GREAT BAY--Member of Parliament Francisco Lacroes has secured parliamentary approval for a budget amendment that redirects Cg 155,432.70 from government travel expenses to sports development, providing additional resources for athletes, sports organizations, training and capacity building.
The amendment, adopted during Thursday’s vote on the 2026 national budget, reduces travel allocations across Parliament, the High Councils of State and several government ministries and transfers the full amount to the sports subsidy budget within the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, ECYS. The amendment is budget neutral, meaning it does not increase overall government expenditure.
Lacroes expressed his appreciation to his parliamentary colleagues for supporting the proposal and, through their vote, supporting additional help for St. Maarten’s sports sector and young people.
He said the significance of the amendment goes beyond the amount being transferred, as Parliament collectively demonstrated that greater priority can be given to athletes and sports organizations when resources are available elsewhere in the budget.
The amendment emerged from concerns about the difficulties athletes and sporting organizations regularly experience in securing funding to represent St. Maarten internationally. In the explanatory notes accompanying the amendment, Lacroes referenced the financial challenges surrounding St. Maarten’s participation in the 2026 CARIFTA Games, where approximately US$17,400 was required for transportation and accommodation and athletes, parents and sports organizations were forced to seek funding shortly before departure.
The amendment specifically notes that the problem extends beyond any single competition or athlete. St. Maarten continues to produce talented young athletes with the potential to compete successfully at regional and international levels, but participation can become dependent on emergency fundraising by federations, athletes and their families.
Lacroes’ proposal is intended to make financial support for qualifying sports activities more predictable and reduce the likelihood that athletes and organizations will have to rely on last-minute appeals for assistance when preparing for competitions.
Of the Cg 155,432.70 being added to the sports subsidy allocation, Cg 10,000 is intended specifically for training and capacity building for sports federations in areas including governance, financial management, strategic planning, project development, obtaining subsidies and reporting. The remaining Cg 144,432.70 will be available for qualifying sports activities and related support, creating additional room within the budget for sporting organizations and athletes.
The amendment does not create an automatic entitlement to funding. Applications will continue to be assessed according to existing laws, regulations, the Sport Subsidy Policy, applicable policy frameworks and established subsidy procedures. The intention is to provide a larger and more predictable pool of resources while maintaining transparency, equal treatment, accountability and proper financial reporting.
Rather than taking the entire amount from one ministry, Lacroes spread the reductions across numerous government travel budgets. The explanatory notes state that the reductions are limited to five percent of the affected travel allocations, preventing any single ministry or government entity from carrying the entire burden.
The proposal also explicitly protects necessary travel. The amendment states that essential official trips connected to legal obligations, international commitments, crisis management, regulatory work and other critical government responsibilities must continue to receive priority.
Lacroes said the approach demonstrates that Parliament can make choices within the existing budget to place greater emphasis on areas that directly benefit young people and the development of St. Maarten.
During the debate on the amendment, Lacroes thanked the Minister of Finance and the ministers whose travel allocations were affected for working with the proposal. He reserved particular appreciation for his fellow MPs, noting that their collective support sent an important message about Parliament’s willingness to invest in sports.
For Lacroes, the additional funding is also about ensuring that talented young people are given a fair opportunity to develop and represent St. Maarten without financial uncertainty becoming an unnecessary barrier.
The approved amendment now increases the 2026 sports subsidy allocation by Cg 155,432.70, with the funds coming entirely from reductions in travel expenses elsewhere in the national budget.
