Dear Editor,

  To begin with, I would like to congratulate President Daniel Gibbs and Mr. Jean Hamlet for all their efforts and hard work in the creation of SAS TINTAMARRE corporation. This newly formed organization will go a long way in providing the beneficial services to the French community, and will also open the door for new development opportunities on French St. Martin. Such an important business venture came at a time when Dutch St. Maarten is desperately looking at new ways to diversify its economy. As new ideas and awareness of businesses are made possible on a daily basis, I am one who stands alone in recognizing any individuals for their outstanding work in the community for new development projects.

  However, more important information on the organization can be found in The Daily Herald, July 6, 2020, Vol.30 No. 040. First of all, as previously stated in the newspaper, TINTAMARRE will provide the people of French St. Marten with some form of economic stability and financial prosperity in the near future. According to the promotors: The organization was in the making for the past three years, and it came a reality in 2020. This initiative was taken by President Daniel Gibbs and Mr. Jean Hamlet to create employment and generate income tax revenues for the Collectivité, and most importantly to provide an essential high speed Internet and other services for the community as well.

  The investment capital is made up of 48,000 euros contributed by the Collectivité, representing 40 per cent of the number of shares in the corporation. Electricity de France (EDF) contributed shares of 60 per cent representing a value of 52,000 euros in the organization. The purpose of SAS TINTAMARRE was created to manage underground digital networks, and the development of high speed Internet in event of destructive storms. To maintain electricity and digital services after a hurricane. It is also responsible for burying and maintenance of the networks, but Internet services will remain the responsibility of private operators. The promotors made it very clear that the organization is a management company providing additional services such as burying cables and maintenance of networks etc.

  Now, a careful look at some of the formation process regarding public corporation, public limited company (PLC), and private limited company (Ltd). Some of the characteristics of these organizations are quite different from a corporation; for example, a corporation is created by an act of parliament by the minister responsible for its trading activity with the general public. This type of organization is managed by a board appointed by the minister for the daily operation of the business on behalf of the public. The board must be held responsible for the way it makes use of public funds. Government established a corporation because some services are too important to be left in the hands private people.

  Public corporations usually enjoy “economy of scale” because it usually has access to large-scale financing, and could afford to provide services much cheaper than its competitors in the marketplace. It provides employment to people in the community and also protectx jobs for citizens in the country. If President Gibbs controls 40 per cent of the stake in SAS TINTAMARRE it is a good decision for the people on the French side. The 60 per cent shares issued to EDF is also important because it has the experience and technological skills to handle cable operations in the country.

  As the Collectivité emphasizes, it is only involved in the managerial operation of the company. EDF will handle the cable operation and other high-tech services that go with it. The transfer of shares to private individuals: If Gibbs sells 10 per cent of his share to an outside operator, he will leave 30 per cent. The new shareholder with the 10 per cent could join with EDF, and Gibbs will lose control of his position in the organization. If EDF sells 10 per cent of their shares, they will leave with 50 per cent. That new holder can link up Gibbs and give him the same control as EDF.

  This strategy is common in corporations. Shares can change hands in the business even when it is operating. I think operator(s) who want to be part of SAS TINTAMARRE or get involved should do so by contract of work instead of looking to earn shares in the company. I also noted where President Daniel Gibbs is seeking for governance control in Semsamar. This is also a good initiative because he earns 51 per cent of the shares in that company. The people should support him to be in that position.

  More on public and private limited companies: A company is a legal entity. It is an incorporated body separated from the people owning it. A public company must have a minimum of two directors and an authorized share capital of about US $50,000, and allotment of that amount in shares in order to trade with the public. It must have a minimum of two directors. It can issue its shares for sale to the public, and can advertise it shares on the Stock Exchange. It can issue debentures or bonds in order to raise loan capital. It must carry the initials (PLC) after its name.

  A private company usually has one director. It doesn’t have a limit requirement to raise capital. It cannot advertise shares to the public. It usually controlled by family members or close friends. It must carry the initials (Ltd) at the end. There are other abbreviations in different languages associated with companies such as GMBH, SARL, BV, N.V., etc.

