Finance Minister Ardwell Irion.
PHILIPSBURG--Finance Minister Ardwell Irion says there are options for the government of St. Maarten to help cushion the effects of the COVID-19 crisis, if aid is not forthcoming from the Netherlands.
He was at the time responding to a question from a Member of Parliament (MP) during the continuation of a meeting on the St. Maarten Stimulus and Relief Plan (SSRP) on Friday.
Irion told MPs that government has had discussions with the Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten (CBCS) and they have made the preliminary preparations to float a bond of NAf. 50 million for the country.
Government, he added, has also looked into the possibility of using “a limited amount of funds” from the AOV pension fund. However, Irion made it clear that “this is of course not a desirable option, but it is an option.”
One MP had suggested during the first part of the meeting earlier this week that St. Maarten can also take a loan from its own entities such as Social and Health Insurances SZV or general pension fund administrator APS to ensure the country can “cover (expenses in) these difficult times if the Dutch play hardball.”
The government of St. Maarten has requested NAf. 254 million to cover the cost of its Relief Plan for the first three months. The Kingdom Council of Ministers is still to give a definitive decision on the request.
Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten have drafted plans with which the countries want to finance their local stimulus support programmes. These plans have been submitted or are on their way to the Committees for Financial Supervision of respectively Curaçao and St. Maarten, the CFT, and the CAFT of Aruba.
After the CFT and CAFT have assessed the plans, there will be another meeting of the Kingdom Council of Ministers.
The SSRP will cover “direct relief” which includes a payroll-support programme, income-support programme, a soft-loan programme as well as an under-employed programme for an amount of NAf. 108.44 million. For the unemployed, the established unemployment benefits will continue.
The SSRP also includes funds to compensate for the loss of government income for an amount of NAf. 89.2 million to enable government to carry out already existing but now expanded programmes: a food-voucher programme and a food-boxes programme for the most vulnerable groups, meals for the elderly and psycho-social care.
For the additional healthcare expenses, an amount of NAf. 56.28 million has been budgeted and is intended for additional healthcare expenses as well as support to SZV and St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC).
