SXM StMaartenNews April 2023 Edition

Exclusive interview with Minister of Justice

Part 1

Anna Richardson

PHILIPSBURG – In an exclusive interview with StMaartenNews.com, Minister of Justice Anna Richardson had the opportunity to explain the dynamics surrounding the justice workers function books, their legal positions and salary scales and the placement process.

“I’m always grateful for the opportunity to just be alive and be able to positively contribute to the community of St. Maarten.” were the opening statements of the minister as she was welcomed to the interview.

Asked about her term in office and the fact that she is now entering the last year, the minister had the following to say: “I complement this coalition for being able to withstand the turbulence that we’ve experienced thus far. I think that this government has been able to achieve a lot because of the stability that this coalition has brought for St. Maarten. So, I commend on both sides of the spectrum for the opportunity to be in this capacity to serve without interference and looking forward to completing this.”

The Minister of Justice was recently on a working visit to Copenhagen in Denmark for the signing of an agreement with UNOPS regarding the construction of a new prison system on St. Maarten. UNOPS, United Nations Office for Projects Services, is a United Nations agency dedicated to implementing infrastructure and procurement projects for the United Nations system, international financial institutions, governments and other partners around the world. We asked the minister to tell us about this. “This was the next phase and final phase of being able to seal the deal with UNOPS.” she explained. “Having the United Nations work along with our little rock within this world is a great achievement for St. Maarten and opens new opportunities.”

Last year, the Minister of Justice signed the agreement with UNOPS for the St. Maarten to be able to move forward with establishing a new prison facility on the island. With the trip to Denmark, the Minister of Justice accompanied the Prime Minister for the signing of the host country agreement

which would enable UNOPS to establish itself on St. Maarten to proceed with its first project and that being the establishment of our new prison facility.

This led to the question for an update on the prison situation in terms of the function book, a situation that not only affects the prison, but all the departments within the justice chain as well. “I’m happy that you stated it like that because some were under the impression that it was only for the police. But as Minister of Justice, I have a responsibility to the entire law enforcement structure. Indeed, that does incorporate the prison facility, because one of the things that I need the public to understand is that every agency within the Ministry of Justice is valued. Each and every one of these agencies has a role and responsibility within our justice chain and to the community of St. Maarten in terms of law enforcement, safety and security.”

The minister explained that the function book is for the entire Ministry of Justice with

all the relevant departments within the organization. The exception is the Court of Guardianship because the LIOL (Landsverordening Inrichting en Organisatie Landsoverheid), the national ordinance on structure and organization for that entity, has to be updated.

“That is a whole legislative process that has to go to Parliament to finally incorporate an agency such as the Court of Guardianship that does fall under the Ministry of Justice, but just on a foundation aspect. So, we’re busy trying to change that.”

“But overall speaking, the function book is about establishing the description of everyone’s function and what weight that carries. The ministry has never had that, and it was approved in December 2021 by His Excellency and my person in this capacity. But it is pending to be activated or enacted, which will accompany the new police law. And I say new because the police do have a law. It is the Rechtspositie KPNA that the court has removed, and it is now KPSM that is currently active.”

“What we are introducing now and seek to be signed by the Governor, within short, is the ‘rechtspositie’ or the police law for all agencies that have police tasks, so that incorporates KPSM, Landsrecherche and the aspect of the mobile unit and immigration at our borders. And then eventually, we want to incorporate Customs Department as well as the Prison because prison guards as well are outfitted with weapons. And anyone who’s carrying out such tasks should be incorporated in the structural benefits that come under the new police law. So that is where we are in establishing the function book. Asked to confirm that her ministry is one of the biggest ministries on the island, the minister confirmed that there are over 700 persons within nine departments. “But there are also subparts that also fall under the ministry.” the minister explained further. “Those are foundations that also get subsidies directly from the Ministry of Justice. So, for example, our probation department is not particularly a department, but it is subsidized solely by the Ministry of Justice.

In an open and frank conversation the minister talks about the latest developments surrounding the justice workers function books, salary scales and placement positions

Minister Richardson: “My intention is that the staff will be fairly compensated”

PHILIPSBURG -- There is a discord between some employees of the Justice Ministry and the unions that represent them. This appears from our exclusive interview with Minister of Justice Anna Richardson.

“I am happy that we could have one-on-one discussions with our staff,” Richardson said. “They want to

know where the numbers are coming from. I have heard them say: I do not agree with agreements made by the union. I was baffled when I heard that, because the impression has been created that the unions represent that staff. And now staff members are saying: no, I do not agree with that; and they were never consulted.”

Some staff members get

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entangled in discussion with politicians, Minister Richardson says. “They tell them: we are going to send this minister home. If this minister is going home, who is going to pick it up and complete it for them? My intention is to fix this matter in the interest of the staff, to make sure that they are fairly compensated.”

The go-slow action at the police force is an expression of the frustration-level among employees of the ministry, and Richardson understands that. The matter of the function book, payment arrears and the legal position of each individual staff member are hot topics that have unfortunately also been drawn into the political arena.

Richardson: “A lot of politics is being played right now and the minister is getting all the heat. I am gonna take that. But there is so much dishonesty coming from people we should be able to respect.”

The minister emphasized that the function book was approved by her and by the governor in 2020 but that it still has to be activated. “That has to go in conjunction with the new police law.”

The placement letters that some have labelled as unlawful, are a first step towards doing right by the staff. Once there is an agreement about their contents, a national decree signed by the minister and the governor will settle the matter.

According to Minister Richardson, her staff has been working throughout the night to get the placement

letters ready and delivered. That the process is not going as fast as desired is due to the fact that the contents of each letter have to be verified, based on historic information. There are four staff members allocated to prepare the letters for the 700+ staff members.

Richardson notes that the ministry is not giving preferential treatment to any department. “I am responsible for the entire law enforcement structure. Every agency within the ministry is valued. They all have their roles and their responsibilities.”

While politicians have eagerly jumped onto the bandwagon to have their say about the issues that plague the department, Minister Richardson remains skeptical of their role in parliament. “Nobody brought a motion during the budget debate to allocate more money for the justice workers,” she observed. “Not one.”

The ministry has opened a dedicated email address where staff members can send their objections to the contents of their placement letter. “We received complaints from some staffers who said that they had not received an answer. They

are right. We have four people working on the placement letters and that are the same people who have to answer those emails.” Below you can watch the full interview recording with the minister of justice at your convenience.

In a part three of our review of the interview, we will look further in depth at the following topics the minister talked about during the interview:

• Status of the Function Books.

• The ratification of the function books, the salary scales and the positions/ placements of the justice workers.

• The tedious process of determining/calculating the payment each justice worker has to get.

• The available money to make the payments. Based on the Covenant with the Unions, payments will be done in terms spread out over maximum 5 tranches. Depending on how much is owed to each worker. The minister also touched on where the rest of the money will come from..

To be continued.... Part 3Minister Richardson on the tedious process of how the amounts owed to each justice worker are determined.

Part 2

Justice employee questions function book saga

matter: “The function book can only be approved if the financial consequences are known.”

PHILIPSBURG -- Justice

Minister Anna Richardson provided smooth answers about the plight of employees at her department during question hour in parliament last week Thursday but a review of the ongoing saga about the function books shows that the process to arrive at a solution is taking forever.

A letter from a disgruntled justice-employee offers some historic perspective. On December 30, 2022, by now more than three months ago, the ministry published a press release stating that the governor had asked for a total sum calculation prior to signing off on legislation that regulates the legal position of justice-workers.

The writer points out that former Governor Holiday stressed during the opening of the 2022-2023 parliamentary the importance of completing the regulation of the legal position of the personnel in the justice chain.

The ministry’s press release stated that it approved the justice function book per December 2021 - that’s already more than sixteen months ago. It also mentions that the draft legal position regulation for the police of St. Maarten was “pending approval by the governor.”

The letter from the disappointed employee quotes from the ministry’s press release: “Once the draft Legal Position Regulation is approved by Governor Baly, and finally by Minister Richardson, the decrees for police personnel stating the new salary scale and step of each concerning civil servant will be drafted and formalized. This final step will then enable the Function Book of December 2021, to be ratified and established.” Then the writer hits upon what feels as the crux of the

The letter goes on to note that there is no approved function book for several departments within the ministry of justice nor an approved legal position regulation for the police (KPSM), the Immigration and Border Patrol (IBP), the Customs Department and the Coast Guard. While the ministry has been sending placement letters to several of its employees, Independent MP Christophe Emmanuel noted on Thursday that out of fifteen workers he spoke with, only two agree with the content of that letter. In other words: there is still a lot of work to be done.

The letter writer reproaches Minister Richardson, who previously worked in the banking sector, of creating compliance functions, while “the government apparatus already has specific laws, regulations, policies and procedures to ensure that civil servants adhere to them.”

The same applies to the creation of the function of facilities workers: “There is already a general facilities service department within the ministry of general affairs that handles all the building maintenance for the government.”

