PHILIPBURG--The offer to form a national government still stands, United People’s (UP) party Member of Parliament (MP) Dr. Lloyd Richardson said at the resumption of the handling of the draft 2016 budget in Parliament on Thursday afternoon.
“This country needs stability and the stability must come from this body. I just want to go on record that that is my only motive … I do want to beg for reason from my colleagues in this House. No matter what we do, we need stability in this country so that together we can take the issues at hand – they seem insurmountable, but I think together we can solve them. The offer stands,” said Dr. Richardson who is the most senior member of the legislature in age.
The offer referred to by Dr. Richardson was made by the “Super Seven” – the opposition bloc of MPs to the government Coalition of Eight as a way out of the hung Parliament caused by the arrest of independent MP Silvio Matser on March 2.
The offer was made to National Alliance (NA) leader Prime Minister William Marlin after Matser’s arrest. Marlin told the press last week Friday he is not seeking to form any government, because the Coalition of Eight is still intact. He said NA parliamentarians had reached out to Dr. Richardson only to gain his support for the draft budget.
“No counterproposal has been made nor answer given … other than what we have perceived from the press,” said Dr. Richardson. “We, in our talks, have made, in our viewpoint, the best proposal that could be made for a national government.”
The MP pointed out that since the August 2014 Parliamentary Elections he has “always been the one suggesting a national government.”
Dr. Richardson called the draft budget a “very important document” for the country, but voiced that he had “qualms” about its content.
Parliament currently has only seven MPs able to support the governing Coalition of Eight due to Matser’s arrest and the Super Seven. As it stands, if the draft is put to a vote the possibility exists of it resulting in a tie. Such a tie would send the budget into another round of voting in a new session. If that session also has the same voting result, the draft budget would be deemed rejected.
However, the plenary session was suspended until further notice by Parliament Chairperson Sarah Wescot-Williams after MPs spoke in the second and final round of the debate.
When the session is recalled, the Council of Ministers will have its turn to answer questions posed by MPs and make their observations. Following that, voting will proceed on three motions tabled by MP Rodolphe Samuel (NA) and then on the budget, which by law, should have been established since last year.
