NA MP Anna Richardson making her presentation in the presence of fellow MPs.
PHILIPSBURG--National Alliance (NA) Member of Parliament (MP) Anna Richardson on Tuesday presented a proposal for the establishment of a Permanent Committee of Parliament for District Community Councils and Neighbourhood Associations.
The presentation was made during a meeting of the Central Committee of Parliament which was originally scheduled for Monday, but had to be rescheduled due to lack of quorum.
Also on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting was a proposal concerning the composition of the Mullet Bay parliamentary enquiry. While MPs discussed the agenda point on the establishment of the permanent committee, the agenda point on Mullet Bay had to be adjourned, as several MPs had other engagements and there was no quorum for this agenda point.
The meeting is expected to resume on Thursday, when the composition of the Mullet Bay parliamentary enquiry issue will be discussed.
During her presentation, Richardson told MPs that the purpose of establishing a Permanent Committee for District Community Councils in Parliament is to create a direct and effective line of communication between MPs, government, residents and other relevant stakeholders.
“St. Maarten is a young, growing country with various issues that need to be addressed in an efficient manner. Through this proposed committee solely focused on the issues that affect the quality of life in all neighbourhoods, community council representatives of each district can present formal submissions to Parliament that may lead to further enquiry with respective ministries of government,” she said.
She said that according to the Integrated Neighbourhood Development Plan (INDP) 2012-2014, there is a reasonable level of involvement in the communities by residents of different nationalities. However, there is a need to promote more cohesion in the districts of St. Maarten and in St. Maarten in general.
Especially following the 2017 hurricane season, it became very evident that for there to be successful recovery, there is a need to retain the sense of community at all times.
“A proven, effective way to promote social cohesion, development and active participation is through the establishment of community councils and neighbourhood associations. Having a direct line of communication between the community and Parliament/government gives residents a fair opportunity to actively participate in improving their neighbourhoods.”
The St. Maarten Development Fund (SMDF) is one party that is working hard to structure and profile community associations and district councils to the point where, in the very near future, members of these groups will have the opportunity to share their concerns with one another and hopefully with the establishment of the proposed committee, be heard by the Parliament of St. Maarten, which is tasked by the electorate to represent them and make inquiries on the behalf of their constituents.
She outlined the proposed process for district community councils to make submissions to Parliament and government as well as the follow-up process. Community councils will have time to prepare their reports for submission to the Committee and, by extension, parliament and the government of St. Maarten, Richardson noted.
Once the Committee reviews the content of the reports, a meeting will be scheduled to meet with district community council representatives. Following the meeting with the district community councils, Ministers will be invited where necessary for further elucidation and discussion of the topics, considering that they will have received a copy of the report at the same time as Parliament.
Priority issues raised by the councils and passed on to government should be considered and/or reacted to within three months. “This ensures that communities are seeing first-hand the reaction and response of government to their submissions,” she said.
She proposed that the Committee meet with community council representatives on a quarterly basis to gain insight to the particular grievances, activities and/or needs of the residents.
“It is important for the Permanent Committee to meet with the district representatives on a quarterly basis in order to develop and maintain a systematic exchange of information. It is therefore significant for government to operate within said time frame in order to follow up with questions about items brought forth in the Community Council reports and offer answers or solutions.”
Parliament, based on a quarterly report from the Committee for District Councils to the relevant Ministers, can question the Ministry/Ministers on the execution (or lack thereof) of projects and/or why particular problems are not being addressed or solved. Issues submitted by the council representatives are to be categorised by Ministry.
Richardson said the committee would also be tasked with making in-person visits to the various neighbourhoods to gain further, first-hand insight as to what is being shared with them during quarterly meetings, as is done with visits to schools, shelters, the prison, et cetera.
“While there currently exists a Permanent Committee for Public Health, Social Development and Labour, having a committee solely focused on social development through input from the community councils is the purpose of establishing the committee in parliament, followed by a scheduled meeting with the St. Maarten Development Fund (SMDF) to gain further insight on its Community Engagement and Disaster Risk Reduction project.
“Since the project’s launch, SMDF has been working to develop the capacities of community councils so that the councils may be assets to the residents of communities and serve on their behalf to have key community issues resolved. Start date dependent on Parliamentary approval.”
Depending on the support and approval of the requested permanent committee, a schedule will be developed and the Chairman of Parliament will receive written updates regarding the progress and when the first meeting will be scheduled, etc.
Following the comments from MPs on the proposal and answers provided by Richardson, Chairperson of Parliament William Marlin said the proposal will be sent to a public meeting for further handling and ratification.
