Honourable Minister of Finance Hiro Shigemoto says that all relevant information and additional documentation related to the 2011 first country Sint Maarten budget is available to Members of Parliament (MPs) at the Council of Ministers (COM) Secretariat in the Government Administration Building.
The information available to parliamentarians is 23 pieces of correspondence to and from the Committee of Financial Supervision CFT along with the April 12 COM approved country Sint Maarten budget.
The 2011 Country Sint Maarten Budget has been sent to Governor Eugene Holiday as Chairman of the Council of Advice who will turn it over to the Vice Chairman of the Council Mavis Brooks-Salmon. Once the aforementioned Council has reviewed the national budget, it is then given to the Governor who then forwards it to the Minister of Finance.
If there are any comments from the Council of Advice concerning the budget, those will then be dealt with in the Council of Minister and then ratified. The country budget goes back to the Governor who in turn sends it to the national Parliament.
The Hon. Minister of Finance Hiro Shigemoto says he is looking forward to going to Parliament on Thursday, April 21 to provide information to the different factions about country Sint Maarten’s first budget.
"It is very important that we have these parliamentary-ministerial information briefings from time to time. My door is always open as I believe in the principle of transparency and open government.
"The Ministry of Finance has been forthcoming with information whenever this would be requested by a faction or individual parliamentarian," Hon. Minister of Finance Hiro Shigemoto said on Sunday.
Last week Government provided a balanced first country Sint Maarten budget which received positive advice from the Committee of Financial Supervision of Curacao and Sint Maarten.
The Naf.420.916.597 million budget is Naf.23.526.328 million less than the one that was approved by Parliament on December 23, 2010. The amount at that time was Naf.444.442.925 million.
Minister Shigemoto added that there are a number of areas in the budgetary process where it comes to the implementation and execution of the budget which his Ministry will be paying keen attention too in the coming months based on the recommendations of the CFT.
The Hon. Minister of Finance has also responded to a letter from Hon. MP George Pantophlet dated March 22, 2011 that was sent via the President of Parliament in a letter dated March 30 requesting a copy of the aforementioned 2011 budget and correspondence between the Government and the CFT. Minister Shigemoto letter responding to Hon. MP Pantophlet was dated April 12, 2011.