Dear Editor,
The following few moments in your daily newspaper is in reaction to Mr. Samuel’s proposal on a one guilder cent application on every liter of gasoline for the development of sports.
While it is a good incentive to the development of sports, one must add the flip side of the coin.
Gasoline is already high on everyone’s pocketbook and adding this extra NAf. 00.01 per liter is even making things worse.
For example, the extra gas that one is already burning in the traffic on a daily basis seems to be a conspiracy to make the driving population dish out more money at the pumps and who is benefiting and how does it work.
Simple, when you remain in the traffic jams morning noon and night your dollar or guilder is just evaporating. So instead of your monthly consumption being US $100 it becomes $120, a $20 extra for the gas station owners who undoubtedly are “representatives” of the people.
Furthermore, what about those gas stations that take your hard earned dollar at NAf. 1.75 and not Central Bank stipulation of NAf. 1.77 to the dollar. There again is extra rip-off.
What should also be instituted by government is that all businesses should refund the consumer their rightful change and not keep the one or two cents even up to five cents per customer. Some business places even tell you boldly, “I do not have five cents” and expect you to accept it. By the way, a lot of us do, so stupid.
And when you say okay, well give me 10 cents then the retarded cashier of the business place will say, “But what then, I will lose five cents.” Strange enough, you the consumer must lose your hard-earned money and not the businesses who already have their prices sky high. Some cashiers even develop an attitude and practically toss the cents at you in anger.
Mind you, without a doubt there are some occasions when the businesses refund you in excess, but those transactions are few. It is like the casino, you win a little (once) and lose a lot more (four times).
The cents that are lost by the consumer on a daily basis result in over $2,200,000 per year. In case you cannot pronounce that figure it simply means two million two hundred thousand US dollars.
You may feel I am chatting nonsense or BS, but allow me to illustrate since this is right up my alley:
Example #1. Small businesses with 150 consumers per day and manage to Steal $0.02 from 100 persons = $2 per day X 30 days resulting in $60 per month X 12 months to equal $720 per year. Estimated 800 small businesses X $720 = $576,000, five hundred seventy-six thousand US dollars.
Example # 2. Medium-size business with 350 consumers per day and manages to steal $0.02 from 250 persons = $5 per day X 30 days resulting in $150 per month equal to $1,800 per year. Estimated 400 medium-size businesses X $1,800 = $720,000, seven hundred twenty thousand US dollars.
Example # 3. Big businesses with 700 consumers per day and manage to steal $0.02 from 550 persons = $11 per day X 30 days resulting in $330 per month equal to $3,960 per year. Estimated 250 big businesses X $3,960 = $990,000, nine hundred ninety thousand US dollars.
Total amount being ripped off by +/- 1,450 businesses and a loss to us, the consumer, remains at $2,286,000, two million two hundred eighty-six thousand US dollars, and this can be considered on the low side not forgetting the gas stations.
Remember the bank employee who was scamming one cent from every customer’s transaction for years until they caught up with that person, they were living the high life off of cents.
Also tourists who come to this island see the high-day robbery taking place but do not react because they realize this is the system here by not giving back the correct change and may not want to embarrass themselves by asking for what is rightfully theirs.
Like in the USA, simply reimburse the consumer his/her correct change. If they do not want to accept this then it remains up to them. If there is no correct change then the business should give back rounding off upwards; e.g., your change is $13.22 then give $13.25 and not $13.20.
What I do from time to time is travel with some cents and when about to be paid short my two or three cents I will provide the difference in order to receive my full five cents.
I must admit according to Joan and Fernando that there are a lot of retarded persons who refuse copper cents, but that is left up to them. They say they cannot do anything with that and it would not make me rich. Honestly, I feel sorry for them. The cents have made a difference in my life, trust me.
The average consumer can leave between here and there up to NAf. 0.15 or more per day between the various shops, stores and other business places. Please do not tell me that the banks cannot provide cents.
So, as food for thought to our parliamentarian of good intention Mr. Samuel, I would also like to see the law reintroduced or reactivated to motivate the businesses to return the correct change to the consumer as it reflects over two million dollars per year that we are being ripped off.
