Dear Editor,
This September 26, a new Parliament of St. Maarten will be elected to office. Each vote cast will help elect one of the 15 Members. That vote expresses the confidence the people have in the candidate of their choice, to be their voice and to handle the interest of the people of St. Maarten, in accordance with their mandate.
Essentially the campaign can be considered the job interview and the voting on September 26, the selection process after which the vacant 15 seats in Parliament will be filled with the best candidates for the job.
Members of Parliament have no fixed 8-hours work day; no exclusive location to work; they don’t clock in and out; no system to prove that there is any actual work being done for the salary. In other words, a parliamentarian must be sufficiently disciplined or at least care enough to show up to work, because the only people checking are the voters and they only get to hire and fire every 4 years when elections come around.
In my experience the job of a member of Parliament is 24/7 and if done right, consistently with the people in mind and with the cooperation of all involved, budgets can pass on time, legislative amendments and proposals can be made on a regular basis, Ministers can be called to Parliament to give account of their actions on how they are spending the people’s taxes.
Moreover meetings can be set at 8:00am when everybody else is expected to work and if members show up on time and sign in, it is even possible to be home for dinner. All this by saving the tax payer the cost of: overtime for civil servants, utilities, food and beverages etc. I say that to say this: Parliament can work much more efficiently with respect to time, taxes and results.
What does it take? People who take the job seriously, political maturity if you will, true concern, knowledge of the job and experience. Ideally it takes a combination of them all.
Though probably sounding like a broken record, I emphasise that whoever is elected to do this job and of course I am working towards being elected, is the result of the people’s decision.
If you are reading this and are convinced but know of others who treat their voting power as trivial, I say to you it is our collective responsibility to convince these people of the power they hold in their hands – that it should not be sold cheaply for a few bucks … No, it would not surprise me that it’s still happening.
Your vote is mighty indeed, so much so, that if you don’t use it you are guaranteed no change, no stability in government, no possibility of improvement and frankly no reason to complain about it. There are very few certainties in life, except for not voting of course, which will certainly render no results.
I have demonstrated to the people of St. Maarten that I do handle the people’s business with the knowledge that is required and the dedication and seriousness it deserves. Then at least there is an opportunity for results.
Your vote is mighty indeed. Please use it on September 26.
Maria Buncamper-Molanus
Candidate #5 on the United St. Maarten Party (US Party) list
Dear Editor,
Somebody is telling untruths and he or she knows it. The question is: Where to find the facts and why are they being concealed? Just to show how horrible journalism is at the moment, politicians can say whatever they want and get away with it. They make numerous statements that need some serious clarification and reporters either choose to ignore the comments or the situation has really exposed the low level of investigative reporting.
Was it not two weeks ago, during a press conference, that the leader of the Democratic Party mentioned that she knew of the Pearl of China project since about a year ago? Then why is the impression created as if Finance Minister Richard Gibson dropped a bombshell from nowhere? Is it not that a project of this magnitude would be discussed in the Council of Ministers meetings? If by chance the leader of the Democratic Party did not know of this initiative, would this not be an important matter for the Health Minister to discuss with her?
And, when the Minister of Health is asked about the issue, why would he say that he does not know much? If he needed to know more, his inquiries would have been handled in the meetings of the Council of Ministers. Something is not kosher. This development may have come as a shock to the majority of the people but it was floating around since a year ago. The question is: who is hiding the truth and why?
Today, the Port of St. Maarten has issued a press release, acknowledging its support for the Pearl of China project. Why is that, when the same venture is severely criticized by the opposition and their entourage? What is the hidden agenda? Is the ground-breaking ceremony an assurance to devise a scheme to connect to the project or is the opposition convinced that they will win the election and capitalize on the initiative?
Someone needs to come out and inform the public of the real reasons why patients are consistently delayed on St. Maarten and then suddenly shipped away for medical care. I know that this issue came to the floor of Parliament before but somehow the explanation does not make any sense. It is also a fact that the Health Minister travelled to Colombia to acquire first-hand information and did not find anything out of the ordinary. This is still a nagging and unsolved mystery. I believe that if he had disguised himself, the outcome would have been different.
Likewise, this excessive increased salary for security at the port is still unsettling. This matter was also brought to Parliament but the initial inquiry was met with significant apprehension. Why? Eventually, when the representatives of the Port finally made up their mind to go to Parliament, they played mind games with the parliamentarians, but especially the opposition. Then, when they couldn’t match the wit of their opponents, they went back to the drawing board and came up with some “Nancy Story,” to justify the increase. Surprisingly, the opposition settled for an explanation that made absolutely no sense.
How is it that no one is willing to tackle the origins of the amount of guns that are flooding the island and rapidly destroying the fabric of this society? What is it that the authorities are not telling the people and why are they so secretive about it? It has been said repeatedly, that lack of money is the major factor that is hampering the progress of Justice Ministry. Is it really, and why do the minister consistently stays away from the press briefings? Are we to believe the reasons given or is it that the truth is hidden somewhere in the rubble?
Joslyn Morton
Dear Editor,
It is the job of the Legislative Branch to conduct the checks and balances in dealing with the Executive Branch. In doing so, the coalition partners can be critical, but not at all times. After all, the Executive Branch is executing the governing program, backed by the coalition government.
On the other hand, one of the most important jobs of the Opposition in the Legislative Branch is to constantly question the Government in seeking clarity. This of course, is only possible, assuming that the Government remains answerable to the public at all times. The latter is of paramount importance for democracy to reach its full potential. A good opposition can point out serious issues, and debate them to get those resolved in the interest of the people.