  In summary, it is important to note that a company is a separate entity from the people owning it. A good book for young adults to read today is the The Richest Man in Babylon; very inspiring!

Joseph Harvey

Dear Editor,

I am grateful and appreciative for the assistance given by the Dutch government with the food program to the islands in general and St. Maarten in particular. Of the initial 16 million euros, approximately 3 million euros, which is approximately Ang. 5 million, was sent to St. Maarten for the food distribution program. The decision of The Kingdom Council of Ministers to extend this program with an additional 25 million euros in continuation of this venture is welcome.

What I am not clear on, is who are the local partners State Secretary Knops is referring to, when he said, and I quote, “The distribution of food parcels takes place under the coordination of the Netherlands Red Cross and in cooperation with local partners, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs). This working method will be continued,” end of quote.

A concern of mine has to do with regular complaints from persons who claim that their neighbor would get food packages on numerous occasions while they are neglected. In my opinion the department that has more data on the most vulnerable, the government’s Social Affairs Department, is being side-lined. It is unfortunate that these organizations, as useful as they are, can collect personal data without the permission or intervention of the Department of Social Affairs. I am quite aware of their independence, but the final responsibility for the people lies with the government of St Maarten.

When persons don’t receive their food packages they blame government, not the Red Cross, the NGOs or the local partners, whoever they are.

Again, let me reiterate that their assistance is highly appreciated. I say this because there is a saying “een gegeven paard moet je niet in de mond kijken”, or freely translated, “you don’t look a gift horse in the mouth”.

What I would like to know is who provides the Dutch government with the data on how many households receive these food packages. Minister Knops claims to know that tens of thousands of persons lost their jobs on the islands or have lost much of their income, but still insists on government cutting the salaries of these most vulnerable, which to me is compounding their misery. What an oxymoron.

I know this might sound like an impossible request which will fall on deaf ears, but it would bode well in the name of transparency if State Secretary Knops could give St. Maarten government and the islands of Aruba and Curaçao a breakdown with documentation as to how much funds were indeed spent assisting the most vulnerable on these islands, instead of throwing figures around.

If he wants to talk about transparency he should start with himself. After all, he keeps reminding us that it is the Dutch taxpayers’ money and it is the Dutch Red Cross. He claims to be extending a hand, but what one should ask is what’s in the hand he is holding behind his back. “Entity.” He keeps saying Dutch money, what does he expect since we are not allowed to borrow without their approval? Read article 29 of the Kingdom Charter.

I believe they can start showing goodwill towards the people of the islands and St. Maarten in particular by cancelling at least 80 to 90 per cent of debt owed to them which is almost Ang. 1 billion.

For the people’s information, the Netherlands after the First World War received aid in the amount of some 1.7 billion dollars. So, asking for debt write-off is not far-fetched.

One thing we must not lose sight of is the fact that the Dutch parliament is 205 years old, the Netherlands Antilles existed for 66 years, the Aruba government has 34 years under her belt and St. Maarten, the new kid on the block, will celebrate 10 years on October 10 of this year.

Mr. Knops remarks about an integral proposal (“entity”) being rejected. He forgot that we are well aware of the Esau and Jacob bible story where Esau let hunger make him lose his birthright. Who in their right mind will allow themselves to be completely recolonized?

Finally, when asked during an interview what is St. Maarten’s Plan B, Prime Minster Silveria Jacobs’ response was, and let me paraphrase, “Stay tuned” and to this I add Plan B is almost ready.

Member of Parliament George Pantophlet

Dear Editor,

  It annoyed me, the recent lobby letter written by the employers’ organisation VNO-NCW about financial aid to Curaçao, Aruba and St. Maarten. A group of famous Dutch people demanded that our country should not set conditions to this support. I understand that Hans de Boer, foreman of the large companies, took this initiative.

  Many Dutch entrepreneurs, consultants and tax specialists earn a lot of money on the islands. The poor people on the island don’t benefit from that. However, I was amazed at the support for this lobby by Alexander Pechtold (D66) and Paul Rosenmöller (GroenLinks). Politicians who know the islands very well. Rosenmöller has even investigated corruption in Curaçao in the past.

