Dear Editor,
This is unbelievable! The mismanagement of GEBE goes beyond party politics. It is affecting us all; the average citizen whose appliances are being damaged, businesses that are being hurt in an already damaged economy, residents that are planning their daily household chores, and even GEBE’s own employees are all affected by the mismanagement from the top.
Not so long ago the current Council of Ministers wanted 30 million guilders from GEBE to balance their budget, which by the way now already has accumulated a huge deficit in the first two quarters of the year. They furthermore told the previous Supervisory Board to take loans for the purchase of new generators, and not to use the money that GEBE has on their account. When the previous Supervisory Board refused to play political games, they were removed. Musical chairs is being played with the CEO, CFO and COO positions ever since.
On social media there was a post that was funny, but sad at the same time. It read: “MP Lake put the new GEBE board in place; his back-to-basics approach is in full effect. We’re back to candlelight!”
While lots of things were running well under the UP-led government, the reality is that this coalition is messing up everything good. We now have a large number of power outages; we’re experiencing major issues with garbage collection and management of the dump, while a new fantasy island is being planned in the middle of our lagoon for a sewage plant.
Enough is enough! My people deserve better! We can no longer continue like this. We need to put our people first by creating an environment where businesses can flourish and where the quality of life for everyone increases.
As a Member of Parliament I will work together with all stakeholders to get St. Maarten out of this darkness and remain committed to finding sound solutions for the problems GEBE is facing.
Franklin Meyers
Member of Parliament/Fraction Leader UP
Dear Editor,
The other day I decided that I had to discover my island further, because it is worth to be discovered. So, I went on an expedition and planned to take a walkabout at the trail passing Back Bay from Pointe Blanche.
The area was a total surprise for three reasons. First, it was wild! It was nature! The atmosphere was great, relaxed, truly removed from the fumes of cars in traffic jams and crowded life on the island. I immediately fell in love with the area. An area to protect for generations to come. It also should be great for tourists on cruise ships, who after a week might be fed up with buffets and the crowdedness, and need some space, some beautiful views and maybe a little swim in one of the natural pools.
It took me a while to find the trail though, so that was also a tiny surprise. Especially because one had to pass a dirt road, and I mean dirt in the sense of dirty. One constantly thinks: am I going the right way?
At one point in St. Maarten’s recent history there seems to have been a garbage dump here. In the bushes there are still lots of car parts, concrete pieces, broken tiles, scattered glass and rusted up stuff all over. It is good most of the garbage has been taken away, but the mess on the edges is still there and it seems that people still use it as a dumping ground.
My surprise increased like a big bubble gum, when I walked on and saw large amounts of car parts on a seaside cliff. Rubber tyres, motor blocks, metal, wires, plastics, a big part of a truck and that is just what was visible. What is there beneath the surface of the water? A bit of iron is not that bad maybe, but tyres, that slowly break down in little pieces that via fish find its way into our food, is just plain bad. Let alone all of the other parts with chemical plasticisers.
On the first rocky beach of Back Bay, the area is also covered with washed-up car parts and washed-up tyres. Bushes are covered in plastic bottles and other plastic, and look like a bad, fake Christmas trees.
No sea cucumber, but black rubber hoses. No conches, we try so very hard to protect from export, but plastic car mirrors. No sharks in this part of the shark reservation, but big grey plastic bumpers. No sand dollars, but plastic pieces of all sorts. So apparently stuff slides down the cliff and ends up on the beach.
One wonders what is still beneath the surface of the water, but having a look is risky, while during a swim a truck seat might fall on your head! I don’t even want to go into the question, which dirt bag dumped the stuff there. Pin him on a Pope’s Head Cactus and let him sit for a while. I do wonder why this has not been cleaned as of yet. On the cliff, on the beach and on the bottom of our beautiful Caribbean waters.
Maybe it is already being arranged and this letter is unnecessary, but Government, EPIC (Environmental Protection of the Caribbean), community, scuba divers come together. You want to do a clean-up! Here is one for you. It is a biggie!
Turn in the iron and maybe there is even money to be made! Of course it is going to take some heavy equipment, a lot of hands and also remnants of two small structures have to be broken away, but this island can do it.
The walk itself has to be cleaned too, and some small safety fencing has to be put in place. Then you will have without a doubt one of the most beautiful hikes on this island.
Simpson Soualiga
Dear Editor,
The current issues being experienced with GEBE’s much criticized load-shedding are because the company is now a rudderless ship. Government needs to step in and tackle these issues head on in the interest of the populace.
Electricity consumers on Dutch St. Maarten have been blighted with power outages over the past few days, which are reportedly part of scheduled load-shedding to accommodate repair of equipment. Persons have experienced as much as three outages in a given day and the local population has been very outspoken in their criticism of GEBE as a result.
There is still no appointed head of GEBE so it’s not surprising that no one has come forward with an explanation or a solution from that company regarding the outages that are inconveniencing the island. Government needs to stop playing politics with something so vital to the day to day business of the island and appoint a captain to steer this ship on the correct path. GEBE has been without a chief executive officer for months because none has been appointed to this date. How do you expect a ship without a captain to navigate smoothly, especially if the seas are not always calm?
The employees of GEBE must be commended for keeping the company afloat and operational by carrying out their day to day duties despite government’s delay in appointing a CEO.