That employees who received a placement letter can appeal its contents is also reason for amazement:

“How can the staff appeal a placement decision when there is no approved function book and no approved legal position regulation for the police?”

On a personal level the letter writer questions the credibility of Alvin Daal, a consultant who has been appointed as the chair of the placement committee. The letter describes Daal as a civil servant who works for the ministry of Health and Environment in Curacao, owns a company called AD Change Facilitators and who works from his home for the ministry of justice. “He never lived or resided

on St. Maarten. According to rumors, Mr. Daal is of the opinion that St. Maarten’s civil servants are unqualified for the positions they presently hold.”

The writer furthermore criticizes the appointment of Florence Marlin as a senior policy advisor, head of the human resources department and acting secretarygeneral of the ministry and of Grace Marlin-Blijden at personnel affairs.

Lastly, the writer expresses concerns about the involvement of companies like Antek (charged with retrieving historical data about jus-

tice-employees) because this puts “sensitive personnel information in the hands of third parties, which can be detrimental to the ministry and the government.”

The writer expresses a rather negative opinion about Minister Richardson. “This minister of justice has the worst cabinet staff in history and she is the most controversial minister the ministry has ever had.”

And in the end, that negative opinion also applies to other decision makers: “The entire government of St. Maarten has created an atmosphere of disgruntled civil servants.”

Injustice at the Ministry of

We need leaders not in love with money but in love with justice, not in love with publicity but in love with humanity ~

Martin Luther King Jr.

Dear Editor,

On 30th December 2022, the Ministry of Justice published the press release: Governor requires total sum calculation prior to signing legal position regulation. This release has two critical statements, and I quote, “With the approved Ministry of Justice Function Book of December 2021, the draft Legal Position Regulation for the Police of Sint Maarten currently pending approval and signature from His Excellency Governor Ajamu Baly, and the start of the placement process of the personnel of the Ministry”.

“Once the draft Legal Position Regulation is approved by Governor Baly, and finally by Minister Richardson, the decrees for police personnel stating the new salary scale and step of each concerning civil servant will be drafted and formalized. This final step will then enable the Function Book of December 2021, to be ratified and established”.

Note: In the former Governor of Sint Maarten, drs. Eugene B. Holiday, address delivered on the occasion of the opening of the parliamentary year 2022-2023, mentioned that an important priority of the Government is the ongoing work to complete legislation regulating the legal position of the personnel in the justice chain, in general, and of the police, in particular. The function book can only be approved if the financial con-

sequences are known. There are inconsistencies, for instance, when it comes to scaling. A civil servant cannot be paid higher in a department of the Justice Ministry and lower in another department for the same function in the rest of the Government. The same should also apply to the position of a section head. A section head within the Ministry of Justice should not earn more than a section head within the rest of the Government. It is inequity. Some functions in the function book need a function description and adjustment of specific job titles.

Justice Ministry needs to fix all these and other inconsistencies in addition to the financial consequences. Only then can the Minister of Justice resubmit the final revised draft to His Excellency Governor Mr. Ajamu G. Baly. LL.M. Only when he receives those corrected documents and signs them off will the Ministry of Justice have an approved function book and then be able to implement it. As a former bank worker, the Minister of Justice has deemed it fit to include Compliance positions within the function book. The Government apparatus already has specific laws, regulations, policies and procedures that ensure civil servants adhere to them. Has she created these positions to give more of her former bank colleagues and friends jobs? After all, with the emergence of digital banking platforms, jobs are slowly becoming obsolete in the banking sector. They have also created the Facilities Worker function in several departments within the Ministry of Justice. At the same time, there is al-

ready a general Facilities Services department within the Ministry of General Affairs that handles all the building maintenance etc., for the Government.

Sint Maarten has gained country status within the Kingdom of The Netherlands for almost thirteen years. There is no approved Function Book for several departments within the Ministry of Justice nor an approved Legal Position Regulation for the Police of Sint Maarten (KPSM), the Immigration and Border Patrol (IBP), the Customs Department and the Coast Guard of Sint Maarten. Still, by order of the Minister of Justice, the placement committee has sent placement offer letters to some Justice workers of several departments. In these letters, the justice workers are informed, among other things, to notify the HR department of the Ministry of Justice if they need to correct the information in their placement offer letters. They should do this within 30 days. The letter further states that this correction notification should not be seen as an appeal according to the “Landsverordening Sociaal Statuut Opbouw Land Sint Maarten”. During this placement process, each justice worker can appeal the placement decision. How can the staff appeal to the placement decision when there is no approved Function Book of the Ministry of Justice nor an approved Legal Position Regulation for the Police of Sint Maarten (KPSM), the Immigration and Border Patrol (IBP), the Customs Department and the Coast Guard of Sint Maarten?

The placement committee has two members who are crucial in this placement process. They are Mr. Alvin Daal and Ms. Florence Marlin.

Mr. Alvin Daal, who has a contract with the Ministry of Justice as a consultant, is also the chairman of the placement committee and advisor on HR restructuring to the Minister of Justice.

The National Decree (LB) Minister Richardson granted to Mr. Daal gives him the legal basis to function as a consultant. When was this national decree issued, and what is the content? Does it give him the right to be a placement committee member and sign official personnel documents? Why didn’t the Minister of Justice sign those placement offer letters?

In her last parliamentary public meeting, Minister Richardson stated that the signatures on the placement offer letters looks digitalized to the Justice workers. She continued to try to explain that when she came into the organization, the immigration system was not digitalized. Every Friday, she would sit signing hundreds of permits by hand, which gets tiring, and she would then structure herself digitally that the signature is digitalized. This only confirms that the Minister has a digital signature. The Minister could have easily signed the placement offer letters herself. This would not be tiring, seeing that she has a digital signature.

It should be noted that all signatures on each placement offer letter are identical copies of the other, which means they are digital. This

makes it very dangerous because the letters are susceptible to fraud.

Minister Richardson also stated on the floor of parliament that Mr. Daal would assist the Ministry, and only his per diem is covered when he comes to Sint Maarten. Is Mr. Daal then working for free? Currently, Mr. Daal is a civil servant from Curaçao with the Ministry of Health Environment and Nature and owner of the sole proprietorship AD Change Facilitators B.V. registered in Curaçao while working from his home for the Ministry of Justice. He never lived or resided on Sint Maarten. Mr. Daal exhibits superiority and always shows a lack of respect towards locals and belittles them. It was once rumoured that Mr. Daal said that the majority of Sint Maarten’s civil servants are unqualified for their present positions. The Minister of Justice later debunked this comment in a statement in the press. Mr. Alvin Daal has caused restructuring issues in Curaçao. Does he now have the same agenda for Sint Maarten?

In an article earlier this year, Minister Richardson introduced Ms. Florence Marlin as HR Senior Policy Advisor. The Minister placed Ms.

Justice of Sint Maarten

Marlin as Head of Human Resources and (acting) Secretary-General of the Ministry of Justice. It is unconstitutional for a person to hold three positions simultaneously. Does Ms. Marlin have a national decree to execute any of the three functions?

With that said, anyone with the position of (acting) Secretary-General needs to follow the proper recruitment procedure, including screening, a police report and the Council of Ministers (CoM) approval to gain insight into crucial documents.

Another person of interest is Mrs. Grace Marlin-Blijden. She also has a contractual agreement with the Ministry and oversees all the personnel affairs. Once again, there is a person the Minister of Justice has put in a position without following the proper recruitment procedures that the Government of Sint Maarten requires. These actions are blatant mismanagement of the Ministry and clearly violate any code of conduct. It goes without saying that this Minister of Justice lacks integrity. Are these placement offer letters, signed by Mr. Alvin Daal and Ms. Florence Marlin, even valid?

Where is the Prime Minister, Ms. Silveria E. Jacobs, and her Cabinet (The Council of Ministers) in all of this? Isn’t this a task of the Government of Sint Maarten? After all, all of the function books are the responsibility of the Government of Sint Maarten (Council of Ministers and the Governor of Sint Maarten).

In addition to the police officers and support staff of KPSM, certain persons within the National Detectives (Landsrecherche) and Border

Patrol and Mobile Unit from Immigration, other justice workers of the different departments within the Justice Ministry are also entitled to retroactive payments. Financially these Justice workers have also been negatively affected by this long trajectory due to years of overdue rectifications.

The same press release of 30th December 2022 mentions that the Ministry of Justice has consulted the company Antek IT Solutions to retrieve historical data of all employees. Minister Richardson further states in the parliamentary public meeting of mid-March 2023 that the company will use this information to calculate the payments for justice workers. The calculation process includes gathering sensitive information so that Government can indicate what each person is rightfully due. It relies on the staff going into the history, which is supported by Antek IT Solutions, who provides the system for the Government of Sint Maarten’s payroll, working with Wages and Salaries (Loon & Salarissen) and even getting bank statements to confirm what had been issued prior to any further payments.

