PHILIPSBURG--A delegation from the First Chamber of the Parliament of the Netherlands paid a courtesy visit to the General Audit Chamber on Monday, January 4.
Members of the delegation included Chairman Ruard Ganzevoort and members Frank van Kappen, Sophie van Bijsterveld, Thom de Graaf and Meta Meijers. Clerk of the First Chamber Fred Bergman accompanied the delegation along with the representative of the Netherlands in Philipsburg Gert Versluis.
General Audit Chamber Chairman Ronald Halman along with Secretary-General Joane Dovale-Meit and legal advisor Keith de Jong attended the meeting with the First Chamber members. This was the first meeting among the General Audit Chamber and members of the Parliament of the Netherlands.
During the brief meeting, members of the delegation discussed the development of the General Audit Chamber since its inception on October 10, 2010. Halman outlined challenges as well as successes in starting up a supreme audit institution in St. Maarten.
The Dutch Parliamentary delegation was particularly interested in how recommendations and findings from reports issued by the General Audit Chamber were received and utilised by Parliament and government. The General Audit Chamber said it is “cautiously optimistic,” about this citing an improved frequency in meetings with Parliament in 2015. Other topics briefly discussed included integrity and the financial management of St Maarten.
In terms of integrity, the delegation was interested in the status since publication of the Baseline Study: State of Affairs Institutional Integrity Management 2014. The discussion on the financial situation related to the instruction issued to St Maarten by the Kingdom Council of Ministers. ”It was a cordial, insightful and interesting introductory meeting.
Though short in length, I believe that the contact is helpful. We were able to explain more about the growth of a national audit institution, and thus illustrate to the Dutch representatives that successful institutional development is possible through commitment as well as efficient and effective use of resources. In addition, we gained insight regarding the issues that are of interest to the Dutch representatives,” Halman said in a press release.
The General Audit Chamber said it welcomes opportunities to exchange ideas and broaden its knowledge base.
Additional information regarding the General Audit Chamber is available on website www.arsxm.org.
