Dear Editor,
After the Committee for Kingdom Relations of the Second Chamber visited the Dutch Windward Islands mid-July they fired no less than 46 question at State Secretary Knops. These questions were answered by him on August 28. I would like to comment on two of the answers the State Secretary provided.

 Dear Editor,
As I patiently observe the talk around the landfill, old and new, my level of amazement has reached new heights. From the man on the street to the people who form part of our trias políticas (Government, Parliament and the Judiciary) it is somewhat – no, simply put – amazing to listen to the discussions of the cause, action and result.
To be clear, “I born Here” and I am older than the existence of the dump. Old enough to have experienced my parents burning our household garbage in an old oil drum at home and old enough to understand that at the time the dump was started the interior and exterior territorial waters fell under the responsibility of the Central Government/The Government of the Netherlands Antilles, which therefore leads me to conclude that the start of the dump was permitted by the Central Government. At the time, probably a better solution than dumping the garbage in Back Bay or for that matter burning at home or burning in the small incinerator located on A.T. Illidge Road across where Pitusa Hotel is today.
Fast forward to the 21st century: 2008 a committee was established consisting of 3 wise men, but the solution which that committee found was terminated and followed by a court case. Several years later government established a Steering Committee to find a solution to the over-40-year-old sanitary landfill, which for over 20 years we called “Mount Luis” but has since graduated to “Mount Fire.” The sanitary landfill has expanded since September 2017, across the street where today the Irma dump is located.
The Steering Committee which was established in 2012 consisting of 3 wise men – an engineer of the Ministry, a secretary-general of the Ministry [of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure – Ed.] VROMI and a very experienced consultant who worked here for years during the rebuilding post-Hurricane Luis – was supported by a well-established law firm in the Dutch Caribbean.
The steering committee of 2012 tasked with finding a solution found one in 2013 which didn’t materialize and was eventually terminated in 2017. Then came the last solution which reached the furthest and got approval of the council of ministers back in December 2017. This proposed solution also hit a stumbling block because of the commonality in all solutions – that government changed before the process could be completed; that all choices were backed by solid advices from a reputable legal firm in the Dutch Caribbean and waste-to-energy experts from the Netherlands. Another common denominator in the solutions are the choices each of the committees made; A waste-to-energy processing plant.
Now here is an interesting observation; the new governments did not change the committee members over the years; the new governments crushed the proposed solutions they met when they assumed office and instructed the committee to come up with a new solution.
Legal consequences: The previous solution required a waiting period to avoid legal action against government which would have accompanied a hefty financial penalty. The consequence was that no action has been taken to solve the problem, which is the sanitary landfill.
We are now at solution number 3, with a signed MOU, an approval from Council of Ministers and a request from the Governor for additional information in order for the Governor to further process the decision that has reached his desk which will solve the sanitary landfill problems.
The government, which is the new government, which met the solution on the table, rather than exercise continuity in government does not take the time to provide the governor the requested information, instead the sitting government dismisses the proposal and wants to go to a new public tender.
A public tender in itself is usually the best way to get a fair deal. It takes about a year to prepare and another 6 months at best to sort through the proposals, fine tune the agreements and sign an agreement; that is, if any reputable companies will bid, because now everyone in the world knows that even if you participate in a public tender in St. Maarten or for that matter negotiate with the highest authorities on this island, there is a big chance that the government will fall and that your proposal, your efforts, your money spent will be lost because the government of St. Maarten has a notorious reputation not to exercise continuity in government.
Finally, with respect to the assistance being offered by the Dutch Government through the Trust Fund which sits at the World Bank, I have this to say. The (old) sanitary landfill is not a result of the hurricanes of 2017, and as such, while we appreciate the help, 1. it should not be a quick fix, rather a long-term solution will remove the landfill and process garbage optimally, and, in an ideal situation, even generate income and jobs; 2. The Trust Fund should focus on its intended purpose, namely rebuilding St. Maarten after the damage caused by the hurricanes in 2017; as such the Irma Dump is within your scope.
I re-emphasize: Use the reconstruction funds for reconstruction. There are solutions on the table that will not cost us significant funds, let those take their course and focus on the reconstruction.
In conclusion I would like to remind the readers of this letter of the common denominators: The Committee which has the same members throughout 3 governments; the committee brought 3 solutions to the table, all backed by solid advices from a reputable legal firm in the Dutch Caribbean and waste to energy experts from the Netherlands, a Waste to Energy processing plant are the choices each of the committees made; the proposals were left unfinished and 3 subsequent governments did not continue or finalize the solution
Suggestion: Let’s complete the proposed solution for the sanitary landfill that is currently on the table. Let us use reconstruction funds for reconstruction.

