PHILIPSBURG - Governor Eugene Holiday submitted the final integrity report, titled "Integrity Inquiry into the functioning of the Government of St. Maarten," to the Kingdom Council of Ministers on Monday.

 

A copy of the report has also been submitted to the Council of Ministers of St. Maarten for its perusal.

 

The report, based on an assessment of the governance and integrity practices of the government and several state-owned companies against leading practices and international standards, identifies several challenges in the integrity architecture of St. Maarten. Based on the assessment, the report provides several recommendations aimed at enhancing the integrity architecture for consideration by the Government of St. Maarten.

 

The integrity inquiry was conducted by the New York based Accounting Firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC), who was commissioned by the Governor based on the results of the tender organized on December 20, 2013. PwC commenced the inquiry on February 26 and completed its work on August 15. PwC conducted the Inquiry under the direction and guidance of the Steering Committee.

 

This committee, comprised Chairman Marten Oosting, Jaime Saleh and Miguel Alexander as members and has been installed by the Governor on December 4, 2013, to amongst other things, oversee and ensure an independent, impartial and effective process.

 

The purpose of the inquiry was threefold: to collect data and information for assessment based on integrity requirements in accordance with the rule of law in a democratic society, to report the findings from the assessment and finally to make recommendations that add value to the functioning of the public administration of St. Maarten.

 

The scope of the inquiry, in keeping with the provisions of the Kingdom Decree of September 30, 2013, covers the government and includes ministers, the civil servants in the ministries and state-owned companies. It focusses on vulnerable sectors such as prostitution, gambling and immigration, as well as vulnerable activities, such as permits for and the execution of infrastructural works and (other) large tenders.

 

For completeness it should be noted that the inquiry is an integrity investigation and not a penal investigation. The inquiry is as such separate from any penal investigation being carried out by the office of the Prosecutor.

 

PwC conducted the inquiry based on information gathered from interviews with various officials, concerned parties and key stakeholders in government and state-owned companies. PwC also obtained information through analysis of documents it received and publications. 

 

(The Daily Herald)