Dear Editor,
I have come to realize that my letters to you, which you published, have had some kind of an impact on the readers, because every time there is a lull in the flow of articles people who meet me want to know the reason. Their remarks are sometimes sarcastic as well, as if I am abandoning them. The latest comment was, "What yo' write about Theo again, that they didn't like?" I told them it was not I who decided to let the Members of Parliament run the government via the opinion pages of the newspapers.
I was standing in a place of business when someone said to me what has gradually become normal: "UP is not in there anymore, so you not writing anything anymore?" I was not going to start that kind of conversation in that business, so I invited him outside to listen to what I had to say. He was joined by two other people, and I explained that gentleman that I had written to the Editor expressing that I do not think that any Member of Parliament should be afforded the opportunity to address him/herself via the opinion page of the newspaper, because I believe that every responsible citizen of a community should do the responsible thing.
Promptly after that there were three letters from three different Members of Parliament printed in the opinion pages. So I drew my conclusion from that. But concerning those letters, if I were a politician who is going to write a letter to the Editor of any newspaper I definitely know that I would have someone critique it first, before submitting it. All three of those letters needed going over before sending.
But then again with certain people it is not what should not be done; it is I do not care what is done. MP Rodolphe Samuel wanted to know if it is so difficult to choose someone from the Management board of St.Maarten Telecommunication Holding Company NV to be the CEO of the NV, but he is talking about the help desk (for Internet I assume) not being on Sint Maarten.
What does he really want to know? Why is there no help desk on Sint Maarten if no CEO can be found? I would prefer a help desk here, because that could provide four or more jobs, whereas a CEO would be giving someone in the NV a promotion and no guarantee that anyone would be employed. Beside that, there are several other local companies of which Curaçao does the answering when one phones for help from here. WIB is one.
Now my question is: Is this really the competence of the Editor of a newspaper to answer questions like those coming from a Member of Parliament? I tried to analyze it in several ways to see if it might be rhetorical, but it seems genuinely emotional, and to me embarrassing.
Since I'm at it, permit me to mention this. Even though I have known that civics is taught in the schools, because I noticed that very few people here know their civil rights, I repeatedly mentioned this over the years. Not even our people in government know the basics of our civil code and rights. As has become the custom now, it took someone who is not afraid to make use of their rights to freedom of expression to bring that forward. But I can understand for them, because I also would not go in the sea if I cannot swim. This tells me something of their party leaders.
This is exactly what I have been stating, whether openly or in between the lines. Our people in government do not care about what is good for the citizens of the country, and will not make any effort to better it. We drastically need electoral reform and one of the requirements to be in government should be that one should at the least be legally in possession of a legal diploma or equivalent thereof of the level of the compulsory education of the country. If higher education could be demanded for any candidate Member of Parliament that would be even better.
By the way, the arrangement of the equipment permitted to be used for all public transportation, (busses, taxis, etc.), should be found in the ordinance governing public transportation. These are some of the issues that were brought forward many years ago, but were not attended to because a former commissioner of public transportation refused to keep meetings with the members of the Government Control Unit. We later learned why, but nothing has been done to correct this situation.
I hope that now that Zika is the new craze, someone would be more considerate and do the right thing. There are so many laws on the books that are not implemented, which could help curb a lot of infractions. We do not need to re-invent the wheel. Members of Parliament need to do their jobs.
Russell A. Simmons
Dear Editor,
This message is to Bus drivers:
For the last months I have had the need to take the bus due to the fact that my vehicle is old and I can’t drive in peak hours.
I have to say that the public transport most of the time is efficient, “friendly bus drivers.” But, I have found just one inconvenience, those buses who have the privilege to use their airconditioning in this tropical weather, I must say that is a need; but when there are almost 20 people in one full bus with no ventilation through all people’s breathing, maybe some “don’t realize” that the high risk of contamination and contracting respiratory infections during the travel time is extremely high.
I have experienced lack of breathing and almost suffocation that I had to stop anywhere and take another bus with ventilation. I just would like to recommend, especially for brand- new buses to have at least one window open to allow fresh air circulation. During evening times after people’s work, most of them have been sweating during the day. Perhaps some people have the opportunity to take a shower everyday, but some people don’t.
Please allow fresh air in your buses or ventilate and clean them when they are not in service. Besides, in evening hours there is no need to use the airco. Thank you.
Name withheld at author’s request.
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,
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,
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
