Dear Editor,
Aristotle said: "The only way to avoid criticism is to say nothing, do nothing and be nothing." When some members of the DP criticize the counterpart law and policy without reviewing the implementation guidelines, then they are too quick to criticize and assume that "it’s a sure recipe for massive lay-offs." This once again proves that they were not in support of my vision to provide the much-needed opportunity of our youth to take on top positions in our community.
The success of any law and/or policy is how it is implemented. Hence the saying: "The proof is in the pudding." It must be understood that the counterpart law and policy was not designed to be used in every situation. During my tenure as minister of Labour, I signed more MOUs with businesses and formed more partnerships than ever before in the history of St. Maarten.
The Employability through Training Programme was just one initiative among many to decrease the unemployment and address the gaps between school and work and on-the-block and/or out-of-school and work. The counterpart issue cannot be seen in isolation since it is only a small part of the overall plan to getting our people hired, and to stay employed once the workers apply themselves.
The fact that some members of the DP criticize me is ok, because it reminds me that all I can do is my best, speak the truth, work as I told the voters I would continue to do, and surrender the rest. Their criticism is a supreme compliment to me and I will not give up. I will continue to pursue opportunities for our students, our experienced or inexperienced graduates, who deserve a fair chance to be employed and showcase themselves.
Aruba asked for Arubians to return home when they received separate status. What did St. Maarten do? I believe we cannot build St. Maarten without them- government should not be the only one employing our people, our students and our graduates. The private sector has an equal role to play, instead of requesting work permits when we have equally- qualified people. Government cannot afford to continue sending our students away and not expect a return on our investment.
Why have these students come back home to live in their parents’ house with a diploma and no job? This will only cause frustration and may lead to an exodus of them, and for some never to return. The counterpart principle is used for notaries and lawyers, "pairing" is being used by our police force and their Dutch colleagues. We can call it an apprentice program, but call a spade a spade.
The civil servants who have worked on the counterpart policy also believe that this is a great initiative which complements the most recent initiative by the Department of Labour Affairs "Start Here", and the inter-ministerial project "Brain Gain". I do hope that the new coalition and incoming minister for Labour respect the will of the people and take the time out to read the implementation guidelines to ensure that the counterpart policy and legislation is enforced.
Cornelius de Weever
Dear Editor,
Please allow me some space in your newspaper to address the Parliament of Country St. Maarten on the subject of a petition to:
* Establish a permanent committee in parliament for the Agricultural sector
* Instruct the incoming government to establish a full-functioning department of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries.
It was announced recently on radio by the Section for Agriculture of the Development Bank that St. Maarten is the only country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands that doesn’t draw on funds available for agricultural development, because there is no functional department and no policies.
An Agriculture Department would act as the intermediate for linkage to these funds. This department would be responsible for gathering information and formulating policies based on assessment gathered.
There have been numerous conferences and discussions on diversification of our one- pillar economy, and every time it was suggested that the development of this sector could add to the productivity of our economy, but there has never been a conscious research on how this could and should be approached.
This is because in our government organization there is no recognized Department of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries (LVV). There is a lot of evidence that many individuals and various organizations, which have shown aspiration of getting involved in this sector as a hobby and on a commercial basis.
All the schools on the island would benefit from this, as a means of keeping students more aware of where food comes from and how we can grow something for ourselves and be more self-sufficient.
For this reason, we are having this signature drive to let the public decide by means of a petition.
Joslyn Richardson, President
Elwaldo Richardson Memorial Agricultural Foundation
Dear Editor,
As much as he tries, MP and former VSA Minister Cornelius V. H. de Weever will never be able to convince anyone that the reason for his defection from the Red-White-Blue coalition in 2014, had something to do with opposition he encountered back then to "his" counterpart law.
While this is far from the truth to begin with, the MP has failed, up to this day, to show any tangible results from enforcing this policy as he claimed he and his new allies would.
