St. Maarten Private Eye

Flipper pointed out that there is no mention of the NA on the list and also that it is not likely included in the Netherlands figures either. I get his point very well when he say's the NA are often included in these international reports, but not really. Although the NA is part of the Kingdom, it is unlikely any figures taken from here are included.

Also, the report is not that hard to read, some people seem to be confuded here. #1 is the LEAST corrupt, #160 the most corrupt. If you have a look at the scoring figures you will see that there is not much difference between most european countres, with scandinavian scoring high. Being #12, or #11 is a high score, meaning less corrupt than #13 and all the others to #160.

If you think Holland is more corrupt then you are invited to find the relevant news reports or studies online to back up your claim.

Hady

#12 is at the top of the list, with #1 being the least corrupt and #160 being the most corrupt. In fact it is really joint 11th place as the UK has the same score.

The Netherlands Antilles are not mentioned seperately and I suspect that they are not included in the Netherlands score, it's not like anyone here is checking these things here. Because of the Kingdon relationship, we often are included in such international reports, but not really, if you know what I mean.

Flipper

That chart had me fooled as well, I think you better word that better.
I was wondering how the Netherlands came in higher than Nigeria.
But observing closer I noticed that the chart should be upside down, the list should start at the bottom for the most corrupt country.

Back at the end of January a blog was posted announcing that SXM PE would be joining the election campaign. Our intentions and ideas are much along the lines you suggest, but sadly, money is an issue. We made an appeal in that blog post for donations, I just checked and we didn't get one since then.
This evening SXM PE was down for some reason, for about an hour, I doubt if it is because it was suspended, because I have received no notification or bill, probably just the server having a hiccup, but I do know that we owe them. So, anyone who is considering a donation, they are needed.

We would like to run newspaper and radio ads and make a video or two for the local tv, putting the environment and other issues into the election arena, but it does depend on money, sadly.

know someone with some to spare? We have some ideas to put forward.

Flipper

I am not sure if there are any laws that prohibit individuals taking out ads and campaigning for issues such as the environment or against certain govt policies. If I as a citizen wanted to go to the DH and purchase a full color page or two then what is to stop me?

The ad does not even have to be aimed againt, or for any particular party, the idea would be to educate and make the issues important to voters. My own inclination would be a very simple ad, 4 photos and a few lines, nothing more, if done well then a simple message and a few images gets the message across clear to many people.

We have discussed making a video, 20 or 30 mins long, perhaps to be played in two parts on the local tv station. This video would include old footage and photos along with new and it would have commentary, like a mini documentary. But making it would take time and of course money, the old footage would have to come from Dwight Barran who now lives in Statia (a place where they care about their environment and heritage) and we need equipment.
The best we can do right now with no funds is continue making short photo videos as we have done so far. We would be interested to hear other ideas any of you out there may have about this.

LH

Thats the beauty of the internet, you can look things up.

The Netherlands is listed in 2005 as being # 12 in a country corruption list provided by nationmaster.com. of 160 countries.

Corruption by country list.

You can also get the 2006 report (PDF) at this link. Kind of long but well worth a look at. Unsurprisingly, the most likely proffessions that are corrupted are

1. Political Parties
2. Parliament/Legislature.
3. Business/Private Sector
4. Police.
5. Legal System.
6. Media.

The Netherlands does however score low in regards to it's efforts to fight corruption (51% say not good).

Flipper

The Netherlands ranks # 12 out of 160 countries. What you do not mention is:
# 1 is the least corrupt (Iceland) and # 160 is the most corrupt (Chad).
#12 is not perfect but not all that bad either.

My comment was titled 'Far from it', about the comment of Holland being corrupt, meaning Holland scores well, not bad. I should have worded it better i guess.