The Ministry of Justice also has a working agreement with Computec IT Services and IT Consulting, which now has access to sensitive information at the Admittance and Residence department. Isn’t this the same company involved in the fraud case against the embattled former head of the general ICT department? Is it wise for a third party to have access to Government confidential data? Once

again, sensitive information is in the hands of third parties, which can be detrimental to the Ministry and Government of Sint Maarten. Outsourcing government services to private contractors is causing the Government more money than would be the case if those responsible sectors could receive the needed resources and qualified staff to do the work. This dip in the country’s budget contributes to the need for more available funds for other vital matters. The unnecessary spending over the past years has placed this country in a difficult financial position where budget cuts have to occur. These cuts have been and will continue to affect civil servants’ productivity, but not the ministers and their cabinet staff, for the ministers and their staff come and go while civil servants remain. How can outsourcing not be a hefty cost for the budget of the Government of Sint Maarten, as stated in Minster Richardson’s last parliamentary public meeting on 5th April 2023?

While the Council of Ministers got new service telephones recently, some departments within the Ministry of Justice urgently need service telephones to carry out their daily duties. This is also the case with service vehicles in several departments within the Ministry of Justice. In the history of the Government of Sint Maarten, this Minister of Justice has the worst cabinet staff to date. A few of her cabinet staff left the cabinet, leaving over with only a few people. Presently, her cabinet is occupied by young, unqualified staff clueless about what the job

+1-721-523-3564

entails. This Minister has gone as far as unofficially allowing cabinet staff members to perform work in sectors of the Ministry that require the proper recruitment procedures. The Minister of VROMI, Mr. Egbert J. Doran, is also being accused of similar types of nepotism and cronyism.

Isn’t he the former Minister of Justice, who the present Minister of Justice blamed for the calculation delay in her last parliamentary public meeting on Thursday, 5th April 2023? Was the deadline of 31st March 2023 set by Mr. Cor Merx, the NAPB’s Union lawyer, the reason Minister Richardson issued the placement offer letters before the approval of the Function Book and Legal Position Regulation?

How can the Minister of Justice claim that the function book is approved when it is not? Is it possible that this Minister will rush this complex process because there is less than a year left for her to be in office? Why have so many civil servants received placement offer letters that need correction? There are too many discrepancies in the function book for it to be an approved Function Book, as is claimed by the Minister of Justice.

Minister Richardson felt confident about sending the package, which included the function book, the legal position regulation, and remuneration, to the Governor’s Cabinet because two million guilders were reserved on the budget. It is clear that the package that was sent to the Governor’s Cabinet was returned unapproved. This is the final place where

advices and proposals are evaluated in accordance with the prevailing rules and agreements. The Minister of Justice reiterated in the parliamentary public meeting on 5th April 2023 that a National Decree Containing General Regulations (Landsbesluit, houdende algemene maatregelen - LBham) establishes a legal position regulation. A National Decree (LB) establishes the salary scales and enacts an approved function book.

In conclusion, the issued placement offer letters are not valid.

This Minister, Anna E. Richardson, is the most controversial Minister the Ministry of Justice has ever had. Everyone can reflect on her behaviour in her outburst with the police and immigration officers outside the Government Administration Building when she first took office in 2020. Her attitude in parliament towards the Members of Parliament is also very demeaning. She has had encounters with the Ministry of Justice staff members where her behaviour was very unprofessional, especially for someone holding a highranking position. Of all the Ministers of Justice, she has suspended and fired more staff members for personal feelings. The Minister of Justice uses many departments within the Ministry as tools for her personal agenda.

The entire Government of Sint Maarten has created an atmosphere of disgruntled civil servants who have dedicated many years to having very limited resources while being underpaid.

Name withheld on request

Ministry of Justice takes on tedious and monumental task diligently

Part 3

PHILIPSBURG -- Why does it take so long before the Ministry of Justice had completed all the necessary information about its staff members? Minister Anna Richardson took StMaartenNews.com on a tour to show what is happening behind the scenes: a monumental undertaking with a single goal: to make sure that in the end every individual staff member receives what is owed to them.

Florence Marlin is the ministry’s Acting SecretaryGeneral, its head of the Human Resources Department and also a member of the Placement Committee. “Before this month is out

everybody will have received a placement letter.”

“Before this month is out everybody will have received a placement letter,” Ms. Marlin said. The information these letters contain obviously has to be accurate. It is retrieved from an Excel-sheet that is produced by the different department heads. It shows the history of each individual staff member, indicating their function and on which date that came into play. It soon appeared that not all information was readily available. Marlin had to look for it and to that end she contacted department heads, who in turn spoke with their staff members for the necessary corrections.

Saskia Thomas-Solomon is the head of the Financial Division, the place where the final calculations are made. “It is a monumental task,” she says, “Because we are dealing with thirteen years of data. We look at what staff members actually received. We are talking about information about more than 700 staff members going back all the way to 1010-10.”

That is not an easy task. There are personnel files for each individual year that show changes in social premiums and taxes. “We calculate the social and pension premiums and the taxes to get a full account of what it would have cost the government.”

Those calculations are crucial for the eventual outcome: “One increment for a group

makes a difference of a million guilders.” Finding the correct information is a challenge because the ministry used different salary systems and codes over the years. “One year worth of data is more than 95,000 lines of code,” Thomas-Solomon says. “We have to figure out whether someone received retroactive payments, what premiums they contributed and what allow-

ances they received. A 25 percent allowance makes a big difference in the end figure.” With the tour for StMaartenNews.com, minister Richardson wanted to show what is happening behind the scenes and to explain why the whole process is taking so much time.

Readers can watch the ‘Behind-the-Scenes’-video on the StMaartenNews.com website

The amount of data being processed is equivalent to doing a census

The Caribbean airlift dilemma

The Caribbean region is suffering from a border airlift disorder that produces the most intense chronic agony and distress in those who suffer from this condition which encompasses the functions of tourism, trade, commerce and social interaction.

Airlift in the region appears to be in a continuous twilightzone of dreaming and failure fueled by assumptions and imagination. Summits are held and committees are formed and the conclusions of the deliberations

by Cdr. Bud Slabbaert

have the value of being flat, dull, or trite. The oratory is characterized by ordinary platitudes. The headlines of the media coverage of the meetings are the same five or ten years ago as the current ones which indicates that after the public exposure fades, things return to inaction and suffering in silence.

The Caribbean should not have an airlift problem. The firmament above the region is the same, the air that one breathes is the same. Taking to the skies seems to be a different ballgame.

For one, there is a people problem. People who create problems and people who stand in the way of solving them. What boosts the problem are the people who don’t know the heck what they are talking about, yet, having a decisive voice.

Secondly, the Caribbean is a quagmire of territories, jurisdictions, and controls. Next: try to define the Caribbean. The archipelago from Cuba to Trinidad? What about the coastal areas of Central America? Some add Bermuda and the Guyana’s. Statistics un-

der the generic term ‘Caribbean’ are best defined as a punchbowl.

The airlift problem is not the air or the sky. It is not even the equipment or the needed skills to take to the sky or navigating in the skies. Let me give you a hint of what constitutes the problem.

Former French President Charles de Gaulle once said: “How can you govern a country that has 246 varieties of cheese?”

What is needed to rise above any cliché or dogma and enable the transition to a dimension of sustainable action? It may emphasize aviation but also must embrace the impact on tourism and local economies. It must be characterized by generous amounts of latitude, attitude

and magnitude and having the height of being above the current reference of anything.

A new attitude towards positive development and impact must be accommodated through freedom from narrow restrictions and freedom of action. It may be too much to expect to reach a galactic latitude, however great significance and consequence are within reach. Create friendly and open skies for air mobility to bloom and flourish.

Where is the leader in the Caribbean who can take on the challenge of creating a mechanism for transformation and redemptive communication aiming for results and solutions and which shall be raised above the level of the current surrounding environment of circumstances? Who can unite and assist in solving air transportation problems of various kinds without having an acute masochist or a serious Messiah complex? Of absolute importance is to be assured of the support of like-minded persons, or businesses, or government authorities. Where oh where are the leaders and the solutions?

SEC files complaint against crypto-founder promoted by MP Brison

PHILIPSBURG -- On January 25, TRON DAO

“proudly” announced that St. Maarten would initiate a law to make TRON the country’s blockchain technology and TRON-based crypto currency its legal tender. On March 22, the American Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it had filed a complaint against TRON-founder Justin Sun for the unregistered sale of crypto asset securities Tronix (TRX) and BitTorrent (BTT) and for fraudulently manipulating secondary markets for TRX.

Sun, a 32-year old Chinese crypto-entrepreneur who obtained a masters from the University of Pennsylvania also allegedly made illegal payments to eight celebrities to tout TRX and BTT. One of those celebrities, actress Lindsay Lohan, received $10,000 to promote the cryptos.

The SEC also charges Sun with extensive wash trading: the simultaneous and nearsimultaneous purchase and sale of TRX to make it appear actively traded without an actual change of beneficial ownership. Six of the eight celebrities paid altogether $400,000 to settle the charges against them.

