Dear Editor,
As a long-time timeshare owner (R.I. - 1985) on this beautiful island I have long been aware of the troubles that many of us have had with their ownership teams exceeding the terms of the contracts that owners have agreed to (Not mine!). These usually result in excessive fees tacked on to the annual maintenance fees payable by owners to resorts that have clearly not used the monies received in the proper way.
With timeshare resorts going through ownership changes in order to stay in business, and at the same time failing to perform ‘promised’ maintenance with the fees that owners are contractually obligated to pay, it is the corporate ownership of these businesses that needs to be monitored and controlled with proper ‘timeshare’ legislation. Perhaps the bill(s) pending before the Government right now need to be re-titled as the ‘Contract Authority’ to manage these companies’ failures to abide by the agreements that they enter into with their unsuspecting clients.
To put the burden of the cost of government enforcement upon the people who have chosen to purchase a ‘piece of paradise’ with their timeshare investment is a warped view of what needs to be done. We ‘owners’ have bought into the timeshare experience and have faithfully paid our agreed-upon fees and thus have the right to expect all terms to be followed by the corporations that have taken our monies. This is the problem with timeshare-living in SXM now. The task for the government is to manage the outrageous behaviour of the resort owners, not the thousands of tourist-owners who have lived up to their part without costing the government anything. Incidentally, timeshare owners have also paid their government taxes each year and perhaps this should be seen as having already paid for the upcoming legislation many times over.
I urge the elected officials who will be enacting this legislation to think about what the ‘timeshare legislation’ needs to accomplish. Is it to impose further insult to the past and future guaranteed tourist visitors that the timeshare industry brings to the island, or is it to monitor and ensure that those same tourists are not taken advantage of when they make their investments in St. Maarten?
Jim Giner
Voorheesville, New York
Dear Editor,
Parliament’s role is to supervise government which includes pointing out failures and offering suggestions, but also applauding when government takes the right decision. In fact, psychology tells us that reinforcing good performance has a more powerful and lasting effect than negative criticism.
Hence, it is important that parliamentarians also look at the positive things that government has done or is doing and commend them for this. In our society we tend to only focus on the mistakes, failures and on the bad or negative. My pastor, the late Rev. Alwyn Lake, would always say: “there is always some good in the worst of us and some bad in the best of us.” So when the executive branch does things right, parliamentarians should also commend the government or a minister for such.
In this regard, I would like to suggest to our parliamentarians that they should commend the Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Silveria Jacobs, for the stand and the decision that she took to have the Youth Extravaganza Show stopped due to the sexually explicit and vulgar content of the programme. As I was not at the show my knowledge of the event is based solely on what I have read, heard and seen of Minister Jacobs’ passionate plea to restore a level of morality in our society. I couldn’t agree more with the honorable Minister. We have reached a point in our society where respect for God, authority, women, people’s property and even life is in a rapid downward spiral. Unfortunately, we are quick to blame the youth about their disrespect and negative behaviour. But the first people to blame are the adults, the parents and the authority figures in our society who should be leading, not only by talking but also by example!
I believe that our parliamentarians should publicly support the stand and decision of the Honourable Minister. It would send a strong message, to our society, that the highest supervisory body in the country embraces and promotes certain moral standards in our society. According to Minister Jacobs an investigation into all that transpired on the night of the Youth Extravaganza is being conducted. I propose that when the report is ready, the Minister should send it to Parliament who in turn should invite the Minister to present the findings as to what went wrong and offer solutions to avoid such a disrespectful display by our youth at such shows in the future. After the Minister’s presentation, parliamentarians should continue to promote an awareness of what is acceptable behaviour as they carry on the conversation via the media and with groups and individual members of our society.
I also believe that the church as well as social organisations in St. Maarten should also come out publicly and support the Minister on this issue. To effect change, it is going to take a concerted effort by all concerned, to raise awareness in our society regarding the decline in respect, ethics, standards and morality and to try to restore these virtues in our society.
I also strongly suggest that parliament request our Minister of Justice to investigate and report to parliament, as soon as possible, on the incident that transpired, where one of our youth lost her life during carnival. The St. Maarten Christian Party would hereby like to extend condolences to the family and friends of Rachelle Thomas whose life was snatched away from us so prematurely. We are all shocked that something like this could have happened to one of our youth. Parliament should press upon the Minister of Justice to leave no stone unturned until this case is solved. Sadly, the solving of this case will not bring back Rachelle, but it can surely help to prevent such an incident from happening again.
During this tragic incident it was admirable to see some of our youth take on the responsibility to reach out to their peers, the community and even the world via Facebook, as they called on people everywhere to pray for Rachelle. Spearheading this movement was one of Rachelle’s close friends, Theodore de Weever who must be commended for the tremendous role that he played in reaching out to the community and requesting prayers for his friend. Theodore and friends, you have given the adults in this community hope that all is not lost among our youth.
