Dear Editor,

The book of principles advised that, “A messenger who cannot be trusted can cause a lot of trouble, but good communication makes progress happens.” As I ponder on this advice, it informs me that more often than not, the best course of action to deal with a dispute is to allow the dust to settle. But, during the heat of the moment is when one listens attentively to the comments, analyses them, and then responds with specific data that surround the particular circumstance.

For some people, the result of the recently-held calypso elimination was disappointing, while for others they have absolutely no problem with the outcome. Personally, the public can shred the judges to pieces if they so desire; but when it comes to those who are involved in the art form, then the situation becomes different.

When I listened to a calypsonian, who has been crowned numerous times (perhaps the most and with some controversy), remark that the judges could not differentiate between judging a calypsonian and a comedian, then, it truly indicates that there is a division among members of the art form. His comments remind me of the behaviour of some politicians, who feel that politics belongs to them only. Last year, when this calypsonian was placed first in the eliminations by a fraction of the same judges, were they good then or only because the outcome benefitted him?

Another calypsonian, who captured the crown about 4 times, also trashed the judges. A few years ago, when a particular judge gave him a perfect score for all segments of his rendition, nothing was wrong then. I can recall in the village, the large group of calypso lovers who were at the front remarked, “What, how he get there?” None of the supporters had him placed, much less to be crowned king. The question is, were these judges competent then or only because it worked in his favour?

However, the most damaging part of this scenario is the behaviour of the MC, who continuously enticed the public to trash the judges – someone whose task was to entertain and release the results at the appropriate time. When one has to deal with a twofaced individual, it is hard to find the correct words to describe that person. The only words that can be used appropriately, in order not to insult, are, “the MC is nothing but a counterfeit.”

When I listened to how the MC of the calypso elimination commented on the decision of the judges, I shook my head in awe. But during the upheaval, I learned that this is exactly who he is. He says one thing in front of one’s face and behind his or her back, he twisted his tongue.

What was amazing is that the MC made sure that he informed the public that SCDF pleaded with the judges and asked if they could live with their decisions. Oh, when one throw stones and hide their hands…Wow! Little do his godson, The Protégé and the public know, this same MC said repeatedly to the judges in the presence of members of SCDF, “A goin tell all you something, I agree wit all you. He was definitely off key. From de moment he start to sing, I tell my wife dat he is singing out of key, and so I agree wit all you.”

Now that the MC has achieved his goal, he should ask himself, can he look The Protégé in his eyes and the same public, and tell them that he did not say that he agreed with the judges’ decision? Then he should ask himself further, can he live with his conscience?

What was startling is that before the names were announced, the MC and other persons knew who the finalists were. This information should have been divulged just prior to the announcement. Personally, I believe that the issue was mishandled. If SCDF needed to dialogue with the judges, they should have consulted them privately. What is it they expected the judges to do in front of the hundreds of people, change the score?

Moreover, it’s so strange that the MC said that he did not understand what The Mighty Pepper sang. The story was as clear as day. Anyone who lives on Sint Maarten knows exactly what the song was about. He even mentioned the name of the politician’s spouse and asked her what to do in his crisis, and also demonstrated how the situation has affected him.

This is the hypocrisy of the MC who claimed on Saturday that he did not understand what Pepper sang about, but a few days after, the same MC was on air praising how good Pepper’s rendition was. So which is it really?

There is an outcry to have competent judges for the calypso shows. The question is: Does being experienced in the art form become a guarantee for the desired results? As far as I can see, the judges are viewed as incompetent, depending on who is affected.

Joslyn Morton

Dear Editor,

Think of 10 people close to you -family members, friends and co-workers. Chances are at least one is suffering from diabetes, though they might not know it. An estimated 10 per cent of the population of the Americas -more than 62 million people- have diabetes, and more than half a million people die from it each year. That makes diabetes the fourth-leading cause of death in the hemisphere after heart attacks, strokes and dementias.

Yet deaths are only part of this disease’s devastating impact. Many people with diabetes develop serious complications, including blindness, nerve damage and circulation problems leading to amputated limbs, kidney failure requiring costly dialysis, and heart failure resulting in death. Those at highest risk are the 30 to 40 per cent of people who don’t know they have diabetes and those who lack access to good health care.

