Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
~ Sarah’s call for more speaker’s time voted down ~
PHILIPSBURG--Members of Parliament (MPs) fired off numerous questions seeking clarity on the Harbour’s settlement with Zebec Development during an emergency meeting on Monday.
The meeting was adjourned after the first round of questions to give Deputy Prime Minister Dennis Richardson a chance to obtain answers. The meeting will continue at 2:00pm today, Tuesday.
A proposal by Democratic Party ((DP)) MP Sarah Wescot-Williams at the start of the meeting for the speaking time to be increased to 30 minutes in the first round and 20 minutes in the second round was voted down with eight MPs voting against the proposal and six voting for it.
The vote was called after United People’s (UP) party MP Franklin Meyers said he opposed Wescot-Williams’ proposal. Chairman of Parliament Dr. Lloyd Richardson (UP), who voted in favour of the speaking time being increased, said he would call a meeting to discuss the issue.
First speaker National Alliance (NA) MP Christophe Emmanuel said the issue with Zebec was related to the sale of land to Zebec which included ownership of Tropical Shipping. St. Maarten Port Services was an agent for Tropical Shipping at the time.
Emanuel questioned how 13,000-15,000 square metres of land at the harbour had ended up in the hands of Zebec and how Tropical Shipping, which Zebec had owned, ended up in the hands of Intermar. Emmanuel said it did not require a “rocket scientist,†to realise what had transpired.
“How did this happen and under what conditions? How did Zebec get 13,000-15,000 square metres of land from the Harbour?†he asked. He also questioned whether Social Health Insurance SZV had the authority to give the Harbour a “soft loan†of “US $10-12 million.â€
Wescot-Williams said the issue with Zebec was one incident of “a much larger dilemma†of Government-owned companies, which she said were supposed to be “hands off,†but there was still meddling.
She gave an historical perspective of the issue, noting that the development of the Dutch Village had been touted years ago by Harbour Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Mingo as a major initiative for the country’s tourism product. In fact, she said, it had been the showpiece during an inter-parliamentary consultation some years ago.
Wescot-Williams said everyone had been under the impression that project was being executed until August last year when Zebec placed a full-page ad in the print media to announce a that it was seeking US $100 million in damages from the Harbour. She said the Harbour had countered by saying Zebec’s allegations were “absolutely untrue.†She wanted to know what had caused the sudden turnaround.
NA MP Silveria Jacobs said the only way to get rid of assumptions was by “coming clean.†She said Government-owned companies must report to their shareholder and appealed to the shareholder representative for the Harbour to “give account†to Parliament on this issue. She wants to know what exactly occurred that led to Zebec taking Government to court and its subsequent settlement with the Harbour.
NA leader MP William Marlin said Parliament ought to know what had transpired in this matter. He said the entire issue seemed to be shrouded in secrecy, noting that he wanted clarity and information about this matter.
He said too that it was important to draw attention to the civil code that regulates how directors of companies can be held liable for decisions they take that can have adverse effects on companies.
He said the “story going around†was that a group of Indian businesspersons were going to take over the property at the Harbour and in exchange would have “bailed out†the Harbour by forking out the funds to settle with Zebec. He said these reports needed to be cleared up.
Independent MP Leona Marlin-Romeo said the way the settlement had been reached looked to her like “creative financing.†She said too that if SZV could help the Harbour financially, it could do the same for University of St. Martin (USM), the new Government Administration Building and for the expansion of St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC).
Independent MP Cornelius de Weever said that when it came to making settlements “we have to be wise.â€
UP MP Tamara Leonard said the entire issue seemed to be that of two parties engaged in a “strictly business†transaction. She suggested that Government use this as an example and try to “position itself†to “generate new funds to get CFT off of our backs.†She believes this can reap progress for the country and eliminate the “thought that doing business is something wrong.â€
UP MP Silvio Matser asked whether a building permit was in place for Zebec’s Dutch Village project; what consequences this would have had on the development of the Royal Caribbean Hotel project and the Harbour; whether Government had issued a letter of approval for the Royal Caribbean project; and when the latter was expected to start, amongst other questions.
UP MP Maurice Lake requested an update on the status of the Zebec court case against the Harbour, a copy of SZV’s investment policy and information on SZV’s investment policy for the next five years.
UP leader MP Theo Heyliger alluded to discussions held about six to seven years ago about what St. Maarten needed to do to keep a lead in cruise tourism. He said a lot of the business had been in French St. Martin eight to nine years ago and the Harbour subsequently had started developing plans for a Dutch themed project, which entailed 3,000 square metres of land. Heyliger said there had been no limit to the amount of land.
Zebec was developing Blue Mall in Cupecoy at that time and was seen as being able to develop the project at the Harbour. Heyliger said there had been three changes in Government, but the harbour management had remained the same.
He said he did not know what had transpired “in the last years,†but he acknowledged signing off on a building permit in his capacity as former VROMI Minister for the “same plans developed seven years ago.†He believes Government did not do anything wrong by signing off on the building permit.
The Harbour and the developer subsequently had issues regarding the amount of land to be developed. Heyliger said he had signed a permit for 3,000 square metres because he was unaware of any limitations about the amount of land.
The other MPs present for the meeting also spoke, including MP Franklin Meyers.
The meeting continues today.
