Dear Editor,
I, the undersigned, would like to let the people of St. Maarten know this. Any time someone is doing the right thing in St. Maarten he is no good.
Why are the people picking on Mr. Lee? They don’t see the good of this man. If he could do more he would. But you know it is not like in Mr. Claude Wathey’s days when he could give you a piece of brown paper and help you to feed your children or pay your water bill and light.
If you just help someone you are buying votes. You can’t even speak to your sister and brothers, you are money-laundering or you are taking bribery. When is this going to stop?
You give a man a fishing line and a boat and he will learn how to fish. That is what Mr. Lee is doing – you can go back to school and learn a trade and you can get work to help build back the island.
Yes, what he says is true: the people take advantage of people who come on the island; they don’t give them a payslip, no doctor card, they get sick they can’t take them nowhere because they don’t have a payslip. When the Minister says it is wrong they get angry; he is no good. But he tells the truth.
If he could have put up all the people without homes he would have done that. The shelter that they have in Sucker Garden they help the people to get a place to put their heads. Nobody speaks about it.
Please, people of St. Maarten, open your eyes. Mr. Lee does a good job and I would like the people to check there are so many things that he would like to do.
But again it has to do with the leader. The Dutch, they want to lock up all the leaders. If you help someone you are buying votes. Paul in the Bible used to do the same thing to the followers of Jesus and I know the prosecutor and the judge do the same.
Thank God that the people of St. Maarten are peaceful people or this city is on fire. When Mr. Wathey said “People, be careful with the Dutch” nobody heard. They did not listen. It took a hurricane to fool them and this is what we get.
I see that my two friends have gone dumb. I don’t hear them anymore. Where are they, on vacation?
Thanks again for Mr. Lee. He looks out for the people, he doesn’t care what color they are, what party they are in, he has a job to do and he does it well. He doesn’t sit in the office only; he drives around to see what happens to people.
Please, in the name of Jesus, people, stop people, stop the fighting and put your hands in Jesus’ hands. Get to the play let’s get things done.
A next thing I see happening in St. Maarten: everybody want to be the leader. It is almost 2 years after Irma and who has the Government really helped? World Bank, thanks to the Red Cross Mr. Franker. I who don’t have a home, I help people, give them a bath, put clean clothes on them.
The people that walk on the street go on the boardwalk and you will see what happens. How sad it is.
I wish that the people would open their eyes and understand what happens. You see what they do to Theo, France, Mingo and Oneil, and there is a lot more that they are after. They feel that St. Maarten people are living good so they have to make us beggars. They say we are kipen and wonning in kippenhokkee. But when they came and see big homes, you are money-laundering people of St. Maarten.
Hold on God’s hands, give Him your all and He will see us through.
I know how it feels when you are homeless; if anyone needs help with a bath and clean clothes, check me out on the Sucker Garden main road.
God Bless Mr. Lee
Avril Gumbs
Dear Editor,
I often meet persons who say they are not hearing me and that I am too quiet. I have also heard it said by some that I talk too much. These are things that are part of the political culture which I have learnt to accept. There are many reasons for writing this article which I will articulate briefly. It is said that repetition is important as this allows your point to be remembered. But sometimes I wonder.
Dear Editor,
Nine years into Parliamentary processes and procedures leaves much to be desired of the performance and level of preparedness of our members of Parliament. The overall behavior of many MPs in and outside of office lacks professional behavior and is bereft of respect to the office they hold – MPs who are neither “fish nor fowl” because once elected regard their office as a free pass to attend meetings when convenient, while enjoying a full time excellent salary and benefits, and when they do manage to reluctantly show up, signing in only to leave to attend other “urgent” matters. A slap in the face of folks who work hard and still struggle to make ends meet.
MPs who do not work should be held accountable by the people of St. Maarten. What can be more pressing than attending to the issues that require the full attention of Parliament, especially two years after a devastating hurricane?
Members of the Council of Ministers fortunate to be appointed have the audacity to display arrogance and disrespect towards Parliament.
This misguided behavior lacks respect to the institutions of government and of governance. In other words, Ministers by account of their undignified actions in Parliament, show contempt towards the people of St. Maarten.
Ministers are dead-wrong in their assumption that an MP can be “talked down” to. In Parliament, professional and ethical behavior applies both ways. It is not who is in front of you, but what you represent.
Parliament rules of order and Parliament handbook can be updated to include some guidance in these matters.
Any Member of the Council of Ministers who defiles the House of Parliament with his/her diatribe and who publicly refuses to retract statements unbefitting for public consumption must be duly noted in the minutes of the meeting for the public record. Do not walk away.
