Dear Editor,
I have noticed that since same-sex marriage and coming out have become like dressing one's self, Dick, Harry, Peter and Paul are revealing long-time held secrets. And more and more dignitaries are being challenged. In other words, no one is afraid to talk about their negative experience anymore, no matter how insignificant.
A woman, who is in favour of the Dutch coming, said the reason why the Dutchman wants to come in and take over the immigration is because they were told that it is time to deal with the quasi slavery that the government has created in the country over the years. She said far too many people are working for less than the minimum wage, and people in government are turning a blind eye to it.
My response to that is that the Dutch are also at fault, because they have known for years that the government was importing poverty into Sint Maarten, and they too turned a blind eye to it. So now the Dutch know they are ultimately responsible, they are making plans to take over. Irma helped them speed up the process. Even though in my opinion much of what that woman said is correct, I maintain the Dutch were waiting to see what they could get out of it before helping the people of Sint Maarten in their predicament.
Voor wat hoort wat always has to come into play. The difference in their "voor wat hoort wat” and our “what's in it for me “is that they plan theirs ahead and ours come through deals. I have to add that if we do not know how to use the colon, semi-colon, the comma and the different punctuation marks, we will be forever signing away our souls, and the pensioners’ money will always have to be bailing us out.
Like I've said before, more and more people tend to make observations in my presence. I assume hoping that I would write something about it. Here is one, “I don't have to call names, but Russell boy say he didn't throw down the government this time, it was DP". Now, that was not said to me and it might have been said in confidence, but if one puts two and two together, one could take out of that that he did it in the past. But I want to know the real reason why PM Marlin has to go.
Mind you, I did not say I do not agree that he was kicked out, because for that matter thirteen of the fifteen, and six of the seven can go. With transparency of government the people should know, especially when it comes to government falling and pending new elections. We should know if the actions leading up to the falling of government are justified.
Here again Holland is ordering the governor to dismiss the Prime Minister, but no explanation to the people. That also is a form of abuse. You see perception goes a long way in convincing people of their assumptions. (Joslyn correct me). So when I know that for the longest while now the Dutch want to force the integrity chamber and border control on us, and they utilize the consequences of Hurricane Irma to enforce their will on us, Coup d'état.
And you know something, it did not surprise me that DP was mentioned in toppling the government this time. Not me, history. Check who always comes out smelling like a rose. Should not the people hear the real truth which caused the action?
Russell A. Simmons
Dear Editor,
Over the past number of years the economy of Sint Maarten was not doing badly. Hospitality was not doing badly and generally business was not in dire straits. The GDP was claimed to be in slight growth. The political conversation did not much focus on economic growth in this relatively benign period. Intense political conversation with a high degree of participation by Sint Maarteners mainly covered issues relating to benefits and entitlement and employment s of the population, both short term and long term. The productivity of the country got relatively little attention.
Now we have had this major hurricane calamity and the productivity of the island, on the basis of any assessment looks very bleak in the short term.
In spite of this, the political conversation continues mainly about benefits and entitlements with the only major change being that currently the source of benefits and entitlements is considered to be the Dutch reconstruction aid.
The manner in which the Dutch reconstruction aid is to be injected is not yet known. Undoubtedly it is a short-term solution. The real solutions in getting the economy back to previous levels lie in somehow incentivizing and encouraging existing investors to reinvest and to do it quickly. Or for domestic investment to be made. The quicker those investments are made, the sooner productivity will rise and the sooner we will not be dependent on assistance.
However, there is no news whatsoever about such plans. There is no conversation about the need for those plans. The relevant Ministry has not issued any statements as to how they are fulfilling their responsibility to optimize economic planning for the country and minimize our dependence on aid. Should parliamentarians not be requesting such plans and scrutinizing them as a priority?
Robbie Ferron
Dear Editor,
I have not heard it myself, but it caused some persons to get quite upset, so I can only imagine the ranting that took place during the weekly Tuesday night program on 95.9FM (SOS radio) on November 21st. This particular program is the mouthpiece for a political party, so its biased content should be taken with a grain of salt.
