(Curaçao Chronicle)

My question is, what are InselAir and its shareholders hiding? Why are Korpodeko, the Government, and the Ministry of Transport accomplices in this mystery? First of all, remember that the Government, representing the Curaçao people, owns 21% of InselAir’s shares, and Korpodeko, on behalf of the Government controls that 21%. As a major shareholder, they should have several Directors on the Board of Directors of the airline. But even though the Curaçao people are one of the, or perhaps the most proportionate shareholder in InselAir, they have always been marginalised by the Directors and the other private shareholders, who manage and control the airline at their whim.

Korpodeko has always been an accomplice. We do not know if by instructions of the politicians and ministers, who have paid the favours, and are committed to the private shareholders of InselAir for their great contributions in campaign times to the political parties they represent.

The reality is that InselAir never paid the loans for millions of dollars that Korpodeko granted it and for which the airline guaranteed and passed, on behalf of Korpodeko, representing the Government and the people of Curaçao, 21% of its shares. At the discretion of others in Curaçao, Korpodeko does not fulfil its responsibility as a fiduciary agent on behalf of the people of Curaçao by acting passively and not demanding clear accounts.

They also do not demand representation and supervision, according to its investment, in InselAir’s board of directors. The airline disappoints the Government in managing the funds and the company to its desire and keeping the state, one of the main shareholders, out of any decision.

Secondly, InselAir hides behind the fact that it is a private company, therefore, it does not have to give financial information to anybody. Well, we know that's not completely true. On the one hand, for what I have explained in the paragraphs above, and on the other hand that as an airline that operates a concession of the State for which it must be regulated by the State.

It is the obligation to present to the Ministry of Transportation and the DGAC its audited detailed financial statements, including losses and profits, accounts receivable, accounts payable and cash flow that demonstrate its financial health. This obligation is mandatory and both InselAir and the Government are failing their responsibility, by, one, not to provide it and hiding behind the fact that it is a private company, and the other the Ministry for not demanding it.

Moreover, the Government is obliged to remove the concession from the air carrier if it does not provide the complete financial information, or if this Information shows that the air carrier is in a delicate financial situation, or financial crisis since the State's main duty is to ensure the service to the user, and air safety of the operations of the operator. An airline in a dire financial situation, such as InselAir is a risk to the safety of passengers, as the aircraft are not properly maintained and could cause an accident.

It is my opinion that InselAir is obliged to give all its financial information. Make it public through the Ministry of Transportation and the DGAC, so that the user of its services can appreciate the financial conditions of its operator, and can make their decision when they have to use its services and buy a ticket in the future. The regulator of the concession, the State, can determine if InselAir should and can continue to operate that concession. By not demanding this requirement, the State becomes an accomplice of any possible user fraud, or of any accident that the financial crisis could cause.

The user of the air transport trusts that the Air Transport Regulator is regulating that public service, both financially and operationally. The State is obligated to regulate that public service. By not doing so, it is defrauding the public and protecting the operator under the weak argument that it has to protect the jobs. This is my personal opinion. InselAir does not want to display its accounts, because it simply has a lot to hide.

Venezuela does not owe InselAir. The Bolivares, product of their sales in Venezuela, were already used to buy dollars in the black market. The financial statements are impossible to audit, and to show it to the authorities, as it is their obligation as operator of an air concession, property of the state, would show that their crisis is such that they are bankrupt.

Nelson Ramiz

Aviation expert

Dear Editor,

By the time this article is appears in the daily newspapers it will be 27 more days before Christmas. Last year some or many felt as if the ambience was not there. I would have to agree. And I am referring to specifically Philipsburg.

We can agree that if you looked at some 90 per cent of the homes on the Dutch side of the island there were no Christmas lights decorations that reflected the festive ambience which many of us feel around this time and I am not talking about the financial aspect because I know the reality of our economy which is reflected in unemployment among certain age groups.

