Dear Editor,
What’s on my mind – ENNIA! And we as we are yet again in another the wonderful time of election, we should all be watching the action or non-action of parliament!
As one of the approximate 3,000 Ennia policy holders in SXM, I am paying keen attention whether the current Members of Parliament of St. Maarten will approve or reject the solution presented whereby CUR-SXM-CBCS will have to contribute to ensure that Ennia doesn’t go bankrupt, thereby ensuring the pensions of the policy holders of Ennia.
Yes, we are all hoping that the monies will be recovered from those that plundered the Ennia coffers, some claiming plausible deniability, but that case is in court and it can take years before and if the moneys are recovered.
It would mean that:
- Curaçao for its approximately 27,000 pensioners will have to contribute (reserve) ANG 22 million per year on their budget (for 30 years)
- SXM for its approximately 3,000 pensioners will have to contribute (reserve) ANG 2.3 million per year on their budget (for 30 years)
- CBCS will contribute ANG 15 million per year
It is a big consequence to taxpayers of Curaçao and SXM and the Ennia policy holders because THEY WERE NOT
1. behind the wheel with their foot on the gas pedal when taking or allowing money to be taken out of Ennia
2. at the helm of CBCS who should have been supervising Ennia and allowed the money flight from Ennia;
3. in government who ultimately decides who runs and supervises the CBCS.
In the meantime, here are some comments out there about this topic:
A. Ennia is a Curaçao company and not SXM problem – Uhm, Ennia was established when both Curaçao and SXM were part of the Netherlands Antilles, SXM has a branch, so stop that nonsense and stop trying to confuse people.
B. Let Ennia go bankrupt – Easy to say if your household is not affected; so those who have Ennia pensions in St. Maarten don’t matter? Another Uhm, messing with people’s pensions at any time is unacceptable.
C. Let the APS take over these pensioners – Ahh yes, the APS, savior of all financial issues of SXM, whatever money is needed just go to the APS, they can finance. This is easier said than done, nothing is in place for this. Again, an easy and simple solution.
D. This solution be a higher cost to the taxpayers – Nice deflection, but tell the whole story.
SXM has loans to the tune of ANG 316.4 Million with a current interest rate of 3.1%.
Failure for parliament to approve the provided Ennia solution before elections may result in SXM interest rate being increased to a minimum 5.9% but up to 8% (which means a minimum of ANG 12.7 Million extra in interest a year!)
I guess throwing that money away on a yearly basis, is no problem for SXM, we are rolling in the dough.
Now the reality: As we do not have a crystal ball and there are people already on pension or going on pension who have Ennia policies a solution had to found.
Food for thought: 3,000 disgruntled Ennia policy holders and their voting family members in SXM could easily result in almost half of the voting population of SXM which during last election were only 14,443 (at least valid votes).
It is “Speak Now, Or Forever Hold Your Peace” time. We all stay quiet and accept what comes our way, but some things need to be said.
Name withheld at author’s request.
Dear Editor,
In 2012 St. Maarten underwent a Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) Mutual
Evaluation and its results were alarming. St. Maarten will be reviewed once more by a team of international assessors from the CFATF, starting September 16, 2024, for about two weeks. This review considers St. Maarten’s compliance with the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF’s) 40 Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Recommendations and the FATF as part of a coordinated worldwide approach to fighting organized crime, corruption, and terrorism.
Understanding the CFATF
Through the Kingdom of the Netherlands, St. Maarten participates in the FATF, which sets international standards to guarantee national authorities can efficiently pursue illegal funds connected to drugs trafficking, the illicit arms trade, human trafficking, cybercrime, money laundering and other major crimes.
As a full member of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, the FSRB (FATF-Style Regional Bodies) for the Caribbean region, St. Maarten not only has to follow the 40 recommendations regarding prevention and detection of money laundering and terrorism and proliferation financing, but also has to demonstrate that the particular actions taken are successful. FATF issues their recommendations according to four levels of compliance: Compliant (C), Largely Compliant (LC), Partially Compliant (PC), Non-Compliant (NC), or could, in exceptional cases, be marked as not applicable (NA). NC and PC represent the lowest ratings a country can obtain.
Concerns from 2012
In 2012 St. Maarten received ratings of PC and NC on 14 of the 16 core and key recommendations. St. Maarten was also rated partially compliant or non-compliant in 20 of the 24 non-core and non-key recommendations. Regarding compliance with the 9 special recommendations to counter terrorism financing, 4 were rated as PC and 5 as NC in St. Maarten. In 2012, evaluators found that St. Maarten had no regulatory and supervisory anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism-financing authority for casinos and online casinos. That remains true in 2024, 12 years later.