Unfortunately, diabetes is on the increase in the Americas and around the world. As with other chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and stroke, the underlying causes of type-2 diabetes -the most common form- are lifestyle changes linked to development and globalization. If current trends continue, diabetes is expected to afflict more than 100 million people in our hemisphere by 2040.

What needs to be done?

Research shows that people who are overweight or obese are at highest risk of developing type-2 diabetes. Currently, 60 per cent of people in the Americas fall into those categories. We know the main culprits for this are unhealthy diets and physical inactivity, which is why health advocates always urge us to “eat healthy” and “be more physically active.”

For World Health Day 2016, this April 7, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are repeating this good advice as part of a campaign to raise awareness of the burden of diabetes and the urgent need to step up action for its prevention and control.

But what kind of action and by whom?

First, eating healthy and being active are indeed important to preventing and even controlling diabetes. That means basing one’s diet on nutritious whole foods like fruits, vegetables, fish, and lean meats while avoiding sugar-sweetened beverages and ultra-processed foods that are high in calories and low in nutrition.

It’s also important to limit sedentary behaviour and take as many opportunities as possible to be active.

But preventing diabetes and other lifestyle-related diseases is not just an individual responsibility. Governments also have a key role to play through laws and regulations that help “make the healthy choice the easier choice” for people to make.

This is a lesson public health advocates learned from the battle with tobacco. Telling smokers how unhealthy cigarettes were and urging them to quit had only limited success. What proved much more effective were taxes to make tobacco products more expensive, bans on smoking in public places, and restrictions on tobacco advertising, marketing, and sponsorship.

A number of countries in our hemisphere have learned from this experience and are now taking strong regulatory action to promote healthy eating. Mexico, Barbados and Dominica, for example, have increased taxes on sugary beverages to reduce consumption. Brazil, Chile and Mexico now restrict junk food advertising aimed at children. Chile and Ecuador now require front-of-package nutrition labels that alert consumers to processed foods that are high in sugar, fat or salt. On the other side of the equation, cities throughout Latin America now sponsor regular Ciclovías(cycleway), during which city streets are temporarily closed off to create safe spaces for walking, biking and other activities.

Governments have other critical responsibilities in fighting the diabetes epidemic. It is especially important that public health systems be capable of early diagnosis of diabetes and ensures that people receive good care. Toward this end, PAHO/WHO provides guidance in these areas and is also working with its member countries to advance toward universal health, in order to ensure that diabetes care -as well as other health services- are available to everyone who needs them.

This year’s World Health Day, April 7, is an opportunity to highlight the role that all of us -individuals, governments and all of society- can play to help reverse the diabetes epidemic in the Americas. It’s time for all of us to join together to “Step up and beat diabetes!”

Carissa F. Etienne

Director of the Pan American Health Organization Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization

