Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
Dear Editor,
Lately, our representatives seem to worry a lot, and sometimes rightly so, about the Dutch (post) colonial powers. Some of our MP's are calling for independence while presenting themselves as the last of the Mohicans. So far, the apogee of this independence rhetoric came to light when an MP was quoted as saying that he rather "die on his feet than live on his knees." The MP was quick to forget that Dutch PM Rutte already indicated that independence is just a phone call away (i).
So why so much noise? It is nothing more than putting up smokescreens in order to dr0ive the attention from the real problem, namely the new era of (corporate) colonialism and nepotism which is upon us. And, it is exactly this new colonial system which is embraced by the privileged few, including some -if not most- of our MPs who are primarily interested in the question: what is in for me?
The three integrity reports by PwC, the Wit-Samson Committee and the General Audit Chamber painted a bleak picture about integrity breaches in Government, the dysfunctional Parliament and the weak institutional framework. These are precisely the kinds of characteristics that corporate interests are looking for. Corporate interests are able to essentially capture the government through economic pressure and (legalized) corruption, letting them game the system to gain an advantage. The possible advantages include: tax holidays, government contracts, weak law enforcement and Government land way below market value (e.g. Emilio Wilson Estate). Corporate interests have grown immensely wealthy; for example, the cruise liner Carnival Corporation yearly revenue for 2014 is stated at US $15.884 billion. To put this in perspective, Carnival alone has annual revenue which is more than 10 times as much as the Gross Domestic Product of entire Country St. Maarten.
The privileged few encourage this system in order to get their piece of the cake. The not- so-bright individuals use illegal methods risking a starring role in a special episode of Candid Camera. The craftier ones opt for legalized, but equally harmful corruption, such as controlling (tour bus) licences, security contracts, (Government) land and so on.
In order to sell this colonial system to the populace, the politicians like to play their favourite trump card: job creation. We are promised 500 jobs here and 400 jobs there. An estimated 2,457.5 jobs are promised for 2015. This does not even include the 100+ jobs that former Minister of VROMI Lake promised when he bought the highly overpriced and – for God sake - illegally constructed Vorst property (ii). The development of the still half-empty Blue Mall (which also resulted in the conviction of former VROMI head Delano Richardson, who was sentenced for an attempt to squeeze a bribe out of the developer (iii), would provide Sint Maarten with 500 full-time jobs. This lead to the controversial remark of former Commissioner Hyacinth Richardson, after stressing the importance of employment for locals: "Bringing in foreign employment will get government support" (iv).
The main investor behind Blue Mall (the Venezuelan billionaire Luis Velutini of Fondo de Valores) is currently one of the main investors in the major seafront project "Sint Maarten Quarter" along with some offshore private equity funds. This time 400 full-time jobs after completion are promised, while most of the construction and design has already been awarded to foreign companies (v), hence money pools offshore and labour will be imported. The corporate interests don't need to care about social programmes or education for the local population; they simply need enough bodies to facilitate their production and have no interest in the welfare of those who are too young or old to work. If the new colonial powers need skilled labour, they can simply hire people from other areas thus removing the necessity of funding education.
But, even if a construction project is awarded to a local company (like the Airport FBO building), it seems that obtaining a building permit can prove to be very difficult. This leaves to wonder if the name of the company in question is of any importance. Did the Minister of VROMI also scrutinize the bidding process of the USD $50.3 million Causeway? The construction of the Causeway was awarded to Windward Roads, a daughter company of Dutch-based Janssen de Jong, which is primarily known for bribing officials and price fixing (vi). They successfully exported these methods to St. Maarten (through Windward Roads), already a long time ago, according to renowned Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad (vii).
Last year, the Minister of Justice was also not reluctant to sign a letter of intent for the expansion of the Pointe Blanche Prison with Henk van den Heuvel, owner of the LICCOM Company (viii). Let's HOPE that bribing officials is not a family affair for the Van den Heuvels; ironically enough Henk van den Heuvel may be going to build the new accommodation of Bada Bing briber Jaap van den Heuvel (ix).
