The Prime Minister of St. Maarten and shareholder representative for PSS the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams has advised government to make payable to former PSS Director Denicio Richardson the amount concluded by the courts as owed to Richardson.
This advice has been tabled on Tuesday, July 8th in the Council of Ministers’ meeting. “The court verdict is very clear as far as this point is concerned and the request by Government to suspend the execution of the verdict was not honored by the Court. In addition, it has also been made clear that PSS does not have the means to comply with the Court’s order”, commented Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams.
The Prime Minister also indicated that she is awaiting the outcome of the appeal filed by the Government of St. Maarten, but that she is particularly interested in the part where the Court of First Instance in essence agreed that the Government of St. Maarten is also liable. This would mean that the government can be held liable for expenses incurred by the government-owned company.
“This, in my opinion, if upheld by the Joint Court, would set a precedent that would demand a totally new look at the relationship between government and government-owned companies in general, stated Prime Minister Wescot-Williams.”
However, in the meantime, as mentioned above, the Council of Ministers has been advised by the Prime Minister to comply as far as the payment to former director Richardson is concerned.