Dear Editor,

We have read with much concern that immediate past minister Ted Richardson is the top candidate for the post of managing director of PJIAE N.V. Strangely enough, this subject was broached some months ago, and the minister in charge denied there was even such a consideration. To our amazement, we learnt that Richardson, whose claim to fame is that island hero and patriot Alec (the butcher) Richardson was his grandfather. We have witnessed the functioning of this good gentleman in the past government at the behest of his first cousin MP Master as minister of TEATT and his main contribution was to impose a moratorium on vendors’ permits, an activity that primarily serves the interest of the small man, while lifting the moratorium on casino licenses.

The jury is still out on whether that had to do with the fact that his first cousin MP Matser and the leader of the US party were out speculating with a casino license that by all accounts should have been withdrawn. After all, that is the way these outstanding licenses were handled for all other persons to whom they were granted. This is verifiable by the honourable Prime Minister.

Be that as it may, while we are informed that this good gentleman is the top candidate for the managing director post, we were strangely enough not informed who the other candidates were. Are we to believe that with all the people in active duty at SXM Airport not one could meet the requirements for the managing director’s post? It seems that for political convenience and personal enrichment we are willing to sacrifice the entire country and its future. A Moody AAA rating is better than country St. Maarten presently enjoys.

The SXM airport has recently acquired a multi-million dollar loan to expand and upgrade and it seems we are willing to risk it all for partisan politics with people who are either convicted or indicted for action alleged to be felonious.

The minister of TEATT, God bless her good soul, is an affront to what is actually taking place. The real threats to our well-being are the leaders supporting a coalition that puts themselves above the interest of the population. Just that we are sure of who we are referring to, they are PM Marlin, President of parliament S. Wescot-Williams, MP Richardson and independent S. Matser. The N.A has spent all its existence complaining about the modus operandi of the Wathey regime and more recently the overreaching of the UP.

Today we are able to see their real colours, absolutely no transparency, no indication of the candidates as was done in the TelEm case simply turning a blind eye to the coalition partner MP Matser, who supposedly owns a minister and his brother, who is the chair of the supervisory board to hand pick a director for our most successful and lucrative company and put our economy at super high risk.

Because I am convinced that there are candidates presently in house at SXM airport, I am willing to file a class action suit (kort geding van belanghebbenden) to avoid the dangers of defaulting and losing our preferred status.

Nepotism is wrong; it is a form of corruption and contrary to the press release. Richardson could not be the top candidate in a fair and open process. Corruption must stop and today is as good a time as any.

Elton Jones

Dear Editor,

It's not our fault. I am a St. Maarten born child. When I was a little boy St. Maarten was the friendliest place and as a result tourism was booming. Nowadays it has lost its touch a little, thus we need to get that back as that was the main reason why we had what we had. No need to focus on reasons where and when it all went wrong and on who and what.

It’s time to focus on fixing the issue. I can provide a starting point and the rest will be up to you my brothers and sisters. The only thing that’s warming this world up is the fact that people are using nasty words to each other. So this is where we must start. Positive thinking and positive words are the answer to saving the world, but no need to worry about the others; the focus must start with us as a whole. First we save St. Maarten and then this will be an example to the rest of our brother and sisters. People always say, think positive, but don't tell you how to stop the negative thinking.

So this is what you must do: every time you have a negative thought or use a negative word, you must say, I reject that thought and or word. Say out loud or silent but best is out loud. Because not knowingly the words we use and thoughts we have, we are actually performing magic. Say something jokingly and as a result it happens. Yes the words and thoughts we use actually work. So why not just use that knowledge to our advantage? Did you know that when you say to someone “F you,” what is actually happening is that you are putting a curse on that person and also sending a negative vibration to the world.