In the case of the prison expansion, it could at least be argued that the end justifies the means. Various criminals never served their sentences due to a lack of prison cells, such as convicted child rapist Bobby Velasquez. Instead of being on a much needed diet of bread and water in Pointe Blanche, he is well-off since he received a whopping USD $4,750,000 when the harbour acquired his boatyard - Government long lease land - in 2013 (xi).
Bobby's Marina announced its downsizing just months after closing this steal of a deal. Manager Davis-Velasquez said the company had been very open and honest with its staffers about its decision, "We tried to be fair with everyone. It's not something that we want to do, but we can't keep doing something if it's not financially feasible." (xii). Isn't that a coincidence?
The energy sector is another example of cooperate colonial powers that effectively control Government instead of the other way around. The supervisory board of NV GEBE apparently signed a MOU with oligopolist GB Group regarding the import of heavy fuel and the waste-to-energy plant. Details of the MOU are, however, not known since questions from Parliament remain unanswered (xiii). GB stands for the name of Haitian billionaire Gilbert Bigio, whose company was involved in a in a development aid scam in Haiti (xiv). Home of Bigio's business empire is the Haitian seaside shantytown of Cite Soleil where people live in a noxious environment, while Bigio resides in a well-guarded, beautiful house in one of the few upscale neighbourhoods in Port-au-Prince (xv).
The comparison with St. Maarten is easy to make. It also takes little imagination to figure out why NV GEBE is decades back in time concerning renewable energy, and why the waste-to-energy plant is not even close to becoming a reality. In that regard, it should be noted that just weeks before elections former Minister of VROMI Maurice Lake indicated that a "waste to energy plant is very near (..) Synergy, a U.S. company won the final bid. (xvi)
These are just a few of many examples in order to illustrate the problem. The question is: can we turn the tide? A recent letter to the editor clearly demonstrated (xvii) that we continue to vote, campaign and act based on the question: what is in for me? This may be a contract - like in the case of the writer of the letter - , a piece of government land or simply hard cash (xviii). Furthermore, a lot of the voters seem to be more interested in free beer, chicken and T- shirts during a party rally, than in excellent public policy proposals in order to move this country forward.
In conclusion, change is in nobody else's hands but our own or as eloquently expressed by US President Obama: "change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." Therefore, if we really want to be independent and avoid a new era of colonialism and nepotism we have to ask ourselves what our true motive is. What is in for me, or what is in for St. Maarten?
Name withheld at Author's request
i. MPs zoom in on independence, Integrity, blame for instruction, The Daily Herald, October 4, 2013
ii. Minister Lake reveals plans for Vorst estate. Today, August 14, 2014
iii. Blue mall opening postponed, Today, February 15, 2012
iv. Blue Mall Cupecoy finally announces soft opening, Today, December 28, 2012
v. Major seafront project ready to go "full steam." The Daily Herald, March 6, 2015
vi. Celstraffen bouwfraude houden in hoger beroep grotendeels stand, NRC Handelsblad, December 27, 2012
vii. Bouwfraude tierde ook welig op Antillen, NRC Handelsblad, April 17, 2003
viii. Minister of Justice signs letter of intent for the expansion of the Pointe Blanche Prison. Sint Maarten Government, August 19, 2014
ix. Sentences handed down in ORCA trial Friday, The Daily Herald, March 6, 2015
x. Appeals court finds Bobby Velasquez guilty of rape, Today, October 21, 2011
xi. Harbour Holding's 2013 financial statements show: Royal rewards and remarkable loans, Today, December 15, 2014
xii. Bobby's Marina downsizing, offers staffers layoff package, The Daily Herald, January 21, 2014
xiii. Wescott-Williams accuses GEBE of disrespecting Parliament, Today, February 23, 2015
xiv. Haiti and the international aid scam, The Guardian, April 22, 2011
xv. Haiti's few Jews hold on to history, Miami Herald, March 21, 2004
xvi. Minister Lake says Waste to Energy Plant for St. Maarten Very Near, Sint Maarten News Network, July 13, 2014
xvii. I voted for improvement yet nothing has changed, The Daily Herald, May 29, 2015
xviii. Vote buying case heads back to court - No proof of class justice, Today, May 7, 2015
