GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – On Thursday Prime Minister Hon. William Marlin concluded his first working visit to The Hague, the Netherlands when he met the Vice Chair of the Council of State Piet Hein Donner.
Issues discussed included the appointment of a Sint Maarten representative to the Council of State.
Ever since former Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson vacated the position Sint Maarten did not put forward another candidate. One of the challenges prospective Sint Maarten candidates’ face, is not having to reside in the Netherlands on a full time basis.
The intention now is to have the candidate in question travel to the Netherlands every month for one week.
The Prime Minister also explained his proposal to adapt the Sint Maarten Constitution in order to curb ship jumping.
Vice Chair Donner pledged his support to assist Sint Maarten in finding a Sint Maarten solution to the problem.
“It is not only in Sint Maarten that we have a problem with ship jumping. Mr. Donner has also suggested that as soon as a proposed text is ready that we should send it to them to take a look at it in order to speed up the process,” Prime Minister Hon. William Marlin said on Thursday from The Hague, the Netherlands.
The Prime Minister was accompanied by Sint Maarten’s Minister Plenipotentiary, Hon. Henrietta Doran-York.
PHOTO CUTLINE: L to R: Vice Chair of the Council of State Piet Hein Donner, and Prime Minister William Marlin. (Photo by Nico van der Ven)
Prime Minister Marlin meets with Council of State Vice Chair Piet Hein Donnor