Flipper

Just had to clarify a few comments regarding community service. If dear anonymous writer you are so certain of yourself, you should go to Dutch Quarter and ask the residents what Mr. de Weever has done for numerous individuals in that area. While most prominent business men, politicians or individuals are so eager to get their pictures in the newspaper when they donate money, Mr. de Weever INSISTS on not having it published or broadcasted. That is class and confidence, my dear. (Someone who does not need to feel good about their contribution through public recognition). Gratitude from the person who is directly affected is all that is needed.
Would like some more? Go to primary schools to see what he has donated in the past. But you know best, don't you? Take a stance on hearsay and melee!! That's the SXM Way!! We don't need to know the facts. We just know we're pissed off. But, your argument could have been one if your facts were true.

On another Note, a real estate agent can no more sell off an entire island than you can rearrange the earth's orbit. He merely facilitates buyer and seller. That is simply a dumb and crude statement from someone who obviously doesn't understand economics. Properties are bought because people want to live or vacation here, and people who want to sell are free to do so. They are not compelled. The US is the largest promoter of these values. Whether you like it or not, the entire Western world operates on market principles, and St.Maarten, for better or worse, is part of that world. Remember, we are part of the EU and must abide by the greater rules of individual and property rights. You cannot legislate against the buying and selling of property, nor can you put arbitrary quotas on the amount of private transactions. What is the alternative? Faceless bureaucrats with the power over people's properties, telling everyone what to do, when to do it, and how to do it? That is a sure recipe for corruption. A St. Maartener, as many do, can buy a home in the US and vice versa. If you start to restrict that you begin to discriminate and enter into a dangerous debate over who is really a "local".
Nice try! But do your bashing somewhere else and when your research is complete.

The problem is, that St. Maartener's are being priced out of the housing market. Social homes are all well and good, but they are not an alternative to having a good fairly paid job and being able to buy your own home in your own country.

What can and should be done is taxes, on non resident and foriegn real estate ownership, this would slow and cool down the market. I don't know if you follow the US economic news, but their housing and mortgage markets are in trouble right now. I wouldn't be surprised if many of the projects here on the island currently planned get shelved for a while as a result.

A unregulated market is just as open for corruption as one that is highly regulated, the balance is in the middle. And of course, having a govt that is transparent.

Hady

They are being priced out because of global economic forces, Hady. Taxes may stem the tide but there are other factors at work as well, not just from affluent "foreigners" from the global North, but from poorer ones across the region as well. No one on this board seems to take into consideration that the relative poverty of some Caribbean islands also contributes to our social and economic ills. St. Maarten has become a honey pot, attracting large amounts of unskilled, migrant labour, to the point where the system is breaking down. With the way the island is set up politically and legally, it is quite difficult to regulate this (open borders with France, aka French St. Martin, international ports and airports, and the confusion of the Netherlands Antilles with its division of powers). It is not as easy or simple as people make it seem.

Another problem is that more often than not, regualtions are in place but are simply not enforced. This has not so much to do with political parties but more to do with cultural attitudes in general. Corruption occurs in any form of economy. It has to do with social mores and attitudes. And it can occur right across the social and economic spectrum, not just from politicians.

Also, this board seems to only emphasize the negatives that have come from property price increases, but here have been positives as well. Many "locals" that have not sold have out seen an increase in their wealth and holdings as a result. There have been positive spin offs as well as bad. Let's be fair.

St. Maarten is beginning to develop a more involved and educated civil society as a result of its economic boom. I reject the overly emotional yearnings for the good ole days when the "natives" were happy in their huts and the air was clean and all was well. That is a distortion of history concocted by European or American romanticists who wanted to escape the post-modern meaninglessness of contemporary suburban life, only to find that life is not so different over here as well.

So what do they do? They invent a romantic and idyllic past, where the "natives" were once "pure" and "uncorrupted" before the evils of the world were let in by a misguided few. But this is utter nonsense, and the truth is far more interesting and complicated than that.

