Dear Editor,

  Who is supervising the World Bank as to how it is managing the 470 million euros ($580 million) that Holland promised St. Maarten for the reconstruction after Hurricanes Irma and Maria?

  We heard of the 470 million that was placed in the St. Maarten Recovery, Reconstruction and Resilience Trust Fund. Forgive my ignorance, but how was it opened? Was it placed on a current account? Was it placed or opened as a savings account, if so at what interest rate and how much has it earned so far?

  I hope these questions can be answered expeditiously. I don’t want to hear responses such as privacy laws and confidentiality. Don’t preach it unless you are living it.

  Transparency is the buzzword. We need an accurate account of how much the World Bank has collected for its services. I am sure it will be deducted from the grant.

  We heard of different projects to which some of the funds have been allocated. Does the common man on the street know who they are and what they do? No. Most of us have no clue.

  What have they accomplished visibly for St. Maarten? We know that they have strict rules and are responsible for ensuring that the money is spent properly. If my memory serves me right, there is $50 million that supposed to go to the government, who in turn will lend it to Princess Juliana International Airport. We have heard of the $25 million set aside for the new hospital.

  Is Sunwing still waiting on financial assistance from government? We have all read its demands.

  As far as I can see, St. Maarten’s path to recovery is mainly due to the resilience of her people, the insurance companies and the different organizations such as the Red Cross, who have assisted in some way or the other. And by the way, some insurance companies have increased their premiums by 60 per cent. Am talking from experience. Can you imagine persons with no or a reduced income having to deal with increase in food cost, rent, construction materials, interest rates and all kinds of banking fees?

  During the banking crisis, the giants received some $750 billion in bail-out funds; who is going to bail us out? At a time when interest rates should be lowered, they are being increased. This is another subject for another time. It will call for a discussion on what their policies are and their legal anti-social and immoral jargon.

  Got side-tracked for a moment.

  The trust fund of 470 million euros apparently has 3 interested parties; the one granting the money (Holland), the one managing the money (the World Bank) and the recipient (St. Maarten). It is time for the World Bank to be called to Parliament and it has to be a plenary session. After all, the people have a right to know.

George Pantophlet

Dear Editor,

  I have taken note of the announcement on page 14 of Thursday’s Daily Herald that the general public of St. Eustatius is invited by “Mr. M. Franco” as “Chairman of the Island Council” to attend an extraordinary meeting of the electoral committee.

  Point 03 on the agenda of said meeting is: “Approval credentials of Island Council members-elect.”

  As leader of the PLP, I want to again point out the following to Mr. Franco and the Dutch Government which he represents. The first one is that, based on the people of Statia’s right to self-determination and a full measure of self-government based on absolute equality as prescribed by international law, no Dutch appointee can be Chairman of the Island Council.

  Secondly, based on the same unlawful act of the Dutch Government with which they pretended to dissolve the legitimately-elected Island Council of St. Eustatius, they decided not to have the Island Council elections on Statia take place on March 20^th.

  For the self-proclaimed “Chairman” of that same Island Council to now publicly and officially proclaim that the approval of the credentials of Island Council members-elect will take place can’t be anything else than an act of wilful, malicious deceit and incompetence. The fact that the mistake in the statement of Mr. Franco was widely pointed out and discussed on Facebook, yet still approved and sent out under his responsibility is proof of this.

  It is bad enough that the people of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba have been fooled and confused by having nonsensical elections for the Electoral Council take place.

But now the Dutch Government is displaying the exact incompetence and committing the same wrongful acts they tried to accuse the legitimately and democratically elected government of St. Eustatius of. This is a downright disgrace.

  Combined with the many examples of incompetence and corruption taking place at all levels in the Netherlands in the past and present, this again demonstrates that the Dutch Government has absolutely no moral authority to rule over the people of the Dutch Caribbean or any other nations for that matter.

  Recently, Mr. Franco’s Deputy, Mr. Stegers admitted to having committed an unlawful act by assigning a contract to a civil servant in violation of his own Dutch laws.

  Based on this latest action by Mr. Franco, I want to caution the Dutch Government against continuing their misleading ways with these malicious and deceitful actions, for they might lead to unrest among the people of Sint Eustatius.

Clyde I. van Putten

Island Council Member,

Leader, Progressive Labour Party (PLP), St. Eustatius

From the Pedestal

Dear Editor,

  I am not a lawyer, I am an educator, and a very concerned Sint Maartener. In my postgraduate leadership training, I learned much about observation and unconsciously I practice it every minute of the day. I walk into a room and see everything at once because I am always alert and I want to share an observation that annoys me somewhat.

  It has been a while since I attended a court session at the Courthouse in Sint Maarten. It was on a Wednesday morning in March and the case I attended was already in process.

