10.02.2017

RSA: The State Council rejects the demonetization intended by the Collectivité

On March 31, 2016, the elected officials had adopted new terms of payment of the RSA in Saint Martin in order to limit “the escape of currencies”. “The porosity between Sint Maarten and Saint Martin promotes a significant escape of money spent by the Collectivité on RSA benefits. Similarly, it has been proven that substantial financial transfers from the RSA received by beneficiaries from the islands of the Caribbean arc, are regularly transferred on these same territories, depriving the economic fabric of Saint Martin of a part of its wealth,” observed the Collectivité. Therefore, the latter wanted to limit these transfers of money by introducing “a partial demonetization of the RSA”. The principle must be that a share of the benefit is paid using a “social card or prepaid card”. This was to come into force in January of this year. But the Prefect of Saint Martin has raised the matter with the State Council on May 5, 2016, and the latter canceled on Wednesday, February 8 the deliberation of the Territorial Council. “If the Collectivité claims that a significant share of the sums awarded for this purpose are spent outside the territory of the Collectivité and this situation is prejudicial to the economy of Saint Martin, such a circumstance is not a particular characteristic justifying, in the light of the purpose of the provisions establishing the welfare benefit (RSA), to deprive the beneficiaries of the free disposal of the resource thus allocated to them” states the State Council in its decision.

 

 

Estelle Gasnet