Dear nephews and family and campaign advisors for Mr.Leroy Deweever,

I will do my bashing right here and on this site.
You are right, i have no idea what in the world Mr. Leroy has done for anything of community value, except sell off St.Maarten to outsiders.
Some of your other family members have done more in my opinion, I must respect Sidney Deweever that has kept his old plantation house and property intact in Dutch Quarter, something tells me if Leroy had his hands on this property it would belong to someone else long ago.
If you follow this site even before election time, you would read that this site has beef with most real estate agents as we feel that they are here for the money only. Peyton Cromwell, Ken McKenzie and Leroy Deweever all fall in the same category.
The current realesate boom is doing crap shit for sxm people, most of the condos and houses are being bought by foreigners at high prices, the Americans are getting low interest rates from US banks to purchase realesate on our island. Yet, we SXM people have to be happy with a 9 to 12 percent interest rate from our banks.
This is contributing to our people being unable to afford a normal home, all foreigners owning our high end and middle end realestate, while sxm people have to settle for housing projects and even those are pretty expensive.

So sorry for pissing on your special candidate Leroy Deweever, but now that he has entered the political ring, expect to recieve more backlash as you have never experienced before. And by the way, you all treated Keturah your own sister and family member terrible, making the poor girl take her name off the NA list because Leroy is running.

First and foremost I love your opinion. I'm also a de Weever, a proud one at that. I do believe that electing a real estate agent is some risky business, St.Maarten has already been sold out and continues to be sold. But do we point fingers at the agents or the locals that choose to sell what their parents worked hard for just for a little green paper. People's indentity and a country's identity should not have a price tag. The construction boom and real estate boom has all to do with the persons willing to give what they have up to the market.....since they are willing to sell everything, i don't see why they don't bend over and sell their arse. Because that is what it eventually boils down to. And yes I will bash Leroy on one side, because I do believe he would and already has tried to sell that property in Dutch Quarter, as he has tried to sell other family properties and many other properties, but that is the way he earns his bread.
And on the other hand I will support him to the utmost because I rather be screwed by family than a stranger. Strangers that throughout their life and their career that have been unsuccesful and within four or eight year could be practically millionaires with a commissioners salary. Well they surely have the right name COMMISION-er, because something has to be wrong there. So why not elect someone that already has something to his name and in his bank account, he would be LESS hungry for that COMMISSION. Politics has and will always be dirty..But in the end wouldn't you want your kids to come from the playground LESS dirty. Because we all know no matter how loud we bark, by stepping foot in a playground kids are bound to come out dirty.
P.S. For the bashing of real estate agents, I would start with those that haven't been around through the hard times and those owned by foreign "rapist" because again we tend to highlight mostly what bad a local has done and not of the outside oppertunists.

Hi there,
you responded to my opinion about leroy and real estate agents.
I appreciate the fact that you can look from both sides.
Here is a new one; I was made to understand recently that Leroy Deweever made some damaging remarks not too long ago about the Democratic Party.
One of our radio hosts has this tape, what I cannot comprehend is why would a man run on a political party that he has called "A CANCER" , has the Democratic party become cancer free since he made those comments? and how did this happen? when did they cut the cancer out?
I am afraid I am not in agreement with these type of oppertunists, like Leroy Deweever and Julian Rollocks. They run where and with whom it is convenient for them, no ideology, no real concern for making a long term plan.
Leroy just wants a piece of the cake and while yes... he has a whole lot of pie already does not mean that he will settle for the smaller piece of cake now.
I do not agree with you though that you prefer that you are screwed by a family member than an outsider, I can tell you that being screwed by a family member leaves a long time scar and one that can split up families for good.
As for who owns the land and who is selling, I believe I already covered that in another post. Most of the land was sold off to foreigners many years ago while SXMners were sleeping and gullible.
Dawn beach owned by the Bodines, Red Pond owned by the Bodines, Rudy Nuess, Jacobovitz, Spadaro, all these properties and developers bought their land many many years ago.
The young people are left holding nothing and hoping they can get a lower income house and only maybe if they suck up to the right political party.
Locals think if they kiss enough ass to politicians they will get some piece of left over land at Domein Behher, but that is just a promise for election times.
Look at the amount of political freebies going on lately just in time for election and the daily herald reporters being part of the suck -up, Theo with beautifications, Theo with festival village, Sarah breaking some ground for a class room, Roy all of a sudden and in good timing has land in Belvedere for sale (why was he not selling this land before election, land was there all the time)
Every body playing Santa.
Is Leroy any better as a candidate? I don"t think so, but then neither is the majority of the players on the current batch of political parties contesting the elections.

