HARBOUR VIEW–The Leona Romeo-Marlin II cabinet is set to be sworn-in by Governor Eugene Holiday on Monday. This follows the submission of the final report on the cabinet formation by formateur Member of Parliament Theo Heyliger to Holiday on Friday afternoon.
The new cabinet is supported the April 5 coalition agreement between United Democrats and the. Maarten Christian Party (SMCP) and the two parties’ eight seats in the 15-seat Parliament – seven of the United Democrats and one SMCP.
The new cabinet will see present Prime Minister and General Affairs Minister Marlin-Romeo return to the post. The same goes for Justice Minister Cornelius de Weever, Public Health, Social Development and Labour Minister Emil Lee and Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure Minister Miklos Giterson.
Joining the cabinet will be former MP Perry Geerlings as Finance Minister, school principal Stuart Johnson as Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication, and current SMCP parliamentarian Wycliffe Smith as Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports.
Current Education Minister Jorien Wuite will head to The Hague as minister plenipotentiary accompanied by Michael Somersall as deputy minister plenipotentiary.
Candidates for the various portfolios have been vetted based on the pertinent regulations regulating the pre-screening of candidates before nomination (National Decree Appointment procedure candidate Ministers and candidate Minister Plenipotentiary, May 22, 2013, No. LB-13/0442).
According to a statement from the Governor’s Cabinet, the new government will, as stated in its “Building a sustainable St. Maarten” governing programme, focus on rebuilding the economy, restoring a strong social fabric and promoting a resilient sense of community through the finalisation and implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan in cooperation with the Netherlands and the World Bank. Priority is given to employment, home repairs, the sanitary landfill, safety and security, disaster management and Kingdom relations, amongst other things.
After the swearing-in ceremony on Monday, the Governor and the newly-appointed ministers will sit in the constituting meeting of the Council of Minister in the Government Administration Building on Pond Island.
Bron: Daily Herald