Dear Editor,
Ten years of constitutional reform arrived fast and furious. October 10, 2020. It’s been a tumultuous decade plagued by hurricanes, and a lack of political willpower to acknowledge our mistakes and a commitment to do better. The end of a decade that culminated in a COVID-19 pandemic that caught the world off guard and brought St. Maarten to its knees. No one expected this.
It has become crystal clear we failed to learn from our mistakes while being an Island Territory under a former constitutional arrangement – the former Netherlands Antilles. We were granted a new constitutional status within the Kingdom of the Netherlands that would allow us more freedom by bringing the decision-making process taken closer to home and we squandered it. No need to fly to Willemstad by our then-senators for meetings to “defend” our island or bring back what we deserve from the Federal Government’s coffers.
During the last Federal elections held on January 27, 2006, the then-Netherlands Antilles faced an estimated debit of over five billion Antillean guilders (NAf. 5 billion). St. Maarten debts were calculated as over five hundred million (NAf. 500 million) including the debts at the time of government-owned companies.
We aspired to assume our own responsibilities and new tasks to execute policies, programs and projects that would enrich the quality of the lives of all our citizens. A new status that would enable the policy-makers to look their constituents squarely in the eye and keep promises made of safer streets, affordable homes, less taxes, better jobs, modern education, strong economy, healthy environment.
The new date (first January 2010, then later revised to October 2010) had many on St. Maarten worried. Yet the willingness to put our shoulders under this new structure and create a better, stronger St. Maarten prevailed.
Our frontline public servants such as teachers and first responders, including police officers, firefighters, nurses, went beyond their calls of duty in spite of the fact that for many it took a decade to have their new legal status finalized. After all, we are only sixteen square miles, easy to drive around or walk into the neighbourhoods. Not too difficult to manage, right? Wrong.
Instead of the above, after a shaky start on 10/10/10 we clearly lost our focus of working for ALL our people ALL the time instead of working part-time by most of our elected representatives over the past ten years. Not taking a leaf from the Antillean history pages especially in terms of creating a stable financial management for our governments had dire consequences. For example, the General Audit Chamber of the former Netherlands Antilles warned in its yearly reports of the unbalanced budgets, gross financial mismanagement and tardy submission of the financial reports and lack of approval by Parliament. Today our own General Audit Chamber sounds the same alarms as its predecessors.
After ten years, we can state that the true “saviours” of our young democracy are first and foremost the majority of people and businesses who suffered yet peacefully put up with lack of decisive and emphatic leadership while still giving consecutive governments a chance to govern. Secondly, after a decade our system of checks and balances put in place prior to 10/10/10 works to a great extent. The separation of powers between the legislative branch (Parliament) and the executive branch (Council of Ministers) is a good example.
The establishment of the high Councils of State – the Council of Advice, the General Audit Chamber, and Ombudsman office – carried the day for our democracy. These women and men deserve much credit and respect for taking their responsibilities to the highest possible level. Their recommendations must not end up on the proverbial “back burner” of Parliament. Rather the contents of these reports must be discussed, prioritised, approved and executed to the benefit of our constituents and businesses.
The other institutions guarding as well as guiding this elaborate process of making this new status work include the Constitutional Court, Council for Law Enforcement, Electoral Council, Corporate Governance Council and other councils and chambers.
We cannot turn back the clock. After ten years we can safely conclude that the patience and good will of our citizens have run dry. Looking forward we must:
- substantially strengthen our economic and financial income base by working in close partnership with the private sector.
- lessen the tax burden by broadening its base and eliminate taxes that do not work. This is especially important for our elderly population.
- drastically improve education in all aspects.
- deep-clean all our neighbourhoods.
- deliver affordable homes for our people we have been promising for so long.
- have a diplomatic strategy to positively engage with our partners in the Dutch Kingdom.
- last but certainly not least, appoint a COVID-19 “Tzar” plus a team to present a coherent COVID prevention, containment and eradication policy for the next short- and midterm until it is safe to live normally again.
The time is here and now for the elected officials to deliver on its promises and for the people to prosper.
Gracita Arrindell
Dear Editor,
The reason why the world is in such of terrible state even though the word of God is increasingly spreading throughout this world is because the church has failed.