  The islands are rich, but the differences between the people are painful. If the Netherlands does not set conditions, that money will not reach the poor who desperately need the support. It doesn’t reach the people who have lost their jobs and the families where children haven’t got enough to eat.

  George Jamaloodin became the first minister of finance of the new country of Curaçao in October 2010. Now this politician is in prison and has been sentenced to 28 years in prison for his involvement in the murder of MP Helmin Wiels, his coalition partner back then.

  At the beginning of 2010 Jamaloodin had bribed the head of security of the secret service of Curaçao VDC. One month before Curaçao would become an autonomous country on October 10, 2010, Jamaloodin travelled to St. Maarten, together with this head of security at the VDC. They had a private meeting with Gerrit Schotte, the future prime minister of Curaçao; with Theo Heyliger, who was the most powerful politician in St. Maarten, and with Francesco Corallo, the Italian gambling boss. Schotte and Heyliger, meanwhile, have been sentenced to long prison terms for fraud and corruption. Corallo is on trial in Italy for large-scale fraud and bribing politicians.

Criminal plans

  I know about this remarkable meeting through reports I have received that show how, before October 10, 2010, criminals made plans to take over power in the autonomous countries of Curaçao and St. Maarten by a devilish trinity of the gambling industry, with ties to the Italian mafia, consultants, often from the Netherlands, and some local politicians that could be bribed.

  The VDC was ransacked a year after Schotte came to power on Curaçao. All information was destroyed, copied or stolen. In addition, information from the Dutch secret service AIVD and the American secret service CIA would also have come into the hands of criminals. Schotte also tried to make Corallo or his financial right-hand man the president of the Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten. This was prevented at the last minute, partly due to the actions of a number of Dutch Members of Parliament.

Bad relations

  Relations between the Netherlands and the other countries of the Kingdom are bad, we must conclude 10 years after the autonomy of Curaçao and St. Maarten. The support that our country wants to give in fighting the consequences of the corona crisis has led to accusations against the Netherlands, mainly because of the conditions set on helping. Yet these conditions are not that strange, they must above all ensure that the money ends up with the people most affected by the crisis.

  The Netherlands also requests that local politicians make a contribution by discounting their often very generous allowances. It is also requested that the many millionaires on the islands make their contribution and pay decent tax. That has not happened in the past 10 years. If the supporters of VNO-NCW were to behave more decently, the countries of Curaçao and St. Maarten would be financially healthier and could invest more.

  In 2005, Minister Alexander Pechtold came to the Senate to speak to the senators about the future of the Kingdom. That year a referendum was held in Curaçao, in which the population had chosen not to become independent, but an autonomous country within the Kingdom. The same was the choice of the people in St. Maarten.

  At the time I was a member of the Senate. Pechtold received questions about the negotiations and proudly said that the Netherlands had pledged more than two billion euros in debt restructuring. There was a deep silence in the small room in the Senate. An old senator took the floor and asked what the minister had in return. The answer came as a shock: nothing at all. No demands for good governance and good finances. After Schotte and his ministers took office, it turned out that no screening had even taken place.

No confidence

  In 2010 I voted against the new relations. I wholeheartedly wanted the people on the islands to have their autonomy, but I had no confidence in the future of Curaçao and St. Maarten, because the islands were just not ready for this. Also, because the relationship with the Netherlands remained unclear. These countries were autonomous and responsible for their own politics, but the Netherlands remained responsible for good governance and healthy finances.

  It was not clear how we could fulfil that responsibility – and our country did not succeed. Money disappeared soon after Heyliger and Schotte came to power. The judge said in Schotte’s conviction that the prime minister had behaved like a “puppet” of the gambling industry. From bosses like Corallo, whose accounting was done for years and was approved by KPMG’s accountants.

  On my initiative (in a proposal adopted in April 2015), a large-scale investigation started into the connection between the criminal and the political world on all the islands, in particular between the gambling industry and politics. This has partly led to Schotte and Heyliger being under lock and key and many other politicians, consultants and gambling bosses have also been convicted or have been subject of investigation (lately also in Aruba). This is important because the islands have no future as long as they are under the control of the criminal world. But it is especially bad that the Netherlands has let it come to this. That we made these autonomous countries 10 years ago and let them fall into the hands of criminals. That is a heavy responsibility for all politicians in the Netherlands, also for Pechtold and Rosenmöller.

