Dear St. Maarten Motorists,
As many of you may have noticed, a bunch of us bicycle riders get together every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon and ride on Airport Road from 4:30pm till the sun goes down. It is the safest road for us to train on as there are no intersections or side roads, and you will notice us out there in large groups as we have so few places that are safe to ride on the island.
We love it, but unfortunately, we will occasionally experience dangerous motorists who are impatient to get to their destinations, so let me explain how this works. We ride from the roundabout on Simpson Bay side of the causeway to the roundabout at Maho. If you get stuck behind a cyclist for that entire time, you will be running 3 minutes off schedule. Keep in mind we are riding pretty fast, mostly an average of around 30 to 35km per hour, so you do the math.
Bottom line is that it makes no sense at all to risk an accident or even simply frightening a cyclist to save only a few minutes. After an incident today, I feel it necessary to remind everyone of the law. Cyclists are considered slow traffic and have every right to be on the road. Unless we have bicycle lanes, this is a fact of life, so get used to it.
Thankfully, most drivers are considerate and enjoy seeing the bright and colourful riders of all ages out there getting fit, but there is always that one idiot, that one uneducated and bitter person like the driver of the large black truck with license plate V3338 who almost hit two cyclists today when he passed them just a foot away at a terrific speed. After catching up to him and explaining that he passed too closely, he actually had the gall to say that cyclists do not have the right to be on the road. So, hence, this letter.
We have started accumulating license plate numbers of dangerous drivers, and God forbid we should see your plate turn up in our data base of complaints twice. One time and you get a warning, like you are now, but twice my friend...twice will get you a visit from delegates of St. Maarten Cycling Federation who will invite you to the Police Station for a little chat. You will then be publicly humiliated on every social media we can find. So, consider yourself warned.
Susy Maidwell
Dear Editor,
Two weeks before the start of the new hurricane season June 1, almost three months following snap elections on February 26, a new government remains elusive. The people of St. Maarten and its faithful visitors deserve better. A hands-on and structured approach including open communication in regard to how we will move St. Maarten forward is long overdue.
Regardless of the reasons why it is taking so long to form a new government, there is simply no excuse for further delay, given the critical position we are still in following the devastation of the hurricanes Irma and Maria September 2017.
Most agree that we are still facing a crisis situation while reconstruction takes place. Daily traffic jams, burning dump in Philipsburg, many homes including that of the elderly still roofless or destroyed, many un- or under-insured, un- or under-employed, business closures, government-owned companies requesting government support, poor internet connections, long lines at government building, are just a few examples of the dire-strait position we are in today.
Several reports have been written providing short-, mid-term and long-term solutions to the abovementioned and other pressing matters. What is the fate of the much-talked-about National Reconstruction and Recovery Plan? Additionally, recovery funds have been firmly committed, with conditions by the Rutte cabinet as well as by the European Parliament. Why was the meeting with the World Bank held behind closed doors of Parliament?
Given the current situation, it is clear that business as usual is clearly not an option. More emphasis and urgency must be placed by the new Parliament to ensure that a new proactive government is appointed sooner rather than later. There is a case to be made to appoint a Junior Minister of Reconstruction who will act as a coordinator of the reconstruction process.
The current Council of Ministers has its hands full in dealing with the going concern of the day-to-day management of this country. The Prime Minister’s office is in charge of a.o. general affairs, personnel affairs, Census Office, disaster management. This new entity can legally be implemented by Parliament and paid with the salary cuts of the current Parliament and Council of Ministers, including the Ministers Plenipotentiary in the Hague. Thousands of people endured drastic salary cuts or have been laid off. In solidarity with our People, Parliament and Government should empathise and lead by example until we are once again stable and secure. The proposed Minister of Reconstruction’s main task should include execution of the priorities set by the new Government.
Our country is at a critical and historic crossroad. Proactive decision-making is not a luxury. Initiative legislation (not only a motion) can be submitted by Parliament or by an individual Member of Parliament as has been the case when the Ombudsman office was presented to the Island Council prior to 10-10-10. Time to implement is NOW!!
Gracita Arrindell
Dear Editor,
St.Maarten politics really turns me off. Instead of our leaders raising the standard and introducing new ideas on how to create wealth all they can suggest is how to tax the electorate more. That manner of thinking is what you call socialism, it is the progressive thinking of government stealing from the population so they can bad spend the population’s money much more.
Capitalism, which is a conservative doctrine, believes it is better to give people a tax break, especially in difficult times, so they can endeavor in doing a new business and making them self-reliant.
The wealth of country is not how much money the government collects, the wealth of a country is how much of the population is in less need of government. The more people become self-reliant, the less need of government, the richer the country is.
