Prudent?
Many may have been surprised that the first item on the agenda of yesterday’s meeting between the Central Government and St. Maarten’s Executive Council was a hike in the compensation paid to members of the Island Council. When the meeting was announced it appeared that friction in the process of constitutional change would be the focus of the meeting.
Granted, Curaçao has had full-time Island Council members for years, with corresponding pay and pensions, enabling them to concentrate more on their work as representatives of the people. At the same time, the compensation of NAf. 1,200 a month currently paid to the non-full-time St. Maarten council members does not exactly do justice to the importance of the function.
But the reality is that the vast majority of council members are either active or retired civil servants and maintain their income as such while they are placed at the disposal of the Island Territory, so they can receive the compensation on top of what they normally earn. Introducing full-time council membership could lead some to consider giving up their other jobs.
In one way that would not be so bad, because the practice of keeping positions open for active politicians can cause problems in the functioning of government. An acting department head, for example, who functions as head for years because his or her chief is in the Island Council, could build up certain rights at a certain point.
In the end it was decided to increase the compensation by 30 per cent rather than introducing full-time membership. That was probably a good idea, also considering the process for St. Maarten to become an autonomous country in the Kingdom with a 15-seat Parliament instead of the current 11-seat Island Council, at which time the full-time status can be introduced.
The question remains whether at this moment, with a downturn in the US economy and prices going up, it is prudent to discuss a pay hike for elected representatives. That’s all the more the case because the Island Territory already faces extra financial burdens related to the upcoming constitutional changes.
In hard times aren’t leaders expected to set an example by tightening their belts along with everyone else, rather than affording only themselves a cushion to soften the blow? When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
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