Dear Editor,
In September 2021 Minister Egbert Jurendy Doran wrote a letter to the Ombudsman. It was mind-blowing. The first thought on reading the letter; was there no one around him to simply say “very bad idea.” The fact that he had written this letter, most likely consulted with someone or persons from his team, and then they probably reviewed their handiwork, tapped themselves on the back for how brilliant they were and confidently sent that letter, spoke volumes not just about the young man Doran but also about the state of Government in St. Maarten.
The fallout that followed was quite something, the backlash was swift. Faction leader William Marlin called it a “dark day for St. Maarten,” MP Wescot Williams considered the letter “unacceptable and sexist, undermining the constitutional state.” Parliamentarians from all factions united with one voice – something so rare on this island – to denounce the letter and to demand an apology to the Ombudsman. Doran was fully chastised, eventually issuing an apology and a retraction.
There was one person though whose reaction was slow in coming, the leader of government, Silveria Jacobs. It took the Prime Minister more than a week to make a statement and when she did it was sorely lacking. While members of parliament and persons throughout the community condemned the disrespect not only to the Office of the Ombudsman, but also the sexism and overall offensiveness to the person of the Ombudsman, not once did the Prime Minister publicly condemn Mr. Doran’s statements.
In a press briefing the Prime Minister announced that Mr. Doran had apologized, that he was retracting the letter. She noted that everyone should be able to reflect on decisions they had made and retract those decisions, and apologize if necessary. She reflected on how this should be a learning experience and how no one was too big to apologize. All things that are true. But, boy, was that disappointing.
The Prime Minster is not just the leader of Government, she is the leader of the country, the leader of the people. She is one of the few female leaders not just in the Caribbean region but in the wider world. That week waiting for her to do the right thing, to stand up against disrespect to another woman, to denounce the words and actions of her colleague, and to show women and young girls that she meant it when she spoke of female leadership and female empowerment, was quite a disappointing one. The real Silveria Jacobs stood up and her actions and handling of that mess showed she was not a real one.
No one was asking that she pull support from Doran, as least not then, not yet; people watching were only asking her to do the right thing, call a spade a spade and denounce the blatant sexism and disrespect against a woman in high office, sexism and disrespect not only meant to paint her in a bad light, but to undermine her accomplishments and stain her office.
It must be noted that in the same briefing the Prime Minister railed against persons leaking government documents to the press. She said leaking information threatens everyone’s integrity and she was looking into the legal ramifications of the leaking of documents into the public domain. Jacobs stated, “It is the Government’s responsibility to safeguard the integrity of Government.”
Fast forward to 2023; on November 24 the Prime Minister is standing outside the courthouse having just won her defamation case against Olivier Arrindell, with one of his accusations being that she is a corrupt politician. “I stand for all women of St. Maarten, the disrespect to me was a disrespect to all women in St. Maarten,” Jacobs said. Weeks earlier, after the hearing of her case, Jacobs gave a briefing outside the courthouse. “I am a person of integrity,” she said before going on to deny that she is in anyway responsible for actions of her cabinet’s members that are contrary to the interest of the public.
And herein lies the issue. When I am disrespected, all women are disrespected, and when someone who defames me is shutdown it is a win for all women of St. Maarten. However, just two years prior Jacobs was not able to stand up for one woman in St. Maarten, and somehow Doran’s disrespect to the Ombudsman did not constitute a disrespect to all women.
The more telling, though, is, “I am a person of integrity, not responsible for the corrupt actions of my cabinet. I am the leader, of Government, of the people, but the wrong things done by my cabinet have nothing to do with me.”
When Silveria Jacobs took over the helm of the NA – at the time the party of the people, of the working class – she was to maintain the base of the party while taking it to higher heights. There were some who thought William Marlin dragged his feet and should have given her the leadership earlier, so much they believed in what she could accomplish. Sadly, what Jacobs has shown is that she is lacking the skills for true leadership.