However, that does not mean that slander and bluffs should go unchallenged.
Our honourable Minister of VROMI Christophe Emmanuel allegedly was livid about my questions regarding the salvaging operations in Simpson Bay Lagoon and on that particular program on 95.9FM was fencing about a letter he had in his possession regarding the salvaging operations.
He alluded to this letter and me, as if there was something sinister about my questioning of the lagoon clean-up in general.
A couple of comments:
1.) The Minister should at least try to act his role as minister. In that role he is accountable to Parliament.
2.) The Minister should stop the bluffing game and provide whatever document he claims is so damaging.
3.) No intimidation or slander will stop me from doing what I have to do and that is call on Ministers of Government to give account for their actions or inactions.
4.) We will get to the bottom of the reasons why such an urgent part of the recovery efforts, namely cleaning up Simpson Bay Lagoon, was mired in long delays and frustration.
Sarah Wescot-Williams
Member of Parliament
Dear Editor,
It is still sometimes hard to imagine that the people of St. Maarten have to endure more political instability, this time in the aftermath of a devastating storm. One would think that we would have found a way to put petty differences aside, and focus solely on rebuilding St. Maarten and ensuring a decent quality of life for our people. While most people expected this, a very small group saw the hurricane as an opportunity. An opportunity to exploit an emergency situation for power. An opportunity to emotionally manipulate the population when the population is at its most sensitive and vulnerable. Not that they didn’t have power before, but they wanted more power.
Allow us first to preface this first of two letters with a quote from Edward L. Bernays: “The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. In almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind.”
The most deceptive, conniving, dishonest, de-stabilizing and manipulative force St. Maarten has had the deal with over the past years is the Democratic Party under Sarah Wescot-Williams. Like an annoying mosquito that keeps you up at night, the DP has accepted its role as a small, but disruptive entity to the country’s peace of mind and overall stability.
In time we believe the people will see through the DP’s veil of lies and deceit. For now, the United St. Maarten party (USP) would like to point out a few things that we would like for our people to keep in mind as we move towards yet another election as a result of the manipulative ways of the Democratic Party.
In 2015, a protocol was signed agreeing to, among other things, an Integrity Chamber and Border control matters. Both items were worked on. The Integrity Chamber law was drafted with the help of Dutch civil servants. This is where the threats started from the Dutch government. The Parliament of St. Maarten under the threat of Higher Supervision at that time being imposed on St. Maarten passed the law. The Integrity Chamber law was then voided by the Constitutional Court, because parts of the law were considered unconstitutional, it violated the basic rights of the people.
Then a new date was set to have a new Integrity Chamber law approved by Parliament of St. Maarten. That date was October 31st 2017. The law was drafted, went through the advisory process but the process was delayed because of the hurricanes. Not just any hurricanes, two of the biggest to ever strike our region, with one, Irma, directly impacting St. Maarten.
Most naturally, government shifted focus in September and October on managing the best it could, the aftermath of the hurricanes, not the Integrity Chamber. People are in need and the needs of the people are growing while government is slowly moving away from the emergency situation and working towards short-, medium- and long-term recovery.
Emergency Aid came in and is still coming in, never refused and has surpassed Euro 55 million for Saba, Statia and St. Maarten. The Dutch then see an opportunity. St. Maarten is told by the Netherlands, if you want any aid (not emergency aid, because we have been getting that) you must meet two conditions. Pass the Integrity Chamber Law by October 31st (forget about the fact that we just had two mega hurricanes) and we are going to take over your border control.
Now you would think that parties would stand together at this point and disrupt obvious attempts to divide and conquer by the Dutch. Instead, the Dutch received able and willing local political help.
During this time, when government is trying to restore vital services to our people, ensure tourism partners and get St. Maarten back on its feet, the President of Parliament and leader of the DP and a member of the NA/DP/USP coalition, yes her own coalition, calls the Prime Minister to Parliament with the support of opposition members. It was the first step in what turned out to be weeks of distracting and manipulating moves by the leader of the DP under the guise that she wasn’t getting information.