For the right price just about a nyone will sell themselves to the highest bidder, sometimes even not to the highest. The devil is at work and he is very busy here in Sinat Maarten and all over the world. He seems to have an easier sweep of his souls here at this time of year. Yes, everything is for sale, our morals have been devalued and we will sell our selves for the right price, to just about anyone.. Money talks and bullshit walks. Normally it is always your friends or family that you get the screwing from, as we don't associte with our enemies. The name of the sad game is called GREED, look at the parents that sell their children for drugs, the soke whore for a hit, the lady of the night for money not please, what a shame, these people need help and yet we encourage them instead of seeking help for them Most people will sell out the rest of their families due to Greed and money, intergrity is lacking more and more and personally it will take more than a alot of posters and campaign material to bring back the values of the family, which is almost extinct. Too bad none of the candidates have the courage to stand on morals alone, not necessarily their religious morals, because sometimes those are satanic and cult like as we have many in Sint Maarten,, as well as the rest of the world. Some of the slogans kill me such as "Country Above Self", bullshit, if one were that patriotic in the beginning we would not be in the mess that we are now, or Country First", come on this is for yourself, not country and of course we all need change, in our everyday life that is only common sense, let's hope you change you clothing daily, bath daily, learn daily or we would all become stagnant. Who comes up with these childish un thought of beforehand slogans. Most of them are insulting to the averasgr adult, if we were in elementary school they would be fine and if the youth stay around long enough, then the slogans may have an impact on their future lives. Remeber the great quote of Ghandhi "A Nation and it';s people are judged by the way they treat their animals", Yey the other day I was told that the Draft Ordinance that was submitted by Aniamsl R Friends ( I aqm Vice President of), that it was shelved as the Councile pulss things out and checks them according to priority, If I knew I as a nation was being judged by the way we treat our animals, I would pull that Draft Ordinace out and review it quickly, as we rely on tourism and I get so many calls from visitors that ask me what shelter can they take the poor starving dog to for help, and many of times when I have told them we have no such place, many of them have told me theywill never come back to Sint Maarten again and I know this is true because I continiously get e-mails to that fact. What a shame, we can't educate our children properly, take care of family values, take care of our animlals, domestic violence on the rise, crime at it's highest, understaffed police department, that at this point could give a rats ass about their never ending tireless job that seems to have no future in sight. What have we as a Nation created, let's not put on the blame on the outside, such as I heard a cooment at one of our Lions meetings last week from a fellow lion, stating that alot of it had to do with the Western Culture, all this hip hop and and music. Who brings these people in. If at Carinival Time, someone with morals should be in the process making of the agenda, besides that is an excuse. It starts with family and good moral upbringing and the respect of your elders and the respect of your heritage and foundation. A house built on a proper foundation never slips away. The family is the Foundation. Start taking responsibility and stop relying on false promises from Politicians.,not that we don';t need the politicians, a few good ones a hard to come by, take a look at all of the individuals on all of the slates and make your choice by good judgement, not the color used by the Party, because if you are colored blind then you've screwed up from the get start..

Have you ever looked up the definition of cancer? It describes an abnormal growth. When that word is used to describe someone or something, it is to put emphasis on the unusual, strange, malformed object that will eventually damage what's around it. If one then describes a group as a cancer, it is to highlight the negative elements. However, you should realize that cancer, if untreated, will continue to destroy everything around it. If treated, it can disappear, but treatment is not always without pain.

sometimes we have to accept that some people would rather see their own local people in a worst off situation. some people can't support others and instead search for ways to bring them down and bash. excuse me mr. anonymous before you post anything else about mr. leroy de weever i would suggest that you first do your research and make sure that your facts are adequate. Comments that are ill structured and unresearched surely come out to make absolutely no statement so I advise you try again, this time maybe you can ask others questions to help your personal vendetta. have a wonderful day and until then please acknowledge that the de weever family is a close one and would not tell a candidate to get off the list of another part to support leroy. he is a man that can prosper in any situation despite those like you would rather tarnish his name.

blame the politicians who carelessly gave out permits left and right to investors..to better their pockets.