Whether we like it or not politics and ideology is what is dominating this world and the church should use the word of God to expose deception when politics is deceiving people.
The fact is a church that takes money from government cannot be loyal to Jesus. The reason is when ideology of a political party establishes sin as legal most churches cower in fear.
In United States of America and Europe laws are being established in the name of equality and are being used to establish immoral acts to benefit politics and their ideological objective.
Let me give a clear example, the term “minority rights” which was to help races in countries who may or is being discriminated because of their skin color is now hijacked by immorality.
The deceptive politicians establish homosexuality and transgender and label it minority in order to establish sin as legal. What does the church do, the church cowers in fear.
Many churches today have become an entertainment industry to keep people coming to church and they preach prosperity gospel. Many churches are not interesting in saving soul, it is all about membership and how much money the church can get. Many churches including St. Maarten are now accepting homosexuality as a right, it is not sin anymore.
Many churches in the western world have ordained homosexual men and women as priest and pastors. The point is not to hate homosexual people. The point is to tell them Jesus love them and for them to turn away from those sinful lifestyles. But when people of immorality become the leaders of a society be it in politics and a church you can kiss righteousness goodbye.
Worst yet in many universities throughout the world they are brainwashing people to hate the teachings of Christ.
Academia and many media and journalism is also caught up with creating deception instead of reporting news as it is. This is all part of deception to control and tell the masses what to believe.
The conclusion is equality is being used to deceive the masses of people in this world. A real Christian objective should be to please God and not how to please the world. There is no white church or black church or Hispanic church or Indian church or Asian church, there is only the one true church of God. That is why I stay away from the color issues, all of them are used for deception.
To be quite direct and honest Satan has infiltrated many churches and having his will be done and not God’s will. That is why be careful what church you join, check the leaders’ character and see if they are willing to die for Christ and the principles of God. If not, and I quote Jesus’ word from the bible, “from such turn away,” meaning find yourself a new church.
The COVID-19 pandemic is being used throughout this world to control people to give politicians enormous powers to control the masses. While they are letting criminals out of jail because of COVID-19, they are imprisoning innocent people because they want to get some fresh breeze outside where they are alone and not endangering people.
Remember the Anti-Christ will be a dictator to control the masses and if you refuse to obey their will, they will lock you up or murder you.
Matthew 24:4: And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
I am the Patriot Miguel Arrindell and I approve this message.
The patriot Miguel Arrindell
Dear Editor,
How often have I not mentioned that the motto of the Dutch consists of the following. I will repeat them. Ik zal je nog eens krijgen; voor wat hoort wat and wat in het vat zit zuurt niet (long rope for meager dog). But the one I always blame them for and will continue to blame them for is that they know better and never do better. When he who knows better has the opportunity to do better and refuses to do better, then that saying “the only way for evil to be triumphant is for good people to do nothing” comes to mind.
But the saying “Laat ze maar rotsooien” is the one I most despise.
Because it has been proven too often that the Dutch who taught us everything we know, who see us doing the wrong thing, who are the ones mandated to stop us from doing the wrong thing, permit us to continue doing the wrong thing, in order to have a valid reason to indict us when it is convenient for them.
If I am wrong, just go back to the timeline of all those popular cases in which people in government are/were involved and check when or how long into the cases arrests were made and who were arrested and when, etc. Again, I do not condone wrongdoing, but I believe in “it is not what you do, it’s the way that you do it”.
I do not know whether we forget or we do not care but again somebody is arrested for forgetting that the longest rope has an end or even to reflect on what is written in Luke 12:2 and 3.
Holland is willing to help us financially but under stringent conditions. I will not quote the bible on this one. The van Dale Dutch dictionary explains the saying “doe wel en zie niet om” clearly. It means “Men moet goed doen zonder een beloning daarvoor te verwachten” (one should do good without expecting a reward). But like I mentioned before, part of their motto is “Voor wat hoort wat”. So what is really going on?.
Are they trying to confuse us or is it “do what I say but do not do what I do” or are we caught up in what nowadays has become a popular saying that “the child becomes what he sees and not what you tell him”? Who is going to help us out of this quagmire? Is lay-waiting us to lock us up really the solution? What happened to being forthcoming? Is that asking for too much?
