Dear Editor,
Plato and Socrates, ancient scholars of democracy and democratic systems, would be puzzled by the system of democracy employed in the Dutch Kingdom. More contemporary scholars like Montesquieu and Richelieu renowned for their Egalite, Liberte and Fraternite will be totally flabbergasted to learn that a European power whose elected officials do not campaign or seek a vote in the overseas territories, or allow citizens of these territories to vote in their elections, have so much input in what happens in the daily running of the overseas territories. Lest I forget the colonial master also does not contribute to the budgets of the territories.
Some friends and I were wondering aloud why nothing is being said on this side of the Atlantic about the amount of time it is taken to form a government since the March elections. In our case every time we are called upon to form a government, be it by election or so-called ship jumping, we get interference from across the pond. We are accused of everything shady and nefarious; if we are not buying out people, we are letting the underworld influence our government.
In the past we were also informed that certain locals (Theo Heyliger and Roland Duncan) could not be part of any cabinet. In other words, irrespective of what the people decided at the polls “we don’t care we are mighty and might is right.” These same people proclaim to the world that the overseas territories are autonomous and they only provide nationality, foreign affairs and defence on their behalf.
Truth be told, they are most prevalent in all parts of our daily lives. So we find it strange and even mind boggling that no one on this side finds anything strange with the length of time it is taking them to form a government in which we are interested for they also impact our lives.
We are also concerned when we hear that a discussion of changes to the euthanasia law caused another delay or that failure to raise the pay of school teachers might further frustrate things. We ask ourselves why should we not think or suggest that they too are in shady and nefarious deals that may not be in our favour. Strangely enough the outgoing Minister of Kingdom Affairs thought it important to visit the islands to bid his farewell, but according to the Antilleans Dagblad, also to feel the pulse of the local leaders on their feelings on a deferred motion by van Raak and Bosman to seek advice and guidance from the UN to have the UN escort us out of the kingdom.
From the press conference nothing was said about that part, what we heard was how good things go when we cooperate, or put differently, when we do as we are told. The good minister also did not give any information on a proposal from parliament to withdraw the military ships stationed in the Caribbean and post them in the Mediterranean for immigration control. This mind you is while we are ask to pay a huge sum for the services and in St. Maarten case unjustly so, for we have no maritime economic zone our maritime boundaries extend between three and four miles east because of St. Barths, and to the south and west the same because of Saba and French St. Martin.
The ugly dispute with the French republic reared its ugly head yet again so more proof that we need this government to be formed post haste to deal with the Oyster Pond boundary issue. Coalitions take time; every party has its pledges and promises to their constituents, there are varying priorities and pet projects and if it takes Holland six or more months doesn’t mean that for our size we should take less. Size does not and should not determine the importance of issues for a people, however, varying the demographics may be. So, may I suggest that we let our voices be heard without fear, for thus far the silence is deafening.
Elton Jones
Dear Editor,
If for sixty odd years the new police recruits in the Netherlands Antilles were trained and schooled in the Police academy on Curaçao; if over the years many many crimes nationally as well as internationally were successfully solved by those same police of the Netherlands Antilles; if in the Kingdom of the Netherlands justice has always remained kingdom affairs; if we continue to proclaim if it is not broken don’t try to fix it, then why have we messed with the police recruits training. I have always said it and will always maintain that politics has no place in a police force. Politics should never be incorporated in police affairs.
Where am I going with this. I was called and told that what I always said is coming to pass. Government is bringing twenty police officers from Suriname to mentor the police here because of the incompetence of the local police. I could not believe that it was said that way and could not discuss it further because of load shedding and the battery of my phone ran down. Which in a sense was good also. I did not really say much about reinforcement, but I always said in Papiamento, “Pa Antillas, polis bo ta bira na Corsow.” (Police for the Antilles are made in Curaçao”).
What I have also said is that the young men and women from the Windward Islands should spend at least two years working on Curaçao before coming back home. They need the experience and the seasoning. The nucleus of the population of St. Maarten and the lack of sense of decorum is not conducive and may even be prejudicial for a police school on St. Maarten. To go along with that, reinforcement from Holland or Suriname has not proven to be successful because of, sad to say, people having their own agenda and not having St. Maarten sufficiently at heart to maintain law and order as it should be maintained.
