PHILIPSBURG--United St. Maarten Party Member of Parliament (MP) Rolando Brison is upset with Tourism and Economic Affairs Minister Stuart Johnson’s apparent shunning of Parliament’s Committee for Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transportation and Telecommunication (TEATT). Johnson has been invited to seven meetings since taking office, but has responded by saying he would “hold the request into consideration,” according to Brison.
“This really goes to show the attitude of this Minister towards Parliament, and by extension the people of St. Maarten that we represent,” said Brison in a press statement. Citing a past statement from Johnson that said he was available to meet with any MP in interest of the country, Brison said, “Yet, [Johnson – Ed.] has not appeared before the parliament committee. … It took the minister four months and 25 days before he appeared in his first public meeting of Parliament.”
Receiving a committee meeting request on July 30, Johnson answered more than two weeks later saying the meeting was “premature,” according to Brison.
Johnson said he would “hold the request into consideration and be more than willing to present the requested information at the appropriate time,” according to Brison. That appropriate time has not yet come even after four months, Brison said.
Brison’s stance is that the Constitution and Parliament’s Rules of Orders “do not leave room for the ministers to make the determination for whether a matter is premature. The committee has already decided that it is an important matter for the country. The minister is out of order.”
Johnson is “ignoring his duties” to the committee, but “has chosen to constantly appear in photo ops and lofty press releases with little substance, continuing to shun his responsibilities to the representatives of the people,” said Brison.
Pending meeting topics include civil aviation, St. Maarten Tourism Authority, and improvement of statistical information. Brison said information provided in these meetings could be used by MPs to take legislative initiatives.
