Laveist: Theo’s approach to causeway project ‘arrogant’

~ Project likely to feature in today's budget debate ~

PHILIPSBURG--National Alliance (NA) Member of Parliament (MP) Louie Laveist has called the refinancing of the loans of St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies via a bond issue by the Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten "an arrogant approach" by Deputy Prime Minister/Infrastructure Affairs Minister Theo Heyliger.

Laveist told the press Tuesday afternoon that he would be demanding that Heyliger explain in the Central Committee meeting on the budget, which starts today, Wednesday, why he had the multi-million-dollar causeway project put in the budget via "floating bonds or sinking bonds."

Referring to the planned land swap between government and Princess Port de Plaisance in connection with the building of the causeway, Laveist also wants Heyliger to explain why he is "rewarding" Princess Port de Plaisance for "destroying the lagoon."

The land the resort will swap was created when soil dredged to expand its marina was piled up at the lagoon's edge and later fell into the lagoon. Mangroves are now growing on the land.

"This is a mess they refused to clean up," Laveist said, adding that Heyliger's United People's (UP) party was rewarding the resort for the "illegally reclaimed land."

Laveist said he was not going to let Heyliger push through the causeway project "just because he has the majority" in Parliament. "This is not a rubber-stamp Parliament."

Dealing specifically with the causeway, Laveist said it would not solve the traffic problems and that Heyliger was pursuing the venture "to appease campaign promises and satisfy the big and mighty UP supporters and fat cats."

Heyliger should be working on bringing relief to the people by getting bonds to fix the water losses of utilities company GEBE and the infrastructure "disaster" facing the country instead of "pushing the bridge to nowhere."

Laveist said the causeway project did not have his support and a two- to three-per-cent gasoline excise hike would be introduced to cover the cost.

Financing for the causeway via the harbour bond has not yet been finalised. The project still has to be tabled in Parliament for approval.

The meeting on the 2012 draft budget starts in Parliament House at 10:00am. The Council of Ministers is expected to be present to provide additional information to MPs on the budget's contents.

The meeting will be carried live on St. Maarten Cable TV Channel 20 and Pearl Radio FM 98.1. The live audio will be carried via

www.pearlfmradio.com and

www.sxmparliament.org .

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/25536-laveist-theos-approach-to-causeway-project-arrogant-.html

Theatre Mortgages Frank Lampard India Sepp Blatter Conservatives