The evaluators were extremely concerned about the lack of qualified law enforcement officials to investigate money-laundering as well as the limited and relevant investigations by the Prosecutor's Office.
In 2022, a well-known casino’s bank accounts were closed due to a change in risk profiles that did not match the bank’s risk appetite. The harsh reality is that the delays in Parliament by several factions over the years contribute to why the CFATF recommendations and regulations have not been met as yet. On the floor of Parliament PFP has sounded the alarm during the previous administration regarding these issues, to be met with silence and inaction.
What this means for St. Maarten now
Most local banks handle international financial transactions for their clients (i.e. when an individual or business wants to send funds to another country), and they need overseas correspondent banks to do this process. The FATF pressures foreign correspondent banks to employ a risk-based strategy when doing business with local banks and conduct risk assessments to see if high-risk customers/businesses will utilize them.
If the correspondent bank finds that the local bank has high-risk customers who do not comply with FATF’s recommendations or their own anti-money-laundering national laws, it will end the relationship and advise other correspondent banks not to do business with them, leaving local banks unable to process overseas transactions for clients. To avoid this, local banks impose strong anti-money-laundering compliance regulations on their clients, which can close their accounts. Correspondent banks, among others, will now be very interested to see how St. Maarten will be evaluated in September 2024. They will have in mind the hefty US $150 million penalty that the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) issued in July 2020, to Deutsche Bank AG.
Final Thoughts
This will not only impact clients who heavily rely on financial products on our island but regular people such as caretakers who transfer money between countries, students in school outside of the Kingdom, and the everyday St. Maartener who is considered at risk for banking. This decision also impacts our ability to easily negotiate digital payments (i.e. Paypal) and bring St. Maarten into the future with banking. Additionally, this will have a severe impact on our country’s financial, economic and investment environment and products. We all have to work together to get St. Maarten to pass through this CFATF 2024 evaluation.
Along with regulating taxation and tendering, we at PFP believe that attaining a positive compliance result from the CFATF is an important step toward ensuring financial access and opportunity for all St. Maarteners. With a voice in Parliament, I will be able to continue to champion these improvements and remind us of these approaching deadlines. As a legal professional, it is my hope to see the country raise our standards and take our place amongst our peers.
Raeyhon Peterson
Dear Editor,
The recent cybersecurity incidents affecting our government and utility company have exposed critical gaps in our nation’s ability to defend against cyber threats. As more services migrate online, there is an urgent need to protect users’ data and systems from malicious activities. In 2023 alone, the Caribbean region faced over 144 million attempted cyberattacks in the first half of the year, highlighting the severity of the situation and the prevalence of ransomware attacks.
In February 2024, I introduced the concept of a National Cybersecurity and AI Strategic Plan (NCASP) during a lecture series at the University of St. Martin. This plan aims to equip St. Maarten to not only withstand but excel in an increasingly digital world by implementing robust data and system protection measures. I emphasized that we are currently witnessing the concurrent evolution of five transformative technology platforms – public blockchain, energy storage, multi-ionic sequencing, and robotics – all catalyzed by artificial intelligence. These advancements are reshaping growth dynamics and necessitate a proactive approach to cybersecurity.
The creation and execution of the NCASP will prepare St. Maarten to both thrive in the digital age and safeguard its infrastructure. This initiative is crucial for laying the groundwork for future job creation in cybersecurity and AI sectors. To achieve this, we must first cultivate the necessary skills among our young professionals, enabling them to lead and manage the new departments tasked with protecting our data.
Efforts to enhance cybersecurity resilience in the Caribbean are already underway, with training programs and legislative enhancements supported by regional bodies such as CARICOM IMPACS. These initiatives are pivotal in fortifying cybersecurity frameworks and fostering international cooperation, thereby mitigating the impact of cyberattacks.
AI is increasingly utilized in energy management to optimize the generation, distribution, and consumption of energy. It leverages machine learning algorithms and predictive analytics, AI systems can analyze vast amounts of data from various sources, such as weather patterns, energy usage trends, and equipment performance. This enables more accurate forecasting of energy demand and supply, allowing for better integration of renewable energy sources and efficient grid management. The use of AI in energy management not only helps in reducing operational costs and peak loads, but also contributes to sustainability by minimizing waste and promoting the use of cleaner energy sources.
I am confident that the NCASP will significantly reduce St. Maarten’s vulnerability to cyber threats and lessen the reliance on imported professionals to manage cybersecurity issues. I plan to present this comprehensive strategy to local authorities soon to initiate its implementation.
