THE HAGUE--Member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament Ronald van Raak of the Socialist Party (SP) is not amused by the suggestion of St. Maarten Member of Parliament (MP) Claude Peterson of the St. Maarten Christian Party (SMCP) to use the Recovery Fund for the construction of a “very expensive new parliament.” Not while there are still so many families without a roof.
In response to an article in the Saturday edition of The Daily Herald headlined “Peterson suggests Trust Fund money to build new parliament building,” Van Raak that same day submitted written questions to State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops to seek clarity on Peterson’s proposal.
Van Raak first asked Knops whether he knew about the proposal that was made in the St. Maarten parliament to “use money from the reconstruction after Hurricane Irma for an expensive new parliament, a futuristic project for a salt crystal building of US $145 million.”
“Do you share my opinion that the money for St. Maarten’s reconstruction is meant to repair the infrastructure and homes, and to eradicate poverty, but not for members of parliament to give themselves an expensive and luxurious gift?” the Dutch MP asked Knops, and whether he could confirm that funds meant for St. Maarten’s reconstruction will not be used for a “futuristic prestige project” for a new parliament.
Van Raak also used the opportunity to again ask about the remuneration of the members of the St. Maarten parliament, which he considers to be too high. “Do you share my bewilderment that while St. Maarten is the smallest country in the Kingdom, the members of parliament here still have the highest income of the entire Kingdom? What has become of the intention to reduce the high remuneration of the members of the St. Maarten parliament? When will this happen?”
Peterson made his suggestion during a meeting of parliament last Friday. He said the World Bank should be approached to see if the new parliament building could be financed via the Recovery Fund.
MP Christophe Emmanuel of the National Alliance (NA) objected to Peterson’s suggestion and said this proposal could not be justified when so many people still did not have their roofs repaired.