Soualiga Native
Name withheld at author’s request.

Dear Editor,

“As part of the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, adopted in September 2015, the UN has recognized the importance of eradicating poverty in all forms. Poverty presents an enormous global challenge for the international community, as it is a significant threat to sustainable development. In the spirit of global solidarity, the 2030 Agenda is focused on how best to meet the needs of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable citizens and acknowledges the role that the private sector must play in supporting the various organizations who have undertaken philanthropic efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda. Poverty exists in every country around the globe, from powerful industrial nations to developing countries. It continues to affect millions of people, regardless of their social and cultural situations, and is a barrier to true prosperity and equality,” the UN website announces.

St. Maarten

Eradicating poverty is a topic well known in St. Maarten. Although defining a poverty line for St. Maarten has not been completed, income poverty exists on the island. St. Maarten does not have abject poverty, but pockets of poverty seem to exist in some neighborhoods, like in Dutch Quarter, Middle Region, Cay Bay, Over the Bank, Cole Bay areas. There are no large slum areas on St. Maarten, although there are smaller areas on the St. Maarten with a relatively high percentage of inadequate housing.

According to the Well-Being Survey done by the Department of STAT (2013-2014), more than 40 per cent of the households surveyed considered themselves in need, compared to 28.5 per cent who consider themselves poor. Socially “being poor” has a more permanent and somewhat stigmatic meaning, while “living in need” is considered a less permanent and more socially acceptable state of being. Of those living in need, more than half (54.1 percent) feel that they are poor.

What has St. Maarten been doing on the theme of poverty?

The government of St. Maarten has been tackling poverty in many ways. One way was to undergo an exercise in 2014 to determine how severe the poverty on the island is.

With the Millennium Acceleration Framework (MAF) methodology government has undertaken a desk review of available data and resources; this was followed by exchanging dialogue with stakeholders, non-governmental organizations, civil society and the private sector on poverty alleviation, on core challenges and solutions. Those bilateral consultations with stakeholders have reflected into an outcome, which is written in the MAF report. This report includes a Country Action Plan for poverty alleviation.

The government of St. Maarten intends to embrace sustainable community development for its society to contribute to poverty eradication and environmental sustainability.

For more detailed information, check out our Website for the MAF Report and Action plan to accelerate progress on Poverty Alleviation, www.sintmaartengov.org

Next to that, there are other initiatives within the several ministries, which deals with the people in need.

It is also widely known that there are a wide variety of private and collaborative initiatives, and initiatives by NGOs to hold out a hand to people in need. The amount of charity actions by those organizations has increased after the passing of the devastating Hurricane Irma on September 6 last year.

“Giving is not about making a donation, it’s about making a difference,” is a quote by Kathy Calvin that hits the nail. That is exactly the kind of spirit societies need, to cope with poverty and social needs.

An example of this on St. Maarten is the initiative of Dirkjan Jansen de Jong, Joost and friends, whereby “people helping people and give back to the community” is applied, since the passing of Hurricane Irma. De Jong says, “The storm was horrifying for everyone but after the storm so much positive things happened, and they are still happening all around the island.

“So many people who still dedicate so much of their time in helping other people, animals and the environment. We started an initiative that by eating and drinking at the Freegan Food Café, you automatically donate to the Freegan Food Lunches. Every day 100 lunches are made and offered to areas on St. Maarten where people are in need of basic essentials. Every day there will be a plant-based breakfast and lunch made with veggies.

