Dear Editor,
My phone was inundated on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, with the recording of an interview that involved former Member of Parliament (MP) Romain Laville. As I watched, I wondered why does character seems to be secondary or even irrelevant, when someone is placed in a position to defend his or her behaviour. As he glorified himself, several questions came to mind, but I will focus on just a few.
If the former MP is so qualified (of which I’m not doubting), how come he was not appointed in the capacity of chief executive officer at Port St. Maarten in 2021? And, why is he not working with the NRPB [National Recovery Program Bureau – Ed.], if his expertise is so valuable to the organisation and country? This is a question that I wished an MP would have asked during the discussion in parliament last week.
I’m curious to know when was the company formed? When did the bid take place for the new mental health facility in order for his company to have won it? The timeline is critical because Minister Richinel Brug’s request for advice from Legal Affairs was prepared and dispatched in less than a month being in office. That was super-fast, seeing that the minister was in the learning phase of his ministry and the workings of government.
When Mr. Laville claimed that he financed the URSM [Unified Resilient St. Maarten Movement] party, lots of unanswered questions flooded my mind. Was this party conceived by him and his spouse and then they invited the board members and the candidates to join? Because, the president of the board could finance this party 10 times over. Why would he be the financier of a party that belongs to someone else or a group of persons? Was there a trade-off for being the financier? What are we not seeing?
I’m really curious to know who the original founders were. This is important, because it will clarify a lot of misconceptions of what is happening to the URSM party. It was quite interesting to see how he defended Rollocks Jr., when the party did not accept him to fill the position as a minister. The amount of votes he received and all kinds of reasons were stated to substantiate why this young man should have been given the opportunity to serve as a minister.
What caught my attention the most was when Romain Laville claimed that Rollocks Jr. pushed the party non-stop before the elections of January 11, 2024. Was that his initiative or former MP Laville’s? Because, when Rollocks Jr. backed out, the former MP was quick to push forward his school friend and long-time buddy, parliamentarian elected, Richinel Brug. Why? What is Mr. Laville’s real position in the USRM party?
Maybe I won’t get the answers to these questions. What I do know is that a leopard does not change its spots. Here’s my proof. On Monday, August 29, 2016, I penned an article entitled, “Twins of deception.” It was directed to MP Romain Laville at the time and another MP. I stated that, “More and more, politicians are piercing the integrity of this community because they profit from their ability to chatter skilfully. When will the guilt become too much for them to keep quiet?”
I continued, “Even when their reputation is under severe scrutiny, they still fail to understand that the true individual is revealed through their conduct. And, they have neglected the fact that lack of evidence is not the same as proof of evidence.” I concluded by saying, “These are the types of politicians who have used the people’s desperation for change to funnel their interests. They will never change because people do not go contrary to their nature. Time is the factor that will extract their true character!”
As I reminisce on 2013 (13 years prior), who can forget when Mr. Laville stood up in parliament and instructed the then Minister of Tourism Ted Richardson to hire anybody he wants? Then, he cautioned the Council of Ministers that he will be walking the halls of the government building to see if they were carrying out their duties. Finally, he dared any minister and fellow MPs to touch him. No one with good intentions behaves that way.
During the same period, another MP declared on air that it’s he, another MP and former MP Romain Laville run the government and not the then Minister of Justice. People, go back to the tape and draw your conclusion on what took place after the elections of January 11, 2024; August 19, 2024 and up until present.
Friday, May 29, 2026 parliamentary deliberation to dismiss Minister Richinel Brug did not come as a surprise to many, because anything that started wrong, will end up wrong. It was a sad moment to have witnessed another political miscarriage – one that was orchestrated by his own buddy – a confidant, who remains hell bent of putting self above country.
Joslyn Morton
Dear Editor,
As you are aware, Dr. Van Essen, the nephrologist and internal medicine specialist at SMMC, left in April of this year.
He has since been replaced by another nephrologist from the Netherlands. However, it remains to be seen how long she will be able to continue under the current circumstances before facing burnout.
At present, she appears to be the only nephrologist serving SMMC. This means she is responsible for the dialysis department, patients admitted on the wards, as well as referrals from other physicians.
Dialysis treatment is not limited to daytime hours; it operates both day and night and specifically requires that a nephrologist be available during night services.
From all indications, this is not consistently happening as it should.
God forbid she decides to leave as well. The grim reality is that the Chronic Kidney Disease patient community in St. Maarten is far too large for the country to find itself without a specialist in this field. If I am not mistaken, SMMC also provides dialysis services for patients from Saba and St. Eustatius through its dialysis unit.
While political priorities may continue to dominate attention, lives are literally at stake. Patients suffering from kidney disease depend on stable, continuous, and specialized care.
The Ministry of Health must urgently address the shortage of nephrology coverage at SMMC before the situation reaches a crisis point.
The people of St. Maarten deserve reassurance that adequate staffing, patient safety, and continuity of care are being treated with the seriousness they require.
A.A. Bryan
Dear Editor,
I am writing to bring to your attention the deplorable conditions of our roads on our beautiful island. Our roads have been in a state of disrepair for many years and over the past months they are deteriorating more and more, causing great inconvenience not only to the inhabitants, but to our tourists that come to our island as well.
Dear Editor,
I have read the different articles concerning the behaviour of people who are in government, who were in government, and who are still there behind the scene and I say the Landsrecherhe is laughing, because their outlook for employ for another twenty years is guaranteed. After reading the paper of May 27th, I asked myself who is next. And at the risk of being accused of sounding sarcastic the thought
"Who will be the first one to get a room in the new hotel in Point Blanche when it is ready?", crossed my mind. I am in a predicament, because as it stands now, I am at a lost what to suggest, because since 10-10-'10 the only thing that the people and their advisors have proven is that they are experts in throwing down governments.
