Dear Editor,
During a court case back in 2014, a judge accused a prosecutor of practicing class justice on St. Maarten. Many people were surprised that a Dutch judge would make such an accusation on this island. But, it is a subject worth pondering: Are we practicing class justice on St. Maarten?
Whether class justice exists on St. Maarten or not, has not been established, at least not to my knowledge. But what is clear to see is that there is class criticism. Not in the justice system, but in our community.
Let me give some facts that will clarify why I came to this conclusion. Every day I read the letters to the editor on opinion pages in the news papers. People express their dissatisfaction with many issues; political, educational, social, religious, you name it. Just pay close attention to when these authors become brave enough to write and expose their dissatisfaction.
Only since the UP-led government was put out of office do people muster up the courage to criticize and write about the issues that have been affecting them for a long period of time. The authors openly admit that these issues have been going on for years. The very same years that the UP-led government has been in office.
Yet, those issues were never mentioned during that time. But now, these same people express disgust towards the recently-installed government about the problems that have been affecting and worrying them for all these years. Prior to this government being installed they never dared to criticize. Why?
To further prove my point, I read an article in The Daily Herald of Tuesday, January 19, entitled: Government has gotten off track. The author admits that her letter was written exactly two months since the new government took office. Yet the author criticizes this new government for matters she admits have been long ongoing. Things like the long ongoing situation at NIPA, the ongoing problem with the harassment of tourists on Great Bay Beach, the ongoing problem with the Vorst property.
The author went on and on about all the long ongoing problems. Why weren't these issues addressed so vigorously when the UP-led government was in office? Why do these critics wait until the UP-led government is out of office to address these grievances, while these grievances surfaced during the governance of the UP-led government?
The answer to this question is: People are afraid to criticize the UP-led government. This community suffers from class criticism. Something very similar to class justice.
Fernando R. Clark
Dear Editor,
Today is precisely two months since the Council of Ministers has taken office. To date, we have no idea where they are taking us, simply because the majority has lost their vision and gotten off track. These ministers are working as if they were given the mandate up until 2018. If they continue to please themselves and not the people, their rating would be just as disappointing as that of the previous government.
First of all, why would Prime Minister William Marlin choose to undertake such an enormous challenge to complete the government building, located on Pond Island? This kind of project takes time, which he does not have. Who cares about the completion of the government building right now? It is not an issue that is affecting our lives directly. I was expecting that issues like electoral reform, restarting the negotiations to change the situation at the dump and reducing electricity cost, would be his priority. These matters of concern were hotly debated on the floor of Parliament just recently.
How much longer do we have to beg for effective representation, be victims of a polluted atmosphere and remain strangled with astronomical energy cost and a broken political system?
Politicians should stick to the needs of the people and not what they want to do. This is a very conscientious community and politicians must be mindful of this fact. Right now, the only minister who has my attention is Finance Minister Richard Gibson. I like his decisive and no non-sense attitude. From the moment he got into office and assessed the financial status of the island, he made a conscious decision to change the way government handles its finances. Up until present, he remains focused and undeterred, to reduce our financial debt. He made it clear, that he will not entertain any proposal that would increase government’s liability. This is a bold and overdue stand that can only be taken by a minister who is neither swayed nor worried about political opinion.
Have we realized that some ministers are dancing to the tunes of parliamentarians? As I have stated before, electoral reform would never be effective as long as parliamentarians are allowed to select their individual ministers. Right here is where the problem is. Ship jumpers do not jump just like that. They are compensated heavily (no matter how much they deny it), for the breaking up of governments. Look at this scenario: Prime Minister William Marlin states that with electoral reform, a ship jumper will not be allowed to form a government.
Instead, the negotiations would be between or among parties only. Currently, this government is supported by three parties, plus two Independent Members.
If I were to agree with the prime minister’s idea, why is it that this current government did not set the example for his proposal? Why is it that the formation of government had to include MP Maurice Lake and MP Silvio Matser? If they were sincere with their reasons for leaving their previous party, then they could have supported the change of government without any demands (not being tied to any minister). So, this would have been the ideal model for the prime minister’s proposal. Ha! We all know that the formation of government would not have taken place. Hence, this proves the validity of my argument, which simply opposes parliamentarians of having the privilege to select personal ministers.
Look at what is happening. Out of all the available land that could be developed for low income houses, why would the VROMI Minister Angel Myers focus his attention on the Vorst property at this time? Who was the then Minister of VROMI that fiercely defended the price of this controversial issue?
Where is the Tourism Minister Ariana Arrindell? When will there be an end to this constant harassment of tourists that is taking place on Great Bay beach and in front of the A.C. Wathey Cruise Facility? What are our guests experiencing and how much longer would they tolerate this hostility?
I expected that the Minister of Education Silveria Jacobs would have made a decision on the ongoing saga at Nipa, as the future of our children is more important than the board of the institution. It is also imperative that the minister put a stop to the influx of students from abroad who are burdening the school system and tax payers alike.
Minister Emile Lee, there is nothing wrong with the St. Maarten Medical Center. Why get caught up into something that cannot be accomplished right away? There is more to the building of a new hospital than what meets the eye. Job creation is what the people need.
