SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY) - President of Parliament Sarah A. Wescot-Williams has expressed disappointment over how Thursday’s parliamentary meeting on the Fire and Ambulance Departments unfolded, particularly for the workers who have endured years of uncertainty and delays while political maneuvering continues around them.
The meeting in question was not a sudden development. It was formally requested in November of last year and commenced a week later with initial questions posed. Delays in continuation followed for various reasons, including the unavailability of ministers. As President of Parliament, Wescot-Williams reiterated that it has long been standard practice to request that, if a minister is unable to attend a parliamentary meeting, the deputy minister be present to respond on behalf of the government.
“Parliament has repeatedly insisted on this very principle, precisely to prevent unnecessary postponements and to ensure continuity and accountability”, Wescot-Williams stated.
In Thursday’s meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister was present and prepared to respond. However, objections were raised by some Members of Parliament regarding the Deputy Prime Minister’s presence, despite full knowledge that the Prime Minister was off-island.
“These objections did not arise in a vacuum,” Wescot-Williams explained. “It became clear that certain members were positioning themselves politically, having a draft motion against the Prime Minister ‘in their back pocket’,rather than focusing on the substantive issues affecting the Fire and Ambulance personnel.”
After consulting with both the Deputy Prime Minister and the Prime Minister regarding the earliest availability for the Prime Minister to attend in person, Wescot-Williams took the decision -in her capacity as President of Parliament- to adjourn the meeting and continue it as soon as the Prime Minister could be present. This decision was taken to ensure fairness, due process, and the right of the Prime Minister to respond directly to a motion in which he is named personally.
“At the same time,” she noted, “it is imperative that when this meeting resumes, Parliament receives a clear, concise, and factual breakdown of the status of all outstanding matters -whether relating to job classification, placement, retroactive issues, or other sticking points. We cannot solve a problem we do not fully understand or have a complete overview of.
Wescot-Williams also addressed concerns raised about motions of no confidence, referencing her own legislative initiative aimed at bringing greater structure, proportionality, and fairness to how such motions are introduced and handled. She emphasized that disagreement with policy or execution should not automatically escalate to the most extreme parliamentary instrument, particularly when facts are incomplete or emotions are high.
“What deeply concerns me,” she added, “is the narrative that is being created -that delaying a vote or insisting on proper procedure somehow means being ‘against’ the Fire and Ambulance workers. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
The President of Parliament underscored that the real victims of this political posturing are the men and women of the Fire and Ambulance Departments, who have lived with this unresolved situation for years.
“They deserve solutions, not symbolism. Parliament needs to recognize that attempts to force any minister’s hand by a motion and by doing so puts parties even further apart in an already strenuous situation, is not conducive to solving this impasse, which obviously it has become.
If the breakdown of trust has indeed become dire, we should not exacerbate that but rather look for solutions. Attention has now turned away from the workers to the political gamesmanship and that is unfortunate.
The continuation of the meeting will be scheduled for early this week, with the Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina present, to allow Parliament to proceed responsibly and substantively in the interest of the affected parties and the public at large.
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