Dear Editor,
In the past three weeks, politicians and industry leaders at a number of summits in the Caribbean have expressed the urgent need for better air connections and more reasonable prices. Sorry folks. That’s an old hat to say the least. There may even be a skeleton in the closet.
In 2007, Ministers of Civil Aviation in the Caribbean and other tourism and travel officials drafted the “San Juan Accord,” which called for regional officials to put in place the policy framework that would make intra-Caribbean travel for airlines less expensive and more competitive in terms of attracting investment.
In 2012, at the annual Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference, industry experts made it clear that the lack of airlift within the region represents a missed opportunity for Caribbean tourism,
“There is no Caribbean government anywhere that can ignore the difficulties that face airlift in the region,”said the then Minister of Tourism of St. Kitts. “What we are saying at the CTO [Caribbean Tourism Organisation – Ed.] is that all Caribbean governments need to create a forum that can really bring these issues to the table. It is my hope that over the next few months there will be certain opportunities that will be used.”
What was suggested in 2012 as hope for action “in the next few months” takes six years and shows no results. The Director General and CEO of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) at the time commented:“The problem is, we have not implemented what we ourselves agree needs to be done.” In other words, let’s just call it a lot of “um diddle diddle um diddle ay” and no action.
As for industry organizations in 2018 warning for the impact of raising passenger taxes? At that same 2012 Conference, the then President of the CHTA said that he noticed new policies for taxing not only the private sector, but also our visitors directly, and that these masquerade under such names as airport improvement taxes, tourism enhancement fees, and airline passenger duty. He believed that increased taxation is regressive, resulting in less revenue for the hotel and attraction sector. He urged governments to make a “serious effort” to review their taxation policies on the tourism industry and said: “It is now time to remove or reduce all excessive consumption taxes. Our industry is based on competitive pricing. Our visitors will simply choose other destinations.”
The alarm clock rang already in 2012, but apparently someone hit the “snooze button.” Snoozing before officially getting out of bed is a pretty standard practice. To give some background on the biology of sleep: About an hour before eyes actually open, the body begins to “reboot.” The brain sends out signals to release hormones, the body temperature rises, and one enters into a lighter sleep in preparation for the wake-up. So, the current big “to-do” about passenger taxes may very well be considered no more than “the preparation for a wake-up.” Yet, snoozing six years could also be considered a coma and one may question whether there will be an actual rise-and-shine to remove or reduce taxes. After all, any Government will be very hesitant to give up a cash-cow.
At an industry conference in 2017, the tourism expert consultant and former Minister of Tourism and Aviation of the Bahamas, Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace called the implementation of the taxation “committing economic suicide without doing it.”
In July 2018, the Prime Minister of Barbados reminded the attending Honourables at yet another summit that “The single domestic space for hassle, intra-regional travel, must be a place where we must start if we are serious about the single market and the single economy. It must be the place if we want the buy-in of our citizens.” She stated that a single domestic space for hassle-free travel pre-supposes a single domestic space for transportation and that the region could do better with respect to moving people between island to island and country to country.
In 2015, the Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) has urged regional authorities to institute an Open Skies policy. It would allow regional carriers to take unlimited flights to all Caricom member states and encourage the growth of competition among carriers, elimination of secondary screening would encourage greater demand for intra-regional travel. He spoke at the airline route development forum “World Routes” in Durban, South Africa.
Already in 2006 a study was done for the same CTO, called “Caribbean Air Transport Study” as part of the Caribbean Regional Sustainable Tourism Development Program. The main objective of the study was to “assist the region in rationalizing international and intra-regional air transport as a means of ensuring the sustainable development of the tourism sector,” or “how to develop and maintain regional airlift capacity consistent with the sustainable development of the tourism sector.”The study called for “Open Skies” between the various countries in the region. Most of the governments signed bilateral agreements with the USA because they want US airlines and passengers to come and visit. But “Open Skies” among the Caribbean territories themselves? Fifteen years of ZZZzzzz and snoring!
Recently in 2018 at an industry conference, the before-mentioned Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace stated that the Caribbean itself is the major market for Caribbean airlift.
The Caribbean may not need any more studies and committees, and meetings of Honourables, calling upon others to do something where they failed themselves to take the initiative for action. A “Summit-and-Do” should be organized, whereby is nailed who will take the first step, what will be done, and a date of completion is set. Wouldn’t that be an honourable initiative for Honourables to agree on and stick to?
In the meantime, … on and on it goes and where it ends no one knows.
Commander Bud Slabbaert
Dear Editor,
Ministers and parliamentarians can come and go but you all, the civil servants, have been always doing you all’s best to keep St. Maarten the number one tourist destination in the Caribbean.
Any part of the world you came from and you come to St. Maarten on vacation it is possible you can meet someone from any part of the world.
The hotel and guesthouse owners, managers and staff are excellent, letting all the visitors feel like they are at home.
It is nice to visit the island of St Maarten with two nations and over 100 different nationalities here. (St. Maarten the world tourist destination)
Cuthbert Bannis
Dear Editor,
Knowledge is understanding – with the swearing in of the Council of Ministers on June 25, 2018, the ruling United Democrats/St. Maarten Christian Party (UD/SMCP) coalition government found itself in a political dilemma with not having enough sitting MPs in the Parliament to govern.
The 8 to 7 ruling coalition government resigned 2 of its sitting members of parliament and had them sworn in as ministers, leaving the coalition with a 6 to 7 minority support in the Parliament. Consequently, there were not enough MPs to form a quorum to convene Parliament in order to review the credentials and approve and/or appoint replacement parliamentarians.
