By Alex Rosaria
The North American Dakota Indians have a saying: “When you’re on a dead horse, get off it”. Here, some people seem to have another strategy however: Invite the dead horse over to your house to have him repeatedly say “somos hermanos” and then deliver promises that he will suddenly get healthy so we can all ride off into the sunset, just like in the movies.
This is exactly what happened this week. With the Venezuelan state-owned PDVSA’s contract to run Curaçao’s refinery (Isla) expiring at the end of 2019, Mr. Manuel Quevedo, Venezuelan Oil Minister and president of the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, during a blitz meeting at Isla made some vague promises about starting up of the Curaçao refinery – lack of crude oil shipments has left Isla largely inactive – and the interest of PDVSA to remain as the operator after 2019. Those present applauded like giddy school kids and then he left. No one questioned him, no one pressed for details.
Fact is that PDVSA is currently held together by some duct tape. Economic mismanagement of the company and largescale corruption has meant that Venezuelan oil production has collapsed. Deteriorating infrastructure, lack of investment and PDVSA’s inability to even pay some of its workers has led to mass resignations in recent months. PDVSA’s financial disarray is even putting future crude oil supplies at risk. Do we not know this?
Fact is also that Venezuela’s BFF, China, is about to drop PDVSA from a planned $10 billion oil refinery and petrochemical joint project in southern China. The reason is the deteriorating financial status of PDVSA over the past few years.
Do we not remember that in mid-2016 our Prime Minister went to Caracas on what should have been a high-level summit about Isla’s future? Instead he was humiliated, left waiting for hours without being able to talk to anyone. Later, the Venezuelan Energy Minister declared that PDVSA had no money for Isla’s upgrade.
Did we not wonder how PDVSA is going to keep its promises while it’s barely surviving? Do we not see how some groups, unions and individuals are playing cahoots or even worse, are colluding with Caracas to keep PDVSA operating as a bastion of support for the corruption-riddled failed Chavez/Maduro socialism? What’s wrong with us?
If these people are given a free pass, the future of our refinery will be compromised. It is therefore imperative that the process of finding a responsible partner for Isla not be derailed. We need sanity, transparency and accountability, not dead horses.
~ Alex David Rosaria (50) is from Curaçao and has a MBA from the University of Iowa. He is a former Member of Parliament, Minister of Economic Affairs, State Secretary of Finance and UN Implementation Officer in Africa and Central America. ~
Tribute to the Master Builder
Laurent Connor
He was call by
his school mates
And all his friends
From Red Gate
He make his humble
Beginning
Like Jesus of Nazareth
As an apprentice carpenter
With the famous
Master carpenter
Ambroise Halley
Carpenter shop
He later change his name
As he rose to fame
To Georges Peterson
In order to succeed
As he immigrated to
Curaçao, Netherlands
Antilles
A country that he contributed
To build
Leaving his signature
On most of its Infrastructures
Permitting him to rise from
Master carpenter
To master builder
And general contractor
His luck was with women
For that reason he
Was bless
To be always surrounded
by women
His wife Veronica Helligar
Peterson
And his many
Daughters
Georgette Peterson
Joseanne Peterson
Georgina Peterson
Angela Peterson
Gisela Owens
Christine Peterson
Cridtina Peterson
Corriè Walwyn
His caretaker Kouki
His three sons
Jules Peterson
George Peterson
Gilbert Gibi Peterson
His many, many
Sons-in-law
Behind every successful man
They say is a woman
Behind Georges Peterson
(Laurent Connor )
There were many women
But only one Queen
That never let him give up chasing his Dream: That of being
A master builder
If the human mind could
Conceived it then Georges Peterson
could build it
The master builder has taken a rest
May his soul rest in peåce
Un ami
Notre frere
Laurent Connor paix a son ame
Your brother
Raymond Helligar aka “Big Ray”
By Emsley Tromp
With much publicity, Curaçao/Holland announced their signature program – onderlinge regeling Curaçao Nederland (ORCN) – as a response to the current economic malaise plaguing Curaçao. This program is based on an underlying strategy of growth. What Holland again failed to see is that it is trying to fix Curaçao’s short-term economic ills with long-term solutions.
This program is a further elaboration of the CFT [Committee for Financial Supervision – Ed.] demands within the context of a promise made by Holland that it would give Curaçao access to financing opportunities if sufficient progress was made on the fiscal front. This promise is tantamount to a 21st century version of “forty acres of land and a mule.”
Dear Editor,
Over the last few months the following newspaper headlines about Statian affairs have caught my attention:
“Stuco needs to work on better governance”
“Healthcare system on Statia falls short”
“Shortage of drinking water result of limited maintenance”
“Knops says: Bonaire, Saba, Statia can never be autonomous”
These headlines remind me of one of my favorite African Proverbs, “Until lions learn how to write, Hunters will tell their stories for them”. In reflecting on the above headlines, one can definitely understand the significance of the African Proverb.
These are the narratives that dominate our daily lives on these so called “Dutch Caribbean” islands. Narratives that consciously and/or subconsciously create an illusion that things managed and controlled by locals are inadequate, inefficient or not up to par.
It is hard to change the narrative when we ourselves believe that the stories being told about us are “absolute truths”. Embracing these stories without question truly wounds the soul. The result of this soul-wounding is quite evident within our small communities today.
The ancestors never accepted “these absolute truths” because they purposed in their hearts that, even though their physical bodies were in chains, their mind, spirit and soul would never be. It behooves those of us who are “wide awake” to continue planting seeds of resistance, pride and hope so that one day said seeds will blossom into trees that give great shade with solid and deep roots.
In honor of those who have gone before us and in honor of those not yet born, I therefore purposefully change the headlines:
“Stuco working hard to improve governance structure”
“Healthcare system on Statia – a case of small successes”
“Improving maintenance will decrease drinking water shortage”
“Knops says: We must work together with Bonaire, Saba, Statia to realize the best possible autonomous arrangement” …
Xiomara Balentina
VROMI and GEBE leaving people without electricity since after hurricane Irma is not right. There’s a lot of people on the island GEBE has been refusing to give back electricity.
Even if they had an electricity meter before Hurricane Irma and are still living at their same location before and after Irma, it has no current – no electricity.
All GEBE and VROMI are saying is get a plan, but the public is saying to them if those people had a meter already give them back their meter without hesitation.
The use of electricity is not only useful for rebuilding, the people need it for the fans, light, Internet, charging phones, light to protect their materials, TV, also radio and many more uses.
An electrical light meter can be installed on a pole, on wall, wood near the poor men’s properties. GEBE and VROMI, treat the poor people better than that.
(VROMI and GEBE you all are too wicked – give the poor men back their meters.)
Cuthbert Bannis
