PM Mercelina rejects Brug’s accusations, says claims are “reckless, unfounded”

GREAT BAY--Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina has directly rejected accusations made against him by Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor Richinel Brug, stating in Parliament that the claims of integrity breaches, abuse of power and interference in ministerial affairs are “reckless, unfounded” and not supported by facts.

Addressing Parliament during a public meeting requested by Members of Parliament Omar Ottley, Francisco Lacroes and Ludmila de Weever-Lewis, the Prime Minister said the matter could not be treated lightly because of the seriousness of the allegations and the potential damage such claims can cause to public trust in government.

“These are serious allegations,” Prime Minister Mercelina stated. “These accusations are reckless, unfounded and do not accurately reflect the facts or the manner in which this government has conducted itself.”

The Prime Minister said his appearance before Parliament was not to engage in a personal back-and-forth with Minister Brug, but to place the matter in its proper context and respond to what he described as unsubstantiated public accusations. He said the issue touches the heart of fairness, accountability and the rule of law.

According to Dr. Mercelina, the public discussion that followed created a damaging narrative against the office of the Prime Minister, the United Resilient St. Maarten Movement, and the wider government. He warned that such accusations, when made without proof, risk undermining confidence in the institutions of government at a time when the country requires stability, maturity, professionalism and strong leadership.

The Prime Minister said every Minister has the right to raise concerns, but that such concerns must be brought through the appropriate channels and handled responsibly.

He also reminded Parliament that serious allegations in the public domain must be supported by evidence. He referred to a previous court matter in which allegations made publicly against government officials had to be corrected because they could not be substantiated. Dr. Mercelina said the same principle applies in the current matter.

A central issue raised by the Prime Minister involved what he described as a serious and documented concern within the Cabinet of the Minister of VSA. Dr. Mercelina said the matter concerned the alleged involvement of the Minister’s Chief of Staff in the advisory route related to a contract awarded to the company of her husband.

The Prime Minister told Parliament that the contract in question was originally valued at XCG 48,510 for a six-week period, from February 4 to March 18, 2025. However, he said payments later exceeded XCG 83,000 between January and September 2025. He said the situation could not be dismissed as a minor administrative error. “This was not just an oversight,” the Prime Minister said.

According to Dr. Mercelina, the information available indicated that the Chief of Staff was involved in the development of the advice and had emailed companies, including the company of her husband, inviting them to bid on the terms of reference. He said the issue raises concerns under Article 54 of the National Ordinance on Civil Servants, which he said prohibits civil servants from conducting business with government, directly or indirectly.

The Prime Minister said the URSM became involved because the matter concerned a Minister appointed on the party’s slate and because political parties have a responsibility to ensure that their representatives perform their duties with integrity. He said the absence of earlier public statements by the party should not be interpreted as indifference, noting that the issue had been addressed through discussions, meetings and written communication.

Dr. Mercelina also addressed the tender for a technical expert connected to the construction of the Mental Health Foundation facility. He said SZV requested an independent technical assessment of construction projects, including the Mental Health Foundation project, and that the public tender was initially issued with only seven days for submission. After public concern, a second notice was issued for another seven days.

The Prime Minister said two Ministers in the Council of Ministers raised concerns about the tender. He told Parliament that the same individual, the husband of the Chief of Staff, won the tender, and that the Department of Legal Affairs later confirmed a significant conflict of interest under Article 54.

Although the tender was not formally awarded, Dr. Mercelina said the individual nevertheless performed services in connection with the project and received additional payments beyond the earlier consultancy agreement.

He said this sequence of events raised serious governance and integrity concerns. In response, he said he decided to implement a management oversight structure through the Ministry of General Affairs, with the National Recovery Program Bureau serving as focal point for communication with stakeholders on the Mental Health Foundation construction project.

The Prime Minister explained that the construction of the Mental Health Foundation falls within the Trust Fund and NRPB framework, while the Ministry of VSA’s role relates to the functional needs of the facility, such as the number of consultation rooms, patient rooms and operational requirements. He said construction oversight should not be confused with the policy role of the VSA Minister.

Dr. Mercelina told Parliament that shortly after he communicated the new oversight structure, the husband of the Chief of Staff made a public statement ending with the phrase “I am going to help you,” which he said was later changed to “I will help you politically.”

The Prime Minister also alleged that he was threatened by the Chief of Staff the following day. He said she informed him that he was “on the list” of her husband. “A threat is a threat to the person who receives it, not to the one who gives it,” the Prime Minister said.

Dr. Mercelina said that after consultation, he followed the necessary procedures, which ultimately led to the suspension of the Chief of Staff. He added that he filed an official complaint with the Prosecutor’s Office regarding the alleged threat.

The Prime Minister also said government requested a copy of the consultancy contract between the Ministry of VSA and the company in question, along with all underlying procurement documents. He said despite several reminders to the Minister of VSA, the contract was not provided by the Minister, who instead referred the Prime Minister’s office to the Department of Records and Information Management.

Dr. Mercelina then addressed several accusations made against him by Minister Brug.