There are many qualities that make a great leader, but some of the key qualities are integrity, self-awareness and courage. Integrity, of course, is a buzz word among St. Maarten politicians, quite some who may know the dictionary definition of the word but cannot apply it to their actions.
In railing against the release of documents pertaining to civil or governmental matters to the press and public, the Prime Minister at no time questioned why civil servants felt the need to do this. She did not acknowledge that most times these leaks painted the Government in a negative light and were meant to highlight a conflict of interest, or sometimes blatant corruption. At no time over the years in Government did the Prime Minister encourage civil servants to stay on the straight and narrow, and help weed out corruption at the highest levels of this country by enacting a robust whistle-blower policy, transformed into a modern whistle-blower protection law, to ensure that lives were not destroyed when persons wanted to do the right thing.
No, what the Prime Minister sought to do was simply punish persons who leaked documents.
And so, it comes as no surprise that after two years of the VROMI [Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure – Ed.] waste collection tender saga, documents have leaked and, boy, do they tell a story, from companies being disqualified to somehow coming back to win the contract, to department employees removing themselves from the evaluation and advise process to eventually all the way out of the country, refusing to be part of the misconduct. And worst of all, Government inexplicably (so far) using taxpayers’ hard-earned money to give out contracts to the least qualified, disqualified, most expensive bidders while dismissing capable, qualified companies with lower bids.
For two years the Ombudsman investigation was stymied, the people were told lies and given a runaround, the opposition MPs who would not let it go were painted in the worst light, and now because of leaked documents, they that have eyes can see exactly how the country running. What will the Prime Minister say now, will she say anything?
An effective leader knows what her people are doing and if she doesn’t she finds out. A good leader keeps her cohorts inline, and when necessary roots out rot for the good of the team, and in this case the good of the country. Mr. Doran has shown that he is a danger to the office of a good and trusted civil servant. He is also showing that he lacks the smarts to not take the most obvious risks to facilitate his and his cronies’ agenda. In an age of information, and with the characterization of the whole political field as corrupt by those who want nothing more than to be proven right, the hubris and the audacity is mind-blowing.
As Silveria Jacobs said in 2021, it is the responsibility of Government to safeguard the integrity of Government! Those were her words. Can she and Mr. Doran defend his position, can the documents be explained away, can there be a defense of no corruption? Will the Prime Minster even try, or as leader of this country will she let us know again that this is not her responsibility? Will we as a people continue to let it slide?
A concerned female voter
Name withheld at author’s request.
Dear Editor,
How do the electorate respond to a group of politicians who have pawned their souls and are now depending on the voters to redeem them? Where were they when the people were crying and begging for their attention? But the public didn’t have to look very far, because these cold-blooded politicians hid behind their jet-black tinted cars, and went about their business as if the people did not exist.
For four long years, they sat back and did nothing significant to elevate the lives of the people. Now, all of a sudden, these sitting ministers and parliamentarians who support the coalition finally found their tongue to brag about the accomplishments that previous governments have started. On every street corner, the people are bombarded with lies after lies.
For four long painful years, they refused to speak to the people. Then when they feel like, they either dodged the pertinent questions that journalists and radio hosts asked, or blatantly refused to show up in parliament to give an account to the people. But because journalism is at its worst, the population were forced to accept their incompetence, their total lack of empathy and accountability.
Imagine one month before elections, every minister came out with all kinds of projects that were in the pipeline. They even gave specific timelines for these schemes to be executed. Perhaps the pipes were blocked before. None of them started their ministry from scratch, because the running of government is continual. So, why are they begging to stay in office to stifle the population again?
Haven’t these ministers realised that they have brought the executive branch of government to the lowest degree ever? There is no leadership whatsoever. When Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs declared that she is not responsible for the decisions that the other ministers have made, this is a clear indication that she is not the right choice for that position.
