Honourable Minister of Finance Hiro Shigemoto has taken note of the comments made by the Sint Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA) with respect to the country’s marketing representative in the United States according to media reports attributed to the SHTA, "not being paid for months" by government.
Minister of Finance Hiro Shigemoto disclosed on Wednesday that due to an internal investigation that was carried out with respect to the Tourist Bureau, the disbursement of funds was frozen by the former Head of Finance and the Controller of the Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications, until the investigation was completed.
"The funds will be paid to the US marketing firm once the invoices have been cleared by the controller and these will be made payable by the Finance Department shortly," Hon. Minister of Finance Hiro Shigemoto said on Wednesday.