Government commissions feasibility study on Development Bank

The Government has commissioned a feasibility assessment on establishing a Development Bank for St. Maarten, Finance Minister Marinka Gumbs said during Parliament’s handling of the draft 2027 national budget. Gumbs said no final decision has been made on creating the bank.

According to Gumbs, the Ministry of Finance study will examine how a Development Bank could be structured, governed, financed and implemented to respond to the country’s development needs. It will also consider the financial and institutional requirements before such an institution could operate.

Gumbs said Government is also exploring a dedicated multisector investment fund to provide financing for priority public capital projects over several years. She said the fund and a Development Bank would have different roles: the fund would support public capital investments, while the bank could have a broader economic-development role.

Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams raised concerns about capital projects and their financing being carried from one budget year to another without sufficient progress. Gumbs said additional financing mechanisms would not by themselves resolve project-execution problems, and ministries would still need to prepare projects, make multiyear plans and set priorities before financing is committed.

She said individual ministries determine the readiness of their projects. For the Ministry of Finance, she identified the tax system, the financial management ERP system and the TelEm building as ongoing or ready to proceed.