When you care about something you take care of it. If it is not yours that’s a different story. Most of all if government does not show any good example, those who have to maintain law and order go about it accordingly and the attitude even becomes if they don’t care, why should I.
The person who called me knew that in 2005 the then prosecutor asked me to stay on and help him with the written fines because too many of them lacked the correct description and the essentials of the act. I told him that I would do better in a place (police station) where I could discuss with the younger police officers what happened during their patrol and assist them with compiling their reports. That would ensure that those written fines reach his desk complete and in order.
From then already the establishment knew that the quality of the force was at risk. If now our government is looking for reinforcement for that reason that would indicate to me that all that was done before has failed. Send our recruits to Curaçao. This is not placing bus stops, this is assuring the community of adequate protection when necessary.
I’m a bit confused. Our laws are in Dutch and we are asking Holland and Suriname, who’s official language is also Dutch, to reinforce and mentor our policemen, but we are urging our government to make English the language of instruction.
Russell A. Simmons
Dear Editor,
At the end of every school year, students are evaluated and promoted or not promoted based on their performance during the year. Conversely, at the end of a parliamentary year, Members of Parliament are not evaluated, yet they continue in parliament without anyone questioning their achievements, their performance or their competency to function as a parliamentarian.
I have observed that in several countries around the world, political and interest groups are developing report cards for parliamentarians. The idea behind the report card is to provide the public, especially the voters, with information about the performance of a parliamentarian so that at the next election, voters can make an informed decision about who is best suited to represent them in parliament, based on their performance during the past years.
I sincerely hope that MP Ardwell Iron’s proposal to report on how Members of Parliament voted during a parliamentary year will be included in the 2016-2017 Parliamentary Report. If included, it will give the public additional information as to how our MPs are functioning.
SMCP is developing a parliamentarian report card that will comprise the following benchmarks: attendance, participation, representation, supervision, legislation and interaction. These six benchmarks are derived from the job description of a parliamentarian that, according to our Constitution, consists of three main functions: representation (art. 44), legislation (art. 82, 85, 86) and supervision (art. 62, 63, 64). Since the people (voters) placed their trust in a parliamentarian by electing him/her to office, it goes without saying that they should know how their parliamentarian is functioning. Therefore, let us look at these benchmarks and explain briefly what each one entails.
Attendance at meetings is the most obvious and objective benchmark. It includes the attendance at the plenary sessions of parliament, and at the meetings of the central committee. All MPs are required to attend these two meetings. In addition, we will also include the attendance at the permanent and ad hoc committees, which is a requirement for the members of these committees, but is voluntary for the other parliamentarians.
It seems as if parliamentarians do not realize that the greater part of their work occurs in the small or standing committees. These committees are therefore the backbone of parliament. In a press conference given the first week of January 2017, President of Parliament, MP Sarah Wescot-Williams told the press, “The work of Parliament is being slowed down due to the lack of activity by the parliamentary committees”. In other words, she is saying these committees are not functioning.
Parliamentary Committees do the groundwork for the Central Committee. They research and investigate issues and laws then make recommendations to the Central Committee, which in turn will eventually approve these recommendations, and send them to the plenary session of parliament. In addition, most of the oversight work by parliament ought to be done in the standing committees.
There is where the chair and members review the policies and the decisions of a minister or the government, as well as investigate reports, complaints and problems related to a ministry or the government. Further, there is where questions directed to a minister or the government ought to be formulated and the answers reviewed for depth, thoroughness and accuracy.
Sadly, previous Annual Parliamentary Reports and observations during the current parliamentary year show that the standing committees hardly ever meet. During 2016-2017, twelve standing committees were installed, but as far as we know, only two of these committees actually held meetings, namely the Ad Hoc Integrity Committee and the Petitions Committee. The remaining committees have remained dormant throughout the parliamentary year.
We would also like to point out a serious flaw in the selection of the chairpersons of the various standing committees. Members of the coalition chair all twelve standing committees. No wonder that the supervisory function of parliament is seriously compromised. One does not expect a coalition member in parliament to readily scrutinize and criticize the policies, decisions and performance of his/her coalition partner in the government.