Remember, nowadays every cent counts.
Michael Frederick
The smiling faces at the signing of the airport reconstruction agreement could have been a picture of several months ago.
However, with personal agendas prevailing in the current NA-led government, it was evident that at all cost, the airport reconstruction was sabotaged and the people of St. Maarten held hostage until the signing could have been accomplished by those who fought against the Dutch Trust Fund with all their might.
Remember the ridiculing former PM Leona Marlin had to endure at the hands of the very persons, such as the current PM, because she, Leona, carried out the mandate of the UP/SMCP coalition.
“Leona sold out to the Dutch,” was the statement of the day.
“Sarah sold out” was the chorus.
But today what do we see? That “selling out” allows the picture of one happy Prime Minister, signing the airport reconstruction agreement, with trust fund money, with the conditions imposed by the Dutch government.
The NA/USP coalition’s feeble argument is that the current government did not have all of the information to make an informed decision.
From day one, it was clear that there was no Plan B for the country following the devastation caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
There was no viable alternative to reconstruct the airport, our economic lifeline.
The current Jacobs-led government is responsible for the delay in the reconstruction, for the financial hardships created for the airport and those who depend on the airport for their livelihood.
So, who was right, again?
In the end, we of the United Democrats congratulate our government, under the leadership of Leona Marlin, the steadfast members of the UD/SMCP coalition, our leader Sarah Wescot-Williams, and the people of St. Maarten for trusting us to stay true to what we promised in 2018: that we, the United Democrats, had one goal, to bring St. Maarten out of the despair caused by the hurricanes and rebuild our country in a sustainable manner.
That commitment in 2019/2020 is even stronger!
Long live St. Maarten!
The United Democratic Party (UD)
Dear Editor,
Marva was born in Aruba to a diverse family with roots throughout the Dutch Caribbean, including Sint Maarten. At age 7, her family chose to relocate to Sint Maarten, Upper Princess Quarter, and ever since she has made Sint Maarten her home.
Marva has been an educator for over 36 years, and as such has experienced a very broad spectrum of the educational system in Sint Maarten. She started her career in education as a kindergarten teacher, and has had the opportunity to continue to develop herself throughout the years; being able to fulfil various functions from teaching children of all ages at the pre-elementary and elementary levels to adults at university level. She also provided instructional coaching and mentoring to fellow educators and functioned in various managerial positions such as school principal, coordinator of a college preparatory programme at USM, and as an administrator at the university level with UVI.
In Marva’s own words: “My journey began with a kindergarten teacher's diploma and has led to a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership. This was not just a journey of hard work and dedication; it was also one of passion”. Along the way Marva also learned several valuable lessons; one of which is selflessness.
It was through the dedication of love, time, energy and passion that I discovered and pursued my purpose. A purpose that, on a professional level saw my function as an educator, but on a personal level as a servant.
Marva has also founded two children’s homes, namely Oasis of Love in Sint Maarten and Oasis of Hope in Suriname. In 2002, she joined her husband, Apostle Leyland Sam, in establishing Thy Kingdom Come Ministries International (TKCMI). In 2006, they also established the Believers’ Connection Convention: a place where believers in Christ could gather and unite so that we can be more effective in benefitting our society in its entirety.
To be able to cater to the social and spiritual needs of the wider community as a whole, Marva and her husband established the Community Outreach Mentorship and Empowerment Centre, known as the COME Centre. According to Marva, “our goal has always been to provide a community and a sense of belonging for anyone who may need it. Through this extension of the ministry, we were able to erect platforms to serve the community in various capacities such as feeding programs, technical skill programs like sewing, literacy programs aimed to educate functionally illiterate, English and non-English-speaking adults, elderly support initiatives and other outreach activities”.
SMCP is definitely proud to present Marva as the #8 Candidate. Her whole life can be characterized as serving the people of Sint Maarten in her various spheres of work, whether it is with children, adolescents or with our senior citizens. “Serving others has been my life’s work, so I know that we must serve if we want to change”. SMCP is asking you to give Marva Sam-Arrindell the opportunity to serve her country Sint Maarten.