Yes, the prime minister cannot micro-manage the ministries, but she is expected to pay attention to what is happening in her colleagues’ ministries. This hands-off attitude is like having a minor who misbehaves on the streets, and when the complaints reach to the mother, she ignores the criticisms, even though the child is degrading the family’s name. This why the population is catching hell with GEBE.
It’s amazing that the prime minster wants to take credit for all of the “good things” that the other ministries have achieved, but is unwilling to own up to the situations that have threatened the integrity of the Council of Ministers. Why stress on the matter that she only has one vote when there is a decision to be made within the Council of Ministers?
Fine! But is she not in charge of the council? Is Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs telling this public that she is totally oblivious to the issues within the other ministries that have damaged the reputation of government? Then what do the weekly meetings entail? My suspicion has always been that this prime minister is there by name only, but the other ministers are running the show.
This lack of accountability and shunning the public were allowed to go on because of these lame-duck parliamentarians who sat there and let the ministers ruin the country. Now they too are pleading to the people to vote them back in. For what exactly? It’s time for this fake majority to experience the hardship that so many families are feeling these days.
Just the other day, Olivier Arrindell had them in a choke-hold for months and none of them uttered a word. They didn’t dare to challenge him. Only because he went off track, that is why they were given a chance to breathe again. Now that they catch their breath, they are poking lies down the public’s throat all day.
People, don’t be fooled with all this hype! They were paid to represent the population and they have failed miserably. Their only recourse now is to do damage control.
Joslyn Morton
Dear Editor,
One of the things that I often mention is that I was taught that if you cannot fix something then you should not criticize it. So let me ask this. If my name is Russell Simmons, and I am known for writing letters to the editor or only being interviewed on talk shows and then I decide to become a candidate on a political party in the government elections, how will people know who I am? I am asking this question because since I was a boy I know political parties making voting commercials during political electin times.
At the age of 10 years old I can remember that there were only two houses in the Village with a green flag. There was a PPA flag on 98 percent of the houses in the Village. So was the case with different towns and villages on Aruba. By the amount of flags on the houses in the different towns and villages the parties had an average of what the outcome of the elections would be.
There were owners of houses who did not prefer their political colour known, who forbade the tenants to raise political flags on their houses. Candidates gave out fliers and there were pickup trucks carrying a generator which generated current for the amplifiers and loudspeakers which the candidates used to annouce the upcoming political meetings and whatever other propaganda of their political party. With the advancement of technology parties developed different kinds of ways and means to enhance political propaganda One of those means is political posters.
The morning after postulation day there were green flags attached to the railing of A.J.C. Brouwer Road ranging from Cole Bay to Cay Hill. But besides that we have not seen that great amount of political flags all over the country. And then came the posters. which I believe are replacing the flags. I do not know what the difference in cost is, but I believe that the money which was formerly used to acquire the flags will be used to help with the cost of the posters. The Christmas and New Year came and all of a sudden the posters became a problem. Since 2010 how many elections have we had? Were there no posters during all those elections?
I believe that by now everyone should know that commercials are even geared towards kindergarteners. I will repeat: all of what is happening these days has happened in the past when things were rocky. Why is it that now that things are stabilizing, all of a sudden everything becomes a problem.
I will always encourage anyone to have an opinion and even publicize it, but if you are going to take time to put it on social media or have it published, I believe that a little research will help to ascertain the facts. And then one will not have to petition the editor to withhold his/her name in case it is published.. That kind of betrays similar behavior as the one or the situation that he/she is writing about.
I must admit, however, that if political parties (politicians) would show the same dedication for serving the community as they do to get elected the people would see them through a different light.
Russell A. Simmons
Dear Editor,
After working for 41 years as a police officer in the Dutch Kingdom/ Netherlands Antilles, I believe I can say one or two things about certain customs. I have worked directly with European Dutch colleagues and have had some observations about their behavior. And their answer was always “Dat is toch niet een probleem?” (Why is that a problem?) The other thing that we always got in the clinch about is when speaking to me they would use “Jullie” (You all) and I would always stop them and let them know I am an individual and am not responsible for what other people (beside my children) do.