Mind you, the Council of Ministers, in which DP has a Minister (Emil Lee) met every day, sometimes three times a day at the Governor’s office, after the storms to plan and manage St. Maarten’s recovery. The coalition of 10 members have a WhatsApp group dedicated to MPs and Ministers, but for some strange reason the DP faction is unaware of developments. How can the leader of the DP hide behind “lack of information” when her own Minister was in all of these meetings? Was she not communicating with her own Minister? But no, it was the PM’s fault.
Before long and after manipulative political moves (we will get to all of those over time) the new majority of 8 (DP/UP/Brownbill) signed a motion accepting the conditions from the Dutch as is. Don’t discuss it, don’t try to get a better arrangement, just take it without knowing exactly what you are agreeing to and what the aid actually will consist of. They have effectively turned Parliament into a rubber-stamp body.
Meanwhile, the Draft Integrity Law has been handled by the Council of Advice and is being prepared to be sent to Parliament. Also meanwhile, the Minister of Justice already negotiated a mutually satisfactory agreement on border control, but the new majority of 8 ignore this and state in their motion: adopt whatever the Dutch conditions are.
Just a note: The Integrity Chamber is not to catch the Members of Parliament, Ministers, and civil servants in Integrity violations only. This Integrity Chamber affects everybody on St. Maarten that has anything to do with government, or with someone who has something to do with government. Understand us clearly, we believe that tackling integrity violations is necessary. Violating the constitutional rights of the people by not requiring the approval by the judge before questioning or arresting anyone, whether MP, Minister, civil servant or citizen, is what was being resisted by the government of St. Maarten. As such, adjustments of the law were necessary and those amendments are made.
Additionally, think about why we’re subjected to establishing a chamber that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the Dutch Kingdom. It is not because of anything the recent government did. In fact, nobody can argue that the Marlin cabinet of which USP held the Ministries of TEATT and Justice, was not working for the people. Budgets were balanced, CFT was giving their approvals, and new initiatives were underway. The Integrity Chamber came into play as a result of the leader of the Democratic Party and that party’s shady ways of governing over the years.
The William Marlin Cabinet had to deal with the implementation of a chamber brought onto St. Maarten after years and years of DP “governing”. And what happened? The same DP once again employed its usual manipulation and conniving to break government. The exact same party committed the exact same act that led to the establishing of an integrity chamber. How ironic.
So, let’s summarize for part 1 of this letter:
• Deadlines set for Integrity Chamber – October 31st, 2017.
• Hurricane Irma hits September 6th.
• Emergency Aid comes even before the hurricanes and is still coming.
• Red Cross and other organizations and individuals sent assistance.
• Moving out of immediate aftermath of the emergency situation and now dealing with
short-, medium- and long-term recovery.
• Aid available from The Netherlands, European Union committed, but with conditions
by the Netherlands of the Integrity Chamber law being approved by St. Maarten as per
their design and the border control taken over by the Dutch Government.
• St. Maarten already having the draft in process for the Integrity Chamber.
• St. Maarten already has agreements to an amended regulation to tackle border control
• Daily meetings on government level.
• Regular meetings on coalition level.
All this apparently is a recipe for the breaking of a government in the aftermath of a mega hurricane on St. Maarten.
To be continued.
The board of the United St. Maarten Party
Dear Editor,
Have you ever heard of the “Caribbean Friendly Skies,” an airlift concept where all the flight connections are fast, the schedules are efficient, the flight attendants are beautiful, the pilots are good-looking, the assistance of the ground staff is above average, the fares are affordable, and the flying convenience is superlative? This concept is a secret tip in air transportation. So secret that very few people envisioned that it could even exist in the Caribbean. It is a beyond-average program that creates a new image for air transportation in the region.