But you know what is striking? The same people who do not want us to punish our children by spanking them, are the same people who are threatening to tie against the tree and flog us with the whip.
This does not mean that I am condoning wrongdoing, because two wrongs do not make it right, but I really believe that when one wants me to do better, one should show me better.
Russell A. Simmons
Dear Editor,
None of the governments of Philipsburg have learnt from their foolish mistakes of allowing deceitful investors to twist their arms, nor have they acquired the knowledge to govern the country from a position of managerial principles. Due to this irresponsible practice to satisfy each other’s greed and the unreliability of the court’s rulings, the population is left to suffer these grave consequences.
From this premise, it is so disheartening to see how government is permitting Planet Hollywood Beach Resort to construct this monstrous building, when the country is deemed to gain very little. Assessing the pattern of investors who have invested in the country after the advent of Mullet Bay Resort, St. Maarten has not benefited much. In fact, the island has been destroyed, stripped of its natural beauty and environmental integrity.
Case in point: Is it not a fact that the air circulation in the Fresh Pond has been drastically altered after the Great Bay Hotel was built, which in turn prohibits the natural flow of excess water to the sea? And, hasn’t this bad decision caused a lot of flooding in Zagersgut because of the amount of dirt that deposits at the bottom of the pond following every downpour?
How was government forced to correct its silly oversight of this nagging problem? Government spent thousands of dollars to dredge piles of dirt from the bottom of pond and was further compelled to build a bridge to help dump extra water into Great Salt Pond. As a result, this created a situation where it’s up for debate if there is indeed a salt pond or two adjoining fresh-water ponds.
How can the population forget the famous water fountains that cost thousands of dollars to install and maintain, in the hope to improve the air flow in the pond? As time passed, the water fountains disappeared. Was the investment justified or the problem corrected? No! This is why the population is suffering from these poor judgements of greedy politicians and unscrupulous investors.
In relation to Planet Hollywood Resort, when has bigger become better? It is so depressing to see that only Steven Johnson is fighting against the injustices of government and the investor regarding this matter. How can the rest of Little Bay inhabitants sit back and allow government to okay such plans to erect this gigantic hotel that will block their view and reduce the value of their property significantly?
Repeatedly, the people have heard that this investment will create jobs. Yes, it will, but for whom? Would locals have preference, paid according to their qualifications and be given the opportunity to grow within the organization, or lumped together into one scale? It is routine that unethical proprietors pay most of their employees minimum wage, because government does not have the balls to stand up for its people.
On top of this gross failure of government to defend the workers’ rights, some unions have become almost completely useless. Gone are the days when the community felt the relentless pressures and negotiation skills of union leaders like Patricia Pantophlet, Willy Haize and Eldridge van Putten. The thought of their absence has often led me to wonder: What would the labour climate be like today, if these giants were sitting at the negotiating table?
Apart from this investor’s promise to provide “jobs” for the people, what is government demanding or compromising, and at what cost to the country and its people? Just three years ago, an ex-Minister of Finance announced that a particular hotel uses three different credit card machines to document its sales; which puts government at a disadvantage to collect the correct amount of room tax.
Was that hotelier reprimanded? Heaven knows how many others are practicing the identical thing. But, it is customary that investors do whatever they please because government is too cowardly to touch any one of them. Besides, nowadays rooms are being sold abroad and so that revenue goes directly to the parent company. Again, what are the demands of government to justify its decision?
The fact that the population is restricted from entering Great Bay Beach from the cemetery side is already an indication that the people are not valued. And, the fact that the resort is all-inclusive signifies that the investors’ sole interest is about making money. The fact is that the previous building was already an impediment to the environment, the lot should remain vacant and be given back to the people.
Everything starts subtly and then it escalates to the point where it’s difficult to control the problem, until it becomes the norm. If the negotiations started out shady, the end result is going to end up exactly that way.
Joslyn Morton
Dear Editor,
Once again Anguilla has a new government. The people have spoken. Whether you voted for or against the new government, it’s time to put aside all petty differences, and, as the last leader from Island Harbor once implored us people to, “let us come together as one.”