The Council of Ministers must officially be informed in writing of such misconduct displayed by the Minister concerned and the (possible) consequences thereof. Ministers who do not sincerely apologize during the meeting for their misconduct, or those who act against their oath of office, must be served with a vote of non-confidence. It is high time for Parliament as a whole (Government-supported and opposition) to act in the general interest of this country.
Our island deserves better in all aspects of its existence. Unruly Ministers as well as Members of Parliament missing in action should spare the public their theatrics. It is time to give citizens systematic account of their actions in terms of the policies and projects that are beneficial for future generations.
This is Hurricane Season. Before MPs rush to leave town for the July “recess”, it behooves them to stay home and call each Minister one by one to Parliament to give account (not in a press conference) regarding the state of preparedness of St. Maarten. Above the surface, most seems like business as usual. Looking closer reveals much anxiety among citizens and businesses alike.
Finally, many matters require undivided attention of Government and Parliament, including but not limited to:
* The status of rebuilding existing hotel properties, including, Great Bay Hotel, Mullet Bay, Summit Hotel, Diamond Resort, former Caravanserai, while new properties are being announced with much fanfare. Is there a delay? If yes, why?
* Debate the merits of excluding taxes on civil servants’ pension and pensioners in general.
* Approve money-laundering laws. Avoid Sint Maarten being blacklisted. Not doing so affects our overall good standing in the world.
* Update rental committee ordinance to include rental fee per square meter per area.
* Government-owned companies concession fees should be reinvested in the budget towards school infrastructure and school-fees
When elephants fight, the grass gets trampled. We must redirect our attention away from detractions and rise above the fray, as we are still faced with serious issues facing our young nation. These matters are not insurmountable. We can get it right. We all have a stake in forging a great future for our island starting now.
Gracita Arrindell
Leader, People’s Progressive Alliance
Dear Editor,
Foundation Nos Ke Boneiru Bek (We Want Bonaire Back) recently went to our sister islands, Aruba and Curaçao, on a mission of information and raising awareness and to solicit support and solidarity and also funding, to contribute to the struggle and trajectory to re-enlist Bonaire back on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories.
Both in Curaçao and Aruba, fruitful meetings were held with various influential leaders and political and civil society organizations, all of whom showed their concerns for the alarming situation of Bonaire after the constitutional re-structure of 10-10-10.
On both islands, what was very remarkable was that, up to today, the majority of the people of the 2 islands are under the impression that we, ourselves, the Bonerian people, have chosen and want what we are suffering and going through now. However, brotherhood and compassion were shown and that they are in solidarity with the Bonaire people and will monitor the developments from close by and in the future, when needed, will reach out to our people.
On Curaçao, Foundation NKBB together with the Movement Kousa Prome, led by Mr. Rene Rosalia, have realized an accord of cooperation that had been initialized last December with the objective to unite forces and continue to work together in the Caribbean Progressive Alliance(CPA). The CPA alliance was founded by Mr. James Finies, president of Foundation Nos Kier Boneiru Bek (We Want Bonaire Back), in Sint Maarten in March, 2017.
Simultaneously the organizations Brighter Path Foundation and Progressive Labor Party of Sint Eustatius and The Independence Sint Maarten Foundation of Sint Maarten joined the Alliance. Today, Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten, Archipelago San Andres, Providencia, Santa Catalina, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Grenada are now members.
The ultimate objective of the CPA is to support and cooperate in the struggle to self-determination of the islands. The similar objective that Kousa Prome wants to realize for Curaçao; to support and cooperate to end the five (5) consensus laws, and to respect the vision and spirit of the U.N. Charter, in the same way as it respects the treaty of Lisbon regarding the European Union and to implement the U.N. Charter to self-determination of our peoples.
On Aruba, Foundation NKBB has achieved the same success to broaden the front of the Antilles and Caribbean cooperation alliance with the organizations Group of 7, led by Mr. Rocky Kelly and with the Status Territorium Platform, led by Mr. Orlando Croes.
The objectives that these organizations call for Aruba to realize are: to support and cooperate to evaluate and if possible, offer a discussion about the possible change of the Constitution of Aruba to enforce our Constitutional Laws in the Dutch Kingdom; to support and cooperate, to demand equal treatment from Holland for Aruba as equal partners in the Dutch Kingdom; to support and cooperate with the Caribbean people in their struggle for self-determination; and to fight colonialism and all kinds of discrimination in the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Foundation NKBB looks back on the very successful mission to our sister islands, Aruba and Curaçao, and is very proud that the front of cooperation between the islands, the Caribbean.
James Finies
Dear Editor,
We read with great interest the front page article in Saturday’s The Daily Herald regarding Prime Minister Leona Romeo-Marlin’s reminder of the importance of preparation for the 2019 hurricane season. As residents and business owners in the Cupecoy area, we first enlisted her help to assist with the clean-up of what was once Ocean Club.