There are laws, rules and regulations governing everybody’s behavior. My job is to serve and protect everyone and because I was brought up to respect everyone’s opinion, I give everyone equal opportunity to what is reasonable.
There is a letter from Geert Hatzmann circulating on social media in which he has written not-so-nice things about our Prime Minister. It is written in Dutch and I did not recognize any German words in it so I assume that Geert Hatzman is a Dutchman. There are some expressions of racial discrimination as well as opinions about the voting list of the National Alliance. Question: Who has the final say when it comes to the Justice and Finances in the Kingdom? Where is the pressure to accept same-sex marriage in the kingdom coming from?
Can any political party put a gun to anyone’s head and tell them that they have to become a member of that party and postulate themselves? It is also alleged that the National Alliance party discriminates against whites and that there are no whites on the party’s list. Is it not always about votes and who can guarantee the most votes? I can say that being clannish is not going to get any groups or race a lot of votes.
I know that, because I am the one who is always writing to you concerning the education level of the Members of Parliament. And if the Dutch continue to address individuals with “jullie” they are definitely not going to get any votes and consequently not on any list. Despite what Hatzmann claims, when I go down the names on the National Alliance list there is a lady with the name Molanus.
Because Geert Hatzmann (who I believe partner is not white) claims that there are no whites on the National Alliance list, that confirms exactly what I have always alluded to. Who decided that when a black person and a white person have a child together that child is automatically considered to be black? If I am not mistaken only two people can make a child (children). Three people cannot make the same child. That is why DNA is final.
What about this? Father, Johannes Zijlstra. is white, mother, Perly White, is black, son Jan Zijlstra, born in Holland is registered/considered as black.. Where is it determined what determines the race of a child? When is it the father and when is the mother, or DNA?
From when I was a child I learned that when the fox couldn’t reach the grapes, he said that they were sour anyway. I do not know what is Geert Hartmann’s beef with the National Alliance, but it sounds like “Ik zal je noch eens krijgen.”
Apart from that I realize that the language used during several political campaign meetings is of low caliber and we can read and see the results on social media. Where is the love for country to keep the name of St. Maarten on a certain level?
No, not I believe, I know that each and every one of those members of Parliament have a good rapport with each other, but it is time enough they grow politically and stop from openly pretending to insult and ridicule each other, because it is not doing any good for St. Maarten. When they feel that they are getting away with murder one place, they are going to try it somewhere else and the result is proven to be that several of them have been indicted, locked up and even sentenced.
But what is worse, violence and destruction is becoming the thing of the day on St. Maarten. Yes, our St. Maarten, where up to now everybody comes because of the tranquil nature of the country. May I plead to the politicians via your paper to show maturity, campaign with dignity and conserve our sweet St. Maarten land. You cannot hide, your posters are all over the country, so the burden is on you to be civil with your discourse. Demonstrate maturity. Winning at all cost is losing.
Russell A. Simmons
Dear Editor,
As I drive around St. Maarten, including some places on the French side, I am amazed the amount money and effort that has gone into putting up all these political billboards campaigning for the very-soon-to-be-held elections.
I would like to state if this amount of effort was harnessed to improve the lives of all St. Maarten residents and the country in general I am sure we would be living in a much better place.
Another inescapable fact is the huge number of candidates postulating for a few positions in the political arena, which leads me to only two possible conclusions:
1. We have so many well intentioned persons who genuinely want to put country before self, hmmm?
2. The salary and benefits afforded to those few that get elected is so high that it attracts Tom, Dick and Harry to want to get a piece of the political pie.
In conclusion, if the salary and benefits of the elected officials were reduced drastically to say that of a medium level manager here in SXM, would we see such a feverish political campaign or would we see those devoted to the betterment of St. Maarten and its people?
Last piece of advice: use the votes for the right person and reason, St. Maarten is losing ground and cannot afford to lose more.
A very concerned St. Maarten resident
Name withheld at author’s request.
