Chairlady of Parliament cancels meeting with State Secretary Knops
~ Chairlady of Parliament cancels meeting with State Secretary Knops due to confirmed none attendance of a majority of factions ~
PHILIPSBURG — “In order to avoid any embarrassment in front of the State Secretary, due to a lack of quorum to hold the meeting, I have called off the meeting.” states Chairlady of Parliament, Sarah Wescot-Williams in a press release.
The meeting with State Secretary Knops as requested by 3 members of parliament, was convened for Wednesday, September 25th at 10am.
This meeting was scheduled as a central committee meeting and having a guest (State Secretary Knops) present, quorum could have been formed with the half of the current factions (so 3 of the 6), if these represent the half plus one of the members. (MP Brownbill has not yet formally declared himself independent.)
“In order not to face a no-show,” Wescot-Williams writes. “I asked all factions in advance to indicate their participation in this meeting.”
According to Wescot-Williams, MP Rolando Brison, on behalf of the USP, the NA and the two independent members of parliament, has declined. “Hence, I had no other option, but to cancel the meeting with State Secretary Knops.”
The press release further reads: “As an MP, I find this unfortunate, because those MPs who have declined are, in my opinion, exactly the ones who should have welcomed the opportunity to, as they like to put it “put the State Secretary in his place”.
“They could have used this meeting to tell the State Secretary, “thanks, but no thanks” for the Trust Fund money and find a way to return the money already received from the Netherlands, including the liquidity assistance provided to government. This would have been their perfect opportunity to put their words into deeds, because they are now in the driver’s seat.”
The press release concludes with the following:”So the question remains: what is the stance of the Coalition of 9 on the Dutch-financed TF, managed by the World Bank?”
MP Sarah Wescot-Williams, who is obviously acting in a caretaker role as Chairlady of Parliament for the time being, has submitted her resignation letter to Parliament on Sunday, September 22nd, 2019, following the formation of a new majority coalition in Parliament with the intention to appoint a member of the newly formed coalition as the new president of parliament. According to Wescot-Williams in her previous statements to StMaartenNews.com in a voice note release, this is a member of the USP party, presumably none other than MP Rolando Brison.
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