According to scholars on the matters of government, the other major role of the opposition is to propose alternatives to what the government is doing, so the people get the benefit of political debate on different directions and alternative viewpoints.
The matter at hand in Statia, is that the Opposition attempted multiple times unsuccessfully to secure a debate on the precarious financial household of Statia, and the functioning of the Commissioner of Finance. In principle, this agenda point should not have any merit for the coalition government to go to the extent to filler bust this agenda point. Nine times boycotting the one and the same agenda point indicates that this ruling coalition is trampling on the trust bestowed upon them by the people.
There is a Financial Action Plan in place to be executed, and questions regarding the execution thereof seem to be the just thing to do. Democracy at the max. To just vote the agenda point off the agenda, not providing a quorum, or instruct the commissioners not to show up for the meeting, borders on child's play.
One can understand that it is an art to execute the power of the majority. One thing is sure and that is, if this solemn authority is used to stifle the Opposition, the ruling coalition failed miserably in that regard. The attitude of “might is right” is surely not in the interest of the coalition government. This only creates an unnecessary distrust and helps foment the growing perception among the public that the government has something to hide.
To those looking in from the outside, for example, The Hague, this childish behaviour is unbecoming for a Legislative Branch. There is also an indication of immaturity on the side of the coalition, and this surely will have ramifications. After all, no self-respecting entity will entrust a child with millions of development aid. This is a disgrace for the Island Council, a slap in the face of the people of Statia.
Being faced with these immature people’s representatives and knowing that these are the same persons knocking on the gates of The Hague seeking more autonomy, is a scary thought. If the premise for this autonomy is a proper financial household and a functioning administration, then these are surely not the persons qualified to deal with the future of Statia.
A government that shuns transparency and accountability, and gives "might is right" new meaning, is not a people's government, but one serving only its minions and own selfish agendas.
The UPC sincerely hopes that in the coming days the coalition partners will muster the ability to develop that little sense of responsibility, and also realize that they are doing themselves a disservice in the eyes of the community of Statia, and making our island the laughing stock of the Caribbean.
Elvin Henriquez
Deputy Leader
United People's Coalition
Dear Editor,
When it comes to new properties on virgin land (like the China Pearl project), St. Maarten is a little like a card player in a tough position with very few cards to play to win the jackpot. Allowing “greenfield” properties, like that in the Belair area, to be used for new projects without commitments to infrastructure development is like the card player playing one of his last hands. Making the decision on when to play the last cards is a tough one and the difficulty of the decision easily underrated.
One of the easy solutions to keeping growth in the economy is to attract these sorts of projects. And it is possible that this is the critical moment to play that card. On the other hand the card is one of the last ones and it may be better to “pass.”
The better solution is to make sure that the country has more cards to play. Such cards would be created when we can effectively diversify or reduce the loss of existing diversifications. Such a card would be when we have sufficient public surpluses that we can stimulate the renewal of existing properties or drive new diversification by incentives.
Such a solution would be when our economy is operating so well and investors are getting returns at a level that we can choose the investors that bring the most value to the country. All solutions are likely to be better when the community has a greater level of trust that our hand is being played well.
Robbie Ferron
Dear Editor,
I do not usually react to comments made in connection with my letters, unless those comments are from an influential source. When I read about the numerous complaints the police still receive regularly for issues like illegal parking, disturbing loud music, businesses remaining open after the lawful closing hours, traffic backed up, just to name a few and as a consequence the police keep meetings with the wrong-doers, I reacted. I reacted because even though I dearly believe in dialogue (I usually to time to make sure that both parties understood what was going on) I believe more in order and consistency.
Then I read the Editorial Promoting Awareness and was confused. Which citizen has more rights, I asked myself. I expected the editor to comment on the fact that the police were not enforcing the law and that everybody has a right to a comfortable night rest and equal protection. Instead the editor took it upon himself to border on discrimination and decided that the authorities have better things to do than constantly run around dealing with these kinds of situations, etc.
Should it not have been so that the first time the police went to solve that problem, the consequences of non-compliance should have been made known to the wrong-doers? No meetings would be necessary if it was dealt with in the correct way the first time.
And even worse, to have follow-up meetings. If the business owners do not agree they have the Chamber of Commerce to complain by. They can take a lawyer and dispute the decision of the police, but it should never be so that the police have numerous complaints for the same situation from the same businesses and find themselves with their hands up in the air looking for a solution to abide by the behaviour of wrong-doers. A sign of weakness.
Besides that the Prosecutor's Office should have intervened in that already after reading those numerous complaints, because that is part of their duty also. The reason for the traffic been backed up to the traffic lights and Bush Road was also clear to everyone. A drunken driver loses his driver's license as soon as a report is made up against him for failing the drunken drivers’ test. There is no warning. Numerous complaints of different kinds and the wrong-doers are called to a meeting. Wrong approach.
I fully agree with the idea and goals of the Community police, but police do not make deals. Police enforce the law, sometimes by summons and more often by their presence, but they do not make deals. Especially not with constant wrong-doers to see how to get them to comply. The fact that follow-up meeting will be scheduled tells me that the police left the door open for the wrong-doers to continue.
Once more I applaud the work of the Community police but the actual police work must not get lost in the midst while neglecting the rights of others. Do not forget "zachte heelmeesters, maken stinkende wonden.” Promoting awareness is not keeping meetings with people who know better and do not do better. The police are not probation officers. Do you want to tell me that those wrong-doers hands are really tied?
Russell A. Simmons
