MP Wescot-Williams: “Thirteen parliamentary committees is overkill”

PHILIPSBURG – Recently the Parliament appointed chairpersons to thirteen parliamentary committees. The history of these committees triggers the question why they are there in the first place because since 10-10-10 most of these committees have been fast asleep. MP Sarah Wescot-Williams, the current President of Parliament, has been wondering about the functioning of these committees: “I think it is a bit of an overkill,” she told stmaartennews.com on Tuesday afternoon.

Since 10-10-10, most parliamentary committees held just one meeting: to appoint the chair and the vice-chair and to establish the committee-membership. The options for the president of parliament to force these committees into a higher level of activity are limited, Wescot-Williams says.

“I can ask any committee to give me a report of their work. and if they don’t deal with outstanding matters I can ask them: why haven’t you? However, the committees have in my opinion a nearly too independent role in the sense that the chair can call meetings and the members can ask for meetings.”

With just fifteen members in the current parliament,  with central committee meetings, plenary sessions of parliament and meetings of faction leaders, the agenda for the elected representatives of the people seems overloaded once you add the thirteen committees.

Wescot-Williams: Looking at the functioning of these committees I ask myself if maybe we have too many committees. They cannot make decisions; final decisions are taken by the body of parliament. We have a central committee where matters of parliament need to be investigated. The whole idea of the central committee is to investigate a topic before it reaches parliament. This committee investigates, asks for information and calls in people and ministers. That is the work of the central committee.”

I have asked myself, Wescot-Williams continued, “if having another layer of committees on such a small scale is not overkill. It is a discussion I would like to have in parliament. Maybe we can have fewer committees, group some of the subjects and have more ad hoc committees.”

Those ad hoc committees would have a task limited to a single subject, like the construction of a new parliament building, or the code of conduct for members of parliament.

“Fifteen members of parliament and all these committees; it does not make sense,” Wescot-Williams said.

Committee-meetings also put a burden on the parliament-organization. And if everything is in place and a committee of four or five members does not have a quorum, the meeting cannot take place.

“In addition to all this we have a meeting of faction leaders,” Wescot-Williams pointed out. “I think it is somewhat of an overkill.”

The current parliamentary committees and their chairs are: Vromi: William Marlin; Education, Culture Youth and Sport: Silveria Jacobs; Justice: Franklin Meyers; Public Health, Social Development and Labor: Luc Mercelina; Finance: Ardwell Irion; Ckair (Kingdom Affairs and Interparliamentary Relations): Silveria Jacobs; Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication: Rolando Brison; Country Expenditures: no chair yet; vice-chair = Ardwell Irion; General Affairs: William Marlin; Parlatino, Integrity and Petitions: Sarah Wescot-Williams; New parliament building (ad hoc): William Marlin. The committee Electoral Reform is a work in progress.

Photo caption: President of Parliament MP Sarah Wescot-Williams. Photo Hilbert Haar.