I wish that other ministers would emulate the attitude of the Finance Minister Richard Gibson, who has taken the decision to be in command of his ministry.
Joslyn Morton
Dear Editor,
I read in the Miami Herald’s edition of January 15, on the subject of falling oil prices worldwide that the price for oil now stands at US $31.41 per barrel.
Why is the price of gas on St. Maarten not lower? For often time when the price is going up, those concerned hike up the price, based they say, on world market trends.
Now that the price has gone down, what has happened? It is time again to lower the price for us motorists.
Matthew Joseph
Motorist
Dear Editor,
Recently I googled some information on TelEm and what I found was that St. Maarten Telecommunication Holding Company NV is government owned. The information also explained that the company prides itself on being in the forefront of telecommunication technology in the northeast Caribbean region, where they deliver the latest telecommunication products and services to a range of residential and business clients in an emerging, low-volume market.
We learn that the company’s main office is located on Pond Island with branches in Simpson Bay and Cay Hill. What I did not find is where the address of the help desk is.
For years the people of Sint Maarten have had to call to Curaçao in order to get help for a telecommunication problem on Sint Maarten. How can a company of this importance do all these things, but not be able to provide a help desk here on Sint Maarten?
The daily operations of the Sint Maarten Telecommunication Holding Company NV are handled by a Management Board consisting of a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and a Management Board Chairperson; a Chief Technical Officer (CTO) and a Chief Commercial Officer (CCO).
My question: Is it so difficult to choose one from within to be the CEO of Sint Maarten Telecommunication Group of Companies?
MP Rodolphe Samuel
Dear Editor,
Medical tourism continues to expand and become a social-economic development driver.
It is emerging as a prime contributor to the social-economic development of various nations. It is enhancing employment opportunities and increasing foreign exchange earnings. It further adds to the increase in living standards and most importantly specialized quality health care.
Medical tourism offers quality treatment and travel opportunities for tourists – an all-in-one package.
There has been an influx of affluent patients from the Middle East to India, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand for medical care, resulting in a demand for Arabic interpreters.
Thailand is the number one contender in the medical tourism industry in Asia. Business survey reports show that 60 per cent of the total number of medical tourists per year visit either Thailand or Malaysia. Most hospitals in Thailand have International accreditation.
Medical tourism is a high-growth industry that is driven by globalization and rising healthcare costs in developed countries. More than 40 countries in Asia, America, Africa, and Eastern Europe are catering to millions of medical tourists annually.
Here in the Caribbean, the “Healthy City” of Cayman Islands is a success story in medical tourism. Within the past five years, the ground work was laid and the foundations were built, resulting in Health City Cayman Islands.
Medical tourism in the Cayman Islands has been such a success that Health City will invest $25 million in infrastructure in 2016 and another $100 million in 2017 and 2018 to expand the existing hospital facilities; launch a series of commercial enterprises, including staff housing, a shopping plaza, and commence design work for a 185-room hotel and a marketing plan for a medical school. These are all spin-offs from medical tourism.
With respect to Sint Maarten, private investors are also interested in developing medical tourism on the island, and have been in discussions for the past five years.
For Cayman Islands Health City, their current challenge is keeping up with the increased demand in areas that they originally didn’t anticipate. Outpatient services have increased and this will lead to the expansion of the outpatient section of the hospital by 75 per cent. A new 5,000 square foot oncology and outpatient units will start in the second quarter of 2016 and finishing in the last quarter of 2016 or first quarter of 2017.
There have been discussions regarding a new hospital for Sint Maarten, which would see the expansion of the St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) that would also include a medical tourism wing. Social and Health Insurances SZV have been involved in discussions according to media reports with an Austrian organization.
While discussions continue here, Health City Cayman Islands, which opened back in February 2014, is now expanding to meet future demands in medical tourism.
The global economic environment, since the 2008 International financial market crash, has not yielded or yielded very little in economic growth during the past six years for our country.
Country Sint Maarten needs to see an economic impetus, and medical tourism is an area worth pursuing that could bring that very much-needed growth. Private-sector foreign investment/investor interests has been shown, but we need to move forward in providing the necessary inputs that would allow this sector and the country to become a leading medical tourism destination in the north eastern Caribbean.
The Puerto Rico Government via its Economic Development & Commerce (DDEC) department has made medical tourism a top priority, turning the island into one of the world’s top markets. Puerto Rico’s plan of action for medical tourism entails the creation of 3,000 new jobs over the next three years (started in 2015-2017), US $200 million in additional economic activity, and the treatment of 30,000 patients from outside of the island.
Puerto Rico statistics show that 15,000 medical tourists visit the island annually, spending an average of US $10,000. Family members or a friend who also travel with the patient increase the economic injection of close to US $1000 which is spent on lodging, meals and transportation.
Sint Maarten has the potential to become a leading medical tourism destination.
One of the most important benefits for the people of the country will be having access to medical specialists here on the island. Besides the creation of job opportunities and economic activity across the board for the tourism sector, the people will have world-class medical care which we now have to travel abroad to receive. Can we make 2016 the year of new opportunities and progress in the area of medical tourism?
Roddy Heyliger
