GREAT BAY--Member of Parliament Veronica Jansen-Webster has submitted two amendments to the 2026 national budget, one aimed at temporarily strengthening critical staffing capacity within the Ministry of General Affairs and a second seeking to increase funding for Financial Assistance under the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labor, VSA.
The first amendment proposes a budget-neutral reallocation of Cg 400,000 within the Ministry of General Affairs. The funding would be taken from the Disaster Management allocation and divided equally between two budget lines for the hiring of third parties, with Cg 200,000 allocated to each.
According to the amendment, the additional resources are intended to support the Personnel and Organization Department and the Facility Affairs Department, both of which are dealing with structural staff shortages that are affecting their ability to carry out essential government responsibilities.
The explanatory notes state that prolonged vacancies are placing increasing pressure on existing staff, increasing the likelihood of backlogs and absenteeism and potentially affecting the continuity of government operations. Jansen-Webster therefore proposes the temporary hiring of external consultants in the areas experiencing the most serious capacity constraints.
The consultants are intended to serve as a temporary bridge while recruitment and selection procedures continue to permanently fill vacant positions. The amendment states that the additional capacity would allow both departments to continue their work, address accumulated backlogs and maintain the quality of government services until staffing levels are restored.
Funding for the Cg 400,000 reallocation would come from savings within the Disaster Management budget related to St. Maarten’s insurance coverage through the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility, CCRIF. According to the amendment, government realized savings after selecting a more favorable insurance option, creating room within the existing budget to finance the temporary staffing measure.
Jansen-Webster’s second amendment focuses on Financial Assistance under VSA. The explanatory notes state that current spending and projected needs for the remainder of 2026 indicate a shortfall in the amount budgeted for Financial Assistance.
The MP is seeking to increase the Financial Assistance allocation by Cg 750,000 through a series of reallocations within the existing VSA budget. The amendment identifies available funding from several areas, including salaries and wages, projects and activities, accountants and advisory costs and service-level agreements, and office supplies.
The listed reductions total Cg 750,000 and include Cg 85,000 from salaries and wages, Cg 79,000 from another salaries and wages allocation, Cg 205,000 from projects and activities, Cg 246,000 from accountants, advisory costs and SLAs, Cg 110,000 from office supplies, and Cg 25,000 from another accountants and advisory costs allocation.
Jansen-Webster said through the amendment that Financial Assistance is an essential component of St. Maarten’s social safety net and is intended for individuals and households that do not have sufficient means to independently cover their necessary living expenses.
The explanatory notes state that the existing budget is insufficient to meet the expected Financial Assistance expenditures for the remainder of 2026 and that available room elsewhere within the VSA budget should therefore be redirected to help maintain continuity of the support.
Importantly, the amendment also states that the proposed Cg 750,000 does not completely eliminate the expected Financial Assistance shortfall. Jansen-Webster indicates that additional funding will still be required and that full coverage of the remaining shortage should be addressed on an interministerial basis.