As a result, the negative vibration must and will return to you. Call it Karma if you like and as we all know, Karma has no deadline. So it works the same if you send positive vibrations to the world, the good must and will return to you. Have you heard of the tree of life? Focus on the tree and it must and will bear fruit. The tree represents you and the fruit represents money. How can a tree survive if the focus is only on the fruit, the tree must die. So let's put our hate and or nasty words in the trash where it belongs.

Did you know that God loves us all, yes all our brothers and sister, we are all one and the same, God’s children. He has made each and every one of us unique and I can prove it in one second. Answer this: Does anyone else on the planet have the same fingerprint as you? I think not, thus he has made all of us unique. Now think of this: is it not true that whenever you invite someone to your home, they are protected by you? I mean no man can mess with your invited guest right? At the same time, your guest must follow and respect your house rules right?

Now think of this: This is God's house and he only has 10 basic rules in his house. Would you say that a positive thinking human will go and steal or kill? I think not. So, it's safe to say that positive thinking is godly and happens to be the direct line to him. And with the direct line to him we must and will be protected by him. Think of how you would do with your own child. God has blessed us to feel what it's like to be him. Giving us love and yes, sometimes tough love as our parents did with us and as we do with our children.

God is 100 per cent real, whether you believe it or not. Stop worrying about the end of the world and other junk, as there shall be no end of the world. There is enough for all of God's children. This is step one my brothers and sisters.

As you start with this, it usually takes about three months before you will start noticing the change in your life as it has with me. Step two will be discussed another time as we all have homework to do, yes this includes me. Step two will be in understanding how the brain works and this is where we see that it's not our fault. Until then my brothers and sisters, remember that God is great and he loves each and every one of us.

A quick story, a young brother today saw that I was in a bind; now this brother took immediate action to help me and as a result saved me, his help brought tears to my eyes because I felt the love, it was all love with zero monetary expectation in return. This type of brother is what makes life worth living. I will be forever in his grace and now as a result gave me the strength needed to write to all of you my brothers and sisters. Positive vibrations, this is what the legend Bob Marley was talking about.

Renny van Grieken

aka Toutbaguy

(loosely translated everyone or everything)

Dear Editor,
In The Daily Herald of Thursday, August 25, 2016, we read that ex-minister (Ted Richardson) is believed to be one of the top candidates for the SXM Airport CEO position.
In Saturday, August 20, 2016 Daily Herald we read that Alex Dijkhoffz is one of three new persons to be appointed to the board of the Princes Juliana International Airport (PJIA) Holding N.V. In The Daily Herald of August 13, 2016, we read that Rolando Brison is appointed Tourism Authority Director.
Question: What do all of these sudden and swift appointments/announcements have in common? Answer: MP Silvio Matser and his uncertain political future due to the September 26, 2016 Parliamentary elections.
The PJIA Holding N.V. is the 100 per cent shareholder of cash-rich PJIA E (Operating) N.V. The PJIAH N.V. is wholly owned by the Government (People) of St. Maarten. The companies that own the Airport, the Sea port and the Tele port are all owned by the Government of St. Maarten and fall under the responsibilities of the Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (TEATT). The Ministry of TEATT was designated to MP Silvio Matser, as his prize for jumping off the UPP ship and forming the coalition of eight. So, now just about a month before the September elections we read: 1) Rolando Brison being proposed for STA Director (tourism money pot), 2) Alex Dijkhoffz being proposed for PJIAH Board member (a Board that approves the spending of the SXM Airport money pot), and now 3) Ted Richardson (with how much airport management experience, you say??) being proposed for the CEO position of the SXM (PJIA) Airport, where the airport money pot actually lives.
The one constant connecting the dots between all three persons is MP Silvio Matser. On the Lady Grace 102.7FM Morning show on Wednesday, August 24, 2016, Mr. Matser said he “happened” to be in the Government building (yeah right!), and was invited impromptu to witness the signing of a one-year employment contract for Brison.
On the same radio programme Matser called out an “older person for blasting this young man”. He also said: Give the youth of St. Maarten chance to grow.
So I, Michael Ferrier, the older person referred to above, has the following suggestions to MP Silvio Matser and all those that are in a position to “do the right thing for St. Maarten”. Instead of insisting to appoint as director of the STA a young man who has at least one huge blemish on his record, go with another candidate for the STA job, a St. Maarten/St. Martin born and bred, bright, articulate, dynamic local travel industry professional with an impeccable reputation: Mr. Terrance Rey.
Instead of recycling Ted Richardson, who I am sure would forever be in great debt (or is it indebted) to Mr. Matser for getting him that lucrative Airport job, why not push either Michel (Mikey) Hyman (presently the Acting Director PJIA Operations Division), or Anastacio (Stacio) Baker (presently PJIA Manager Quality Assurance), both intelligent, articulate and dynamic young local professionals with plenty of actual airport experience, into the position of Airport Director?
Then there is Alex Dijkhoffz, he worked for me, so I have the skinny on him. He also worked for, or with a nice old Canadian man who ended up back in his native Canada with a stroke after losing hundreds of thousands of US dollars. I am not sure if there is a connection there.

