PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten Anti-Poverty Platform representative Raymond Jessurun said on Thursday that the platform is still awaiting a response from Prime Minister Leona Romeo-Marlin on its request for a meeting with the Council of Ministers (COM).
The platform has sent two requests to meet with government – one in August and another in November. “Not because we were in parliament [on Wednesday – Ed.] means that we no longer want to meet with the Council of Ministers,” Jessurun said.
During its meeting in parliament on Wednesday the platform issued a challenge to Members of Parliament (MPs) to address poverty in the country with a view of eradicating it. The platform representatives outlined areas in which they believed residents were in poverty in the country and spoke about the disparity among a number of things in St. Maarten when compared to the Netherlands; for example, in areas such as wages.
The platform said St. Maarten has serious issues with the development of food prices, adequate housing, and several other issues The platform believes that the Netherlands is responsible for ensuring that citizens of St. Maarten receive equal treatment to their fellow Dutch citizens in the Netherlands. Jessurun said the disparity in treatment is a human rights issue and called on MPs to defend the rights of the people of St. Maarten.
He said at the platform’s weekly press conference on Thursday that the meeting with the Council of Ministers is necessary, as parliament as legislature has a different function from the Council of Ministers.
