Debt-ridden Guangdong Zhenrong Energy (GZE) faces the possibility of completely disappearing from the map or getting absorbed by another Chinese state-owned enterprise (SOE). This, as a result of a thorough overhaul of many SOEs by the powerful Chinese State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) which embarked on a revamp of its SOEs in 2015 to tackle rising corporate debt and also to make them more profitable.
A leading financial newspaper of Southeast Asia has quoted Mr. Xiao Yaqing, the SASAC chairman, wanting “to reduce a lot of ‘zombie enterprises’ and improve the management efficiency.” Whether GZE is specifically considered a zombie SOE cannot be confirmed, at least not at this time. One thing is for sure however, GZE was not at the top of its game when it comes to China’s ambitious One Belt One Road Strategy to make it the world’s strongest economic powerhouse. Far from that. They messed up big time in Myanmar as I reported long before it became news in Curaçao after returning from an assignment from that country at the end of 2016. Funny thing is that GZE showcased its involvement in Myanmar as its visit card to get involved in Curaçao. Most shocking was that I got first-hand knowledge of GZE’s involvement in grave human rights violations by driving people off of their farm lands in order to build what would’ve been a multi-billion dollar refinery in Myanmar.
Yet the Curaçao project team responsible for finding the best international partner to modernize the Curaçao refinery, MDPT, somehow pulled GZE out of a hat and had the Whiteman Administration happily sign on the dotted line. Did the project manager fool everyone? Or, did the whole team get played by the Chinese? Or, did it purposely look away from the ugly facts? Were the Administrations from 2016 onward so eager to score politically (and maybe personally) that they were willing to make a deal with some wannabe refinery experts? Where was the independent press? Did some media outlets feel they had to keep quiet and go with the flow after the GZE paid for a plush trip to China for a group of local media people?
I don’t know if these questions will ever get answered. Hopefully we’ve all gained from these lessons learned. We cannot have the fate of our refinery continue to be in hands of people on solo tours or who consider themselves some kind of superhero. That’s how we lost a lot of valuable time with GZE in the first place. We need transparency. We need politicians who don’t get involved in the technical nitty gritty. We need people to look into the corporate and social behavior of all would-be candidates to run our refinery in the future. We need an independent project team that looks into the real possibilities of redeveloping the prime location that the refinery currently occupies on our island. Nothing is forever, surely not the refinery.
By Alex Rosaria
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.
Dear Editor,
I am not an Editor, nor am I familiar with the pains of running a newspaper. I write letters to you concerning the happenings in my country, leaving the prerogative with you to print or not to print. I have gathered over the years that bad/negative news sells, and brings in the bucks, so I will not venture to dispute that.
But here is the thing. Even though we continuously frown at the bad news, we repeat it for days, giving it a life. When corrections are made in the papers after a faulty article, one can hardly find the corrections.
My father, who was premier mentor, was very strong on first impressions. I can still vividly remember the lesson I got on tying my shoelaces. “The teacher will always remember you as the little boy who came to school on the first day with his shoelaces untied.” He said the first impression is a lasting impression.
Contrary to “negative news sells” I have always asked myself ”if the editorial is an avenue to improve, why is that same person, who I am sure is aware that the first impression is a lasting impression, giving priority to negative news instead of trying to make a good and lasting impression on the community by putting the good news on the front page?” I read the article of the installation of officer Robelto Hodge as new Chief of Basic Police Care on Statia in the Tuesday newspaper and asked myself why all the way on page 13.
I know that theologians will have themselves a field day adding the different passage but my mind started racing through the passages of the Bible which we confront in our daily living. Mark 6:4; Romans 3;23 ; Romans 13:7 etc.
I might be from the old school but I still grimace when I see police officers out in the open, in uniform without a cap on. When it is a high-ranking officer it is bad enough and to salute without a cap makes it even worse. (If your uniform is not complete, wear a suit and stand at attention.) I stand to be corrected, but I am still waiting for someone to show me a picture of a member of the VKS in uniform, in the public without head gear.
Chief Robelto Hodge was a pupil of mine many years ago, who I knew would make it far in the force, so permit me via this media to publicly congratulate him and his family and, of course, the Police Force of Sint Eustatius. May the good Lord continue to bless them and guide him in his further endeavour.
Russell A. Simmons
Dear Editor,
I would like to address my comrades in a very candid way about independence.
Comrades, St. Martin (North) and St. Maarten (South) are Siamese twins. The twin-island people are family.
But constitutionally St. Martin and St. Maarten are different. Therefore, if St. Maarten should go for independence without St. Martin that would create a serious political crisis. And it would create a serious social crisis as well.
Furthermore, St. Martin with all its colonial issues has not been clamouring for independence from France. And with all those hefty social benefits from the French system, an SOS call for independence seems unlikely. Unlike the abolition of slavery (emancipation), St. Maarten and St. Martin would have to go for independence simultaneously for the twin-island to coexist.
While independence would be possible for St. Maarten, St. Martin would have a major struggle to get its independence from France.
Think about that, comrades.
Julien F. Petty
The difficult narrow gate
Dear Editor,
Recently many theologians are discussing the narrow gate in the Bible and what kind of people takes that road.
The question is what is the narrow gate and why is it difficult? In Luke 14:26 Jesus said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” This instruction seems strange until we understand the meaning of it.
In other words, a Christian’s love for living God’s way of life has to be greater than the love he or she has for any human relationship, as well as for himself or herself.
Luke 14:27 – And whosoever do not bear his cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
Luke 9:23-24 – And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
Luke 14:28 – “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?
Luke 14:33 – So likewise, who so ever he is of you that forsaketh, not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 – “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
1 Corinthians 6:9 – Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolater, nor adulterers, nor men or women who submit to or perform homosexual acts, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
1 John 2:5 – Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
James 4:4 – You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
The conclusion is I now understand why the world hates true Christians and why people call the Bible teaching hate speech. Because the world cannot accept the truth. The truth is offensive.
Now I know why many preachers hate to teach these scriptures, it is because many of them are not truly men of God. If you look at these scriptures probably 95 percent of the people in the world if they do not repent and turn away from our sinful ways will go hell.
The narrow gate is very difficult. We all have to keep trying because choices have consequences. We can only do it with Christ’s help, to succeed let Christ’s will be done.
The Patriot Miguel Arrindell
Thé only country dat open
Her Doors to YOU
was France
Giving you à real chance
To educate your children
And make ah better living
After Irma she feed yo
And give you Shelter
And before we SWALIGUIAN
You were socialy covered
But Now Tis FRANCE
Who Need your support
Your waving ah Brasilian
Flag and doing àh hatien
DANCE
PRAYING FOR Every TEAM
TO PUT FRANCE TE SHAME
But t aint Goin happen
With or without your support
We going win
We must win
PLEASE lawd HELP wee te win
Cauz WE KNOW winning
IS NOT everything
But tis thé only thing
We need it Bad
So WE fithing had
Forget thé failures of the pass
Just let WE have this one
For thé last
ALLEZ LES BLEUS
Gagnée c'est ce qu 'on veux
Pour être enfin heureux
So give Argentina her final
French Kiss
And send she Home
For Her presence no one will
Really miss
But for wee TIS ah Bliss
So grab your flag
And wave
Otherwise forget about dat
Caf money
And prépare for your JOURNEY
For Come Monday morning
Your ass Goin te Rio
With no DINERO
Raymond Helligar aka “Big Ray”
