The explanation provided to Parliament by Finance Minister Marinka Gumbs and Prime Minister Luc Mercelina (General Affairs) on why the 2025 budget is still not published (see Thursday newspaper) no doubt contained sensible arguments. On the other hand, National Alliance (NA) faction member and Gumbs’ predecessor Ardwell Irion raised several valid issues too.
Fact is that current expenditures not in line with last year’s budget are “de facto” unlawful. This means payments on new policy initiatives must formally remain on hold, making governing the country effectively difficult.
The process of approving and ratifying St. Maarten’s budget has never been a particularly easy one since the constitutional changes of 10-10-10, also due to scrutiny by the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT. In this case the Temporary Work Organisation (TWO) monitoring the implementation of reforms in a so-called “country package” as agreed with the Netherlands was also mentioned.
Amendments obviously play a major role in the delay, because they usually have financial consequences that require adjusting figures while maintaining the bottom line. This is one reason the Council of Ministers often announces future amendments rather than trying to include these in the draft submitted to Parliament.
A more structured approach to this matter was called for, with standardised templates. Exactly how that should work remains unclear, but perhaps a “solemn promise” system might be worth considering.
Government would make an official pledge – like an “IOU” – to execute the last-minute amendments added by the legislature in the near future (for example within three months), so the budget can be passed without them. That way there could at least be a working budget in place soon after, while the changes and their impact are properly processed.
The idea may not legally feasible or even desirable from a democratic point of view. It’s probably not something most elected representatives especially in the opposition benches will favour.
However, the present situation is hardly ideal either, keeping in mind that the budget was unanimously adopted already six weeks ago.
