PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – All is on course for the Parliament of St. Maarten to debate the island’s budget on Monday, February 29, assured Minister of Finance Richard Gibson.
“The budget is on track, on schedule. We are trying to get all of the information built into the budget, as the CFT has requested; finalizing today all the questions that were asked in Parliament. I think we are well on our way to start the plenary session of Parliament,” Minister Gibson said.
The Government of St. Maarten had requested Parliament to delay the public debate of the 2016 budget to February 29, to provide more time to make adjustments in the budget as proposed by the Financial Supervisory Board (CFT).
Minister Gibson, at that time, explained that when the budget was sent to the CFT before it was tabled in Parliament at the plenary session due earlier in the month, the CFT proposed some changes. This would have taken some time to implement and Gibson requested a delay in the debate to accommodate those changes.
The changes proposed include: showing budget commitment to pay off the debts to SZV and APS; the total premium that has to be paid to the pension fund; the draft numbers of the 4th quarter of the 2015 budget, and outlining in the budget specific measures of lowering expenses.
Budget preparation to facilitate Monday’s debate