Luckily, a degree of political sensitivity was displayed in our polity neutralizing the political dilemma as 1 of the 2 minority parties (the National Alliance) in Parliament afforded the governing coalition the necessary support/attendance to form a quorum, review the credentials and approve and appoint the 2 replacement MPs.
The problem of an inability to allow MPs to transform to Ministers while simultaneously ensuring the maintenance of power in Parliament is an institutional one. Hence, it is a structural rather than a constitutional crisis. New laws cannot resolve the problem.
The problem that emerged was not based on any (narrow) interpretation of the Constitution or law but a political dilemma where ensuring and maintaining the balance of power in Parliament was not explicitly and adequately (strategic politically) handled.
In politics we have to be mindful that political dilemmas come with consequences which in this case could have very well been a vote of no confidence in the UD/SMCP (one-week-old) coalition government. Without the unusual political sensitivity shown by the opposition bench in Parliament, the likelihood of new elections would not have been neutralized.
Talks that the political dilemma could have been avoided with a larger majority in Parliament is pointless. Having a large majority in parliament does not necessarily safeguard any government from political dilemmas that could result in finding themselves in a minority support position (in parliament). Granted, a larger majority in government/parliament is always better which for the most part allows the governing party to better execute its governing program, pass legislation and withstand a vote of non-confidence.
Furthermore, as for the report that the Parliamentarians should turn to the courts to have or ensure that their credentials are reviewed, (thus allowing them to sit in Parliament) is problematic. It not only raises question of “separation of powers” but also the infringement of the judicial branch of government on the authority/duties and responsibilities of the legislative branch.
It is the task of the courts to handle and resolve disputes. However, there were no disputes as to whether or not the credentials of the replacement parliamentarian would be reviewed – it was a political, procedural problem of the governing coalition not having enough sitting MPs in the Parliament to form a quorum to convene Parliament, to review the credentials and approve and appoint their two replacement MPS.
Alternatively, the ruling coalition Government could have been more politically conscious of the potential dilemma and first secure their balance of power (in Parliament). That is, not waiting until the 11th hour where there would be a conflict of a minister simultaneously being a parliamentarian; in this case proceeding with swearing in 5 of the 7 ministers. As such maintaining the balance of power in Parliament and reviewing the credentials and approving the replacement parliamentarians would have been possible followed by the resignation of the parliamentarians that would be replaced and swearing in them as ministers. Political crises averted.
Political analyst Julio R. Romney
The French cocks standing up strong
And we singing
Coquioco
Some say tez lucky
WE lucky
Cauz WE started off
Soo slowly
Some Say WE Darkness
Was WE weakness
Mbappe
Prove them Wrong
Cause Like Pele
He score two goals
In one Match
AT the age of nineteen
Making football History
But the French press
Refuse to tell he story
Just like they did to Henri
And Thuram
Or EVEN Jean Pierre Adam
Remaining to the media
An to the French press in Anomia
After thirty-five years
He Still on a COMA
Tez WE dat make France
Great
So whether YOU Like it
Or l'UMP it
Paris IS nothing
Without WE
So Come sunday
We taking WE stand
Next to the White Man
Like ah good kreol cock
And we Chanteing
CoccoRico
True to we FRENCH Motto
Même quand nos pieds
Sont dans la merde
On chante toujours
COCORICO
Raymond Helligar aka “Big Ray”
Where are those parents? Remember that look?
Dear Editor,
Sitting at home a lady and her son were walking up the road, when I heard her tell the boy, “I don’t wan’ no child of mine following other children.”
When I heard “following other children” it took me back to my childhood days. “Following other children” has become “peer pressure,” “gang forming,” “guilty by association,” etc.
Many years ago my father told me this story in order to explain me why I should not follow other children: As a sailor for the LAGO he visited many countries and did not have to post anything home because he brought it home with him. At that time already there were Customs and often times the sailors tried to avoid Customs.
One day a fellow seaman, who did not know that my uncle, also a sailor, was my father’s brother, told my father that my uncle had refused to help him bring home something without going through Customs. In order to get in my father’s graces, who had stuff of his own to bring home and who had used that as an excuse not to accept the request, he told my father that he did not know what is wrong with Pete (my uncle) because “Pete never like to help people.” My father answered him, “Maybe the fact that nothing is wrong with him, is what is wrong with him.”
He would not tell me who that person was because I was a child and children had nothing in big people’s business. And then I got another one of his lessons in being honest and fair, which as usual would end up with: “There is nothing wrong with being different. It makes you strong .”
My mother who, because my father sailed and she had to contend with 11 boys and three girls, also had hers . “I don’t want to see nothing in this house that I did not send you for.” She would say, “‘NO’ is one of the most safest and thoughtful words in life. There is no one on this earth who does not stop to think after you tell him ‘NO.’ When you learn to say and accept ‘NO’ you will never hear a prison door close behind you.”
As a child you thought that that was rigid, and then years after being on the force she would jokingly tell me that I was ungrateful, but would never say why. All she would say when I asked her why, is, “You’s a good policeman, right?” And then one day when I insisted from my father to tell me, he smiled and said, “You never thanked her for all the licks she gave you to straighten you out.”
What is the average age for the people in prisons.? I was told in the late 20s. So if we continue to talk about the discipline we got from the older folks, especially that look, and if the prison is filled with young people, then why is beating your children worse than not beating them ? What percentage of the world population are believers? Why are all of these modern theories on disciplining children more acceptable than Proverbs 13:24? Are there any statistics to compare “Old school life” to this modern cell phone era in which one cannot spell a simple word “believe” and the word “love,” which has become the symbol of a heart.
If it said that children grow up and become what they see and not what they hear, is that an indictment for the parents? So when I heard “Following other children” I asked myself, “Where are those parents?”
Those of you who know that look, try it, it might make your children smile years from now.
Russell A. Simmons