The TRON-controversy and the charges against its founder Sun also put MP Rolando Brison in an awkward position. Tron’s announcement that St. Maarten would initiate a law to make its platform the country’s blockchain technology was not completely accurate. Not the country, but MP Rolando Brison promised taking steps to make TRON St. Maarten’s default blockchain technology.

Brison has been promoting crypto currency for some time. In March 2022 he requested that his salary be paid in Bitcoin Cash. Finance Minister Ardwell Irion said that he received the request but that it was never executed.

A crypto promoter called Marc, who publishes regular videos about the topic, recently commented on Brison’s ar-

rest on suspicion of bribery. He mentioned a possible link between crypto and the bribery as a possible reason for the arrest.

A tweet from someone called David connected the dots: “So let me get this right… Out of the blue in January, Justin Sun *persuades* MP Rolando Brison to accept TRON as legal tender in St. Maarten. Then in February Justin Sun gets his diplomatic immunity and status revoked in Grenada, for reasons unknown. Then in March, St. Maarten MP Rolando Brison gets arrested for accepting bribes.”

Bitcoin promoter Marc is not so sure, though he still has his doubts: “If there was crypto currency involved in Brison’s bribery it was most likely TRON.” He furthermore noted that the arrest is causing reputational damage to crypto.

Bitcoin.com News announced on March 19, 2022, Brison’s request to convert his salary into Bitcoin Cash. The article mentions that Brison wants St. Maarten to become “the crypto capital of the Caribbean.” It furthermore states that Brison intends to translate Dominica’s Virtual Asset Business legislation in a manner that fits the Dutch legal system and the local economy. Dominica approved this legislation in May 2022, but so far nothing more has become public about Brison’s translation-promises.

“Allowing crypto currency to continue totally unregulated in St. Maarten is extremely risky and we have to be proactive,” Bitcoin.com News quoted Brison as saying in 2022.

The SEC filed its complaint against Justin Sun at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Its filing claims that Sun directed employees to engage in more than 600,000 wash tradings between April 2018 and February 2019. According to the SEC, Sun generated $31 million by illegally selling TRX in secondary markets.

After the SEC-complaints became public Sun tweeted that the charges are “without merit.”

SHTA, Port St. Maarten Discuss Homeporting

This past Thursday, the St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA) and Port St. Maarten Group (PSG) organized a meeting to discuss effects and forward strategy of St. Maarten as a homeporting destination. The meeting served to evaluate the benefits and challenges of Homeporting for country St. Maarten after three years of expansion of this tourism product.

Amongst the 24 delegates of the port-initiated meeting were hoteliers, destination management companies (DMC’s) and representatives of Port St. Maarten Group and the St. Maarten Tourism Bureau (STB). Past experiences and opportunities as well as challenges going forward were explored during the meeting.

Homeporting stands for the use of destination St. Maarten as a base of departure, provisioning and preparation of cruise ships before and after making a tour throughout the Caribbean. Many visitors as well as cruise crew members add stayover nights to their trip to St. Maarten, being beneficial to hotels, restaurants, activities and retail. The perceived challenge with homeporting globally however is that it puts additional strain on logistics, infrastructure and last but not least hotel rooms.

Examples of American and Caribbean destinations were discussed during the meeting. In these destinations, it’s been observed that passen-

gers and crew barely visited the destination by means of pre or post stays, hotel rooms thus occupied only for one day a week barring tourists looking for a longer stay and putting a significant strain on traffic, airlift and prices. As both stayover and cruise passengers start their holidays in the weekends, they compete for hotel rooms and modes of transport on the same days.

It is Port CEO Alexander Gumbs’ deliberate strategy to avoid above situations and encourage passengers to stay for extra days, or even a week on the island. “Homeporting is first and foremost beneficial when its passengers take some days to dine, shop and do activities on island. It is our target to entice tourists to combine their cruise with a stay on the island, also to spread peaks of transport demand throughout the week”.

Having a frank discussion about how to best guide this process from both a hospitality and port perspective was key to Thursday’s meeting. In general, hoteliers commended both port and government for the expansion of St. Maarten as a homeporting destination. Most hotels saw benefits in additional visitors and crew members over the past years. The added hotel stays have especially been helpful during the pandemic, when international tourism was restricted globally. Forecasts were discussed as developments for the large operations in the port require adequate long range planning. All present agreed that a “holistic vision” should lead

future growth of the destination, not one in which the various tourism sectors develop in silos.

In conjunction, the hotel industry and the port stressed the urgency of solutions for the ongoing traffic challenge. Within a few years, the St. Maarten hotel room count will supersede its highest point of 2017. Also, the short term rental industry has grown tremendously. In conjunction with the port expanding services, under the current circumstances traffic will become an increasing bottleneck for growth. Other challenges discussed were airport capacity and potential tourism taxation. Expansion to homeport larger vessels can only take place when the airport is fully restored to its former capacity. Current airlift is highly limited, cruise and passenger crew putting further pressure on availability and pricing. Though high airlift prices are a global and undesired current phenomenon, expanding airlift is seen as a crucial next step for destination growth to both provide capacity and lower prices.

The risk of any taxation increases, especially without investing in the tourism product was considered a profound challenge for the destination. Destination marketing expenditure is very low compared to other Caribbean destinations. Especially, in the wake of a difficult period beginning 2017 for the island’s key industry, any tourism taxation should be expected to produce an adverse effect.

By Terrance Rey

Jumbie in the Kadaster

Column

There’s

a jumbie haunting the Kadaster. Years ago, there was a story about a ghost in the courthouse. But that was a story that sprang from the mind of marketer and salesman extraordinaire Lenny Schultz who made fame in Sint Maarten at the time in timeshare sales and as a radio DJ with his good friend James Morris, known as Jimbo from Jimbo’s Restaurant.

Lenny also did sales and marketing for Zebrabot. com, the first search engine on Sint Maarten in the early 2000s. For one of their online marketing campaigns, Lenny wrote the story The Ghost in the Courthouse. It was a figment of the imagination of Lenny, who sadly left us in 2009 after an evening of enjoying delicious pizza and ice cream. His body gave up after a year-long battle with cancer. Anyway, The Ghost in the Courthouse was very popular in Zebrabot’s search results. Whether it was really haunted in the courthouse, I don’t know. Where it is haunted is the Parliament building next door. But that’s a story for another time.

On the other hand, the specter in the Kadaster is a story that has haunted it for a long time: old crumbling illegible, poorly preserved deeds that go back decades and that, if they went the way of Zebrabot, would mean the end of a national and cultural archive that serves as a wealth of historical information about Sint Maarten. In these archives there are interesting family stories that give a colorful picture of history from a different perspective than that of conventional historians and that will certainly contribute to the further formation of the Sint Maarten identity.

The Stichting Kadaster en Hypotheekwezen St. Maarten was founded in April 1999 after the implementation of the administrative tasks of the Cadastre

and Public Registers (Kadaster en Openbare Registers) became independent in 1998. It was remarkable in itself that the government allowed such vital services to be managed exclusively by a private entity – at arm’s length, but nonetheless without the requirement that a concession fee, surplus or profits be paid to the government. Now the Ministry of Finance wants to avoid the debacle in Curaçao, where the government was left emptyhanded when it tried to make a grab in the coffers of the Kadaster Office there through the court system and the use of bailiff. Now our MinFIN wants to solve this legal limitation by entering into a concession agreement with the Kadaster foundation whereby it is obliged to pay surplus amounts to the government. But a concession means that several parties must be given the opportunity to make an offer to perform these tasks. The government must choose the best offer. I’ll stop here because there are other snags to this issue.

In any case, I do not think that a private party can be charged with the responsibility for legal certainty for cadastral registration and property rights, including the various land rights, apartments, border (re)construction (surveying) and mortgage registrations.

The Kadaster is of national importance and must therefore be well equipped to function. That means knowledge (qualified and well-trained personnel) and tools (hardware and software). The Kadaster is not only important for economic purposes, but also for cultural-historical purposes. Therefore, politicians should set aside their political ideologies — if they have any at all — and instead approach the Kadaster with respect to the broader national interest. The economic importance of the Kadaster is well known and needs to be

further investigated. It is the cultural-historical importance that most people are not aware of. Due to ignorance and neglect, some registers were in such a deteriorated state that they became illegible. A trend must be set in motion to record family stories and take photos of family members with permission to keep the records for future generations. The idea behind this is that when people die they take a piece of history with them and when a deed is read out, names pop up, but there is no picture of those involved. By capturing and photographing, we preserve the history so that over time all kinds of researchers can use this data. At the time, this was started in the context of the ‘memory of the world’ project. Assistance can even be requested from the Royal Archives in The Hague. It is essential to recognize the importance of the Kadaster archives for the cultural history of the island. It is the wish that the politicians recognize the importance of the history of Sint Maarten and realize that whoever is appointed to the Cadastre Board makes the preservation of that part of Sint Maarten’s history a focal point in addition to the regular tasks that the Kadaster has.

