Dear Editor,
I love reading letters to the editor, they are the first things I look for when I buy a copy of The Daily Herald. Unlike news articles, they relate the opinions, thoughts and experiences of the writers. They often expose things that need to be exposed; inform their community of things they need to be made aware of. And….. no better time to read them than before elections.
Last week, there were two very informative letters; one from the board of the National Alliance concerning a particular Member of Parliament, and the other …. well, the response from the offended MP in question.
Bear in mind that these two letters were written by career politicians, people who know what’s going on behind closed doors; namely, things they don’t want the public to know.
We have learned the following:
Whenever multi-million-dollar purchases take place, it’s never done directly with the manufacturer; there is always a go-between when certain politicians are involved. And, if a
spouse or another family member or friend of the politician is not involved; the deal – even though it would be beneficial for “their” people – does not go through.
The same is obviously true for every major project. “If there’s nothing in it for me, it won’t happen.” I have often heard this before, but this time it’s been confirmed in writing
by two honourable politicians which makes it a lot more believable.
Many millions of guilders (dollars?) in loans to pay off a court case that was due to the negligence of government.
From the response of the offended MP, we learned about:
A two-million-dollar Falcon switch that was bought for GEBE and never used (this took place 18 years ago and is only now coming out into the open. At least I have never read or heard about this matter.) The Holy Book says: “Whatsoever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatsoever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.”
A 50-million-dollar loan to complete the government administration building. (The building that will go down in the history book of St. Maarten as the biggest waste of taxpayers’ money ever.) Since SVB bought this building, I wonder if that multi-million-dollar loan has been paid back.
Given all of the above, where is all the transparency they are constantly talking about? I can’t imagine that the other commissioners and ministers did not know about these obscure dealings.
I wonder why the then Ministers of Finance did not open their mouths. Were they afraid of being intimidated by the one who appointed them in that highly-paid position, or was it because of an unwritten agreement they have with each other, namely: Don’t expose my wrongdoings and incompetence, and I won’t expose yours! That way we all get to continue enriching ourselves and…. remain honourable in the eyes of the people.
The fact that they failed to establish an Integrity Chamber and to introduce electoral reform before the upcoming elections does not come as a surprise to anybody. Being restricted from jumping ship is not in their favour. Not being allowed to buy votes would have an impact on the number of votes their party gets. Anything that would have a negative impact on their political career is not going to happen.
They can’t even come up with a valid definition of vote buying. How convenient! Do they really need a written law to keep them from doing what they know is unlawful?
Let me give them a few examples of what every reasonably thinking person considers vote buying.
You are guilty of vote buying when – in exchange for a person’s vote – you offer him or her:
cash money. I have been told that the going rate during the last election was US $300, which, admittedly is a lot of money for a needy household.
A highly-paid position, whether or not he or she is qualified to hold that position; a paid position as a board member of a government-owned company, again, whether or not he or she is qualified for that position. A licence to operate a taxi or a bus, a business or whatever else requires a licence to operate. Rewarding someone who has campaigned well for your party with a parcel of government (the people’s) land in long lease. I’m sure there are a lot more concrete examples of vote buying that I am not aware of.
Any honest and true representative of the people should not have to be forced by law to be honest or to have integrity, or to be of moral character or transparent, or to refrain from buying votes and from enriching himself with ill-gotten wealth. He or she should want to earn their votes. They do so by actually pursuing the well-being of the people, especially the families in our community who are in dire need of help.
Clive Hodge