Dear Editor,
Let’s big up one of our own now. Very rarely on St. Maarten do you come across an individual who is so strong in his or her convictions, and believes in the collective ability of a team for the greater good of anything. Carnival on St. Maarten is blessed to have someone who always puts the festival first, fights for it and is unafraid to stand and take “blows” for unpopular, but necessary decisions. I mean this man is completely unafraid.
Of course, I am talking about SCDF’s president Mike Granger. I am a Carnival lover. Been that way for more than 30 years. I have seen where Carnival has come from. I have seen “modern-day presidents” lead the festival to the brink of destruction. But, this man right here is an anomaly. Nobody in their right mind, even those who offer different opinions about Carnival, can ignore the level to which Granger has brought this festival.
There was a time when it would have been unheard of for our Carnival to be mentioned in the same breath as Aruba, Curaçao and Trinidad. Now I dare say Aruba and Curaçao are looking up at us, and we are not very far behind Trinidad when it comes to the product we offer. Have you been paying attention to this man’s tenure? I have. Very closely too, because I love Carnival. I need to make sure the shepherd knows what he/she is doing. He is ever forward thinking; some might say calculating. Very smart and skilful in how he approaches challenges. A tactical thinker.
Needed regulating on children in the Village. Did that. Needed more protection for local bands. Did that. Broke the stigma and established the festival as safe all around. Did that.
Needed more help for pageantry. Outsourced that. Moving away from government for funding, embracing self-reliance. Doing that. Securing major creative financing with the private sector. Did that and still doing that. Made “branding” a household word on St. Maarten. Did that.
Needing to take Carnival global. Doing that impressively. Modernizing Carnival through social media, streaming, etc. Did that. Involved more stakeholders in key aspects of Carnival. Did that. Needing to run the festival like the business that it is. Did that.
Professionalizing Carnival operations. Doing that. Unwavering in enforcing Carnival rules and regulations. Absolutely doing that. Filling flights and hotels and extending St. Maarten high season. Definitely doing that. Travel deals with hotels and airlines: Did that
Most impressively, he is unselfish in his role. Listen to him speak. He always talks about involving everyone, about SCDF not being know-it-all’s, about needing everyone to do their part to make the festival work. All of the companies that work with SCDF are locally-run companies, by young St. Maarten entrepreneurs. All of them! Carnival is probably the only major event/company/enterprise that does not have the finger prints of special interests all over it.
Not the same names, not the same families, just local people. Perhaps this is why despite all the in-roads of Carnival, it still struggles here and there because the regular power-players can’t seem to find a way to get their hands on it. Do you realise that? Carnival does not involve the usual suspects, and this is a good thing! But still, when they can’t get their way, they have a problem with Carnival. But that’s okay. Keep Carnival in the hands of people who care. Don’t put it in the hands of people, who want to suck it dry, because all they see is dollar signs. Or people, who feel that they and their children should have the keys to everything on St. Maarten.
Finally, my compliments, Granger to your steadfast belief in rules and regulations. You possess the intelligence to realize that if you compromise your own regulations, your entire organization loses credibility. I do not envy you. In Carnival you get to deal with every type of personality on God’s good earth. But you stand there and you keep going. I don’t know how you do it, or how your family tolerates it. But my message to you is to stay steadfast. Whenever your tenure is over, you will not only be a great loss to Carnival, but you will be regarded as one of, if not the greatest president in the history of the festival.
Steadfast Mike, steadfast!

Your old school mate DRG

Dear Editor,

The buzz words in the streets today is that the NA-led government is following in the same footsteps of the previous UP-led government. This time around they are doing everything within their power to destroy one of the last business fabrics that is owned 100 per cent by locals, the operators of school busses. This NA government is fully aware that by putting the transportation of school children out on bid that many of the bus owners would not be able to participate in the bid.

I can remember many years ago that this same party that is leading the government today was a party for the people, by the people and with the people. In those days a Dutch technical assistant could never head a government department. To the contrary, a local had to be the head and the technical assistant part of the supporting staff. There were talks about public/private partnership to assist local land owners who didn’t have the knowledge to develop their land to enter an agreement with the government to acquire that type of assistance. But all those great ideas and initiatives have been thrown out the windows and instead replaced with draconian proposals to destroy our own people in the name of good governance or to generate savings when it suits them.  

The OSPP has taken note of the fact that our Honourable Minister of Education, Ms. Silveria Jacobs, has suspended the bidding process for the outsourcing of the school bus transportation. We commend her for that decision, nevertheless, we still expect this bidding process to be totally withdrawn and that common sense would once again prevail.            

The OSPP is proposing to assist our existing local school bus operators by firstly providing them with a contract for four years. Secondly, that these same school bus operators must adhere to all the requirements set forth in the terms of reference that was issued for the bidding process for the new school year 2016-2017.

By providing the school bus operators with a four year contract, they can use it as a means of security to acquire the necessary financing to upgrade their busses to meet those requirements that were outlined in the terms of reference. Let us preserve the few local entrepreneurs that are still benefiting from this billion dollar economy of St. Maarten.

Perhaps it is time for this government to encourage more locals to go into business by establishing a loan guarantee program and not destroy the few local entrepreneurs that still exist.

And, if the Minister of Education truly wants to make those critical investments in education with the funds that she was projecting from the savings by putting the school bus transportation on bid, the OSPP is proposing that she table a proposal in the meeting of the Council of Ministers to have NV GEBE change the commercial rates that it is charging all the school boards to residential rates.

In that same proposal she must state that all the government owned companies must adopt various schools to install solar panels to commence during this year summer school vacation. Most of the school boards are paying approximately 26,000.00 guilders a month to NV GEBE for electricity and water. Between these two proposals the schools would save in excess of ten thousand guilders a month in utility cost, an annual projected savings of over 120,000.00 guilders per school board.

Honourable Minister of Education, Ms. Jacobs, these savings would certainly be a great help to those critical investment plans you have.    

Lenny F. Priest

Leader, One St. Maarten People Party (OSPP)