On the former Secretary General of the Ministry of General Affairs, the Prime Minister said he was accused of lacking integrity because he appointed the former Secretary General as a legal adviser in his political cabinet while legal proceedings were still ongoing. Dr. Mercelina said the individual was not hired as a civil servant within the Ministry of General Affairs, but as a legal adviser in his politically appointed cabinet.

He added that the Council of Ministers decided that all matters related to the court case between government and the former Secretary General would be handled by the Minister of Justice and not by him. The Prime Minister further noted that the former Secretary General eventually won his court case, his dismissal was nullified, and he was reinstated as Secretary General.

On the hiring of a legislative lawyer in the Department of Legal Affairs, Dr. Mercelina rejected the claim that there should have been a tender process. He said the person was hired through the appropriate government procedure and was assigned to assist with several priority legislative areas, including the Healthcare Professional Registry, ministerial screening, electoral reform and the democratic deficit. He said it was incorrect to suggest that hiring a person into government service required a tender.

The Prime Minister also defended his involvement in the Healthcare Professional Registry, stating that he has worked on the concept since 2017 because of his experience in healthcare and his long-standing belief that St. Maarten needs a system tailored to its own reality.

Dr. Mercelina said St. Maarten should not depend exclusively on the Dutch BIG registration system, because doing so limits access to qualified professionals from the wider region, including the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Colombia. He said the aim of the Healthcare Professional Registry is to create a framework that better serves St. Maarten’s healthcare needs while maintaining standards.

He said that by the time Minister Brug took office in November 2024, much of the draft work on the registry had already been done, with input from several stakeholders and healthcare professionals. According to the Prime Minister, it was practical and responsible to build on the existing work instead of restarting the process.

He also said stakeholder meetings on the draft legislation were held in March and May 2025, and that Minister Brug delivered opening remarks during those sessions. The Prime Minister said this demonstrated that the Minister was aware of and involved in the process. Dr. Mercelina said it was therefore unreasonable to accuse him of hijacking the Ministry of VSA because he had helped initiate work on a healthcare registry years before the current administration.

The Prime Minister further addressed the accusation that he interfered with the granting of authorization to medical professionals. He said St. Maarten is facing a shortage of general practitioners, with several family doctors having retired or nearing retirement.

He mentioned several doctors who have left or stopped practicing, and said the country needs to take practical steps to ensure residents have access to family doctors. While acting in the absence of the VSA Minister, he said he signed a decision related to a doctor who had already been working in St. Maarten for several years and had maintained a good professional record.

Dr. Mercelina said he made the decision because the country needs qualified doctors and because Article 3 of the national ordinance regulating the practice of medicine allows room for deviation under certain circumstances. He said his decision should not be interpreted as abuse of power or a takeover of the Ministry of VSA, but as an effort to protect access to healthcare.

The Prime Minister also rejected the claim that his role as chair of the Council of Ministers amounts to bullying or hijacking ministries. He explained that under the rules governing the Council of Ministers, the chair may seek clarification or discuss a matter with a Minister before placing an advice on the agenda.

He said that when he withholds an advice temporarily to discuss it with the responsible Minister, this is part of the proper functioning of government and should not be misrepresented as wrongdoing. “This is not bullying. This is not hijacking. This is not blackmailing or abuse of power. This is the authority of the Prime Minister of St. Maarten and the chair of the Council of Ministers,” he said.

Dr. Mercelina used the Healthcare Professional Registry as an example. He said a draft memo dated the 15th was prepared as a proposal to move the matter forward. He said the memo was sent internally for discussion, not to stakeholders, and was not a final decision. Minister Brug later prepared a second draft dated the 17th. According to the Prime Minister, neither draft was ultimately adopted, and the Council of Ministers instead reached a different agreement on how to proceed. He said this showed that the process worked through discussion and collective decision-making, not pressure or coercion.

The Prime Minister also questioned Minister Brug’s continued position within the United Resilient St. Maarten Movement after publicly accusing the party and its leadership of hypocrisy, double standards and lack of integrity. Dr. Mercelina said it is contradictory for a Minister to publicly denounce the party’s leadership and integrity while also insisting on remaining within the organization and benefiting from its political platform.

He said such a position raises questions about sincerity, judgment and consistency. According to the Prime Minister, public office requires principled conduct. He said if a Minister truly believes the organization he represents lacks integrity, the principled course would be to separate from that organization instead of continuing to use its platform.

As he closed his presentation, Dr. Mercelina said the matter before Parliament must be addressed on the basis of facts, evidence and the rule of law. He said unsubstantiated accusations have been made against him while, at the same time, there is a clear and acknowledged integrity concern involving the Ministry of VSA that should not be ignored, minimized or dismissed as an oversight.

The Prime Minister said integrity is not only a matter of law, policy or parliamentary debate, but a personal standard that guides leadership and public service. He told the people of St. Maarten that his commitment to the country remains unchanged.

“My focus remains on serving you, protecting the integrity of government, and ensuring that the institutions of this country continue to function with fairness, professionalism and accountability,” he said.

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