St. Maarten Private Eye

Good governance and transparency = New Status

PPA Leader talks about conflict of interest
Written by Gracita R. Arrindell
Wednesday, 11 June 2008 19:16

We read with great interest the news reports and the editorials concerning the public spectacle at the Island Council meeting Monday considering the clearly impermissible and improper conduct by Commissioner Maria Buncamper-Molanus and her spouse.

However, the most disappointing part of the meeting was the continuing role of the Lt. Governor who uses every opportunity to prevent and delay any effort to call the DP to order.

Click here to Read More
____________________________________________________________

During my term on the Island Council, I had a number of encounters with the same Lt. Governor and always felt he was acting more to support the DP government than the people’s business.

While the Dutch government chides and pushes the Island Government to follow the tenets of good governance, best practices and transparency, the Queen’s representative on Sint Maarten is an active part of the effort to prevent the very thing the Dutch government has been requesting for years.

Sint Maarten has been seeking a new constitutional status for eight years. We have been told repeatedly that we will not get the new status until we enact laws relating to good governance, best practices, transparency, conflict of interests, self-dealing between and among Commissioners and their families and business associates, code of conduct for members of the Executive and the Island Council and senior civil servants and laws regulating the buying and selling of elections, to mention a few.

It is now clear to all that the basic reason our people have been unable to get our much sought after new constitutional status from the Dutch government is that this government with the active assistance of the Lt. Governor allowed this beautiful island to incur massive debts, illegal pre-financing loans from certain selected contractors, deals and no-bid contracts to Commissioners’ family members and political operatives and the use of the government-owned companies as a piggy bank for members of the DP Executive Council.

These government-owned companies are the people’s assets. DP Commissioners have allegedly used these companies to divert the people’s assets to their personal and family use and enjoyment.
So, given this long and sordid history of corruption and serving in the Island government to get rich, why would anyone expect anything else from Commissioner Buncamper-Molanus?

I applaud the efforts of William Marlin and his NA colleagues for getting it right. This question should have been brought to the people’s attention at the Island Council. Commissioner Buncamper-Molanus was given an opportunity to set the record straight and ask the people’s forgiveness for this impermissible and highly questionable conduct, but rather than coming straight, the Commissioner sought to deceive and mislead the people by an unfortunate press release by her staff and other manoeuvrings to suggest that she was not the President of the Sky is the Limit Foundation at the time when the US$25,000 donation was requested from TellCell or was being made.

The Commissioner’s reply to the public’s outcry was to justify it on the basis that the “ends justify the means.”

Stated differently, because the $25,000 dollar donation was being used for a worthy purpose, Carnival, the rules and practices relating to good government, best practices and conflict of interests can be thrown out of the window.

She could not be more wrong on this point. Good governance and best practices always trump the cause no matter how important the cause may be. Doesn’t the Commissioner understand that taking the people’s money as a contribution to her foundation from a government-owned company that she has political responsibility for and her spouse serves on one of the related boards is plainly wrong?

The fact that she or her family did not receive a fee or money misses the point. Didn’t she appear on stage at Carnival in recognition of her role in helping to the finance event?

Commissioner Buncamper-Molanus’ judgment and acts to cover up her impermissible conduct requires her to do the honourable thing.

Finally, the Governor of the Netherlands Antilles should review and act upon the terrible actions and statements of the Lt. Governor in making a mockery of the rules and procedures of the Island Council on Monday. While the Lt. Governor has been sitting for over six years and seems to always know the rules when it is time to put the Opposition down, he always has to consult with his staff when the time comes to deal with the actions of the DP.

His comments about the application of Article 43 before they came into play, was simply an attempt to help guide the DP members in preventing a vote on the NA motion. It was shameful to see Commissioners Wescot-Williams and Marlin leave their Island Council seats and retire to the public section while the vote was being called.

The people deserve better. Unless we stand up and have our voices heard, we will continue to be disrespected and disregarded.

Gracita R. Arrindell, Leader Peoples
Progressive Alliance.

Bad Governance | Constitutional Change | Corruption | Franklin Richards | Island Politics | Maria Buncamper | Wasime Liburd's blog | add new comment | read more