But my intention is not to discuss this particular subject at this time of which I promise you much will be said by my person on it in the not too distant future. My focus is mainly on Philipsburg and on the businesses in that area. If my memory serves me right one of the complaints we received from locals and also our visitors were how gloomy Philipsburg or town looked with hardly any lights or festivities which in my view would have translated into more spending. But the ambiance was not conducive for such.

Let me be clear to the businesses people in town, I am asking you to please decorate your establishments and I believe it will attract more shoppers which would mean more sales for you. I listened to a radio talk show host saying that some decorations such as lights are stolen by perpetrators. This is unfortunate but it should not be a deterrent because we have more security in town during the Christmas season than at other times and this am sure will minimise these actions.

I am calling especially on the government-owned companies to be part of these activities. The harbour I know played a tremendous role in the past and I would like them to do so again. GEBE does an awesome job for which they must be commended. But it’s only one area that I know of. I understood that in the past there was a committee that existed who had the task to organise this venture. It would be good to revive them again. It will be good for us and our visitors if we create a festive ambience.

We are a Caribbean people and believe in colours, let us make this Christmas season a festive one as we remember the real reason for the season when Jesus Christ our saviour was born. It is up to us to create the ambience.

George Pantophlet

Brothers and Sisters,

  With the solemnity of Christ the King, last Sunday we closed the Year of Jubilee of Mercy that has given us the opportunity to revive our faith through a personal encounter with Jesus Christ in different events, liturgical celebrations and works of corporal and spiritual mercy we have practiced. We thank God, in a particular way, for the gift of the Jubilee indulgence when we walked on a pilgrimage as a parish community and we enter the Holy Door, when we received the Sacrament of Forgiveness and the Eucharist, when we fulfilled what the Church has requested us to receive indulgence of the extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy.

  I am sure that the Jubilee leaves in us many fruits of conversion, the desire to carry out works of mercy to make our faith more alive and active.

  That is why at the beginning of the new liturgical year and the Advent season, I invite you to persevere in the theme of Mercy. This is the message that you priests have taken at the meeting in St. Maarten during October last: a Church that wants to reach everyone in the mission of Mercy.

An encounter with Jesus Christ accompanied by good works

  Church prays at the beginning of Advent: “Almighty God, grant to the hearts of your faithful the fervent desire to meet Christ, who comes, accompanied by good works, so that one day we may be at His right hand and take position of your eternal kingdom.”

  Advent is a time of hope, a hope that makes us active, not sitting passively or worse yet asleep on a sofa, as Pope Francis told the young people in Poland. But a hope that awakens us and leads us to walk (cf. Rom 13: 11ss), which makes us attentive and vigilant (cf. Mt 24, 44), because the Lord will come.

  As we profess in the Creed there are two comings of the Lord Jesus: the first when he came as a human and was born of Virgin Mary in Bethlehem and the second when he will come with glory and power to judge the living and the dead.

  St. Bernard says that between the first and the second coming, there is one in the middle: it is a coming that is hidden; only the chosen ones will see the Lord in the intimacy of their heart. This coming is a way that unites the first and second, he comes to comfort us and strengthen our faith and nourishes our hope and love.

  Each year the Advent season and Christmas has a special significance: Christian people live it with particular joy and enthusiasm. Church, through the Word of God, the different image and signs offered by the Liturgy, prepares our heart to encounter Jesus Christ, a meeting filled with good works.

  What does this mean?    

  Pope Francis tells us that these good works are the works of mercy that make our faith alive and active. They are simple gestures of each day that we can fulfil and that can bring a “cultural revolution” in our present world. “If each one of us, everyday performs one of the works of mercy, this would be a revolution in the world.

  “How many saints have been canonised and today we still remember them, not because they have done great works, but because of the charity they have practiced! Remember Mother Teresa, who has been canonised this year. We do not remember her because of the big hospitals she opened around the world, but because she helped people who slept on the street, giving them back their human dignity ... These works of mercy are the expression of the face of Jesus Christ who cares for his younger brothers and sisters offering each one a little love and tenderness.”