What this writer is concerned about is the fact of how people deal with ‘the memory’ of Sint Maarten. Internally, the organization is a total mess. And that needs to be improved. I understand from an insider that at the time he took office there were piles of unsigned deeds in the filing cabinets, some dating back decades. “It is totally incomprehensible to me that notaries have allowed it. This is a serious matter, because it is not conducive to legal certainty if owners do not have their Kadaster deed signed and this needs explanation for the general public,” he told me. If a notary submits a deed to the Kadaster, it must meet certain requirements

and if not, the deed cannot be processed. It then goes back to the notary for correction and then can be processed and recorded in the public registers of the Kadaster. This means that the right holder (rechthebbende), being a homeowner, apartment owner, leaseholder or whatever, only has proof that the right, the property, is established with a deed containing the stamps of the Kadaster stating the date of receipt containing, among other things, the timestamp, the start date with the volume and the number. This gives the right holder legal certainty (rechtszekerheid) and provides grounds for bringing claims against other parties. A deed without these specifications has no legal force (rechtskracht) because it only indicates the transfer (overdracht), but not the registration of the title, which gives legal certainty vis-à-vis against third parties (“derdenwerking”).

One notary in particular had the habit of sending in such deeds and expected that the Kadaster would accept his deeds because he was the notary and his deeds were always accepted. The malpractice of this notary, who had a rude manner of addressing the Kadaster, was the cause of a court case against a politician that resulted in a conviction. Had this notary acted in accordance with the law, he would not have submitted the deed in question and the transfer would not have received any publicity, with all the subsequent consequences thereof.

A lot of strange things happen within the Kadaster. There was also the case of a former lieutenant governor who appropriated a piece of government land by converting it from long lease land into private property. There are so many mishaps, stories and anecdotes to tell. You would indeed think that the Kadaster has a jumbie that haunts the office. The spirits of our ancestors are crying

out for adjudication and the righting of so many wrongs and injustices perpetrated in the past. Why do you think there is so much disagreement within families about land on Sint Maarten?

Looking at the dyugu-dyugu that is going on at the Kadaster it seems like there is what they in Suriname call a hebi on this entity. A hebi is a spiritual burden on someone’s soul, the yèyè, hindering the well-functioning and progress in life and causing bad luck. Through cultural rituals the spirit can be cleansed, and life can take a turn for the better. But looking at the Kadaster where there have been issues over a prolonged period of time, it looks more like the office is dealing with something worse, what they call a kunu. That is a burden on the yèyè, that goes back generations and can affect whole families. In this case the ancestral spirits, the konfo, have to be asked for forgiveness for past wrongdoings and how the spirits would like any atonement to express repentance in order to bring back wellness, health and prosperity.

In the case of the Kadaster, measures must therefore be taken to get rid of this jumbie. The political leaders must put aside their differences and put the country above themselves, because the Kadaster is an inconspicuous cornerstone of the economy and it is important to have this entity operating without any problems or issues. That means they need to move away from the view that hiring local professionals takes precedence over others. Instead, they should start with appointing and hiring qualified and skilled people and start revitalizing the office from there. This requires commitment and dedication to the good cause, but it allows the politicians to show the community that they are serious about seeking a lasting solution to this problem. Until then, that jumbie is wandering around in the Kadaster and is causing all kinds of dyugu-dyugu.

Artists often need money to be able to work on projects, publish books, put on shows, work on films, or even find a nice studio to make art in. However, not enough artists in St. Maarten are aware of the funding opportunities available to them.

Grants are sums of money awarded to applicants by institutions such as non-profit organizations, personal and corporate charities, museums, and universities to support their activities. For artists, this means grants can help with things like attending residencies, creating projects, renting studios, and so much more. Grants can be awarded to individuals, groups, or organizations.

According to Artist Power Center, there are four types of funding and grants.

“Competitive Grants: This type of grant is based on merit and is usually awarded by a jury or voting process.

Formula Grants: This type of grant is non-competitive and uses a predetermined criteria to award recipients.

Renewal Grants: Renewal grants are awarded with the understanding that they can be renewed based on project expansion, artist’s needs, etc.

Pass-Through Grants: The

Artist Grants

federal government earmarks funds for states and local governments to award recipients based on their proposal relevancy and geographical location.”

When applying for a grant, it’s important to consider which grant will fit you best as an artist, and what you’re looking for within a grant. Grants can be projectbased, identity driven, collaborative and educational, and be helpful in cases of emergencies.

“Project-Based Grants: Project-based grants are usually government-sponsored or organizational funding for arts programming, public works, and exhibitions. Whether it’s for a mural, a performance art piece, or an educational event, project-based grants can be awarded to a single artist or a group of artists. In addition, project-based grants may require artists who haven’t worked together before to collaborate with one another.

Identity-Driven Grants: Many grants that support funding for artists looking to create art about and around identity. These types of grants usually require a strong artist statement and portfolio.

Collaborative & Educational Grants: Grants that require artists to work alongside

teams are popular because they can have bigger, more flexible budgets. Oftentimes, they involve an artistin-residency program, group exhibition, or a programming event.

Emergency Grants: When people hear “emergency grants”, they often think

ST

of loans for small businesses. However, since the COVID-19 pandemic, government and private organizations have begun to recognize the emergency funding needs of artists. There are now many pandemic (and non-pandemic) grants that offer artists the opportunities to access

stop-gap funding for projects, housing, and more.”

There are a number of organizations that offer grants to artists of the Caribbean, these include Mondriaan Fonds, Fonds Voor de Podiumkunsten, Film Fonds, Cultuur Participatie, Oranje Fonds, and so much more.

Nica Labelle

real name is Bernica Michel. My artist’s name is Nica Labelle. I am 26 years old. I was born in Haiti and came to St. Maarten when I was eight years old. I went to school in the US and got a bachelor’s in Advertising and Marketing Communications, which I use for my art and music.

I’ve been doing art since kindergarten when I was in Haiti. I was taught by my father. I developed my skills by constantly being in the mind state of a student and practicing new skills and techniques. I started to create as a means of communication. To express myself at a time when I couldn’t find the words to say and didn’t have anyone to talk to. My art is a reflection of my mind - using symbols to convey a message.

I find inspiration through what’s lacking in my community. I use my art to provide what’s missing and what I believe will uplift the people in every aspect. My purpose is to contribute to the spiritual awakening of Black people.

Art creates society. God is an artist. To be an artist is to be activated in your godly gene. Any form of psychological and emotional suppression creates a physical sickness in the body. Art provides a way to release these paradoxical emotions and concepts when words are out of reach.

I believe the effects of art on the brain, when being used for destruction or elevation, should be common knowledge in a society. That way we can properly identify what is being used to harm our community or uplift, since we are not in control of the art that’s being fed to us.

Depression, anxiety, and substance abuse all have one thing in common. They all manifest from suppression of emotion. Give yourself the freedom to express yourself through any art form you choose. Your mental health depends on it.

I define success as an artist as consistency and fulfillment. Happiness will always follow these two characteristics. Everything else is a byproduct of that. My favorite part about being a creator is inspiring people to create and to be themselves by coming out of their shells. I feel unhappy when I don’t create. My need to create surpasses any hatred I may have for this path.

I feel supported, because my art sells a lot in St. Maarten, and I’m grateful. Support can come in many forms. It can look like sharing a post, showing words of encouragement, and, most importantly, spending money on the artists themselves. In addition, the government can support artists by providing funding in artist development, projects and events.”

Be aware of Sexually Transmitted nfections

Maximus Halley, a 17 year old student of Milton Peters College, is a musical artist

“I’ve been making music for about, let’s say, three years now. So around when quarantine hit. I’ve been doing it for way longer, but that’s when I started to really focus on it.”

I make beats on a program called FL Studio. I make beats that are good for rap/hip-hop, and sometimes I make music for other genres like jazz or EDM. I usually start when I have a melody in my head. I put it down into notes in FL Studio and keep adding layers like drums or other background instruments until I get the outcome I want.

‘wow, this is really good’. I think there’s still a lot to improve and a lot for me to learn, before I could say that I truly make good music. But seeing people be impressed by my music, makes me enjoy making it even more.

GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – As part of the Collective Preventive Service’s (CPS) annual calendar of health observances for the month of April, emphasis is placed on Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs). CPS takes the opportunity to remind and encourage the community to take a proactive approach to prevent STIs. Sexually Transmitted Infections are real and are present. STIs do not discriminate. Individuals should also be well informed in order to make wise decisions.

STIs are infections that are spread primarily through person-to-person sexual contact. STIs are infections that are likely to be transmitted while having unprotected sex.

If you may have been exposed to an STI or if you have ever had unprotected (without a condom) sex (vaginal, anal, or oral) with someone whose status you don’t know, consult your general practitioner and get tested. There are more than 30 dif-

ferent sexually transmissible bacteria, viruses, and parasites.