Again, that is why ideology matters, but because our politicians do not have an ideology (ideas on approaching the best manner to solutions) St. Maarten continues to the same old failed system of socialism. Socialism takes from those who have and gives it to those who have not and taxes those who work and gives their money to those who do not want to work.
If the politicians are so competent why don't they come up with ideas to minimize regulation, simplify the tax system, find ways a means to lower the cost of healthcare and make St. Maarten a very inexpensive place to do business. Finding the solutions and the right approach to these challenges is how you create wealth.
Winston Churchill, the former conservative leader of the United Kingdom, said it best, and I quote: “Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.”
Imagine, St.Maarten is in a dire situation and some politicians want to tax the Internet and take you to independence at the worst stage of St. Maarten. The conclusion is: when donkey sees jackass evil becomes God.
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
The Patriot Miguel Arrindell
I feel very much obliged to let my voice be heard on behalf of the concerned people of Curaçao, particularly those who are directly or indirectly dependent on the Refinery of Curaçao for their daily basic needs and their survival.
In general, I am also obliged to express my great concern for the overall wellbeing of the people of our islands who are living moments of a challenging financial and economic situation.
Let me state firmly that in no shape or form am I attempting to defend or protect neither PDVSA as a company nor Venezuela as a country. With 300 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, both PDVSA and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela should be able to look after their own.
Following years of failed negotiations and litigation between two giants in the oil industry, ConocoPhillips has won arbitration against PDVSA. The details of the war, at this point, for us are not relevant. What is relevant is where ConocoPhillips has elected to “pursue enforcement and financial recovery of its award to the full extent of the law.”
Both ConocoPhillips and PDVSA are present and effective in the global oil industry. They both have oil processing, refining and storage facilities throughout the entire world. Both have an extensive gasoline station network throughout the US continent. PDVSA sells gasoline through its Citgo gas stations while ConocoPhillips does the same through its Philips 66 gas stations. The headquarters of ConocoPhillips and Citgo are both located in “Houston’s Energy Corridor District.”
ConocoPhillips lawyers could easily hop over and place their embargos on PDVSA’s Citgo assets within the United States. ConocoPhillips, however, chose not to fight this war on their home turf but has chosen to fight this war in the Dutch Caribbean, namely Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao and Sint Eustatius respectively. ConocoPhillips has shown no regard whatsoever for the consequences these actions may have on the already fragile economies of Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao and Sint Eustatius.
During the ’80s the American Government launched the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI), with all its good intentions. It then was also in the interest of the United States not to have impoverished nations due to weak economies in America’s then so-called backyard.
For certain items that were part of the initiative, the lobby distance between Texas (Houston) and Louisiana had proven to be very short. What we are experiencing now is in line with the blatant selfishness and disregard that communities have learned to expect from such multinationals and/or interest groups.
When you choke some of the largest flows of cash in a small economy; you inadvertently choke that economy. ConocoPhillips has never created or maintained one single job on our island. Yet ConocoPhillips sees it fit to put thousands of jobs in the small fragile economy and labour market at stake.
If all goes according to plan ConocoPhillips will get its cheque, PDVSA will collapse, and the score will have been settled. ConocoPhillips might tell us, “Nothing personal, just business!”
A salient side effect will be the fact that thousands of Dutch Caribbean nationals will have to move on or even migrate to find a new job. A bloody shame that our people will have to pay such a high price for a relatively small amount to a company with $73 billion in assets.
Shame on you ConocoPhillips for choosing not to fight this war on your own turf in the Energy Corridor in Houston; Shame on you for the anguish you have poured in the hearts and homes of Dutch Caribbean families; Shame on you for choosing to victimize innocent bystanders who have nothing to do with the conflict between ConocoPhillips and PDVSA. You are acting like a bull that is out to destroy our economies without regard. ConocoPhillips please find a different ballfield on your own turf and leave us in the Dutch Caribbean alone!
Maria Liberia-Peters
former Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles in Curaçao
Children of the soil, we are the rightful heirs to positions in our own jurisdiction;
Children of the soil, we will always be the guardians of our Island;
Children of the soil, we reject the falsehood that we no longer may hold positions of significance during this critical moment due to the imposter's misjudgement of our competence;
Children of the soil, they are strategically placing “directors” to serve as our “mentors” for the unilateral establishment of “just government”;
Children of the soil, we know our worth, so no man on earth can dictate our growth;
Children of the soil, know that we must stand together as one, to fight for our natural right to choose our government;
Children of the soil, men may ignore natural laws because they feel justified in their ignorance to eradicate make-believe malignance;
Children of the soil, know that self-government is the aspiration of all men, though they dwell on an island or even on a continent;
Children of the soil, the desire to be free runs deeper than the deepest sea, so we must not rest until the manifestation of our decolonization is complete.
Xiomara Balentina
