Member of Parliament George Pantophlet says that the Minister of Finance Martin Hassink continues to disrespect the people of St. Maarten by trampling on their authority and not adhering to the rule of Law the Constitution of St. Maarten. Article 32.3 of the Constitution states that the Ministers are accountable to Parliament. Article 33.2 states that in the event a Minister does not enjoy the support of Parliament he has to make his position available. The Member of Parliament in a letter dated May 19, 2015 submitted some questions to the Minister one of which had to do with the court case between the AUC and Inspectorate of Taxes on the $68 million deal. As some might know the judge ruled in favor of AUC. Instead of providing the Member of Parliament with a copy of the ruling (The courts also refused giving the MP a copy advising him to request such from the Minister of Finance).The Minister of Finance is now again refusing to provide information on this matter and stating the following as an excuse: “Disclosure of information to the MP regarding the AUC sale (including the court verdict may imply that fiscal information of DeVry (new owners) will also be made public. The interest to protect confidential information of a third party must prevail, in this case, above the interest of Parliament. The trust between DeVry and the government will be at stake. Let me insert here isn’t the inspectorate of taxes a government organ?) he continues the interest of St. Maarten is at stake. Providing the information in confidence does not alter this. After all, it is not inconceivable that the public will get hold of the confidential information”. It appears that the Minister is taking special interest in this case rather than working for the people who he swore to protect. The Member of Parliament sees this behavior as a clear indication that a vote of non-confidence should be tabled against the Minister. The Minister is placing the interest of a third party above that of the people of St. Maarten. Does this mean that certain businesses can keep vital information from government? If this is so then it means that citizens don’t have to provide information for the Household Budget Survey the government is requesting or demanding.