Now there is an eyeopener right? Blame the politicians who gave out permits left and right. Leroy Deweever is running on the same list with those same politicians. So the blame lies with the Democratic party.
So if any new candidate decides to run with the same Democratic party is in essence saying they support the previous way that things are done. Any new candidate that believes he/she can change the system from within is hallucinating.
If the same leader allowed these type of things in the past and the party still has the same candidates running on the list, it is very unlikely that anything will change. One of the things that William Marlin will have to show the people is his manner of being a correct leader. He should not be seen cavorting with casino bosses as is happening right now. If he continues this way, we know what we can expect.
In my honest opinion, SXM is in dire need of a capable and honest leader of a political party. The PPA leader might be honest but she is not capable as she comes across as not rational at times. Her stance on the slot akkoord will keep her in opposition, she might gain one or two seats, but DP and NA will never join in a coalition with her as her stance on the slot akkord is negative, while they voted positive. There can be no coalition with 2 parties, one for the slot akkord and the other against, especially when this election is the primer for the new country SXM.
So much for Gracita, bad judgement on her part. But getting back to the permits, it is only the DP government who gave out permits left and right without consideration for zoning and the negative impacts on the population.
And Leroy joined the party who gives out permits left and right, meaning he supports their actions.

Your biggest mistake is your assumptions. You assume that I am a family member. You assume that Mr. De Weever sold the island to foreigners. You assume that I mistreated Keturah. You assume quite a lot but know nothing at all. The first real estate boom occurred in the 80s. Why wasn’t he attacked about selling off the island then? Recent projects that have received negative reactions from the public had nothing to do with him. Yet he sold it to foreigners. I am simply asking for your facts.

Lump everyone together because they’re all guilty by association. Well I hope I would never have to live in a country ran by people with the same mentality as you. It wouldn’t be any different than the McCarthy era in the US where they were hunting the communists, pinkos, reds.

Please accept my apologies if you have insider information. You rant out names as if you know the intricacies of each person's business.
The only advice I offer you is to know your facts before you engage in a discussion about anything or anyone. Good luck with your endeavor to give THAT family hell.

No mistake here.
The 80's are long over, the island had enough space back then to accomodate everyone. His sister Millicent ran in the late 80's or was it early 90's along with Sarah on the same list. Everyone loves Millicent, the same cannot be said about Leroy.
Why no-one said anything about him selling off back then? The island was mostly sleeping and like I said there was enough room for investors. The problem with the Democratic Party is that they do not realise that the 80;s are over, the 90's are over, people want change accrording to what is happening now.
The same over building and over developing and selling everything off to foreigners cannot continue and if you ignore this fact, you are setting yourself up for a coup. The people want investments in school material, infrastructure, sewage plants, recycling plants, police department, a consumer protection group, affordable housing for the working class that they do not have to fight off a foreigner for, a rehabilitation program for our released prisoners, a new or larger house of detention, more inspectors for the streets, for pricing control, for the environment, for building projects.
Country SXM will need more police officers. Our investments should be focused on social and environmental issues, not on foreign ownership of our properties.

Keturah De Weever works for Century 21. Neither she nor Century 21 discriminates against "foreign money". Nuff said

Last I know she was still teaching at the Academy school.
I heard she had some free lance job with Century 21 on her own time, which is on a commission base only.
Boy, seems you guys for Leroy and the Democratic party will come up with anything to prove your point.
Seems that election time has brought DP infiltrators to this site to spin their tales.
What ever happened to the Herald website where you guys have spun and taken control of the site with your bullcrap?
Keep in mind, April 20th could be your last day in your comfy Commissioners office. maybe you guys will have to start looking for employment at the WESTIN.
Lets see how much you like that 6 month contract.
Nuff said here too.