Wycliffe Smith
Leader of the St. Maarten Christian Party (SMCP)
Dear Editor,
I have noticed that our people in government as well as those aspiring to enter government continue to make promises.
Promises they have never kept and because of past experience I would dare say promises they never intended to keep. More proof of what they actually did was to mismanage the people’s patrimony, causing several of them to be indicted. I find myself reacting because, because of the circumstances it slowed down, they are right back at the same thing again. Everybody, yes everybody, knows about buying votes, because those who are paid to vote set up others so that they can share with whoever they encouraged. It is nothing that can hide.
It is done blatantly in public view. Voters come out of the polling station, go to the one who has to pay them and hand over the blank ballot. If they are not sure what to do there are others around to pass it on. Still our people in government do not think it is necessary to have election observers. Really. Which means that even though the majority of the population of St. Maarten is aware but does not agree with the concept of vote buying, it will be accused of being vote sellers. That is disrespecting the people and those who do that should be punished on election day. They have not done anything to be proud of.
It has taken nine years and counting to get a simple law on the use of plastic bags to be passed and implemented. I would be ashamed to touch that law after so many years. It has been the same people at the helm, Sarah, William, Frans, Theo and their followers.
It is time to get rid of them. They gave us a constitution full of holes, permitting Holland to continue to do what they want with us and now they want to grandstand. What the people did not know before a whole lot of us know now.
Fact is, by constantly throwing down the government they exhausted their lackeys and now find themselves obliged to enhance the circle. Which means more friends who have a friend. And gradually we all have an idea what is really going on. So we do not want any promises, just give us a stable government. With people who do not have skeletons in their closets People who, like a Commissioner once said about me, people who can say “no” to anybody.
People with integrity like Chacho, people who put country before self.
We don’t want any promises of houses, that and the same pension story that is being made up now could have been in and out of the pipeline a long time ago if only we did not have nine governments in nine years with the same deck of cards.
To be able to control the supermarkets we have to move the Customs and put them under the Ministry where those container movements could be controlled. Just like vote buying.
Because it has worked for the bigger parties, there should not be any “election observers”. I would see the positive side and make use of the opportunity to welcome them and prove that my elections are clean, which would go a long way in getting rid of that stigma about St. Maarten being corrupt. But it seems that is a difficult chance to take also. This is not a question of every four years, this has become a yearly habit.
So, let them keep their promises to themselves. If cost of living continues to rise and we are reaching a stage where there is no middle class, who will the UP be building those 1,000 homes for? Everybody.
Why should I expect that after trying so many years to get them to look at what is happening with the pensioners, that it is going to happen all of a sudden? What they should seriously start thinking about is putting water tanks in the hills above every village. With good filtering and with the help of gravity we will be able to get water to all the homes for next to nothing.
Not to forget that it is long past time for us to go over to solar panels. When I sat and talked about solar panels some young people told me I missed the boat and that there has already been a feasibility study made for placing of solar panels, but according to the schoolchildren those involved in the oil used by GEBE to generate electricity were not ready to entertain that idea.
With all that we have happening with solar energy in all the other islands of the former Netherlands Antilles, including Saba and Statia which are also in the hurricane belt, what explanation will any self-respecting politician give to the people as a reason for not embarking onto solar energy?
If they seriously want to help the people don’t promise them anything that you know that you can avoid with a silly excuse tomorrow. There is no reinventing the wheel necessary. Show the political will and let us get things going for the people. Guarantee us a stable government, come together, forget and avoid the deal-making, which we know causes jail time, and start by embarking on solar energy.
Russell A. Simmons
Dear Editor,
What is cartel formation? Cartel formation is the illegal cooperation between individuals and/or companies to prevent competition when undertaking activities and to keep the benefits within their own group. For example, a drug cartel serves to gain and promote sovereignty over drug-trafficking and keep others, including justice, out.
