Dear Editor,
It is quite an acknowledgement of the times when a figure like Theo Heyliger, the founder of his party the UP, would have to sink to the levels of actually having to put his thoughts in writing about the rumored firing of his wife as the President of Parliament.
Unless we forgot, the person they want to allegedly put back in the chair is the same con-man who has embarrassed the country multiple times, insulted Theo’s wife and has built a reputation as the king of schemers in the government of St. Maarten. That Theo would have to say what he said indirectly to someone he gave a chance to is astounding. And then Brison responds as if Theo is just a passing somebody.
It shows that Theo feels that his wife is not getting the due respect she deserves and clearly shows that he does not believe in the direction Rolando Brison has taken his party. The UP is now subservient to the National Alliance. It is incredible that Theo has let it come to this. He needs to fix it and rid his wife and his party of that no-integrity, no-shame con-man.
Because of Brison’s scheming, the Parliament of St. Maarten will have nine factions! Count ’em, NINE! He managed to convince MP Arrindell and Brownbill that they are great for the island after using them as the reasons he refused to run with the USP and eventually left the USP. “Crooks” he called them at the time. “Angels” he is calling them now.
MP Brison has completely ruined the UP from the inside and, the schoolchildren say, turned some of UP’s board members against Theo and Grisha with gifts and promises. He will do the same with the Alliance if they let him because he cares about one thing only: protecting any kind of power base for himself. He is dangerous for the country and criminally narcissistic.
But who will the UP listen to now? The man who founded the party and gave them all opportunities? Or the con-man who might as well declare himself a card-carrying member of the National Alliance?
And speaking about what will UP do, what will Cookie do? Is the Indian Community proud of Cookie’s representation? Are they proud that Brison is in his ear corrupting him? Will they be proud if he votes against the Heyligers? MP Bijlani looks to be losing more of his soul every day the longer he sits next to MP Brison. Bijlani has been exposed as a fraud in this term and I honestly believe the Indian Community needs to start looking at a different flag-bearer for representation in Parliament. This one has shown that he can be just as corruptible and he can walk all over integrity and accountability.
Name withheld at author’s request.
Dear Editor,
“Those who don’t know the value of loyalty can never appreciate the cost of betrayal.” Equivalently, when trust is broken, this level of infidelity cancels all concepts of integrity. Presently, the country is in a descending mode and based on this current trajectory, the behaviour of this government will persist until they accomplish their selfish motives.
When Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs proudly announced that she will bring a different style of leadership to the NA party, who could have imagined this blatant deception that the country is witnessing today? Who would have thought that the party that prided itself as being committed to the people could allow an egoistic lobbyist in parliament to control them completely?
So, what is the trade-off between MP Rolando Brison and this government? Apart from getting his ego massage every time he grandstands on the floor of parliament, what exactly is he receiving from government in exchange for his performance? Is it a monetary compensation or has he already been recruited by NA, in the hope that the party become a replicate of the DP, as a one-party government?
What is this missing link that the 14 other MPs are not envisioning, to have the majority of them portrayed as incapable? Why is MP Rolando Brison this desperate to return as the chair of parliament and why is government working overtime to reinstate him? Yes, Prime Minister Jacobs, the population is aware of what length you went through to resolve that technicality to get rid of Chairlady Grisha Heyliger-Marten.
Prime Minister Jacobs, your actions are so contrary to the moral values that you preach about every day. Is it not the chairlady’s role to honour the requests from Members of Parliament, whether the invites are from the opposition or those who support the government? If calling meetings that the opposition have requested is a bother to the government, is this not corruption to the core, Prime Minister Jacobs – the promotion of unethical values and favouritism?
This why MP Ludmila De Weever thanked Chairlady Grisha Heyliger-Marten for being impartial regarding the handling of the meetings, unlike MP Rolando Brison, who keeps the government away. So, now that the technicality has been resolved and the threat to oust the chair is imminent, what is Theo going to do? Is he going to choose MP Roland Brison over Chairlady Grisha Heyliger-Marten? We’ll see.
To illustrate further how this government has repeatedly discounted the role of parliament, the meetings surrounding the ongoing crisis at GEBE said it all. When it wasn’t an excuse by the PM to attend another meeting that she scheduled intentionally, she refused to send answers to parliament on time, or she found it fit to saddle the MPs with a barrage of information regarding the role of the various boards of GEBE and what government could do or couldn’t do.
All these unethical tactics were used to delay the vote of no confidence against the VROMI [Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure – Ed.] Minister Egbert Doran. So, if it is important for parliament to understand and respect the role of the management and supervisory boards of GEBE, then why isn’t the same value being placed on The People’s House? Oh, how I missed the intense and educational deliberations by former MP Claudius Buncamper. Surely, the atmosphere in parliament would have been completely different.