Another area where our parliament and government can show positive support is when groups in our community come together for a positive cause. This past weekend, some fifteen to twenty evangelical churches came together for the annual Believers’ Connection Convention. The governments of both sides of the island were invited. The government of the French side sent a representative who addressed the congregations on behalf of the Collectivité. Regrettably, not one representative from the government on the Dutch side took the time or made an effort to attend the opening ceremony or one of the other services. I know that several of our public officials attended or participated in Carnival. Yet, not one official from the Dutch side showed the churches any form of respect. I am pretty sure that if elections were imminent many of these politicians would have attended the Convention.
Wycliffe Smith
Leader of the Sint Maarten Christian Party
Dear Editor,
In the early days when jobs were non-existent in Anguilla, men had to abandon their families and traverse to distant shores in search of employment. As a consequence the women were left at home to raise and maintain the children with the help of, in some cases, meagre stipends or submissions that would come back. Our women have always been the ones to get things done.
Who can forget the women of Island Harbour and other places during the revolution? You had to go through those women to get to Webster, and you had better not disrespect him, for you would have the wrath of Ronald’s Ladies come down on you. I don’t say that to be disrespectful, I say it to make a point that women dating back as far as anyone can remember were the ones who raised us, who fought for us and who defended us, no matter what. Of course, if you were in the wrong, you got it from both ends.
As the title of this piece suggests, if not now, when? When will we give our women the chance they so richly deserve? The late Albena Lake Hodge, Dame Bernice Lake, and Idalia Gumbs to name just a few, have been stalwarts when it came to Anguilla. They got things done and they were highly respected. No one dared say anything negative to or about those women, because they always had country first.
It is sad to see what we’ve as a nation reverted to. Anguilla has been revered because of its people. We were ambassadors when we went abroad. When you told someone you were from Anguilla, they respected you and thought very highly of you. Anguilla sold itself on the backs of the goodwill of its people. So when I hear certain individuals talking about the new business they’ve brought in, that’s just not the case.
The time has come for our women to once more take the stage front and centre. It is a known fact that women are more committed to getting things done, and are less likely to engage in fraud and the like. For too long now we’ve watched and listened to the men make one colossal mess of things. My fellow Anguillians, we cannot continue to go down this path. Too many of us made too many sacrifices to just stand back and condone what’s going on. We simply can’t stand by and let the bloggers, who are nothing more than yellow cowards, practicing that old Anguillian past time of throwing stones and hiding their hands dictate what we can and can’t do.
Guys, when you go on the House floor and behave the way in which you do, you disgrace the hallowed halls of the people’s house. Those of you who through whichever way you were elected, know who you are. You were elected to do a job and when you get on the floor and ridicule an individual just because that person might be an opponent in an upcoming election, you ought to hang your head in shame.
The thing is this, you guys lack the class to go with the high office to which you’ve been elected. And those of you who were not elected, to think you would have the cojones to get on the floor and talk about a specific person in which you did? Back to you bloggers, you are irrelevant. If you don’t have the guts to sign your name, you don’t count. Ask yourselves the question: What have I done for my country? If you’ve not done anything to help your fellow man, then shut up and stop drinking Kool Aid.
If you’ve got something to say, write a letter to the editor and sign it with your real name. You’re either the solution or the problem. Which one are you? All of you who write that crap on AXA Reality, why don’t you do something constructive with your lives, instead of parroting the crap that someone else feeds you? Think about what you are writing. Is it true and what are your sources? Anyone with half a brain can see what the game plan is.
You guys have taken a page out of Richard Nixon playbook and that is to slam your opponent before he or she can slam you. That usually means you try to make the other guy look bad, because you have nothing to offer and that is the case. Those running for re-election cannot say they’ve done a good job, and therefore deserve another five years. So they have no choice but to try and muddy the waters for any potential threats that might cause them to lose.
Folks, we can see beyond all the smoke screens that these guys will throw at us. Again I say, it’s time to bring out the brooms and make a clean sweep. We’ve gone along with these ne’er-do-wells for far too long now. It is time we bring in new blood that are capable of getting things done. Anguilla has been lying stagnant for far too long, and it’s time we assume our rightful place in a world that has gone global.
Let us get our women involved in politics again; let us respect and welcome those indigenous brothers and sisters back home with open arms, rather than clenched fists. Let us use the so-called elites for the betterment of the rock.
Tyrone Hodge
Dear Editor,
The proposal to establish a time share authority on St. Martin is very much needed.
Tourists and especially timeshare owners are the basis of the island economy. Timeshare owners need protection from a small portion of developers and timeshare managers.
The idea of charging an extra US $200 per week to a timeshare owner is ill-founded. St. Martin is an expensive island to own property and visit already.
A better concept would be to let owners file a complaint for free. That would keep timeshare managers on their toes because that right to complain would be hanging over their head. A board could be established to hear complaints. Each complaint could be charged $200 if the complainant loses in the hearing.