The most common conditions they cause are gonorrhea, chlamydial infection, syphilis, trichomoniasis, chancroid, genital herpes, genital warts, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, hepatitis B infection and cancer.

Practicing safer sex is important as it decreases the chances of transmitting sexual infections. Safer sex means taking positive action to lower the risk of sexually transmitted infections. You can lower your risk of becoming infected with an STI by using a (male or female) condom the right way every time you have sex.

Unsafe sex results in unplanned consequences. Be responsible for your health and your partner’s by making an informed choice. For STI information you can also contact your general practitioner and the Sint Maarten AIDS Foundation. Enjoy life, be well informed, and get yourself tested and know your status!

Sometimes I hear a sample online and the rest just comes to me when I start producing. If I really like a beat, I’ll write lyrics and record myself. I usually make up a scenario and write around that, or just say random stuff that sounds good and have fun with it.

My main goal right now is to perfect my skills and have fun, so I’m not too worried if it’s perfect or not. All of my little mistakes will show my progress and growth as a music producer. I develop by working consistently on trying to make each and every project a little better. I would make one song or one beat, then listen back to it, and ask myself, ‘how can I improve on this?’

I started creating because music’s always been a passion of mine since I was very young. I always loved listening to music and had a particular interest in music production. I eventually want to do it as a job.

I usually find inspiration by listening to the people who support me, you know? Whenever they give me feedback or tell me that my song sounds really good, that inspires me to keep going. I want to inspire people, be able to work with other talented artists, and make some good music.

My favorite part of making music is seeing people listen to my songs and then going,

I always enjoy experimenting with sounds and seeing what works best, which makes things hard when I go through artist block. I know it happens with a lot of forms of art too, like just drawing, painting, and such. That happens a lot where you’re just so uninspired. But once I have inspiration and I know what I want to do, I do a really good.

I am not that big of an artist yet. I’m still developing my style and my craft and honing my skills, so I wouldn’t say I feel unsupported as an artist. The people who know I make music listen and support me.

When it comes to supporting artists in general, I think it would be great if we could set up an art gallery available to the public where local artists can submit their work to be displayed, and they could switch out some of the works once every few months. As for music artists, there could be a big show once a year where a lot of local artists will come to perform.

My message for the people is to chase your dreams. It doesn’t matter if you want to be a musician, a painter or a business person, as long as you are passionate and are willing to put the time and work in, you can do anything.”

Persons interested on supporting this up-and-coming artist, can listen to his music on SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/bob_here.

at Princess Juliana International Airport Jetbridge being installed

SXM AIRPORT -- A large section of the first Passenger Boarding Bridge (PBB) at Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) has been installed, and the assembly of the connecting tunnel to aircraft is in preparation. The prognosis is that four new enclosed, elevated passageways which extend from the airport terminal gates to airplanes can be taken into use in July 2023.

In 2017, the jet bridges were damaged during Hurricane Irma and had to be demolished. Management of PJIA expects the current passenger boarding process and overall passenger experience to be greatly enhanced with the four jet bridges. The new situation will include an upgrade with added escalators at each gate, elevators, and stairs, for smooth boarding and improved operational flow.

The PBB procurement package included the supply and installation of fixed walk-

ways and apron drive bridges, accessories and systems, for all contact gates. The US $2.8-million-dollar project, funded by the World Bank, officially started on April 19, 2022, and was scheduled to end on January 14, 2023.

Awarded supplier Shenzhen CIMC-Tianda Airport Support Ltd. and CIMC

Tianda Netherlands Cooperatief U.A, a Chinese and Dutch joint venture, had presented a clear proposal, detailing its plan for delivering the supply and installation of the tunnels and equipment. However, the manufacturing of the bridges took longer than the scheduled eight months. The PPBs and major equip-

ment arrived in Port St. Maarten less than a month ago. On March 14, the first shipments were lifted from the pier in Pointe Blanche onto large trucks to be transported to the airport. In the following six days, massive objects were taken under police escort to the airport in the evening and night hours.

The last haul left the port on Monday, March 20. The installation of the first tunnel was scheduled to start soon after, but was postponed due to heavy winds. Depending on weather conditions, the installation works will take another three months, completing an intricate part of the St. Maarten Airport Terminal Reconstruction Project.

Mutual agreement triggers ridicule and serious concerns

sult with the parliament before approving it, expressing concerns about the settlement of disputes, capacity building and the period of engagement.

While MP Wescot-Williams is full of questions, René Zwart, the editor of dossierkoninkrijksrelaties.nl was firing on all cylinders in one of his Kadushi-column.

Dutch politicians not-executed prison sentences question

are unable to handle their autonomy. “Successive governments are doing dirty business with the mafia, they make money under the table and they provide large income for family and friends.”

PHILIPSBURG -- The mutual agreement the governments of St. Maarten, Aruba and Curacao singed on April 4 with State Secretary of Kingdom Relations Alexandra van Huffelen has encountered ridicule and severe criticism from different sources. UD-MP

Sarah Wescot-Williams expressed her concerns in a press release and René Zwart, publisher of dossierkoninkrijksrelaties.nl published a sarcastic Kadushi-column about the event.

The parliaments of the countries have no say in this matter because the mutual agreement is a decision taken by the respective governments, at least, by its representatives. Silveria Jacobs was present at the signing for St. Maarten, Gilmar Pisas for Curacao and Evelyn Wever-Kroes for Aruba.

MP Wescot-Williams stated in a press release that the mutual agreement is “shrouded in secrecy” and that she has serious reservations. “There are no restrictions. An overzealous government can quickly sign off without consideration for our democratic status.” Wescot-Williams refers to the country package to which Prime Minister Jacobs attached her signature in 2020. “That actually sanctioned the COHO institution by kingdom law. This act by the governments would have been illegal.”

The MP asked the prime minister in January to con-

“The Netherlands is giving away €120 million ($130.8 million) to governments that are seasoned in not abiding by agreements,” he wrote. That the mutual agreement is based on principles like equality, ownership and commonality is, to say the least, remarkable according to the columnist: “While Jacobs cherished the commonality, her parliament appointed a committee that is going to prepare a referendum about independence. And ownership? Were the countries not already since 1954 the owners of their education, healthcare and tax inspectorate, to name just a few seriously neglected properties?”

Also remarkable: while State Secretary Van Huffelen expressed her satisfaction with the mutual agreement, she almost simultaneously sent a letter to the Dutch parliament saying that she has concerns about the execution of the country packages because the countries, with Curacao in the lead, postpone decisions and hold back crucial information.

For former VVD-parliamentarian André Bosman there is nothing new under the sun: “One way traffic. Always money in that direction. We will never learn.”

René Zwart is brutal in his conclusion: The mother of all fairytales is that the mutual agreement is going to improve the lives of citizens. That’s what they said before 10-10-10. We are now thirteen years later an there is poverty everywhere and healthcare and security are in a bad state.”

At least, Zwart observes, former state secretary Raymond Knops had the courage to say that the countries

The mutual agreement that triggered these reactions was signed into law on April 4. The agreement expires after four years, so on April 4, 2027. The text of the agreement makes clear that there is no role for the parliaments of the countries. The ministers of general affairs and the Dutch minister of home affairs report after three years about the effectiveness of the agreement. That evaluation will be sent to the parliaments but the regulation does not say anything about what the parliaments are supposed to do with it.

The objective of the agreement is to promote cooperation between the respective governments with respect to the reforms identified in the individual country packages. The parliaments will be informed about the progress with the execution of these packages. When there is no consensus about such reports, the ministers appoint a mediator whose task will be to reach an agreement between the parties. The governments can make changes to their country packages, but changes have to be submitted to the parliaments. A parliament can express objections and desired changes to an amendment to the minister of general affairs, but there is no provision for parliament to reject it.

The text of the mutual agreement remains in the meantime deceivingly optimistic: “The objective is to execute reform in the public sectors of the countries in order to increase their economic resilience and administrative power. The reforms take place in a responsible manner, considering the social-economic conditions and capacity of each country.”

PHILIPSBURG -- In February, Justice Minister Anna Richardson informed Parliament that 136 convicts are still waiting to serve their sentence. She also reported that, even though the Prosecutor’s Office does not focus on the status of these people, out of 87 inmates 24 (27.6 percent) are undocumented.

Three Dutch D66-parliamentarians - Joost Sneller, Hanneke van der Werf and Jorien Wuite - have now posed twelve questions to their Minister of Justice Yesilgöz about the issue.

“Do you consider not executing prison sentences a problem given the objective of promoting good governance by contributing to the strengthening of the constitutional state?” The three politicians also want

to know what the effect not executing prison sentences has on the confidence in and the functioning of the judicial chain.

An interesting question is about the cause of the situation. The questioners wonder whether this has anything to do with a disproportionate investment in parts of the judicial chain that are tasked with investigating crime.