Government must step in and solve these issues affecting GEBE because they negatively impact the productivity of businesses and people’s personal lives. They are the only body authorized to make these changes and they need to start taking this job seriously. We give credit to GEBE for their program that provides some sort of relief to our seniors, but there have been too many complaints through the years about company policies – e.g., their continued refusal to compensate persons and businesses for equipment which becomes damaged from constant power outages – and they need to be resolved.
I call on the current administration to stop playing politics with the issue. GEBE needs a new CEO in place to deal with the issues plaguing them. That CEO must be the person who is best for the job based on their experience and merit and not someone appointed as a political reward or personal favour.
Leonard Priest,
Leader One St. Maarten People Party (OSPP)
Dear Editor,
I am a business man; I have been travelling for years. Nowhere in the world have I seen people screaming out for jobs like at the St. Maarten International Airport.
A gentleman comes down to the airport everyday stating that he’s hired by Great Bay Express to pick up tourists from the airport to transport them to the Harbour to catch the ferry to St. Barth’s.
I am a local business man on the island and I have been harassed by him quite a few times, and I also know quite a few friends that pick up people, but this gentleman stands outside the airport with their names on a paperboard.
This guy with an orange shirt yelling, “Great Bay Express, Great Bay Express!” For me, I find it very disrespectful and inappropriate at the airport. On many occasions I saw a few ladies walk over to the guests and ask, do you need a taxi? And, then there jumps the guy with the orange shirt saying “Great Bay Express, Great Bay Express!”
On Saturday, July 9, I drove with a male taxi driver and we had a discussion, I also saw signs saying “Shuttles for Oyster Bay Hotel.” I turned around and I ask the taxi driver how do you all earn an income? The taxi driver turned and says all we have to do is work hard!
I think is time to put a stop to it because I find that the local taxi drivers aren’t making enough of income.
Name withheld at author's request.
Dear Editor,
Today, July 14, 2016, I'm writing the last article I will write on the politics of St. Martin.
I have decided to concentrate the balance of my time from now on, on cultivating my home garden and writing my autobiography and auto-eulogy.
Before taking this life retreat from the politics of my homeland this, my ultimate article, you will find hereafter is simply the expression of my will to share with you – my patriots, my thoughts on the St. Martin you likely will be voting for a few months from today.
The newly created Collectivité of St. Martin was handed over on January 1, 2008 to our elected leaders with a budget evaluated at 74.6 million euros, in running expenditures. This is significantly below the budget of Anguilla (6, 500 inhabitants) and quite three times below the running expenditures budget of Dutch St. Maarten, 40,000 inhabitants compared to French St. Martin 37,000 inhabitants
The 74.6 million euros running expenditures was compensated by: 32.6 million (44 per cent), in taxation transferred at potential value of which 16.4 million was officially recognised as potentially non-collectable; 36.9 million in allowances including compensations (allotment); 5.1 budget deficit after all compensations.
In spite of this budgetary precariousness between 2008 and 2012, the State recuperated seven million euros off of the transfer of competences budget, by operating cuts on the 2009 to 2012 allowances due to St. Martin this said to be recuperation of over-plus allowances wrongly paid to St. Martin from 2008 to 2010.
On the back of the above, in April 2011, the State decided to inflict St. Martin with a perpetual yearly re-evaluated debt burden evaluated at 63,412,600 euros for the year 2008.
Debt resulting from the readjustment of the charges of the sole Fire Department transferred from the Department/Guadeloupe to the Collectivité in 2008.
For this year 2016, the running expenditures budget of the Collectivité is fixed at 137 million euros, an increase of over 185 per cent compared to the 2008 transfer of competences budget (74.6 millions)
A fiscal receipt budgeted of the sum of 81.01 million euros, an increase of 249 per cent compared to the 32.6 million of the 2008 transfer of competences budget. Increase consisted essentially on the implementation upon the unprivileged social strata residents of unprecedented taxation, abusive and fraudulent impositions, fraudulent calculations,
All which will be illegal if referred to the French national fiscal legislation, but permissible upon the power of the said granted Fiscal Autonomy to SXM.
Useless to plead our fate before the Conseil d'Etat or the Conseil Constitutionnel, they both refer not to the laws and fundamental principles of the French Republic, but squarely dismiss any case of abuse of fiscal power of the COM St. Martin placed before them by slyly assimilating the fiscal autonomy of COM St. Martin to the 1830’s regime of the colonies, when the French constitution declared that the regime of colonies is determined by special laws called the colonial charter (La Charte Coloniale).
The January 1st, 1798 constitution of France (La Convention) also did declared the autonomy of the colonies within the sovereignty of the Republic, represented by an agent of the Republic, the first appointed to Guadeloupe including St. Martin, was Victor Hugues, no need to recall the despotism and bloody terror that the natives suffered under his reign.
Paris declarations of autonomy within the Republic to French Overseas Territories had always meant and will always mean more power in the hands of the State’s appointed representatives.
Considering all the above, and looking to unfold such a shameful rat race between natives contemplating the president seat of the Collectivité in the upcoming March 2017 COM elections,
A rat race in which none is less incompetent than the other, and all to blame directly and indirectly for the immature unfolding of the new status of St. Martin and the catastrophic situation the country natives are now confronted with.
It, therefore, becomes very clear to me that voicing my opinion in such an irrational, self-centred, egocentric environment is like a lonely man crying out in a vast no man’s land.
So, I have decided after the publication of this ultimate article to retreat in my home garden, write out my autobiography and auto-eulogy, and simply wait and see.
What will be, will be; que sera sera.
Leopold Baly aka The Elder