The board could allow joining all complainers together and hear the complaints as one case. Or the risk if you lose a complaint could be $200 to a timeshare owner. The timeshare manager though, if 100 people for example complained, could be fined $20,000 or more.
The board could have the right to levy fines and put levies on timeshare managers with interest. If after a certain time period the timeshare manager fails to pay fines and make changes as mandated from the board they could be removed as timeshare managers. The board could put the management of the timeshare up for auction to all interested parties.
One needs to understand the timeshare owners own the resort in aggregate and those rights should be protected. The manager can and should be replaced if necessary.
This is the type of legislation that is needed on St. Martin. If enacted this legislation would cause a robust timeshare industry economy.
The rights of timeshare owners should be protected.
James F. Tate
Timeshare owner
The Westin St. Maarten Dawn Beach Resort
Dear Editor,
The Central Committee of Parliament made history last week when it scheduled ample time to discuss the 2016-2020 Governing Programme “Solidarity for Prosperity”. As far as I can recall, this is the first time that Parliament planned so many meetings to handle a governing programme. The only other topic for which so many meetings are scheduled by Parliament is the country’s budget. I am a strong believer that these two go hand-in-hand and we should expect to see the priorities and projects listed in the governing programme also reflected in all future budgets presented.
The United Democratic Alliance (UDA), comprised of the United St. Maarten Party (USP), Democratic Party (DP) and National Alliance (NA) factions, also ought to be commended for their display of unity during the opening presentation. Unfortunately, the individual presentations by the various ministers sounded more like the wish list of excited children in a toy store who want everything in the store without taking their parents’ pocketbook into consideration. The Ministers should have presented a more realistic overview of their 2017 plans and how these corroborate with the 2017 budget of the country. In my opinion, the Minister of Education came the closest to doing just that.
Parliamentarians who are part of the coalition should realize that working on drafting the governing programme does not exempt them from still being critical and asking pertinent questions concerning the programme. They must remember that the general public did not get the opportunity to read the governing programme for themselves, therefore any question or comment raised by a parliamentarian would definitely help to further inform and enlighten the general public. In addition, I am of the opinion that the governing programme must be synchronized with the budget. Just as parliamentarians raised many critical questions during the budget debate, they should also be just as critical about the governing programme, particularly as it relates to financing the various plans and projects.
The President of Parliament, the Honourable Sarah Wescot-Williams, although being part of the UDA coalition, still raised several pertinent points regarding the governing programme and even went as far as to caution the government to “keep their finger on the pulse of” issues such as waste management, the hospital and healthcare, and the integrity chamber. The other members of parliament, especially our first-time parliamentarians, can learn a lot from the vast parliamentary experience of our President of Parliament.
The absence of the United People’s (UP) Party at the meeting is regrettable and cause for great concern. The UP faction missed out on a golden opportunity to truly represent the people of St. Maarten. People call the UP the opposition in Parliament. The better name, however, would be “the minority faction”, because the word “opposition” implies that their job is solely to oppose whatever government proposes or does, which is not the case. The role of the minority faction is to be very critical of government’s proposals in order to ensure that these benefit the people and are executed in a responsible manner. In fact, this should be the role of all parliamentarians, whether they are in the coalition or in the minority faction.
Unfortunately, the UP parliamentarians chose to be missing in action and consequently did not live up to their responsibility to represent all of the people of St. Maarten as stipulated in article 44 of the Constitution. This type of political tactics belongs to old school politics and do not contribute to raising the bar in Parliament. If they were present, the UP minority faction would have demonstrated political maturity. Are we to interpret this absence to mean that the governing programme is worthless and does not deserve UP’s time or energy? Does this absence signify that UP does not care about the people’s business and does not have any interest in the plans that government has for this country? Is this absence an indication that the party is still upset and bitter about not being in government and that this is a way to boycott everything that the UDA government plans to do for the people? Does UP’s absence mean that the minority faction in Parliament is not taking its commitment to represent the people seriously? I am of the opinion that once politicians have been elected to Parliament they should begin to act like statesmen and put the people’s business before politics. It is time we raise the bar in our Parliament! I believe that the UP faction owes all the people of St. Maarten, whom they should have been representing during the meeting on the governing programme, an explanation and/or an apology.
What example did the UP faction set, and what message have they sent by being absent and forfeiting their responsibility to represent the people? Are they telling our people that if they do not agree with the people on their jobs they can just stay away without giving a notice of absence or an apology? Being business people themselves, they very well know that in the corporate world this type of behaviour would never be tolerated. There, it is expected that employees who don’t show up to work give a valid reason for their absence otherwise they suffer the consequences. They can receive a warning, the time away from the job can be deducted from their salaries or they can eventually be fired. Unfortunately, in the case of our parliamentarians there is no immediate sanction. However, seeing that the UP faction was absent without notice, I wonder … would they do the honourable thing and instruct the President of Parliament to have the hours that they did not attend the April 20th meeting, deducted from their salaries?
Wycliffe Smith
Leader of the Sint Maarten Christian Party