Intimidation

  In July 2015 I received a letter from Gerard Spong, a famous Dutch lawyer. He filed a lawsuit because I called his client Francesco Corallo a mafia boss. However, it never came to an actual case, because Corallo is a mafia boss. Corallo is now on trial in Italy for large-scale fraud and money-laundering and bribing politicians from the Berlusconi government.

  I was not surprised that Corallo sent me that letter. Unfortunately, this kind of intimidation is common on the islands. However, I found it remarkable that the lawyer Spong lent himself for this intimidation of a Dutch MP. Many politicians on the islands will not stand up to this kind of scare. I know that there are many politicians in Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten who want the best for their beautiful island, but who no longer dare to speak freely in the last 10 years.

  I wholeheartedly support the help that the Netherlands will offer to the other countries in the Kingdom, which we are obliged to our fellow citizens. But at the same time, we must put an end to the diabolical trinity of Antillean politics. As an MP, I have tried to make my contribution by tackling the gambling mafia, such as the research into politics and the gambling industry, and by addressing the consultants who make money laundering possible.

  I am proud that KPMG was closed in the Caribbean last year. But it hurts me that we now have to solve problems that the Netherlands has also caused itself. The dirty gambling bosses, or the dubious consultants, are often people from outside and not from the islands themselves. A small wealthy group on the islands enriches itself thanks to bad governance. The poor population in particular pays the price for this.

Failed Kingdom

  In every government capital in the Kingdom they are thinking about the future. In The Hague, in Willemstad, in Oranjestad and in Philipsburg, everywhere the conclusion must be that we cannot go on like this. This Kingdom has failed and it is now up to the inhabitants to decide how to proceed. Let the inhabitants of the islands make a choice. What do they want their own politicians to do, and with what matters the Netherlands should no longer interfere? What tasks do they prefer the Netherlands to perform, whereby The Hague should also be given the opportunity to really do this?

  In July last year, the Second Chamber passed my proposal asking all four countries to give their views on the Kingdom and who is responsible for what. With the support of the parties of Pechtold and Rosenmöller. I continue to advocate for help to those on the islands who deserve our help and support. At the same time, we will have to learn from the past mistakes.

Ronald van Raak

Member of the Dutch Parliament’s Second Chamber for the Socialist Party (SP)

Dear Editor,

Many of us will have been impressed by the manner in which our Prime Minister, Ms. Silveria Jacobs, handled the management of borders and infection threat of the COVID-19 epidemic. I certainly was. She indicated in some of her press conferences that she had been following the science-based advice of professionals in the epidemiology field. That was the correct approach and those that ignored the science have caused great damage.

Besides medical science, there is also economic science and this letter is to recommend to our prime minister to follow economic science in the same manner as she has the medical science. Like the medical science, there are large numbers of opinions and views, but in the middle of it all there are strong consensus positions that should be the basis for policy to advance St. Maarten.

In the case of developing countries, a core economic consensus says that an excessive percentage of tax revenues spent on public sector non-investment costs result in restrictions that limit policy-makers in respect of investment that could be used for growth or restructuring of the economy.

In the case of St. Maarten our small scale and our choice of a heavy overhead of Dutch modeled governmental apparatus heightens the risk.

In the case of St. Maarten it has become obvious that political will to restrain this public sector expenditure is not there and that investment always takes a back seat to public sector employment.

The consensus also says that if the developing country tries to escape the high public sector non-investment costs by borrowing new funds then there is a high risk of the country falling into a debt trap as so many Caribbean jurisdictions have. Ironically, this is what the Prime Minister was calling for when she exited the recent Kingdom Ministers Council Meeting attended by the three Caribbean Prime Ministers of the Kingdom.

Efforts to advance long-term policies for St. Maarten that are based on a more sustainable model are often refuted on the basis of them coming from a biased business sector or an autonomy-reducing Kingdom partner, the Netherlands. When it comes to the core science of economic development these are political arguments, not economic science ones. Let’s follow the science in economics as well as medicine.

Robbie Ferron