Smith questions spending of payroll support

PHILIPSBURG – After a long period of silence St. Maarten Christian Party (SMCP) leader Wycliffe Smith returned to the public domain with a letter (erroneously dated January 7, 2020) to Finance Minister Ardwell Irion containing questions about the Stimulus Relief Plan and the spending of funds on payroll support programs.

Smith notes that the stimulus relief plan contains two specific programs designed to support local businesses: the payroll support program and the lockdown payroll support program.

Smith, who lost his seat in Parliament during the most recent elections, asks the minister to release the names of the companies that successfully applied for both of these programs. “What was the total amount of money paid out and what was the total number of employees involved?”

In his letter, the SMCP-leader notes that Minister Irion said during a press briefing on June 3 that 479 companies had received financial support through both programs. “In light of transparency and accountability, I hereby kindly request you to let the civil servants, the personnel of government-owned companies and the public in general know how the money was spent.”

Smith wrote that it is “more than just” to release this information because “civil servants and personnel of government-owned companies sacrificed a percentage of their salaries to enable the government to meet the conditions set by the Netherlands for the required liquidity support.”

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Related links:
Copy open letter Wycliffe Smith to Minister of Finance re: SSRP