Dear Editor,
Please allow me an opportunity to respond to Mr. Fernando Clark’s amusing and laughable rebuttal of an opinion piece I wrote with regard to the accomplishments of the current NA-led coalition Government over the past 10 months.
Firstly, I chose anonymity simply because the reputation of Prime Minister William Marlin and the National Alliance for political retribution against their critics has been well earned and documented over the years. So please forgive me if I fear the Wrath of the Government for speaking out.
As Mr. Clark is a supporter of the current coalition Government I challenge him to publish the following data and facts:
1. The number of tourist arrivals from January to June 2016, vs. the same period in 2015.
2. The Turn over Tax revenue from January to June 2016, vs. the same period in 2015.
3. The number of reported nose, throat and lung ailments at the St. Maarten Medical Center from January to June 2016, vs. the same period in 2015.
4. The total amount of money spent by the Government promoting St. Maarten’s tourism, excluding the SHTA’s marketing initiative on TripAdvisor and Expedia, from November 2015 to now.
5. It is a matter of public record that Disney Cruise Lines announced in late June 2012 to pull out of St. Maarten after the instalment of the NA-led Government in May 2012, which did not support Disney’s proposed investment in St. Maarten.
As for the other points, Mr. Clark did not dispute NA’s candidate, Louis Laveist’s roll in the fiasco at the new Government building that has led to tens of millions of dollars of taxpayers money being wasted. At least one point we can agree on.
The Causeway, a waste of money you say? Time is a precious and finite resource we all have in life, so I would also challenge Mr. Clark to research how much time the workers at PJIAE, RBC, WIB and Sonesta Maho, and the residents that must drive to town, save on their daily commute because of the Causeway. I know that the average time saved is 20 minutes per day. It may not seem like much but please do the math.
Over a 50-week work year, our people save 84 precious hours of their lives because of the Causeway; 84 hours per year that our people can spend with their children and families instead of in traffic! Money very well spent I say!
So in closing, Mr. Clark, please publish the data, because the truth is in the numbers. If not, please leave your comedy for the stage.
Name withheld at author’s request.