The MP seemed hell bent on forcing through this policy unilaterally, which approach is doomed to fail and rather than get the private sector on board, would have created a rift which the country can ill-afford. Forcing any business to hire because "government says so," is a sure recipe for lay-offs and unemployment.
Luckily for all of us those in the know are quietly, yet effectively, approaching the matter of employment in the only manner it will really work and that is through partnership. The Democratic Party reiterates its position on this matter, namely that only through concerted efforts between labour and business will we see more of our people employed in careers of their choice, and for those who seek such mobility in the labour market, in other words new job opportunities.
In this context, the initiative by the Labour Department via their Start Here programme, coupled with their support for the SHTA job fair and business initiatives such as those of the Maho Group of Companies, is the way to go if we are serious about placing more of our people in positions throughout St. Maarten.
We applaud these initiatives and look forward to receiving the data collected showing the results of these endeavours. We encourage the government departments and organizers of these job fairs to collate their information and provide a true picture of the vacancies on one hand and the employment seekers on the other hand. Any mismatch between these two should be solid indicators for institutions such as USM and NIPA.
Finally, if our students abroad can also be brought into the loop we would have come full circle.
Democratic Party of St. Maarten
Dear Editor,
Port St. Maarten Supervisory Board and Management would like to congratulate Carl John who has been appointed the nation’s top cop to become Chief of Police of the
St. Maarten National Police Force.
Port St. Maarten has a very good working relationship with the Police Force and with Carl John in particular. John was part of a delegation a few months ago that participated in a Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL) security conference where a strategic security alliance had been formed.
RCCL allowed a team of security and law enforcement professionals from country
St. Maarten to speak at a security conference held by Global Security for the company’s security staff. This conference is held twice a year, and this is the first time that a port destination had been included as speaker at the conference.
The St. Maarten team was made up of then Acting Chief Police Commissioner Carl John, Immigration and Border Protection Policy advisor, Erling Hoeve, Customs Department Deputy Chief, Linda Ros, a Liaison Officer for the St. Maarten National Security Service, and Port St. Maarten Safety and Security Manager Roberto Levenstone.
This initiative was championed by Mark Mingo, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Port St. Maarten, and supported by Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson of country St. Maarten, and came about as a result of a meeting that Richardson and former Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs Claret Connor, held with President of the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) Michele M. Paige, and the association’s security advisers in Miami Florida, a few months ago.
Carl John is a humble man who has risen through the ranks of the Police Force. Being born on Anguilla, and having grown up on Curaçao with a parent from St. Eustatius, he has always had a vested interest in the Windward Islands.
Carl John has many leadership strengths; his passion for people, and always fights for the rights of all individuals that he represented. He is about law enforcement, no class justice, and believes in the sovereign right to stand on your own. He is proactive in his planning and meticulous in the execution.
We at Port St. Maarten look forward towards a continued good working relationship as we have already built in the past. Congratulations once again to Carl John and the Police Force of St. Maarten.
Port St. Maarten
Dear Editor,
The Electoral Council has interposed in the current political turmoil, without prior consent with the Governor, for the main reason that the Governor up until this date has not signed the degree to dissolve Parliament.
I believe that all parties: the Governor, the new majority in Parliament and the voters, are taking this situation lightly.
The Electoral Council should not and cannot jump the gun by calling on the political parties to register prior to the signing of the decree to dissolve Parliament by the governor.
And the caretaker Prime Minister cannot instruct the Electoral Council to prepare for new Election.
After the Council of Ministers resigned the new Ministers and new majority in Parliament should turn things around for the simple reason that there will be conflicting situation when calling for new elections after the dissolution of Parliament, because there should be Electoral Reform, we cannot continue with the same system knowing that it will end up in ship jumping or otherwise.
In order to do things right, election within 3 months is an impossibility and therefore it will not be in conformity with the Law and as such creates a conflicting situation with the law.…..
As a result the new majority in Parliament and the new Ministers to be appointed will have no choice but to delay the process for new elections.
Bienvenido Richardson
