NA MP Angelique Romou.
PHILIPSBURG--National Alliance (NA) Member of Parliament (MP) Angelique Romou on Sunday applauded government’s move to give the green light for study- financing recipients abroad to follow summer classes as the coronavirus situation is still unfolding locally and internationally.
“Several students had approached me as Member of Parliament with concerns that their requests for financing to follow summer classes were initially denied. I then approached the relevant authorities within government regarding the situation and subsequently posed questions regarding this on the floor of Parliament during the 2020 Budget Debate on April 27, 2020,” Romou said in a press release.
“I specifically enquired (about) the number of students who applied, the number of students who were approved and denied as well as the reasoning behind the denials.”
Shortly after, students who were denied access to summer classes were notified via email from the head of the Study Financing Division that their cases had been revisited and therefore they would be granted study financing to complete their summer classes.
Romou thanked Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Rodolphe Samuel and Division Study Financing Head Antonio Aventurin for revisiting students’ pleas and ultimately granting them the much-needed study financing to proceed with their education during the summer. Romou commended students for keeping themselves busy with their education as the current crisis continues and also encouraged them to continue doing their best “while making us all proud.”
Romou also lauded the Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Affairs VSA, specifically the National Employment Service Center on appointing local author, motivational speaker and businessman Darren Wilson Sr. to its team.
During an urgent Parliament public meeting with VSA Minister Richard Panneflek, Romou emphasised the importance of mediation during the dismissal process, especially during these challenging times, and enquired if the ministry had enough mediators in service to handle an influx of dismissal requests.
Romou urged the minister to look into expanding their mediation capacity, for example, by contracting former mediators to assist with the increased workload. “It was a great concern of mine that persons faced with losing their jobs should have someone to effectively mediate between employer and employee and seeing that government only had one mediator, this indeed worried me, hence my questions to the minister of VSA.
“I was pleased to learn that Mr. Wilson was hired to increase mediation capacity within the ministry and personally called him and congratulated him on this new endeavour as a young professional, seeing the crucial need. As a new MP …, I look forward to continue to voice the concerns of the people, table these concerns on the floor of Parliament, seek plausible solutions and hold government accountable when needed, all with the best interest of the people of St. Maarten at heart,” she said.