Keturah is a teacher at Academy under the microscope, she is not performing as a teacher but is there because of political will power, she was a National Alliance candidate years ago but jumped ship one week before postulation date because she could not get on the NA List, She is now a DP supporter claiming to be supporting her uncle Leroy... All of these people a bunch of hypocrites

Once again I do not understand why people feel the need to come on a website like this to bash people who are trying to do something for our country? If you are so willing to do something say your name and stand up for something you believe in. the worst thing is for someone to release facts that have absolutely no basis. The great thing about all this talk about leroy is great, he is a man of power and will that can handle any task he faces. All this talk just proves that people are scared of the competition. OPEN YOUR EYES DIDNT YOU HEAR WHEN HE SAID HE WAS DESPERATE?? DESPERATE FOR CHANGE? If someone can find me a party ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD where there is a list of candidates who are all perfect and have the same views you will have my utmost respect. UNtil then, open up your ears and do some research to understand why Leroy is running for DP. Running on another party creates a further division in our country where we have democratic party, democratic alliance, democratice peoples party democratic national party, democratic sociey i mean what the hell?? THe creation of all these parties merely do anything for the island but create a division and a competition for acknowledgement rather than getting what needs to be done. Just because Leroy does not flaunt what he has done does not mean you cannot look. THE funny thing is at the end of the day say what you want about selling off the land, but if someone can show me some accurate bank statements claiming all what LEROY HAS SUPPOSEDELY received your statement would be valid. Until then do not assume based on material things you claim to see. He cares more about the people than any land deal and it is sad that it will take those a long time to realize that. WAS he supposed to just sit back, be a poor unambitious begger just running trying to make a dollar?? MAYBE THERE WOULD BE more support then since we can't support our local candidates and instead rather bash them. GROW UP ... IM sure if you are on here you know how to read a book, look up your facts and get out of the closed minded island melee mentality.

"but if someone can show me some accurate bank statements claiming all what LEROY HAS SUPPOSEDELY received your statement would be valid. Until then do not assume based on material things you claim to see"

What kind of stupidity is this? And how exactly are we supposed to get access to his bankstatements? And don't the juicy bank statements all come from Anguilla and the U.S. and likely go to his U.S address? Nothing wrong with that but don't tell me Leroy did not "receive " on Sint Maarten. He invented the concept, then made it better and now he wants to see how perfect it really is. So do us a favor. Go fool yourself and don't waste your time on us.

Leroy supporter; I need you to go back to the history books, you remember when Claude Wathey was locked up and Willy Haize went to Curacao and get him out of jail, well the next person was suppose to be Leroy... Maybe he did not tell you, that is why he went missing in action...
He is back and his file is back up. So before you start bashing people here get your facts straight please...

Excuse me, but where did he go missing in action. You seem to know something and therefore should enlighten us.

Oh lawd!! I gone leave sxmeye for a while an now and even Leroy making news in here. people people I dont see why the fuss really. He just another one trying to get a free ride with the DP like most the people in the DP now days. He no diffrent. You got old SPA miky ferrier rolocks all up in there now. People like this make the old DP people leave like me and my family. party is not the same Bunch of oppurtunist hypocrits!!!!! Cant do it in the SPA and cant do it on they own so they sneak in and catch a ride on the DP legacy. Party color is red but the people in there is every color but red. Just not months long ago back he was talking about DP and sarah all up and down the place talking now he and his family wearing red. It does make you real laugh. Dont pay no mind people change from this opputinist filled party is coming soon!

Not really. Keturah is proudly supporting the party she ran on at the last election. Just look at her when she drives around the island with NA flags blazing. Hope NA can make a difference!

Barter is a type of trade in which goods or services are exchanged for other goods and/or services. Barters are used in societies where no monetary system exists. When there is one, it is also used in economies suffering from a very unstable currency.

Giving a license or permit against cash is not a barter. It is called a bribe.

You should ask yourself: Why would GGV give 50.000 dollars to the Laveist Foundation. Why not give it to turning point, safe haven, an orphanage, any public school or community sports facility as organizations that really need it? The answer: They can't fix work permits. Laveist can and that is why his foundation gets 50.000 and you don't. Hence a bribe. Plain and simple.
Are the prosecutors sleeping?

