SINT MAARTEN (PHILIPSBURG) - Whether by design or default, Mullet Bay appears twice on the schedule of parliament this week, Member of Parliament (MP) Sarah Wescot Williams said on Sunday in a press statement.
“Unfortunately, none of these times, will the general public be privy to the discussions regarding this piece of real estate that is not only reminiscent of a buoyant period of our tourism industry, but also of near full employment in the hotel sector of the entire island, both north and south”, MP Wescot stated on Sunday evening, ahead of the meetings on Monday.
MP Wescot Williams explained that of the 2 meetings that are scheduled this week on the topic of Mullet Bay, one has to do with the objection petition filed by over 2000 persons against the development of Mullet Bay Beach, and the other meeting is one of the Committee Parliamentary Inquiry Mullet Bay, both scheduled behind closed doors.
The Minister of VROMI has replied to the questions by the petitioners, and parliament -via the petition committee- has to now decide on the next steps, the MP further explained.
“On the topic of the Mullet Bay Inquiry Committee of Parliament, it should be noted that this committee, established in 2019, had estimated 8 months to accomplish what it had set out to do, namely “Give Mullet Bay Back to the People”. Three years later, even discounting for the pandemic, not a peep has been heard”.
“Quite a coincidence, I would say that only after another formal request from me for this committee to report to parliament, that the committee has finally decided to meet. I had made this request approximately a year ago and did so again last month.”
Unfortunately, not even the other MPs are allowed in these meetings of the Inquiry Committee, which is the most absurd thing in a parliamentary democracy.
“Next to that, I have a request pending for a meeting of the VROMI committee of parliament to discuss the beach policy and moratoriums. What no one talks about are the conditions laid down in the CIVIL CODE regarding the public beaches. And the question is whether the government itself is in compliance with this higher law of the land, where it pertains to our beaches.”
Given the modus operandi of this government and its support in parliament, I have little faith that anything tangible will come from these meetings, other than the usual hype, as so much time has passed, the answers are superficial and not in synch with the reality on the ground, the MP concluded.
Source: Souliga Newsday https://www.soualiganewsday.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=46868:contractors-attend-szv-public-tender-info-session-for-new-office&Itemid=450
