Roseburg calls for action on living costs and stronger Kingdom voice

MP Sjamira Roseburg used a Constitution Day message on Saturday 10 October to call for country status to bring improvements in residents’ daily lives, including on grocery prices, electricity bills and internet services. Roseburg said St. Maarten marked 16 years of country status, dating from 10 October 2010, but that many households remain under financial pressure.

Roseburg said she is pursuing initiative legislation to expand turnover tax, or BBO, exemptions for vegetables, meat, cooking gas and menstrual products. She said businesses should pass any savings from exemptions to consumers. She also called for free or substantially cheaper instant bank transfers and said she is examining consumer protection measures related to electricity, water and internet services.

Roseburg said she is exploring free Wi-Fi in public spaces and continues to question electricity charges affecting households. She highlighted legislation through the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labor, VSA, on repeated temporary employment contracts, and proposed using the Crime Fund for school conflict-resolution training and youth mentorship.

As chair of Parliament’s Committee for Kingdom Affairs and Interparliamentary Relations, CKAIR, Roseburg called for greater Caribbean influence in Kingdom decision-making. She said she would bring that position to the Interparliamentary Kingdom Consultations, IPKO, and to The Hague. Roseburg also backed arguments by Wouter Veenendaal of Leiden University and DSP senior adviser Oberon Nauta that the Kingdom’s Caribbean countries have limited influence over decisions at Kingdom-government level.

Roseburg said the next stage of St. Maarten’s development should create opportunities for young people to stay and prosper, provide dignity and security for older people, and seek equality within the Kingdom.