I wrote Barter deals, but i must say you put it in fine perspective how you explained that it is not barter but a bribe. Indeed, you are so right.
it is a bribe, there is absolutely no reason that Grand Getaway Vacation has to pay Laveist foundation $50.000 for anything, except for work permits bribes.
As you say, what stopped them from giving directly to Safe Haven, Turning Point and the childrens home? This is an outright bribe and the prosecutors better look into this immediately.
But it comes as no surprise really, as Laveist and his assistant Robelto are known as the envelope guys. They go around to the big hotels and business and collect the money envelopes. I hope that the unions will take this further as well, otherwise I have reason to think they are on the collection line as well.

Betty

'And it is with this I disagree with Ms. Gracita when she called the higher supervision as colonial, she is really on the moon.'

I tend to agree with Gracita. The dutch will only stop the corruption if it benefits them. They are fine and dandy how things are being run now in SXM.

If one of our pesky politicians starts to go out of line with the dutch; You will hear them yell and scream about the corruption on the island as if they never knew it existed. Then they'll use their colonial powers to 'fix it'.

You actually believe the dutch didn't know about that huge price fixing construction scheme in their own back yard?

Very simple and also very difficult. The laws give us all the necessary tools to get rid of corrupt politician, but what the law does not give us, are prosecutors with "cohones " and that are willing to do their job inrespective the person they have to investigate. A prosecutor has to be a man of principle and have the conviction and the desire to clean the island of all these lawless people. He must be a man of strong character and at the same time he has to use wisdom. The law clearly state that who ever carries knowledge of a violation has the option to file a complaint. This information need to be publicized and the people need to be informed of their rights. I would like to see publicize the financial statement from all these non-profit organizations. I mean all of them no matter if its political or not. All these politicians that are given donations are only doing it because of the upcoming election. Many of them are part of the ruling government and they could have advice the government to give subsidies.

The job of a politician is to use the income generated by the taxes to implement a government program whereby all the needs of the people are met and not only a choosen few. We, the people deserve a good education policy and program that include all the children on this island, a good transportation policy and plan which guarantee a road system which is efficient and effective, a good social policy and program to deal with the increasing social problems on this island and not to forget a policy and program to combat the increasing criminal activities on the island.

In 2000 I became the president of a Foundation called the Family Guardian Supervisory. My first agenda point was to review the financial statement of the foundation. None was available and there was no administration. This foundation was established by the department of Justice in 1999 and it was also subsidized the foundation. In order to formulate a financial picture we had to request copies of the bank statements in order to generate a financial statement for the foundation. Further investigation conclude that the previous president used f.30.000.00 from the foundation to fund the Christmas Village a couple of years ago. Even a statement was signed to confirm the above.

Furthermore the credit card from the foundation was used for personal usage. As the federal government was the funding agent I inform them of the situation and up to now I cannot get a reply. I requested a meeting with the Minister of Justice Mr. Martha and no response. I decided to go to Curacao to the Public Prosecutor General Mr. Frits Goedgedrag and brought the situation to his attention and also I ask him to arrange a meeting with Mr. Martha. Knowing that I came from Sint Maarten they told me that it was only possible after 3 days to meet with the minister.

I remain 3 extra days in Curacao. These are my private time that I gave up for what I believe is a good cause. At the appointed time I was told by one of the assistants to the minister that he cannot see me. Unbelievable but true. I return to Sint Maarten but still remain with a strong spirit to fight against the injustice on the island. I spoke with various politicians on this island on this issue but again none them showed interest.