I am convinced that our students and young professionals have the potential to become leaders in this technological era. As leaders, it is our duty to provide them with the opportunities to gain the education and experience necessary to succeed, whether in the public or private sectors.
Marvio Cooks.
By Alex Rosaria
The surge in violence in our region is attributed to the increased availability of firearms. Guyana, Mexico, Jamaica, the gangs of Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten grapple with this problem that poses a real threat to our peace and our livelihood.
The majority of crimes, including murders, involve the use of firearms. Almost all the guns in the region are illegally trafficked from the US.
In her book “Exit Wounds: How America’s Guns Fuel Violence Across the Border”, Lithuanian-born Ieva Jusionyte provides a rare look into the world of firearms trafficking. It makes the reader understand that the lax US gun laws have devastating consequences for us. It’s not just a matter of their constitutional right but a gross undermining of our collective efforts to promote safety and security in our countries.
It’s about US complicity. I’m surprised by how oblivious the US is about its role in fuelling violence and crimes in our neck of the woods, whilst it’s willing to invest billions in a wall to prevent the very people trying to escape violence from getting in.
The region needs to engage the US. But first, we must find new and effective ways to collaborate with the CARICOM Crime Gun Intelligence Unit to stem the wave of firearms-related crimes that are pervading the Caribbean region.
Maybe now that we are associate members, we can take that brave step.
~ Alex David Rosaria (53) is a freelance consultant active in Asia and the Pacific. He is a former Member of Parliament, Minister of Economic Affairs, State Secretary of Finance and UN Implementation Officer in Africa and Central America. He is from Curaçao and has an MBA from University of Iowa (USA). ~
Dear Editor,
We are a country with a serious identity crisis. Why? Because consecutive governments have failed to codify our culture, infuse our education systems with local history, protect our natural and tangible heritage and build a National Archives. And we the people are also failing to demand that these things be done.
It’s actually surreal how we continue to have the same debates, the same arguments and feelings of frustration and anger, decade after decade, the same question: “Who are we; where are we going?”
In these extremely challenging times, with what feels like the walls crumbling down around us, St. Maarten, as a nation, needs to look itself in the mirror. We, the people, need to face who we truly have become and be radically honest about the laissez-faire attitudes and bad decisions that led us here. We also need to ask ourselves if we have the courage to envision and then go after what is necessary to take us forward.
There is this crazy sense of urgency in our current political and social landscape to right all the wrongs perpetuated over the years because we don’t recognize ourselves anymore. There’s so much toxicity and negativity in the air – and if we keep saying St. Maarten is not a real place; it won’t ever be!
So why do we need to codify our culture and how will it help us to remember who we are? Firstly, culture encompasses our values, beliefs as well as our language, food, music and dance. There are two main lenses through which we should view our culture: the traditional, the way our grandparents and forefathers lived on the island; and the contemporary, the way we live now.
When we analyze these very different times and different circumstances, we will see some values and beliefs that we recognize and those that we don’t … anymore. When did we stop being friendly? When did we start being individualistic and capitalist? How can we rekindle the traditions we lost? Is it too late to become better versions of ourselves?
In one simple regard, we continue to debate who we are because there is still a lack of regulation regarding some of our most important cultural symbols. What food did our forefathers eat the most and should we regulate that as our national dish moving forward?
We can see from historic photos that our ancestors, especially those who were enslaved and picked salt, wore white. This was traditional wear. Nowadays the SMaatn National Cultural Parade successfully showcases the beauty of flower print and fabric, a lovely representation of who I believe we are now, bright, diverse, dramatic. Shouldn’t we regulate our national costume?
Who are we telling our young people they should be? What are the values that they should hold or the behaviors they should imitate and where can they find this information regularly? It reminds me of the Disney movie Moana and Moana’s journey to discover her ancestor’s story while learning about her own power in order to lead her people into the future.
Once we begin codifying our culture through the creation of effective cultural guides, policies and regulations, rooted in nation building principles and produced in a systematic and sustainable way, we automatically shift the identity discussion from crisis to clarity. This is imperative because when people feel like they’ve been knocked down, like many of us feel now, the clear, powerful symbolism and reminder that comes from knowing exactly who you are is what will make the difference in getting back up, with confidence.
While picking up some packages at a local shipping company, the other day, my hands were full. A young man, who was also picking up packages, saw me thinking intently about how I would have to make two trips to the car. He said, “Miss, where is your car? Let’s go, I will bring them for you!” I thanked him and said aloud, “You see! We are still a friendly and caring people!”
Solange Ludmila Duncan
