MP Doran: Government is not the place for “WAR” but “WORK”
MP Egbert Jurendy Doran re-assures the people of Sint Maarten of his commitment to serve.
“I have been elected to represent you the people of this country as a member of Parliament and therefore, it is my intention to look out for your best interests at all times. One of my many tasks, is to question the Executive branch (Council of Ministers) until the day that my term is up” stated Member of Parliament Egbert Jurendy Doran;
For clarity sake, here is the following information for my people’s consumption:
“The Parliament is the highest legislative body of this country and represents the entire population of the Dutch side of the island”
Role and Function of Parliament The two most important tasks of parliament is the realization of legislation for Sint Maarten, and secondly, to exercise control over Government’s policy. Under the first task, Parliament exercises this task together with Government, so Parliament is called the co-legislator. In order to carry out the aforementioned, the Parliament has a number of powers that allows it to fulfill its two tasks:
- The right to approve and amend the budget;
- The right of interpellation where each Member of Parliament (MP) has the right to question ministers of government in the General Assembly of Parliament;
- The right of initiative allows MPs to submit draft laws on their own initiative;
- The right to amendment allows MPs to amend legislation that has been submitted to Parliament;
- The right to ask questions. Every MP can question a Minister orally or in writing;
- The right to instigate inquiries allows parliament to institute an inquiry into the state of affairs in an event in which Government is involved.”
Member of Parliament Doran stated that it is Parliament’s duty is to question Ministers on behalf of the people in order for everyone to understand what exactly is taking place in this country.
This is absolutely nothing new and therefore it is truly amazing that questions coming from a Member of Parliament, instead of being answered and explained to the people, is referred to as a form of “grandstanding”.
According to Doran, the Council of Ministers is no place for over sensitivity, and its members must be prepared at all times for the queries coming from the Members of Parliament or from the people of this country.
“A Minister should not allow himself or herself to feel personally attacked and or upset when questioned by Members of Parliament. In this case, no clarification was given as to why the constant postponements without replacements being sent to Parliament were taking place. Instead, what was published was a ranting and raving “response” concerning everything, without fully answering the question”, stated MP Doran.
“Let it be known that I will not be deterred by anyone while executing my duties that the good people of this country tasked me with on February 26th 2018, when I was lawfully elected to serve” Doran added.
The MP continued by stating that it has always been and will continue to be the task of Parliament to question Ministers and he is therefore calling on any Minister who is called to Parliament, to do what is expected of them and come to the House of Parliament in order to execute that very crucial part of their tasks, which is to answer to the people of this country. After all, this is why they were chosen and consequently appointed.
If for some “more important” reason one or more cannot come to Parliament for whatever reason, kindly arrange with your replacement to be there in order to respect and honor the people of this country, by showing up and allowing the meeting to continue, therefore allowing our people the opportunity to be informed and updated.
Member of Parliament Doran stated that he will continue to ask questions and meet with ministers as he has been doing for the last months, during or outside of the parliamentary meetings, and that he also will continue to inform the people through the press.
He ended by saying that he is very “level headed” and has no time for “ranting and raving”, as his job description does not include “WAR” but “WORK”, which is exactly what he intends to do, in order to be successful in helping to take this country forward, thus making it once again a better place to live in for all the people.
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