For example, with all the problems surrounding the Ministry of Justice, the Chairman of the Committee of Justice MP Frans Richardson never felt the need to call a meeting of this Committee. Further, with all the problems associated with the dump, the Chairman of the Committee of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure MP Drs. Rodolphe Samuel never called a meeting. The same goes for all the other standing committees.
Under the topic of attendance, I would like to mention here that it is unacceptable that mature Members of Parliament still have to be chided by the President of Parliament for being absent at meetings without due notice. With today’s plethora of technology – and mind you our MPs receive a smartphone at the beginning of their term of office – it is inexcusable that an MP still does not care to inform the President in a timely manner of his/her absence.
So, with regard to attendance, an MP’s report card will summarize his/her absence or presence, with or without notice at all meetings. But the attendance score related to the standing committees will weigh much heavier than the attendance at the other parliamentary meetings.
In the following article, we will elucidate the other five benchmarks of the MP Report Card.
Wycliffe Smith
Leader of the Sint Maarten Christian Party
Dear Editor,
It is hard to believe that the Minister of VROMI gave his blessing for Jansen to become technical director at SMHDF, when this same Minister was complaining a couple of months ago that the Supervisory Board was not functioning and that he wanted the whole board to resign. What happened that he changed his mind now?
Dear Editor,
The first time I represented the island abroad I was 19 years old. After going through a vetting process (written and oral) I was selected to attend the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage and Youth Leadership conference in Montego Bay, Jamaica. However, I would have been the one to go nonetheless, because I was the only one who completed the application!
In the past two years I have had the opportunity to represent St. Maarten and attend various leadership, empowerment or sustainability programmes around the world. That one trip to Jamaica motivated me to be one of the few and sometimes the only Caribbean voice at those international platforms.
By default, every St. Maartener is an ambassador of the island. With the thousands we currently have abroad, whenever they meet someone new one of the first questions they’ll get is “Where is that?” That will prompt questions about the island, history, culture, economy and so forth. A question that must be asked, however, is how much do our students know about their island?
I firmly believe knowledge of one’s heritage plays a major role in building self-confidence which in return will foster boldness and courage in our youth. I realised that some of these conferences intimidate our youth either because of the requirements, distance or cost. I too had fears several times I applied to certain programmes. There were times when I was the youngest or least “educated” yet I found myself being respected in the debates or workshops.
Such experiences have taught me to never underestimate oneself and I hope to see more young people with the same mindset. Imagine the intimidation being the only black person in a plane and airport in Russia. That’s what I dealt with and overcame. I believe that St. Maarten has way too many talented and brilliant young minds to not encourage them to represent not just the island but also the Caribbean.
I think it’s time we add structure or create a programme where our young people can get the opportunity to be an ambassador for the island; whether it’s in the arts, academics, science, business, leadership and other fields. Currently there are hundreds of seminars and conferences happening internationally that we can benefit from by having a youth representative.
Whether through the youth department or tourism department, I believe we need to set a solid structure on the requirements and responsibilities of a youth ambassador. Since most times I travelled through self-will, I encouraged others to do so via social media, and also talking to students at different schools. However, I wish there was a system in place to submit reports on the conferences, brainstorm ideas and form partnerships or enhance existing programmes with the knowledge gained.
Companies should also be able to support because it’s an investment in a better island. Most importantly, these seminars and conferences help with personal development through the skills one develops such as public speaking, listening, (underrated skill), debating, networking and intercultural communication. Not to mention it provides the opportunity to broaden one’s view of the world as travelling is one of the best ways to do so.
With all that being said, I strongly urge our youth to take the opportunity themselves to be global citizens and gain the necessary experience and knowledge we desperately need to help us move forward. There are websites and Facebook pages such as Youth Opportunity and Opportunity Desk which constantly post seminars, conferences and competitions which we are eligible to attend.
No matter which field you’re in, research programmes and workshops that will be taking place and let’s get this island to be more global! We have the brains and talent; it is now time to put the resources behind them.
Ralph Cantave
