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Tone @ the Top
SOAB is the organization that functions as the internal auditor of the government of the Netherlands Antilles. Fifteen (I always thought 2010 – 1994 = 16…) years in business and claims to ‘know government’; SOAB has conducted research on how permits were and are granted within the sector ROB (ruimtelijke ordening & beheer/area planning and management). They were requested to do so on the third of February 09 by the ExCo. A year later their 32 page report, with an analysis of the administrative organization of ROB and its internal control measures, appeared.
Recipe for Transparency: Know Your Rights!
I was asked by sxmobserver in this post how we would fix the huge problem we have with - I assumed - bureaucracy in St. Maarten. A bureaucracy that led to the unbridled and uncontrollable situation of greed and corruption now inherently symptomatic of the department of ROB.
Where are the screams of Nepotism now?
Sometime back with the whole debate erupted about Maria and Toontje and him being on Telem’s board, the word NEPOTISM became the popular term of the day on St. Maarten. At the time I wrote that I have no problems with Nepotism, none whatsoever. And I still don’t. SXMPE writers asked me how could I not. It's simple, I know where I live and the people who get elected. One of the reasons I like nepotism here on SXM in particular is because it gives everybody a chance to prove themselves a hypocrite. And they never fail to dissapoint.
In William Marlin’s case, I knew he was a hypocrite, his latest appointments only re-enforced his standing as king hypocrite. I will get to his so call “achievements” in a later post that I am working on. But back to Nepotism. What is the difference between the nepotism practiced by the National Alliance and that of the Democratic Party? NOT A THING!
MULLET BAY'S DEBRIS
MULLET BAY’S DEBRIS
It would seem as if many people and organizations are making use of the fact that the owner of Sunresorts/Mullet Bay is on the island to say the Mullet Bay buildings should be torn down and while I agree with that in principle, so far I have only seen one proposal as to what should be done with the debris once the buildings have been torn down.
While in a hurricane everything that is now there may not fly about, once demolished it will have become loose debris which will definitely blow about in a storm. So some proper manner needs to be set up for all that debris. I also think that the French side should help in this matter, since many, many people from the French side have earned a living at Mullet Bay, in other words, they hade jobs there when the French could not provide them.
Brooks Tower lines
Today I had a chance to drive by the A.T illidge road where the cues of people standing and waiting to get registered for this wonderful one year permit was very, very long.
I saw men so close to each other backsides in line that they looked like sardines in a can. I could not believe what I was seeing. It had to be real uncomfortable. The women stood in line with umbrellas of all sizes inches away from the faces of those in front and to the back of them. All of this just to get registered for a one year permit. Dec 15th is the last day. And no word of an extension, which I do not support. We had over 3 amnesty programs and the mother of them all, the "Do it right " campaign
My question is:What will happen to all of those people who for some reason or the other didn't get the opportunity to register. Will they go underground?
JOBS FOR THE BOYS...
The front page announcement in the Herald this week that the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau continues to move full speed ahead by hiring Louis Peters to head up its New York Office will provide endless amusement to media watchers on the island. The Herald well known for its faithful duplication of press announcements has clearly neither massaged a word nor questioned why this public appointment was handled so privately?
To those who work in the media, St. Maarten has long been a joke when it comes to promoting its identity. Today, millions of dollars are now chasing an off-island PR bureau. Once hired this supposedly fast track agency was so competent that they even hired a third party to carry out branding activities. So far the only serious writing that has seen the light of day is that of endless invoices and prolific expense declarations. The advisers are advising the advisers.
HOW COULD THIS BE?
Politicians often maintain that they lead by example. Now that the incoming Aruban AVP led government has agreed to a Dutch investigation into past corruption, human examples for examination may be difficult to find. Or will they? Having once tried to contact Nelson Oduber, former prime minister by phone, I was confidently informed that his secretary was never present.
“How could this be?” I asked the telephone operator with a modicum of concern.
“What do you expect? She be his sister in law!” she fired back.
Rightly or wrongly, people in power often forget the past as if focused on the day to day realities of decision making. In Sint Maarten where road projects and gasification contracts are self-awarded, there are salutary lessons and examples to be learned from the past.
Commissions for commissioners may well be difficult to locate but time and tenacity wait for no man. Fiscal and financial landscapes are changing rapidly. Even when bogus companies, trusts and apparent third party dealmakers disguise the true nature of transactions, detection is but an arm’s length away.
For such island politicians and attendant dishonest lawyers, the decision to leave the public platform should be immediate. The French have coined a phrase with which I am sure Hero Brinkman is most acquainted:
L’histoire se repete (history repeats itself).
PUCKER UP!!
I am now TRULY convinced that the government of St. Maarten, no matter which party is in power, is the flag bearer as we walk our way further up Ansari's behind. The puppet show that was put on at USM's anniversary was so sickening I am actually left speechless. Our government, led by William Marlin who stood there holding ansari's hand like someone who practices the the oldest profession in the world, HONORED Ansari! Honored him mind you.
Everybody was seeking a photo op with this insulting man instead of saying LOOK! Clean this sh!t up or we will do it for you. Oh no, Marlin and the rest proceeded to kiss his behind in a disgusting display of we love his money more than we love SXM. Anybody suprised that Ansari threw out a figure of $2.4 million for public housing in that insulting offer last week? Anybody doubts that the figure came from the lips of William Marlin (the commissioner in charge of Public Housing)who school children say met with Ansari a few months ago? It's so transparent it's ridiculous.
I won't even make this entry long cause I believe as long as the people keep following Marlin et al up Ansari's behind, then we deserve to come out smelling like s*!t! These people are all cut from the same cloth. Absolutely incredible.
Juliana Jno Baptiste
ST. MAARTEN AND TOURISM
SINT MAARTEN AND TOURISM
Today’s newspapers would have us believe that diversity drives SXM tourism. Is that rue? Diversity of people there is on the island- but do tourists come here for that? And does SXM really offer something for ALL tourists? When I think of St Barths and Anguilla and their high en tourism what do we offer that is comparable? Port de Plaisance, La Samana and Anse Marcel. Detracting from them is the Mullet Bay war zone, which would have been torn down long ago had it belonged to a local. How bad does something have to get before government can step in and pull it down?
WHY LEGALIZATION WON'T WORK
WHY LEGALIZATION WON’T WORK
Every so often certain countries legalize thousands of people who entered the country illegally or who entered legally and then simply overstayed and never left. This island has legalized many simply because they were here for a certain length of time.
On French Saint Martin these immigrants are mostly Haitians, and unskilled an unable to read and write. However, because this island is part French, once they get here, they are treated to social services that normal citizens have a hard time obtaining, even when they pay their dues.
