Dear Editor,

The longer our current Prime Minister William Marlin sits as the leader of this country, the more he proves himself to be incompetent to lead the people on this young, sixteen- square-miles of land we all call home.

Every year around Christmas or New Year, St. Maarten’s Day or the new school year, our elected leaders release a message, in this case a Christmas message. Now this message is about wishing the residents of St. Maarten “Happy Holidays.” It’s about love, hope and joy! It’s about reminding the public that giving is what Christmas is all about.

Here is a verse from the Holy Bible that I believe explains what Christmas is all about in one sentence – “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” - John 3:16

It’s about our leaders sharing a positive message to the public, voided from any political attacks, jabs, kicks or cheap shots.

The Prime Minister somehow feels that as 2015 comes to a closure, breaking that tradition was necessary above all things. Like the snake slithering through the grass, Mr. Marlin’s message perfectly tied his Christmas message with a direct attack to the previous government and leaders of our country, and then quickly tried to take the focus away from what was just said. Here is a section of the message leading up to the attack and what followed right after the one sentenced attack.

“For only then are we assured of the promised results. Mary and Joseph complied with that biblical injunction to give onto Caesar what is Caesar’s.

“When we refuse to obey the law, when we conveniently manipulate the Constitution to our own advantage, what ensues is the kind of political turmoil we recently experienced on St. Maarten.

“Above all, the main lesson of the story of Christmas is one of love; Divine love, Family love, Love of our neighbour which is a manifestation of our love for ourselves.” - end of quote.

Once again, I am disappointed in the Prime Minister. Never have I seen any St. Maarten government leader use the traditional Christmas Message as a tool for a political attack, and if any has done so in the past they were wrong. If you wish to attack feel free to do so, but do not hijack the Christmas Message as your political platform.

In closing, Mr. Prime Minister, I believe you can also learn a lesson from your own message of “obedience.” The Mexican Standoff in 2013, disobedience to the Country's laws and breach of the constitution all came from you and your party.

Five coals for you Mr. Naughty Prime Minister, you deserve it.

Armand Meda

Dear Editor,

Please allow me some space in your newspaper to address the Honourable Minister Emil Lee.
Minister Lee, St. Martin was certainly not built in one day but by many years of hard work and sacrifices of generations before that have passed or are still alive and should now be retiring, making room for a younger generation to take over.

Unfortunately we do not know why Saint Martiners who have worked on the Dutch side are left un-provided for, so therefore some of us that are still able have to remain in the work force and are still struggling to make ends meet.

After working for 40 odd years we are left pension-less or severely cut in our pension because we depended on a social security system that let us down. It might have been an administrative oversight of the legislators in the Dutch Kingdom and/or from the Dutch Social Security System, but we feel that it is our human right to an equal treatment in the Dutch Kingdom with others who have laboured to develop the economies in the Dutch Kingdom.

We have paid our wage-tax and all our social premiums. We got our doctor card as employee working for companies on the Dutch side. Now that we want to collect our AOV our social pension we are being rejected, denied or severely cut, with the argument that we are not registered in the Civil registry and/or the Tax department of Country St. Maarten.

We feel that we who have contributed to the development of St. Maarten are being discriminated against just because we are residing on the French side.

We honestly hope that your Ministry would take up this matter and correct this injustice

in order to repair this human rights violation to our senior citizens permitting them to retire honourably and by so doing create more employment for our young people.

Thanks in advance Honourable minister for your kind intervention.

Raymond Helligar

On December six, we wrote a letter to you, the same was delivered and acknowledged as received by your social media personnel. This letter was sent via social media, e-mail and to the local press as an open letter. Up to today we have not yet seen or received a response or reaction to the letter neither privately or publicly.

We are once again submitting the letter to your offices, your legal counsel and the Minister of Vromi Angel Meyers. Please note that the solar consumers and producers of clean power are neither the enemy nor going away because we are being ignored and victimized. On the contrary, this increases our willingness to unite, continue pursuing what we all know is best for the future of the island.

Therefore by this means I am respectfully requesting the following:

An open response to our letter dated. 12/6/15.

A request for a meeting time and date to discuss the following points:

Why has GEBE prioritized the changing of the digital metres to solar customers?

What is GEBE doing to comply with the goals set out on the country's energy policy of

2014?

What are GEBE's plans if any regarding solar production by individual clients?

Why is GEBE not willing to pay dollar for dollar for excess energy produced by its solar

clients, but is ok receiving this energy and not paying anything for it?

Can a compromise be reached on point 4 above until a final policy or tariff is put in

place?

How can we as consumers assist GEBE in embracing the solar production from the

clients that have taken this initiative?

Please note that our goal and intentions are simply the ones stated above for two main reasons:

To protect the significant investment we already made.

For the obvious benefits that clean solar energy generate for the good of the island and the environment.

I sincerely hope that this follow up letter does not fall on "death ears" like our original letter did. We are not going away and we will continue pursuing this subject until the issues are seriously and properly addressed.

Ricardo Perez

Proud residential solar client.

Dear Editor,

After much posturing, political spin and attempts at character assassinations we have a government with a minimum majority of eight. In reaching here we have played political hardball with the Governor. From the outset we refused to see the function of the Governor and the person holding the office as one and the same. Simply put, we must get it our way and it doesn’t matter who pays the price. We are doing our people a disservice when our only purpose is to spread discord and confusion.

The Governor figured too prominently is the whole debacle of dissolving Parliament and calling snap elections. If the separation of powers were applied, as they should have been, the role played by the Governor would simply be sign or don’t sign. The act of making public statements one way or the other is delving into the politics of the matter and the Governor is supposed to be apolitical or above the politics.

This plays well for our politicians for we always need someone to blame, we never accept responsibility for anything happening during our watch. Formerly, it was Curaçao and now everything seems to point to the Dutch and their creation called the CFT. We forget to let the people know that these are agreements we made and after not being able to balance a budget in five years feel the need to cast the blame around. While we are seeking creative ways to bleed our people for the 15 million needed to balance the budget, and who knows what else for the outstanding debts to APS and SZV.

We would have the people believe that the 120 million we gifted an American multinational couldn’t make a difference. Interestingly, we blamed that on the receiver. And our unemployment, of course, is blamed on the education system that according to them doesn’t produce what the economy needs while we finance most if not all of these studies and boast of spending 33 per cent of our budget on education. Maybe in the coming year we could hear what kind of returns we get on such a huge investment.

We have refused to implement counterpart in the public sector, but are adamant that the private sector has to. We are afraid to consider a quota system to guaranty employment for our people for the campaign financiers won’t take that too lightly. We have over- loaded government departments with foreigners who do as they wish with absolutely no respect for our people. We make no effort to recruit and bring back our people, who have completed their studies, to contribute to the continued development of their country; and, if some return on their own they are told they don’t have experience.

The people we elect are insensitive and contemptuous towards their own; this island can better be called strangers’ paradise. Violent crime is going through the roof, but our ideas to deal with it, like most everything else, is hold a closed door meeting for the people doesn’t need to know. Unless our people make the connection between the election and the way they live or survive the ugly situation will continue.

Not being able to put food on the table, pay school fees or for the bare necessity of running water and electricity to your home in the 21st century is unacceptable, and you need to do more than just complain. The time to walk around in your country knocking on doors begging them to open is long gone; it’s time you kick the doors in. The new government might tickle your fancy with the actions of the Finance Minister and others; however, I still believe it’s wrong to put non-belongers into government, but then that’s me. So until next year, Merry Christmas and a most Prosperous New Year.

Elton Jones