  I listened carefully to the defense presenting their viewpoint and as intrigued as I was with the information presented, I realized that I was constantly distracted and forced to reset my attention to what was being said. The distraction came from the fact that the Public Prosecutors (two) were constantly giggling with one another, with exchanges between them that seemed to have nothing to do with the presentation of the defense. I assumed this was not about the case as they never put pen to paper, which would have been something one would do when an opposing view is presented.

  This behavior carried on for a while. The Judge allowed this to occur, maybe because he did not see it, or he was focused on the defense and could not see what was happening at his immediate right, but as I stated earlier, I am an observer.

  This situation made me wonder what the Judge would have done if it had been the attorneys engaging in this type of behavior. Surely the seating arrangement would have been the basis for such behavior not to be missed by the Judge.

  This brings me to the seating arrangement in our Court. The Public Prosecutor is seated to the right of the Judge and at the same table, and any one viewing this arrangement could assume that this/these persons function in relation to or by extension of the Judge. The seating arrangement gives reason to assume that the Public Prosecutor takes in a position elevated above the attorneys who present the defense. This arrangement is literally seen as though the Public Prosecutor shares the elevated pedestal with the Judge. All looking down on the defendant and the defense attorneys.

  My understanding is that the Public Prosecutor must make the case, not just state it but bring forward the evidence to support it. It means that the Prosecutor just like the defense has to put on a fight in court to ensure that the court gets that conviction that this position is proven.

  If both parties have to fight to get the conviction of the Judge, why is one placed below and the other placed next to the Judge? Is the message not sent that one on the right of the Judge is easier believed than the one below who has to try so much harder just by the fact that they are not on equal footing from the start.

  I am an observer, but this is my analysis during this case. The fact that the Public Prosecutor seemed to be permitted to disrespect the court bothered me and distracted me, and probably distracted the Judge as well.

  As an educator, I feel that if I am in charge of a space, no one will disrespect that space in my presence and I would have to call them out on it. I do not understand why the Judge allowed this and why the Public Prosecutors felt comfortable enough to display this behavior so flagrantly.

  I believe that the seating arrangement is the cause of the Judge not seeing all that is happening around him in his own court room and much slips because the Public Prosecutors are not seated before or in front of him as the attorneys are.

  I can imagine how difficult lawyers have it to convince a Judge because they already start from a disadvantaged premise. As an observer I did observe other points such as the Public Prosecutors having the advantage of hearing all witnesses they wanted, but that same privilege is not granted to a lawyer who is making a defense.

  With all that I have experienced and observed in the last year and months on Sint Maarten, I wonder about the Justice system and question if we are equally served from that pedestal? I question so many areas within the system.

  When someone has to appear in court, no matter how small or big the case may be, that defendant is fighting for his or her life, freedom, reputation, and name, and Mr. Judge, giggles and chit chats during the court sessions are offensive and disrespectful in this matter, because it can hinder the fairness and integrity of our Justice system.

  Let me conclude by saying that it may be time to take a second look at the Pedestal from which Justice is served.

Josianne Fleming Artsen

To our St. Maarten “leaders”,

  On Wednesday, with [Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure – Ed.] VROMI’s approval, heavy equipment removed some of the last remaining trees on Kim Sha Beach for a new project, a much-needed beach bar.

  One of these is the old sea grape tree near the center of the beach which we, as children, climbed and played hide-and-seek in. It has seen many a storm and survived [Hurricane] Irma stoically, only to be cut down, without a care in the world, by the very ones appointed to protect them.

  And not just one tree, but many.

  You would think that any intelligent person would recognize the most basic fact that we have already lost so many trees in the Simpson Bay area due to Irma and that those few remaining would be valued for their size, age and strength, but no, VROMI sees no value in petty greenery. Let’s chop them down for more alcoholic beverages on the beach. God knows we need another bar at Kim Sha.

  I am so frustrated and ashamed of those in power.

  When my children were growing up, we would have a game on our way to school in the morning. “Tell me the name of our Minister of Tourism,” I would ask them, and the one who answered correctly would get a point. We would go through all of our ministers, governor, king, etc.. and by the age of 8 or 9, they knew them all. We were proud and patriotic, never missed an election and I was so motivated to be a part of our island’s future.

  I no longer care who is head of which department as you, our elected officials, do not care about us. Over the last few years we have lost complete respect for you. My children no longer know your names. Your total lack of leadership has made me question why we have ministers and parliamentarians in the first place. Our money pays your salaries to do what?! What have any of you done over the last five years that has benefited St. Maarten as a whole?

  Instead of thinking of the future; beautifying, improving infrastructure, protecting our animals, our wildlife, citizens and greenery, you squander our money on court cases and business deals.

  I was always told by my father that when you complain or criticize, you should follow up with a solution or suggestion, so I will suggest the only thing that I can think of. Replace each of those trees you removed today with two of its exact kind.

  We will be watching and waiting for you to do the right thing.

Susy Maidwell