A Church in Mission of Mercy

  Our priests gathered in St. Maarten last October, invited our faithful of the Diocese and of each parish of our six islands to follow the mandate of Pope Francis and practice Mercy in its different aspects.

  As practical activities, during this new Pastoral Year 2016-2017:

* We want to promote meetings of spiritual and social formation so that we can all be missionaries in the parish, in school and in the family.

* In all events of our parish and diocese we work in union, priest, religious and laity as disciples of Jesus with a missionary spirit to bring “the joy of the Gospel” to all.

* We want to let the Word of God encourage and motivate all our pastoral activities:

our meetings, preaching, catechesis and days of reflection.

* In all our Catholic schools, we encourage teachers to give the Word of God a place of honour and to help their students to read and meditate on the Word of God every week.

* We cooperate generously with the Bishopric and the parishes through the collections of every week to practice works of mercy and to maintain our churches.

  Brothers and sisters, let us celebrate this Advent season and Christmas with a heart full of hope, listening to the messages that come from the prophets, united in prayer and charity with the whole community, in a particular way in the Christmas Novena.

  We ask Virgin Mary to give us the ability to help others, to comfort others and to treat the other always with love and respect as she demonstrated with her Son Jesus.

  Your servant in Jesus and Mary,

Luis A. Secco,

Bishop of Willemstad

Dear Editor,

As I jogged along this morning from Simpson Bay to Marigot, a total of 3.5km each way, a thousand thoughts crossed my mind; letters I would write to the paper about the wonders and irritations of our beautiful island, thoughts racing from one topic to another as I crossed the potholes, mud and obstacles along Airport Road, then the beauty of the Causeway, and the hard-working guys cleaning the roundabout near the Border Monument.

So many sites to bring to everyone’s attention. Somehow running makes my mind race. But one thing stood out amongst so many others this morning. Something that irritates the heck out of me, mainly because I would love to do it, but realize how detrimental this action is to our environment.

On my way to Marigot, a mere 3km mind you, I counted 14 cars that were parked, with idling engines, airco running and in many cases no one inside. Even a huge tour bus on the side of Bellevue Road, for at least 30 minutes, no one in the driver’s seat. Think this is no big deal? Please read this report just released by the Environmental Defence Fund in the US:

1) Turn off your ignition if you’re waiting more than 10 seconds. Contrary to popular belief, restarting your car does not burn more fuel than leaving it idling. In fact, idling for just 10 seconds wastes more gas than restarting the engine.

2) Sitting in an idling car means you are breathing in more of the dirty exhaust that leaks into the car cabin. Any cooling you may get from the airco is not worth the damage to your health. If parked and waiting, it is healthier to get out of your car and go inside a store or building.

3) Protect your car engine by idling less. Frequent restarts are no longer hard on a car’s engine and battery. The added wear (which amounts to no more than $10 a year) is much less costly than the cost of wasted fuel (which can add up to $70 to $650 a year, depending on fuel prices, idling habits and vehicle type). Idling actually increases overall engine wear by causing the car to operate for longer than necessary.

4) Make the air healthier! Idling tailpipes spew out the same pollutants as moving cars. These pollutants have been linked to serious human illnesses, including asthma, heart disease, chronic bronchitis, and cancer.

5) Help the environment. For every 10 minutes your engine is off, you’ll prevent one pound of carbon dioxide from being released (carbon dioxide is the primary contributor to global warming). An EDF report shows that in New York City alone, idling cars and trucks produce 130,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year. To offset this amount of global warming pollution, we would need to plant an area the size of Manhattan with trees every single year.

6) Keep money in your wallet and save fuel. An idling car uses between 1/5 to 7/10 of a gallon of fuel an hour. An idling diesel truck burns approximately one gallon of fuel an hour. With average US prices for diesel fuel topping $2 a gallon, that’s about $2 an hour wasted.

So, please set an example to your kids, family, friends, by showing that you care about our world’s future. Turn off your car and enjoy our trade winds.

Susy Piscione