The politicians furthermore ask about the progress with the construction of a new prison, the scope of the acute shortage of detention capacity and the possibility to execute sentences in the Netherlands. They ask the minister to put the issue on the agenda of the next four country consultation with the objective of finding a solution.

Pay to enter: St. Maarten will soon charge Tourist Tax

PHILIPSBURG -- Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labour (VSA) Omar Ottley aims to introduce a 25-dollar fee for each person arriving in St. Maarten. On the 2023 Government budget the “arrival tax” mentioned by the minister is listed as Tourist Tax, with an estimated revenue of NAf 10 million by the end of December.

“Currently St. Maarten doesn’t have an arrival fee,” Minister Ottley said during the recent budget debate in Parliament, acknowledging that a new levy requires modification of the current tax system. “The details still have to be worked out,” the minister stated.

Presented with the plan to introduce a surcharge at ports of entry, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Princess Juliana International Airport Brian Mingo and Alexander Gumbs, CEO of Port St. Maarten Group of companies, insisted on the need to safeguard St. Maarten’s

send to the Social Economic Council for review. “We have been working closely with Aruba to ensure that we got the best possible advice and have a strong approach.”

The Aruba tax regime is being modified and simplified in stages. There is no mention of an arrival fee. As of January 1st, 2023, the government of Aruba has increased the Tourist Tax rate levied on room nights with 3%, from 9.5% per night to 12.5% per night – whereas the room tax in St. Maarten is 5%.

Most hotels in Aruba collect about 27% for taxes and service. This includes an environmental tax (bijzondere belasting verblijf) of US$3 per occupied room per night for regular (transient) hotels. The time share sector is charged a fixed fee per stay, regardless of the amount of nights. Studios are charged US $10 per stay, the environmental levy for one bedroom units is US $15 and for two-bedroom US $25 will be charged. There is also an environmental levy for rental

ernment coffers. “The bulk, some 80%, goes directly to the Aruba Tourism Authority (ATA) for marketing,” the representatives of the tourism sector on St. Maarten said. “It is perhaps good to mention that the Aruba hospitality industry agreed to an increase in the Occupan-

an opposition post in the parliamentary debate. “What is the legal basis for collecting this tax? Government cannot just collect a fee for collecting sake,” said Party for Progress (PFP) Member of Parliament Melissa Gumbs. “The Minister stated that NAf 10 million is based on incoming arrivals at ports of entry, and that further details are being worked out and will be provided to Parliament once available. What does further detail mean? Does the minister mean the legislation that should come to Parliament to create the legal basis for collecting such a tax? And if so, when can we expect it to reach Parliament?”

Board of Supervision would advise financial projections to be included in the budget with no legal basis inside to justify the collection of such.” The current criticism echoes that of SHTA six years ago.

“There is no way the increase in our occupancy taxes will lead to better performance by our tourism sector,” the association stated in 2017. “It is doubtful it will result in the additional revenues the Minister of Finance is hoping for. Quite the contrary. If we raise our taxes, our competition will most likely benefit, as it will decrease our competitive position.”

competitive advantage as a tourist destination in the region. “Feedback from these stakeholders forced us to do an impact study,” said Minister Ottley.

A consultant was hired to conduct a comparative study of the 21 airports within the region. “It showed that we are the twelfth most expensive,” Ottley said. “Introducing a fee of between $15 and $35 will only result in St. Maarten moving from twelfth to ninth place. In order to remain competitive, we are looking at a levy of 15 to 25 dollars.”

According to the Minister of VSA relevant legislation has been drafted and will soon be

cars of US $1.

In May 2017, the Government of St. Maarten already mentioned Aruba as an example, creating the perception that the mentioned taxes and services directly pour into the coffers of the Aruban Government. “Unfortunately, this is far from the truth,” stated the St. Maarten Hospitality Association (SHTA) at the time in a press release, issued in response to government’s plans “to literally double the barrier to enter St. Maarten”.

The big difference between Aruba and St. Maarten, SHTA explained, is that only about 20% of all tax revenues from tourists ends up in gov-

cy Tax (from the initial level of 5% to then 9,5%) upon establishing the ATA.”

The SHTA has been fighting for the establishment of a Tourism Authority on St. Maarten for many years. If similar conditions as in Aruba would be created in St. Maarten, the hospitality sector is willing to accept a doubling of the room tax, SHTA said. “The wisdom of going that route is clearly reflected in the performance of Aruba’s tourism product.”

The 2023 budget post of NAf 10 million revenue from Tourist Tax drew fierce criticism from the seven Members of Parliament that hold

Projections for expected revenue are not unusual, whether in a company or government, MP Gumbs said, “but when it comes to government there is the added layer of expected revenue relying on existing or soon to exist legislation. I find it hard to believe that the Financial

Arbitrarily raising taxes again without properly accounting for expenditure and ensuring investments in sustainability and marketing will only cause an increase in prices, which will lead to a decrease in revenue and economic activity, SHTA concluded. “That is something our economy can ill afford.”

~ “With a well-functioning Cadastre it is impossible to establish long lease twice on the same parcel of land.” ~ PHILIPSBURG -- Minister Egbert Doran (Public Housing, Urban Planning, Environment and Infrastructure - VROMI) has issued a piece of land in Hope Estate in long lease for the construction of social housing, while a company called High Tech Development has held the same plot in long lease since 2012.

MP Raeyhon Peterson, a member of parliament for the Party for Progress and a former acting head of Domain Affairs said during the budget debate in Parliament that he remembers the case well. The right of long lease was issued on July 20, 2012, when National Alliance stalwart William Marlin was minister of VROMI. Peterson looked into the details of this dossier at the time because Minister Marlin had

Minister Doran grants second right of long lease on same plot of land

removed the customary expiry date from the contract. The issue has also attracted the attention of Ir. Clemens Roos, the former director of the Cadastre. He is very clear: “With a well-functioning Cadastre it is impossible to establish long lease twice on the same parcel of land. The basic rule is that nobody can transfer what is not theirs. Once government has established long lease on a plot of land and as long as the long lease term has not expired, it can never again issue another long lease on that particular parcel. If this happens willfully or accidentally that issuance is null and void. It must be considered to have never existed.”

If the government makes a mistake, as is obviously the case here, it is not immediately fatal. Roos: “The Cadastre must inform the head of Domain Affairs about this and then they should refrain from further action

and await instructions from the government.”

From the press release issued by Minister Doran it is clear that it still happened: the issuance of the right of long lease twice for the same plot of land. “The Cadastre is to blame,” Roos observes. “How it is possible that the surveyors did not notice that there was already a long lease established?”

Roos mentions several possibilities for the Cadastre-failure. The first one that comes to mind is that management and surveyors do not have the knowledge and the ability to recognize these situations and that they have no idea how to handle. “For the surveyors this is impossible because they have been doing this for so long and they have dealt with similar situations before.”

Another possibility is that the Cadastre-management lacks the proper knowledge to understand and handle these cases. “The surveyors,

who are assumed to be aware of this, act as they feel and without concern about the consequences.”

A third possibility is that deeds are not properly processed and registered. “This leads to unreliable information in the public registers. Only if deeds are not properly processed can previous issuances of long lease remain undetected,” Roos says. The former Cadastre-director points out that especially notaries depend on information they obtain from the Cadastre. “If that information is unreliable it poses a major risk for St. Maarten because this will have a negative impact on the cash flow in this sector. That will subsequently affect other sectors of the economy.” Before going into the above mentioned details, Roos briefly explained the proper procedure for the issuance of long lease. “Domain Affairs files a request for a certificate of admeasurement (meetbrief) at the Cadastre. This request

contains specific information about the parcel of land and who will pay for the meetbrief. Before carrying out the measurements, Cadastre researches the legal status of the land to avoid that land on which long lease is already established will be given out again.”

Roos emphasizes that the Cadastre’s task is “to establish and assure the legal security by preventing the establishment of double, triple or even more long leases on the same plot of land.”

There is however one more crucial element in play: the discretion of the Minister of VROMI in the process of granting rights of long lease. MP Peterson: “That’s where Doran always checkmates us. When you think he cannot stoop lower, he does.” StMaartenNews.com reached out to Achken Roberto Richardson, the manager of High Tech Development NV for his view on the situation.

Government to collect tax from guests booking via AirBnB

No additional laws are required to collect taxes related to Airbnb, those taxes can be collected under the current tax system,” said Finance Minister Ardwell Irion during the 2023 budget debate in Parliament, last week. New on the budget is projected income from tax on Airbnb stay to the tune of NAf 5 million.

There are an estimated 440 units on Dutch St. Maarten listed on Airbnb and Vacation Rentals by Owners (VRBO), two online marketplaces for lodging and homestay rentals. Minister Irion said he is following the advice of the Board of Financial Supervision CFT to have a projected revenue of 5 percent tax on Airbnb rentals listed on the 2023 budget of government.

The last published number of nights spent in Airbnb and VRBO listed units on St. Maarten is 6,200, in 2018. That same year a motion was passed in Parliament regarding collection of 5 percent room tax from Airbnb and VRBO, with 9 Members of Parliament being in favor and 4 against.

