PHILIPSBURG--National Alliance (NA) Member of Parliament (MP) Christophe Emmanuel has called on the Social Economic Council SER to conduct a study on the benefits and economic impact the establishment of a development bank would have for the country.
Emmanuel submitted a letter to SER via Parliament Chairwoman Sarah Wescot-Williams on January 22 requesting that the study be carried out as soon as possible. He stated in the letter that his request stemmed from the “stagnant economic growth in the small and medium business sector over the past years.”
The key focus areas of the study should be the viability of a development bank, key functions/features of a development bank, existing gaps in the current financial architecture and the sustainable development needs of small and medium businesses.
Emmanuel told The Daily Herald on Monday a development bank was very important in moving St. Maarten forward. He also sees a good basis already for the bank in the form of the Development Bank of the Netherlands Antilles OBNA. “We have some NAf. 12 million in that bank and we don’t have one single board member,” he said.
Emmanuel shared his letter after Finance Minister Richard Gibson told Parliament in the Central Committee meeting dealing with the draft 2016 budget that there was “a need for a development bank.”
Gibson said government-owned companies such as St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies, Princess Juliana International Airport SXM and utilities company GEBE could deposit their monies in the development bank when it was created, instead of in commercial or foreign banks. The funds in the development bank then can be used to develop the country and provide a return on investment, according to the Minister.
The idea of a development bank is not a new one. United People’s (UP) party leader MP Theo Heyliger floated a similar idea several years ago.
