Parliament yet to present promised annual report more than a year after

GREAT BAY--More than a year after 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦'𝘴 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘦 requested Parliament's annual performance report, and months after Parliament Chairlady Sarah Wescot-Williams indicated such a report would be presented at the opening of the new parliamentary year in September 2025, no report outlining MP attendance, voting records and the work of Parliament has been presented to the public.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦'𝘴 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘦 initially requested the report through the Secretariat of Parliament in May 2025 as part of its effort to provide the public with a clearer picture of the performance of elected representatives. At that time it was explained that the information is presented at the end of the parliamentary year and due to capacity issues, there was a backlog in producing the report. It was further explained that the intention was to present the report on September 8, 2025, at the close of the parliamentary year. To date, the requested report has not been provided.

The matter was given further importance during the Parliamentary session closing the 2024-2025 parliamentary year, when Wescot-Williams indicated in Parliament that the report would be presented at the opening of the new parliamentary year in September 2025. That presentation did not take place, and as of July 2026, no comparable annual report has been publicly presented outlining the performance and activities of Parliament and individual Members of Parliament for the period in question.

Parliamentary annual reports are important because they place the work of the country's elected legislature in one public record. Previous St. Maarten parliamentary reports have included MP attendance at public meetings, Central Committee meetings and parliamentary committee meetings, as well as voting records, parliamentary activity, finances and other information on the functioning of the legislature. A published review of Parliament's 2020-2021 annual report described the 274-page document as containing a financial overview and detailed information on how active MPs had been and how they voted.

That same 2020-2021 report recorded attendance percentages for individual MPs across public, Central Committee and parliamentary committee meetings. It also provided totals for written questions, motions, amendments, draft national ordinances and initiative legislation.

The practice is not new to St. Maarten. Parliament's first annual report for 2010-2011 also tracked MP attendance. Contemporary reporting based on that document showed individual attendance rates for public and committee meetings, including which MPs achieved 100% attendance in certain categories and which members were repeatedly absent without notice.

The General Audit Chamber has also cited Parliament's annual reports for 2010-2011 and 2019-2020 as source material in its own examination of parliamentary travel and Parlatino membership, showing the value of these documents beyond general public information.

Such reports allow citizens to move beyond speeches, social media posts and political claims and examine measurable parliamentary activity. Attendance shows whether elected representatives are present for the work they were elected to perform. Voting records show how MPs actually decide on laws, motions and other parliamentary matters. Committee activity can show which areas of Parliament are active and which are barely functioning.

The reports can also show the number of motions and amendments submitted, written questions sent to ministers, initiative laws brought by MPs and the progress of legislation through Parliament.

The current Parliament website does provide access to meetings and documents and contains a section for motions that is designed to show submitters and votes for and against. However, separate records spread across a website are not the same as a complete annual performance report that allows the public to review a parliamentary year in one place and compare the work of MPs and committees.

‍