Michael J. Ferrier

Dear Editor,

Last week I read an article in The Daily Herald with the headline “Academy focussing on ICT development.” This brought me back to my days at the academy, when phones and other electronic devices were prohibited. However, the school seems to have come a long way in embracing technology by implementing an online portal, where parents can track their child’s progress, and allowing students to Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). The school also plans to upgrade its Information Technology (IT) infrastructure to accommodate e-marking for CXC exams and implement a BYOD policy.

These changes are welcomed, but I believe that more can be done at the secondary education level to prepare students for a career in IT. When students are in the second form, they are given a choice: Business or Science. I believe IT should be one of these choices. Information Technology (IT) is a science, but it is not taught as a science at St. Maarten Academy. Both business and science students get the same IT class. Students are taught as computer users, not IT professionals.

I propose that students be given the opportunity to learn how to repair phones, tablets, and computers along with basic networking skills and security pertaining to IT. As an IT professional, I hold several industry certifications, such as the A+ (deals with computer repairs, software, and hardware), Network+ (deals with IT network basics) and the Security+ (deals with IT security basics). These are all certifications that can be done at the high school level.

There is already a vast amount of study material for these certifications, curricula that are updated regularly by CompTIA, and this would provide a worthwhile goal for students to work towards while working on their high school diploma. There are several other benefits for students who chose to do IT in high school such as:

• Students would have 1 to 3 certifications along with their high school diploma after they graduate.

• These certifications would prepare students for a job in the IT field right after graduation.

• If these students choose to further their IT studies at a college or university, most colleges accept these certifications as credit for certain classes, which would reduce tuition and time spent in college.

• Some businesses consider a certification as experience in the IT industry, which would give students a head start in their career.

• Students who chose to study IT in high school, could use their skills to open a business after graduating, or as a secondary source of income.

This idea is not new, there are many high schools that offer IT in the USA and Europe. However, when it comes to technology, St. Maarten has always been lagging behind other countries, even countries we consider less developed. This is evident by the internet speeds advertised and the prices we consider normal. Most people on the Dutch side think 2MBs for $50 is a good deal until they find out they can get 20MB for $45 right across the border.

Both TelEm and UTS only launched 4G last year (2015), a technology that has been around since 2009. Banks don’t allow customers to pay their utility and telephone bills online and ATMs don’t accept deposits, these are all norms in St. Maarten.

Introducing IT in high school would be a great way to jump ahead and embrace the digital future while giving high school grads a real head start. I still remember my first semester in college, many students came from high schools that offered IT, and so they came with a bit more knowledge, experience and a few certifications under their belt. In the end, I graduated at the top of my class, but I had a fair amount of catching up to do.

If this is implemented, students from St. Maarten who choose to study IT will have a much easier transition. Of course, the school will have to do surveys, research, and probably launch this as a pilot program, but ultimately I believe it will be worthwhile.

Ramzan Juman