PHILIPSBURG--Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs and Minister of Finance Ardwell Irion traveled to the Netherlands on May 25, 2021, to rectify the non-payment of the fifth tranche of liquidity support. State Secretary of Interior Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops continues to withhold the payment of liquidity support, already approved for payment on April 23, in the Kingdom Council of Ministers meeting, it was stated in a press release.
Jacobs stated: “State Secretary Knops is not honouring the rules of engagement. Although having expressed such to him in a meeting held last week, Wednesday, May 19, during his visit to St Maarten, he has insisted on continuing with these actions to the detriment of the very people he claims he is concerned about. The State Secretary’s actions are counterproductive as they put the vital processes of government at risk. As a result, we must question his motives.”
"As Prime Minister and Minister of General Affairs, I have been left with no choice, but to escalate this issue to the Kingdom Council of Ministers RMR. The goal is that the rule of law; a pillar of Dutch good governance and democracy, will prevail, and not the very prominent democratic deficit in the RMR. This is another example of why the dispute regulation law is very much needed,” she continued.
Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs (second left) and Finance Minister Ardwell Irion (fourth left) with Jacobs’ legal advisor Jessica Weeks (left), Director of the Cabinet of St. Maarten’s Minister Plenipotentiary Carol Voges (right) and BIJ1 party leader and Member of Parliament Sylvana Simon (centre).
On June 1, Jacobs will also be present in the plenary debate for the handling of the dispute regulation law in the First Chamber of the Parliament of the Netherlands. She will ensure that the current and past challenges experienced by St Maarten as a result of the democratic deficit and unequitable treatment of the countries within the Kingdom in the Dutch Caribbean are highlighted through Minister Plenipotentiary Rene Violenus, who will speak on behalf of the government of St Maarten. Additionally, Jacobs will be meeting with other key stakeholders to ensure that St Maarten's position is known and heard.
Jacobs is determined to see this process through and will do all that needs to be done to ensure at the very least that there is an equitable treatment for the people of St Maarten, she said.