“The Freegan Food Café (FFC) gets from (super)markets and restaurants on the island their leftovers, which are the base of our meals. Merchants market, Carpios and Kams Foodworld are our main sponsors so far. We also raise money for animal and environmental organizations. We do this because Love is a universal language and can be given and received in so many ways. With teamwork we can make the dream work.”

St. Maarten’s Department of the Interior and Kingdom Relations BAK is the designated focal point for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda on St. Maarten. Ms. Drs. L. Morales, program manager at BAK, can be contacted for the MAF Report and to be part of the SDGs process. You can reach her via government email

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or per telephone number +1-721-527-1223.

Ministry of General Affairs

Department of the Interior and Kingdom Relations BAK

Dear Editor,

It was around September 1998 when I was visited in my notary office on St. Maarten by two intelligence agents, one from Holland, Mr. Oosterlaken and one from Curaçao, Mr. Schuschen. They had come to finish an interrogation which had started on March 9 of that year. Topic: the functioning of the notary by us.

Like the first part of the interrogation, this one also felt to me like giving an introductory class to students. At the end the two gentlemen thanked me for the information given and admitted that they had learnt a lot.

I then told Mr. Oosterlaken, who had been the leading agent in the interrogation: “I could have given you the same information when you had come to St. Maarten to investigate my deeds and when, as you knew, I went to Holland for a couple of days to give a lecture. In that case there would have been no need to arrest me there.” He wryly smiled.

Mr. Schuschen stood by with a big grin on his face.

What appeared afterwards was that some Dutch politicians had come to the conclusion that whenever we Antilleans had reached an important position we would become corrupt and that our leaders would not do anything about that so that they had to take matters in their own hands. One favorite way they loved to expose that “corruption” was to make arrests just around an important meeting between our Kingdom Partners and embarrass us.

In my case that was the historic Top Conference between those Partners in the week after my arrest on March 3 of that year, during which conference the Dutch Prime Minister and the Dutch Minister of Justice and in charge of our Antillean Affairs would present a motion to force our politicians to move up the three most important functions (Legislation, Taxes and Justice) of our autonomous country the Netherlands Antilles and make them part of the layer of Kingdom Affairs, which is controlled by the Dutch.

Because of the public reaction caused by my arrest and that of Reinaldo (“Tinchi”) Timp in the so-called Point Pirouette Affair that plan backfired and our politicians sent back the Dutch delegation emptyhanded. The title (“Injustice in the name of the Queen”) has been waiting for me to write the book about this most devastating episode in my social and professional life, which was followed up by a second attack that ended by my profession as notary, which I had practiced for almost 20 years, being taken away.

The reason I’m writing this article, though, is not because I’m a Makamba-hater, an enemy or even an adversary of the European Dutch, what some of the Dutch have come to say but is totally nonsense. There are some who think they are superior to us but most don’t. And there are some who have good intentions with us but who just make terrible mistakes by thinking they can just apply their values on ours without seriously checking whether that is really the best for us.

And then there are also those among ourselves who just per definition accept that the Dutch are superior to us, or others, often in powerful positions, who criticize them when the Dutch rap their knuckles because they don’t comply with their obligations to properly serve their people’s interest.

In other persons’ cases and also in mine I have noticed that while the Dutch were overzealously mingling in our affairs such was often because our leaders had not been properly doing their own homework. My and Tinchi Timp’s arrests, and possibly others’ too, would not have been necessary had our own authorities properly done their homework and not just sign on to the garbage investigation work by persons like Mr. Oosterlaken when such was thrown in their lap.

On the other hand, we should also be very grateful when, after Irma, because of the failure of our leaders the Dutch Marines took over to assist and protect St. Maarten. All our islands, not just Curaçao, should have a monument with the famous words pronounced by Queen Wilhelmina in her speech on December 1942 to: “Rely on own strength but with the will to assist each other.” Perhaps that might help our political leaders to start listening to those, like myself, whose offers to help with their vast experience and love for our people, up to now have been falling on deaf ears.                                                                                                

Elco Rosario