They made sure to keep the only coalition that lasted the allotted four years, out of government. and are succeeding in continuing to manipulate this government so that the government cannot get it's feet off the ground. There are investors waiting, but here we are again members of Parliament trying to boycott the situation.
And then there is the grape tree saga. My question is, is not all this on file who started this process, who is continuing it and who has finished it? So if all of this is black on white, why is Doran doing what he is doing?
Are we forgetting about the ongoing investigations in government which do not end and howmany are still not sure of their destiny? What I know is that too many people are not contented with government. Problems with the governor and another minister brings the term "lack of tact" to mind. Like I usually mention, I am not on the inside so I cannot always comment based on the inside scoop, so I sometimes ask myself why would I want to be in there?
It took me a while but I finally remembered a word my mother used to use to describe certain people who she knew would wilfully bring false news to her about our behaviour on the road: "brass face". Also that saying: "If you repeat a lie long enough eventually it becomes the truth". I first heard that from a deceased politician many years ago.
But from my job I know that people who do wrong things and fall in the hands of the police, when they tell the truth, the process is easier and the prosecutor also takes that into consideration. That is why I have repeated on several occasions
"Politics and integrity do not go hand in hand". The Dutch saying is "Eerlijkheid duurt het langst" and You do not get ulcers from telling the truth. With all the work that has to be done by government, they are fighting over a grape tree!
Can anybody explain me the real reason why at least two people with combined salaries of approximately thirty-two thousand guilders a month, if not more, are making a seemingly catastrophic issue about a grape tree?
So again I have to ask:"Irresponsible motorbike riding or irresponsible governing?"
Russell A SIMMONS
Dear Editor,
Like many in the community, I was saddened to see the destruction of the beautiful sea grape tree on Halley Drive in Simpson Bay. As I watched members of the Simpson Bay community protest during a Facebook Live broadcast, I listened to residents speak with frustration and heartbreak about what was taking place. One resident stated, “Simpson Bay was not supposed to be Miami.” Another stood beside the damaged tree and said, “Look at our roots. They’re digging us out of the system.” Those words captured exactly what many residents have been feeling for years as Simpson Bay continues losing pieces of its identity through unchecked over development and the steady disappearance of natural spaces.
In 2022, I met with members of the Simpson Bay community and discussed the importance of ensuring that this tree remained intact. The sea grape tree carried cultural significance, ecological importance, and deep value to the surrounding community. For many residents, it formed part of the identity and landscape of Simpson Bay and remained one of the few natural landmarks left within an increasingly developed area. Children climbed the tree, played beneath it, and gathered around it in ways that have become increasingly uncommon during a period where screens and indoor living dominate daily life. Mature trees contribute far beyond aesthetics. They provide shade, support biodiversity, reduce temperatures, stabilise soils, assist with storm water absorption, and maintain continuity within rapidly changing neighbourhoods.
Residents protesting on site stated that commitments had been made that the tree would not be touched. Days later, the public was informed that the damage was “accidental.” Based on the footage and the visible excavation around the root system, I do not believe there was anything accidental about it.
What has taken place on Halley Drive reflects a broader issue that extends far beyond a single tree. Simpson Bay has increasingly become an example of how aggressive development, when not balanced properly with community interests and environmental considerations, can gradually erode the character of an area. Residents continue raising concerns, attending meetings, submitting objections, and asking for greater consideration of the long-term impacts these projects have on their community, only to watch developments continue moving forward.
The gradual loss of green spaces, mature trees, drainage areas, and community character in Simpson Bay should serve as a warning for the rest of St. Maarten. Once these environmental and social buffers disappear, they are extremely difficult to restore. Communities become hotter, more flood-prone, more congested, and less resilient during storms and heavy rainfall events.
The existing Tree Policy already recognises the importance of mature and historic trees because of their environmental, cultural, landscape, and historical value. Historic tree assessments conducted on St. Maarten identified hundreds of significant trees throughout the island, including concentrations within Simpson Bay. Sea grape trees themselves were identified among the most common Class I historic tree species documented during these assessments.
Removing mature trees from coastal communities weakens resilience at a time when St. Maarten should be strengthening it. Sea grape trees help reduce erosion, stabilise shorelines, provide habitat for wildlife, reduce heat build-up, and act as natural wind barriers during storms. In a country still recovering from Hurricane Irma while facing worsening climate threats, the destruction of mature trees reflects extremely short-sighted development practices.
This situation reinforces the need for stronger environmental legislation and clearer development safeguards. Policies such as the Tree Policy, Hillside Policy, and Beach Policy should eventually be supported through enforceable legislation, including proper Environmental Impact Assessment requirements for major developments. Developers should be required to demonstrate how projects will avoid, minimise, or mitigate environmental and community impacts before approvals are granted.
Residents should not have to stand in the street protesting to protect one of the few remaining mature trees within their community.
The sea grape tree on Halley Drive represented part of the environmental and social fabric of Simpson Bay. Its destruction should encourage a broader national discussion about what kind of development St. Maarten wants moving forward and whether communities are truly being included in that vision.
If Simpson Bay continues down this path unchecked, it risks losing the very identity that made people want to live there in the first place. That should concern all of St. Maarten.
Tadzio Bervoets