Parliament considered that “Government is potentially not collecting millions of guilders at this moment in unpaid room tax” and that “the hotel industry has long called for leveling of the playing field” with the online competitors. It was brought to the attention of the public that the tax reforms that were in the works by the Ministry of Finance as presented to Parliament did not include plans to address the Airbnb and VRBO tax compliance.

When Irion took office on March 28, 2020, he rekin-

dled the process of reaching an agreement with Airbnb to collect the room tax on behalf of Government, he told the Finance Committee of Parliament the following year. “Airbnb will collect the taxes on behalf of government and Airbnb, on a quarterly basis, will pay us the lump sum of taxes,” the Minister told the Committee Members of Parliament, explaining that it was impossible for government to search for every rental unit listed on the online platform. “We don’t have the capacity or resources to do that and I believe that it is also inefficient,” Irion said.

The announced agreement is still pending. In a November 28, 2022, letter to Minister Irion, the CFT stated that “in the short term, a reform of the (ordinance on) room tax, including the collection via Airbnb, should be introduced.” Currently it is still not possible to have third parties collect tax on behalf of the Government of St. Maarten.

“There is a big misconception right now on what the CFT is saying and what this government has put in the budget,” said Party for Progress (PFP) mem -

ber of Parliament Raeyhon Peterson during the 2023 budget debate. “We asked the Ministers what was the legal basis for this budget post, and their answer was that the CFT said in their advice that this number needed to be reflected in the budget. But that’s not what the CFT says.”

The CFT did not indicate to government to put the anticipated numbers in the budget, Peterson said. “That’s where this government is misunderstanding. They had to present these laws to Parliament, prior to putting anything in the budget. The Council of Advice also goes in on this aspect specifically, and they speak of a “gebrek aan vastgestelde wettelijke heffingsgrondslagen” (lack of established legal tax bases).”

United People Party leader and Member of Parliament Rolando Brison, however, is convinced that the Landsverordening regelende de heffing en invordering van een logeergastenbelasting (National Ordinance for the levying and collection of a guest tax) allows for the collection of 5 percent tax from people renting via Airbnb and VRBO. MP Brison referred to Article 1 of the Ordinance, which states

that “a direct tax is levied under the name “guest tax” with regard to staying in hotels, guest houses, pensions, apartments, houses or other buildings suitable for accommodation against payment in any form whatsoever by persons who are not included in the basic administration of St. Maarten.”

ment for accommodation in a privately owned unit must also include the 5 percent, Brison said. “It is not a legal issue what you see in this budget, what you are seeing is a compliance effort.”

The MP does acknowledge that an amendment of the law is needed for Airbnb and VRBO to collect taxes on behalf of the Government of St. Maarten. “We have to write a legal clause that allows us to write tax collection agreements for the hotel tax directly with these websites like Expedia, Booking.com and also with Airbnb,” Brison said. “That would require some additional legislation to go into the tax collection agreement. But you don’t need that in order to collect, it would just make it easier to collect.”

According to MP Brison, government needs to start “sending letters to these units” and start “an educational program informing people (tourists) that they have to be tax compliant”. Equal to the government tax of 5 percent added to a hotel bill, the proof of pay-

Brison wants to see another amendment to the current tax system. “The room tax must be raised,” he said. “We have the lowest hotel tax in the entire Caribbean. While the Caribbean average is 12 percent, we charge only 5 percent.” The MP proposes an increase of the St. Maarten room tax to Caribbean standard, which requires parliamentary approval.

MP-Rolando-Brison

MinFIN-Ardwell-Irion

Generous travel allowances for ministers on a cut 2023 budget

PHILIPSBURG -- Finance Minister Ardwell Irion allocated himself a travel budget of NAf 60,000 for 2023, an increase of 601.39% compared to 2022.

Tourism Minister Leo Lambriex has 100 percent more to spend on travel than his predecessor Roger Lawrence. Their budgets, as well as those of Health Minister Omar Ottley and Minister of Justice Anna Richardson, exceed that of Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs.

The Prime Minister has only NAf 15,300 to spend on travel this year, a reduction of 69.41%. The 2023 budget of Government is showing “cuts, cuts and more cuts”, the opposition in Parliament noted. But there are also curious increases. The travel and accommodation costs of the Ministry of Finance increased by 1093.93%. This cannot be attributed to the Finance or Fiscal Affairs Department, but solely to the minister and his cabinet. The travel budget of Minister Irion increased from NAf 8,554 to NAf 60,000, or NAf 5,000 per month. His cabinet also has NAf 60,000 to spend, instead of NAf 7,000 last year. The travel budget of Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Lambriex is NAf 50,000, twice as much as his predecessor Roger Lawrence could spend on travel. Lambriex’s cabinet

also received NAf 50,000, an increase of NAf 30,000 from last year.

Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor (VSA) Omar Ottley and Minister of Justice Anna Richardson have a travel budget of NAf 50,000 and NAf 45,000 respectively, each the same as in 2022.

Remarkably, Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport (ECYS) Rodolphe Samuel has zero budget to travel, and the same applies to Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (VROMI) Egbert Doran.

“How is it possible that the travel expense for the staff and minister of VROMI is zero, yet the minister is off island?” Member of Parliament

Grisha Heyliger-Marten asked on Friday during the 2023 budget debate in Parliament. “The Minister stated that he made an amendment, but we haven’t received such amendment.” Asked for clarification, Finance Minister Irion revealed that Minister Doran had made an amendment for NAf. 60,000 from a post for legal and other expert advice towards travel and accommodation.

Independent MP Christophe Emmanuel criticized Minister Doran’s absence at the start of the debate, on Wednesday. “Today, you have a minister jump on a plane and gone, and don’t even see the importance of the budget,” the MP said. “And what

does the government do? The ministers paint it nice, saying that he is attending the United Nations water conference, and he will be speaking on behalf of the Kingdom.”

Emmanuel stressed the importance of the budget, wondering what the attendance of the minister in New York means for St. Maarten. “Nothing can compare to you being here in Parliament, Minister.”

Party for Progress MP Raeyhon Peterson addressed the Finance Minister. “I see that your personal travel budget went from 8.5 thousand to 60 thousand guilders, an increase of more than 600%.

Why does the Minister of Finance of St. Maarten have to travel more than our Prime Minister, the person who ac-

tually represents us internationally?,” Peterson asked.

“In the same light Minister, why is the budget for the Department of Foreign Affairs, the department that actually needs to travel as part of their job, still only budgeted at a total of 8,500 guilders?”

Minister Irion replied that the 2022 budget reflected Covid-19 cuts, whereas the current budget is based on the scheduled meetings of the Steering Committee of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten and development bank OBNA, as well as travel to the Netherlands.

“The Cabinet support staff accompanies me at times,” Irion stated.

Minister Irion, however, did not approve the travel budget

from Parliament. “Why was it cut?”, MP Sarah Wescot-Williams asked, referring to the 69.94% deduction of the budget from NAf 652,750 to NAf 202,750 for 15 Members of Parliament and support staff. After receiving a note of amendment from the minister of Finance, leaving Parliament with less than a third of the proposed travel budget, Government came up with the idea of having foreign ships sail under the St. Maarten flag, which is projected to generate millions for Government’s coffers. “All at once Parliament got over half a million guilders from ship registration, and our travel budget has been increased back,” Wescot-Williams said in disbelief. “I am looking forward to see this ship registration plan.”

The challenges of seniors

~ John A. Richardson on the challenges that being a senior brings ~

Mr. Editor,

Please allow me some space in your well read newspaper to share my observations with the general public, your readers. One of the first things I remember from school was when it comes to math, there is an order of operations. Just like everything there is a sequence to doing and implementing things. We can choose to deviate from the order, we will always get results but those results will never be as good as when the proper sequence is followed. In other words consistency matters. Consistency is like discipline, it leads to destiny. Hercules did not become Hercules because he was naturally gifted but rather he chose virtue above vice. Where is the consistency in our government when good governance is at stake?

The proper sequence is not adhered to which has led to many of us feeling left behind. One such group is the seniors.

Abraham Maslov was an American psychologist. He blessed mankind with a pyramid model, categorizing the various needs that humans have in life. The sequence of the needs are: Physiological needs, Safety needs, Social needs, the need for Self Esteem and the need for Self-Actualization. Once a man twice a child is a popular saying and in this instance it is very true. Seniors are faced once again in their later years with more challenges than in their years of becoming of age, due predominantly to age, fear, loss of good friends, being lied to, not knowing who to trust and accepting being placed out of your own home that you built, which induces a reality that they will never be returning to that space ever again. Having indicated that there are new challenges, different challenges than when they were young, means that there is no previous experience to still their unrest. The physiological challenges becomes more challenging especially if due to illness certain foods are forbidden. Security needs, the need for housing, are the living quarters suitable, is the entire house accessible and functional. