PHILIPSBURG--Chairperson of Parliament William Marlin on Sunday expressed “serious” concerns about reports that travel has been approved for former Prime Minister Leona Romeo-Marlin to travel abroad to attend a World Bank conference.
Marlin said he is seriously concerned about the information reaching him and he will either send questions to caretaker Prime Minister Wycliffe Smith today Tuesday or he may even decide to convene an urgent meeting of Parliament so that clarity can be given.
Marlin said it had been brought to his attention that the Council of Ministers supposedly recently approved travel for former Prime Minister Leona Marlin-Romeo to attend a conference hosted by the World Bank.
Marlin said he does not want to assume that the reports reaching him and others are true and this is why he wants answers from Smith.
Questions to which he will be seeking answers include whether the Council of Ministers approved “for private citizen Mrs. Leona Marlin-Romeo to travel? If yes, when did this take place? If the answer to question 1 is yes, then what is the purpose of this travel and for how long?
“If the answer to question 1 is yes, could the Prime Minister explain why the Council of Ministers would have to approve travel of a person who is no longer a minister? If the travel for Mrs. Leona Marlin-Romeo was approved, in what capacity would she be traveling? If the answer to question 1 is yes, who is paying for this travel and what is the cost of this trip?
“Can the caretaker Prime Minister provide any information related to the travel of Mrs. Leona Marlin-Romeo, particularly if she will be speaking or conducting and/or attending any meeting in any way on behalf of St. Maarten?”
Marlin said that even if the trip would be covered by the Trust Fund, this would be wrong, as the Trust Fund was not set up to promote either the work of the World Bank or the agenda of a former Prime Minister. He said clarity is needed and he will be seeking answers, as “the people have a right to know.”