In my observation, Chairlady Grisha Heyliger-Marten gives the prime minister too much leeway. Instead of asking her how much time she needs to answer the questions posed, the response should be: Prime Minister, you have the floor. Let her bear the responsibility solely and hold her to her obligations. This lack of assertion is her biggest obstacle in parliament. And, being too lenient with the PM has come back to haunt her.
Look at how last week Wednesday’s meeting went down, when Prime Minister Jacobs refused to answer the questions on GEBE and also totally disregarded the authority of the Chair, when she explained to her that she is moving away from the norm. This is the blatant disrespect to parliament by this government, under the reign of Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs.
Prime Minister, I ask again: Would this ruthless efficiency become the norm of this country? Is this the behaviour that you want to communicate? Is this the style of leadership that you wished for the young people to imitate?
Joslyn Morton
Curaçao mourns the death of dolphin Mosa. The bottlenose dolphin is one of five dolphins that were transferred from Curaçao to Saudi Arabia in June after much commotion. There, at the Fakieh Aquarium in Jeddah, she swam against the edge of the basin at high speed.
Mosa died from a large amount of blood in her lungs. Transferring the dolphins to Jeddah was very much against Animal Rights' wishes. "Keeping such large and intelligent animals in small basins is a horrific form of abuse," campaign coordinator Anna Krijger said. “It is known that dolphins consciously or unconsciously self-mutilate or take their own life under these circumstances. Moreover, the suggestion that the animal was so bothered by her hormones that she wanted to harm herself is completely out of the blue.”
The latter statement comes from spokesman Elior Boeldak of the Curaçao Sea Aquarium Park, which sold Mosa and four other dolphins to the Fakieh Aquarium. “It is quite common for female dolphins to die between the ages of 6 and 10 when they start to ovulate, when they are adults and can make babies,” he told radio station Dolfijn.fm. “We also experienced that here, with other dolphins. It's sad, but things like that happen to animals.”
Boeldak pointed out that Animal Rights cannot know anything about Mosa's cause of death, because the organisation had not seen the autopsy report. Animal Rights filed a lawsuit over the sale of the five dolphins. The judge ruled in June that the animals could only leave the island if the permits were in order and that was the case. The substantive hearing of the case is scheduled for September 7. Krijger: "It is too late for Mosa now, but for the remaining four dolphins in Jeddah and all other dolphins that are kept in captivity for entertainment worldwide, this matter is vital.”
The decision of Curaçao Sea Aquarium to reduce the number of dolphins is partly due to the poor financial situation of the park as a result of the corona pandemic. The dolphin population had also become too large, according to the organisation. Therefore, three female and two male dolphins between the ages of 5 and 10 were sold.
Animal Rights opposed the transfer because the conditions in the 'concrete aquarium' in Jeddah would be worse than in Curaçao. According to the organization, the animals live in a swimming pool with chlorinated water in the new shelter and sandstorms from the surrounding desert are causing nuisance.
Jeroen Schmale
Dear Editor,
On social media I note many St. Maarteners searching for understanding of the political and administrative shortcomings that are being displayed in the first 12 years of our status as a country. Many are considering conspiracies in which St. Maarten people have very poor views of their fellow countrymen. Moral and mental shortcomings are extensively considered, heavy accusations are levelled and a degree of polarization appears to be developing.
But should one really be surprised that in spite of the institutions that are in existence with significant budgets. comprehensive legislation and many qualified persons there are shortcomings and breakdowns that make the bigger political picture look bleak. Is there really reason for such despondency and breakdown in trust of the fellow citizens that are involved with the failures?
The history of public administration shows that countries with effective and consistent administration usually have long-established civil service establishments where norms are strongly ingrained. Those cadres of civil service in some cases are in existence for hundreds of years. Many colonies that became independent had civil services with many years of experience and consolidation. Consider this about St. Maarten:
1. The size of St. Maarten and the relative isolation it had experienced historically meant that “village norms and relationships” play a large role in the community.
2. The majority of administration and all legislation had taken place in Curaçao prior to country transition.
3. The territory experienced rapid growth in the 20 years preceding transition to country, a period with relatively “wild” economic conditions and a general belief in limited control.
4. During the rapid growth period the territory did not enjoy a commensurate growth in prosecution services and the expectations of being prosecuted in many areas was not high as is indicated by the adventurous schemes that have recently been exposed.
Clearly the chances of public administration and political management instantaneously achieving a high level of stability and productivity in the short term was never high.
It has also become clear that the creation of the comprehensive range of institutions fully equipped with all the physical and legislative attributes for stable government do not function without the participants having taken on the spirit of their design.
This turbulent period will end when effective leadership focusses on where the breakdowns have occurred, corrects them and reduces the political polarization of the country.
In due course the turbulence of the first years of country will have been forgotten, but the inevitability of this turbulence should not be allowed to limit future success.
Robbie Ferron
Dear Editor,
You are kindly requested to publish the following explanations for public information to your article, “Hushang Ansary halted from calling SunResorts shareholders’ meetings” in your edition of Tuesday, August 30, 2022.