Meanwhile we purchased a home to comply with the objectives of the foundation the Federal Government decided to terminate the subsidy. There I was then with a bank loan and no money to pay for the loan. I had to rent the house in order to pay the bank loan. The project is now on hold because of the lack of funds. I hope one day to write a book on "The story of the Family Guardian Supervisory Foundation". The story includes politicians from Curacao, St.Maarten, former prosecutor Mercks, Mr. Sidney Sorton, Court of Guardian, Minister Martha, Dept of Justice, Mr. Goedgedrag, The police department etc. It is shame how people's rights are being ignored on this island. I could have sold the house and pocket the money but I am a man of prinicples and when you purchase a house for such a noble purpose you cannot sell it. We only owe the bank $12000.00. As soon as we finish with the loan we will try to achieve the objectives of the foundation

An advice to my dear friends on this site : No matter how they trample on you, just continue on and believe in yourself.

Hen Ling

Corrupt politicians. Prosecutors don't seem to move very fast against corruption on Saint Maarten if at all. Seems like the 'anything goes society' lately. Maybe you guys should help them somewhat by filing charges because that is where it starts. But that is where it probably ends too. Has someone ever done so or are you all afraid to speak out ? Maybe wild Willy Haize has balls enough to put Lulu's head on the block. I will certainly commend him for that. I wish I was one of your residents. I'd be at the prosecutor office non stop to ask them answers to the 50 thousand dollar question. Why don't you?

This website used to be so much more informative. It seems like there is so much petty gossiping and less objective discussions. Please bring back the original StMaarten Private Eye.

-Leanne, Pittsburgh PA

What exactly would you like us to do Leanne? Censor comments?

Is it the comments or blogs that you are refering to? You do realise that this is a blog site not a news organisation don't you, that the donations recieved do not even cover the cost of keeping the site online. You do understand that we don't have paid reporters and that most of those writing also have jobs and lives to live too. Blogs are about free speech, of course there are limits on what we permit here, but in general, we do not want to censor or tell people they are too dumb to write here.

How about you write more than one line yourself and explain what exactly you mean and what you think we should do about it. Bare in mind there are elections coming up very soon and it's only natural we get political hacks and idiots starting to make comments here. But it should not be too much of a problem because people like you should be able to see them for what they are and ignore them.

We do have an Election Special Section in the works, each candidate will have their own page and I am sure Flipper will restate guidelines and the behavior that we want, or do not want here.

Maybe you could write more than a line or two and help raise the dicussion level here yourself.
LH

What you consider gossiping is the truth and reality for the people on St. Maarten. Here is where they let others like you know what is happening.
Please respect the bloggers here as we respect your interest of our Island

Wha' happen to da man of action? Isn't he going to complain about the Soualiga patrol 'harrassing' the scratch card scam mob?

Soualiga Patrol holds seven for illegal sale of timeshare - 26th March 2007

Hey Flipper,

Maybe those illegal time share people forgot to contribute to man of actions foundation to help the drug addicts. (or so he says)
I read that the Lt. Governor sent a letter to the unions responding to the questions they had about man of action.
Think it was on www.smn-news.com
The Lt. Governor says that the GGV timeshare people have temporary permits expiring in 2007 and that as for the $50.000 that man of action accepted from GGV, this case was turned over to the prosecutors office.
Lets wait and see if our prosecutors office will handle this case as they should.

Saw in one of your blogs' that larrygreer said he loved teaching in school the children. I think he is the one who worked for ARI a company in Chicago who is our of business selling timeshare and also witha couple of other companies on the island.

Hello:

This is Larry Geer and I am very much alive and well. No I do not work for a Company in Chicago that is out of Business. I am a Sales manager for Oyster Bay Beach Resort in Oyster Pond which is the top selling Timshare resort in the Caribbean. The company that was reprsenting Oyster Bay Beach Resort is no longer representing Oyster Bay Bech Resort in Chicago, but they are very much alive and selling their other resorts in Austria.

As for my teaching children in schools, yes I voluntarilly teach classes in schools as well as the V.K.S. Summer Camp and other groups on the Island on "How to be compassionate towards Animals" as I am Vice President of a non-profit Foundation called Animals R Friends, SXM You can stop by the Mail Box in La Palopa Center in Simpson Bay and make a contribution to Animals R Friends, SXM if you would like. Contributions are appreciated..

I hope that will set your records straight as I have been affiliated with Oyster Bay Beach Resort since 1990., with a few hyatas in between.