President of Parliament Hon. drs. Gracita Arrindell on Friday met with various representatives of the organizing committee that assisted with the logistics of organizing the opening ceremony of the new parliamentary year 2011-2012.
Arrindell congratulated everyone who took part in putting this important event together for a job well done. Those who could be present at Friday’s meeting were the Governor’s Adjudant Paul Middelburg, Parliament staff, Secretary General J. Semeleer, Department of Communications, Police, Voluntary Corps of Sint Maarten, and the Council of Ministers Secretary General.
“It was important to meet with all persons and entities who have been instrumental in putting together the program, as well as those who participated in the opening ceremony of Country Sint Maarten’s parliamentary year 2011-2012, for the simple reason that the process is still fresh on everybody’s mind, which gives a more accurate picture of the improvements to be made for next year’s event. I first met with my staff the next day following the event to start the evaluation process.
“I was very pleased how matters turned out and based on the reactions I received overall from persons of all walks of life, I can only concur with their views that it went very well almost flawless. The glitches, we have detected, will be worked on to ensure a smoother transition.
“The parliamentary secretariat will be putting together an ‘opening of the parliamentary year organizational manual’ with the first draft to be ready and presented in December upcoming.
“This manual will outline in detail the roles, responsibilities and organizational aspects of the different entities involved in organizing this yearly ceremonial event. This too is part of nation building,” President of Parliament Hon. Gracita Arrindell said on Sunday.
Some of the issues discussed for the parliamentary year of 2012-2013 include the involvement of more schools in the process; the addition of other uniform groups such as the Prison Guards, Fire Department, Coast Guard and civic organizations; the safety and security aspects, protocol guidelines, technical backup plans, to mention a few.
“I take this opportunity to thank everyone on island as well as those who came from abroad, to witness and participate in this historic opening of the parliamentary year 2011-2012 which according to our countries constitution, article 46 sub. 2 which states that the session year commences on the second Tuesday of September. We strive to maintain a high calibre flawless event and everybody is looking forward to next year,” President of Parliament Hon. Gracita Arrindell said on Sunday.