Congratulations to Dr. Lorenzo Webster and his team. Although, I’m afraid, I still disagree with the concept of party politics. The APM will have the chance to prove me wrong. Until that happens, I still maintain it’s a bad idea for an island as small as Anguilla.
Let us thank the previous government headed by Mr. Banks. And while we are giving thanks to all, let us not forget the many contributions of Ms. Palmavon Webster, the Leader of the Opposition, who was unsuccessful in her attempt to retain her seat. And while we want to look to the future, let us not forget how or why we’re at this point.
Premier Webster has his work cut out for him. He must have the freedom to prioritize those issues that are of the utmost importance to Anguilla. Among them, the hundred-million-dollar grant from the U.K. Though Premier Webster had no choice but to accept the MOU signed by the previous government, he was presented with a Hobson’s Choice, which is basically to say that there is no alternative. Take it or leave it.
While that money is a godsend to Anguilla, the conditions under which it is given are like the Sword of Damocles hanging over our heads. We are damned if we do, damned if we don’t. Mr. Webster’s negotiating skills will have to come front and center if we are to survive this crisis not of our own making.
It is no secret that Anguilla has been a place about which no one cared, least of all the Brits. We were left alone to fend for ourselves and by the grace of God, we survived. Forced to live without the amenities that others took for granted, we made do with what we had. When no one came to us, we built boats (schooners) and plied the waters from Trinidad to Macoris with our wares in search of a better life. In a sense, necessity became the mother of invention, and we invented. We sailed the seas with nothing more than a sexton and the stars. We survived drought, famine, pestilence, death and even an offer by the British Government to remove and transport us to Demerara, British Guyana. Against all the odds, we stayed on the rock.
Once again, we face challenges on several fronts, economic as well social. Because of COVID-19, our economy such as it was, crashed and burned. Our social fabric is threadbare. COVID-19 has ripped off the bandage of a festering sore, one that has been festering for some time, and in so doing has exposed an underbelly that a lot of us didn’t know existed.
Our people don’t seem to remember where we came from, it’s as though the Anguilla of today always existed since time immemorial. Civil Rights leader, the late Reverend Joseph Lowry, said, “If you don’t know where you came from, you won’t know when someone is taking you back.” Isabel Wilkerson writing in her Pulitzer Prize-winning book Caste, opined that “People who don’t know that they are captive will not resist their bondage.” For far too long we’ve been held captive by a system, that is not conducive to our wellbeing.
We forget from whence we came, and consequently our young people don’t know from whence they came, simply because we have not taught them. The land for which our forefathers fought, is in danger of being lost. Frederick Douglas said, “If you don’t have Land, you don’t have freedom.” My fellow Anguillians, what is the price of freedom? Large swaths of prime Anguillian real estate are being gobbled up by certain speculative foreigners who contribute zero to our infrastructure.
Going forward as a new nation, our hopes and dreams are with Premier Webster and his government. He must be allowed to lay out his vision for Anguilla, one which will require all hands on deck and hopefully, with an infusion of young people in government, we will see a marked change for the first time in decades.
In his 1960 inaugural address John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, implored his people to, “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” My fellow Anguillians, what are you willing to do for your country?
The British begrudgingly have given us a conditional lifeline, and that’s all it is. There is an old Chinese Proverb that says, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and you give him an occupation that will feed him for a lifetime.” The British has fed us for a day, when will we learn to fish?
The world has changed. If we want to survive in that large pond that is the global community, then we had better learn how to swim with the big boys, for at this junction, they see blood in the water and that’s all they need. Because of COVID-19, we are very vulnerable right now and the sharks are circling. This is not the time to attack this government. Whether or not the previous government dealt the present one a bad hand is irrelevant, water under the bridge.
The time has come for all of us to work together for the good of the motherland. Let us each ask ourselves; how badly do we want to hold on to that which is ours and to what extent are we willing to fight for it?
“We must all hang together, or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately,” to use the words of Ben Franklin during those dog days of 1776. May God bless you all and may He continue to bless Anguilla.
Tyrone Hodge
