Dear Editor,
Somebody is telling untruths and he or she knows it. The question is: Where to find the facts and why are they being concealed? Just to show how horrible journalism is at the moment, politicians can say whatever they want and get away with it. They make numerous statements that need some serious clarification and reporters either choose to ignore the comments or the situation has really exposed the low level of investigative reporting.
Was it not two weeks ago, during a press conference, that the leader of the Democratic Party mentioned that she knew of the Pearl of China project since about a year ago? Then why is the impression created as if Finance Minister Richard Gibson dropped a bombshell from nowhere? Is it not that a project of this magnitude would be discussed in the Council of Ministers meetings? If by chance the leader of the Democratic Party did not know of this initiative, would this not be an important matter for the Health Minister to discuss with her?
And, when the Minister of Health is asked about the issue, why would he say that he does not know much? If he needed to know more, his inquiries would have been handled in the meetings of the Council of Ministers. Something is not kosher. This development may have come as a shock to the majority of the people but it was floating around since a year ago. The question is: who is hiding the truth and why?
Today, the Port of St. Maarten has issued a press release, acknowledging its support for the Pearl of China project. Why is that, when the same venture is severely criticized by the opposition and their entourage? What is the hidden agenda? Is the ground-breaking ceremony an assurance to devise a scheme to connect to the project or is the opposition convinced that they will win the election and capitalize on the initiative?
Someone needs to come out and inform the public of the real reasons why patients are consistently delayed on St. Maarten and then suddenly shipped away for medical care. I know that this issue came to the floor of Parliament before but somehow the explanation does not make any sense. It is also a fact that the Health Minister travelled to Colombia to acquire first-hand information and did not find anything out of the ordinary. This is still a nagging and unsolved mystery. I believe that if he had disguised himself, the outcome would have been different.
Likewise, this excessive increased salary for security at the port is still unsettling. This matter was also brought to Parliament but the initial inquiry was met with significant apprehension. Why? Eventually, when the representatives of the Port finally made up their mind to go to Parliament, they played mind games with the parliamentarians, but especially the opposition. Then, when they couldn’t match the wit of their opponents, they went back to the drawing board and came up with some “Nancy Story,” to justify the increase. Surprisingly, the opposition settled for an explanation that made absolutely no sense.
How is it that no one is willing to tackle the origins of the amount of guns that are flooding the island and rapidly destroying the fabric of this society? What is it that the authorities are not telling the people and why are they so secretive about it? It has been said repeatedly, that lack of money is the major factor that is hampering the progress of Justice Ministry. Is it really, and why do the minister consistently stays away from the press briefings? Are we to believe the reasons given or is it that the truth is hidden somewhere in the rubble?
Joslyn Morton
