MP Grisha Heyliger-Marten
PHILIPSBURG--Independent Members of Parliament (MP) Grisha Heyliger-Marten has expressed concern about both the Presidium of Parliament and members of the Council of Ministers for not carrying out their respective duties adequately.
The first example cited by Heyliger-Marten is the urgent public meeting regarding TelEm, which started on November 7, 2022. The topics were the Government Accountant Bureau SOAB report, the complaints of the union regarding the chief executive officer (CEO), and the status of the Fibre-To-The-Home project.
“We are now in May, so seven months later, and this urgent meeting is far from being completed. In the meantime, the issues have not been resolved or addressed by the Prime Minister. She said that this behaviour displays a lack of respect for Parliament and its responsibility to the people, and the lack of concern for the TelEm workers,” the MP said in a press release.
A second example mentioned by Heyliger-Marten is the urgent public meeting with the Minister of Justice for a discussion regarding the flow and managing of the inmates at the Point Blanche prison which was requested on January 19, 2023. This meeting was called on January 25, 2023, and adjourned. Since then, an injunction was filed against the prison and the minister has not come back to give Parliament an update.
A letter was also sent to the Minister of Justice on November 7, 2022, in which Heyliger-Marten asked for copies of the advice from the Department of Legal Affairs, the Committee for Civil Servants Union (CCSU), and the Advisory Council regarding the justice workers’ legal positions. Parliament has yet to receive these documents.
The continuation of public meeting number 10 which started on December 16, 2022, is another example of the Presidium’s and Council of Ministers’ lack of performance, Heyliger-Marten stated in her press release. A date for the continuation of this meeting is still pending and only on May 15, 2023, were the remaining two thirds of the questions posed received by Parliament by email.
“This dismal performance is unacceptable, and further proof that the Presidium and Council of Ministers are not able to deal with the business of the people in an adequate and transparent manner. With all the urgent and pending matters that the country is facing and needs to deal with, it is high time that this coalition government gets its act together. They need to be more open and transparent, and communicate more with the people,” Heyliger-Marten concluded.