The “Caribbean Friendly Skies” prioritizes achieving the benefits of having better service, efficiency, and affordability. If governments are interested in growth and development through increased travel and trade, they would be well advised to cooperate and support such a concept. If they don’t, well, then they are showing that they are not an appealing destination and should just step aside. Nothing should delay or hinder “Caribbean Friendly Skies.” The “Caribbean Friendly Skies” concept puts the perspectives and interests of the end-users first. For instance, the tourists who are fueling the economy revenues for 50-85 per cent. Any authority that is a hurdle in economic development may not be serving its community in an intelligent manner.
Wait a minute? What is wrong an “Open Skies” concept? “Open Skies” is a great catchy name for a hot-air-balloon festival. But it should be avoided when dealing with government authorities and politicians in the Caribbean because it immediately activates defense mechanisms as it comes across as “Eliminating regulations and government interference,” and gives the false impression of “Everyone can do whatever he wants.”
Open Skies agreements are bilateral air service agreements negotiated between countries. It involves passenger AND cargo services. All sides of the agreement need to commit to opening their respective markets. Each side’s own objectives and market characteristics may delay or cancel liberalization, because national political and economic priorities are the main determinant and also the main deterrent. The governments of 20+ Caribbean territories and multiple authorities may be involved. Quite a number! No wonder that “Open Skies” has been suggested and talked about over an extensive period of time. It was never realized. Zippo open skies is where we stand right now, and another summit of Honorables is not going to change it.
What are the differences that one is dealing with? “Friendly Skies” aims to facilitate the joyful flying experience of passengers. “Open Skies” aims to facilitate a free-market environment for air transport operations. Government agencies aim to stay in control.
There is another element that needs to be mentioned: some government-owned airlines are worried and are looking for protection. If they would provide impeccable air transportation service, they would not have to worry in the first place.
In order to find a solution, one would have to play Three-Dimensional Chess. This expression is used colloquially to describe complex, dynamic systems with many competing entities and interests, including politics, diplomacy and warfare. To describe an individual as “playing three-dimensional chess” implies a higher-order understanding and mastery of the system beyond the comprehension of their peers or ordinary observers. Finding a person who will be heading the efforts may be a challenge for itself.
How to speed up the process and get the “Caribbean Friendly Skies” concept moving? Incentives! How about awarding those countries and airlines that pledge and adhere to the concept an annually issued Certificate and Seal of Approval? The tourism authorities can use it in their destination marketing. The countries that do not subscribe to the concept will go empty-handed. For travel agents abroad, it suggests that it may be better to ignore destinations that don’t show the Seal of Approval. For vacationers, it is a sign that they are not particularly welcome or that the destination is not friendly enough. Some airlines may be avoiding those territories. The countries that are not willing to cooperate are simply wasting their money on destination promotion.
The negotiations for a “Caribbean Friendly Skies” concept will concern only passenger services and not cargo. Just one example here. The transit passenger from abroad should be protected from filling out forms for entering a transit hub-airport and then when flying from hub to end-destination again new forms that need to be filled out. Many forms are ending up in shoe cartons anyway, regardless of the claim that they are used for statistics. Many territories in the region make themselves ridiculous to travelers by clinging to control by paperwork. For vacationers and other passengers, it is a nuisance.
There must be better ways. That is what the “Caribbean Friendly Skies” shall be about. Skip bureaucratic nuisance and nonsense and improve interisland travel and tourism. The countries that will not make an effort to look for solutions could be excluded from the program and may be stuck with a cookie of their own dough, which is being considered “third-worldsy” by guests from abroad, compared to those destinations that are more competitive and in line with modern times.
Now that we have a fair overview of the opportunities, benefits, challenges, and issues, and we are looking back at what has not been realized, one might conclude that we have been dealing with stakeholders who have not tried hard enough, or are not willing to find a solution, or do not understand that airlift is a people business. So, be it. Just stubbornly keep holding summits and committee meetings, and keep the fictitious barriers in the skies, which symbolize to travelers that they are not as welcome as the promotions say.
Oh, and if those guests happen to come anyway, don’t forget to levy repelling taxes that are needed for tourism promotion to attract them. I’m not pro or contra anyone; I’m only pro for finding a solution when one is realistically within reach. Call it: “Caribbean Friendly Skies.”
Commander Bud Slabbaert
