Dear Chairman and members of the Kingdom Relations Committee,

  I do not have anything really new to say but if the power of the message lies in repetition then I would like to elaborate on one aspect of my previous letters.

  My overall idea is that the inhabitants of the Caribbean Netherlands (whereby I wish to limit myself in principle to the island of St. Eustatius), without realizing it themselves, actually find themselves in a legally comfortable, perhaps even privileged position.

Dear Editor,

  Whilst the socio-economic developments on the Island are on the rise, namely the inter islands transport ferry service and the new ban on single-use disposables, government should also look into the possibility of subsidizing or seeking alternative cost-efficient  cargo/freight services to the Island, as this will play an integral role towards the advancement of the economic sector, particularly the small businesses which make up an estimated 90% of the island’s economy.

  This added value will also relieve entrepreneurs, supermarkets and hardware stores of the stringent measures put in place as a result of the Covid pandemic, which also impacted the hospitality food and beverage sector.

As a result of the new measures, namely the ‘ban on single-use plastic’ which was enforced particularly in the hospitality sector and supermarkets. This brought an additional cost of 2-4x the amount spent on regular disposable products that is now being absorbed into small business profits. The subsidy would also help to ease with the general increase in food, gas and construction materials.

  In speaking with several supermarkets, restaurants, guest houses and entrepreneurs, we are all in agreement that a subsidy of at least 30% would indeed be not only necessary, but imperative for the cost of goods and services to maintain some form of normalcy. This will also be more in line with the favourable increase in minimum wage, rather than having prices go up even further, we can now level the playing field.

Vaughn M. Sams

Dear Editor

  Allow me to play my violin as backup music to the disingenuous Rolando Brison “me, me, me sob story” I just watched as he announced his resignation from the position of President of Parliament.

  Mr. Brison has convinced himself that the position he is leaving is (in part) a limiting factor in his own development. After all, healing takes time … from the Parliament chairmanship at least. His fall from grace (although self-inflicted) is a cautionary tale.

  It’s been a long time since I personally told him that he impressed me as being very smart and “going places” on the ladder of success. (At the time I was Chairman of the Winair Board). I have now concluded that he is a damaged figure (possibly in need of professional help), having displayed a total lack of scruples and very little, if any, humility. He has elected himself the president of his own fan club.

  Rolando has the gift of gab and probably can sell ice to Eskimos. But please don’t let those crocodile tears fool you. This young man is doing the only thing he can do to prevent himself from being unceremoniously removed from the PoP position or otherwise judged for his behavior on the floor of Parliament. He is very clearly retreating for “better times”.

  I suggest you sit back and wait for his next “faux pas”.

Michael J. Ferrier

Dear Editor,

  If you are on social media these days you would have immediately noticed that the people of St. Maarten are sharing pictures, videos and speeches of the Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley. Popular saying goes that you should never lift a politician too high, but Mottley is on a roll as a global leader. Compared to St. Maarten’s Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs, the PM in Barbados must seem heaven-sent to many here. And on Monday, November 1, Jacobs showed us exactly why people do not hold her on high.

  The Prime Minister of St. Maarten shamed herself on live radio on Monday morning when she did not rebuke Chairman of Parliament Rolando Brison. She did not even distance herself and her party from Brison’s grotesque comments. She condoned his comments towards women, she condoned his wheeling and dealing, she condoned his narcissism, she condoned political victimization. Shame on you, Prime Minister.

  She did this by stating that Brison’s recorded statements were out of context and in anger. Seriously, Prime Minister? So, was that not his voice and did the words not come out of his mouth? By being Brison’s biggest apologist and not addressing the serious implications for the country, Jacobs condoned every single thing Brison uttered on that recording. And that is beyond shameful. Shame on you, Prime Minister.

  It was disappointing to see the Prime Minister, a woman, sit there and condone Brison’s tearing down of another woman. Then again, this is the same Prime Minister who took a week to say anything about Minister Doran’s disrespect towards the Ombudsman, also a woman. Shame on you Prime Minister.

  The Prime Minister is an educator by profession. But instead of using her position to live up to the honorable ideals of an educator and respect the trust people placed in her to lead them, she has personified the saying “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. The Prime Minister apparently has lost her moral compass or perhaps she never had one. She is now protecting her power base at all costs, even at the cost of losing her soul. Shame on you Prime Minister.

  Finally, a word of respectful advice to the Prime Minister: All of your media appearances lately either start or end with a speech that’s somehow meant to be motivational, like you are a teacher in front of a classroom talking to children. But because you have shown that you are unable to live up to your own examples, I have a request: please stop preaching to us. It’s condescending and insulting, especially after defending a narcissistic, misogynistic, unremorseful and verbally abusive individual like Rolando Brison. Your words carry no weight. Shame on you, Prime Minister.

Name withheld at author's request.