PHILIPSBURG--The Electoral Reform Committee is looking into a change to the electoral regulations to put parliamentary seats in the hands of the political parties, instead of having the seats allocated to individual Members of Parliament (MPs).
Prime Minister/General Affairs Minister William Marlin told Members of Parliament on Monday the Committee is looking at ways of bringing about electoral reform without changes to the Constitution. The allocation of seats to parties was one of the main suggestions under consideration.
Marlin said political parties have all the responsibility in the lead up to an election, but this all changes in one election night when MPs are elected. The approach the Committee is looking at is to give the seats to the parties. The seats earned will then be allocated to the MPs on the list. This approach, he explained, would not affect the article in the Constitution that requires MPs to vote their conscience as it does not say a MP must vote along a party line.
This approach will somewhat deal with “ship-jumping” – the primary cause of the country having five different Council of Ministers in five years.
The Committee is ironing out its proposals and these will soon be sent to the Council of Ministers for review before they are forwarded to Parliament. Effecting electoral reform as much as possible before the September 26 snap elections is one of the tasks given to Marlin by Governor Eugene Holiday when he was tasked with forming the current Cabinet that is supported by the Coalition of Eight in Parliament.
The possibility of giving St. Maarten students studying abroad the right to vote is also being pursued by Marlin. Electronic voting will be considered and contact will be made to get information from the Dutch Government about the reasons it has abandoned electronic voting for its elections.
Aside from electoral reform, Marlin also updated MPs at the plenary session on the draft 2016 budget about Government’s plan to create a “youth unemployment fund.” This fund will provide qualifying youngsters with a stipend to tide them over as they study to acquire a skill for which they can readily get a job. He said the Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten (CBCS) is assisting with the setup of the fund.
Marlin also announced in his presentation to Parliament that the Ministry of General Affairs is working on establishment of Government’s own television and radio station to better provide information to the people. The placement of the antenna for the broadcast and the acquisition of licences from the Bureau Telecommunication and Post (BTP) are being worked on.
Tourism
Tourism, Economic Affairs Transport and Telecommunications Minister Irania Arrindell told Parliament the country’s marketing strategy needs boasting to better the economy. She plans to attract brand name hotels to the country and explore niche markets such as spring break holidays, medical tourism and incentive tourism.
The creation of cruise conversion programme is high on the Minister’s agenda. Its creation has been put out on public bid.
Making the country safe and investor friendly are also priorities for the Ministry. Strengthening the ship and plane registries to attract more business is seen as a way to bring more revenues to Government.
The importance of data for target marketing was highlighted by the Minister. She noted that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) for 2015 slipped due to a lack of marketing efforts, a situation that must be remedied.
She said Government will look into compulsory hospitality training for all businesses as a means of bettering service to visitors. “Without service the experience will not be good,” the Minister said.
Upgrades
Putting public housing “back on the map” is the goal of Public Housing and Spatial Development Minister Angel Meyers. He said his Ministry is committed to working with St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation to get projects off the ground. The next area targeted for housing development is Foga in Sucker Garden.
Meyers told MPs once they pass the budget, his Ministry can start work on much needed upgrades in the country such as repairs to Front Street and Back Street. The monies for these and other infrastructure projects will come from the Capital Expenditure Chapter of the 2016 budget.
The debate on the draft budget will continue today, Tuesday, in Parliament House. The session is open to the public.
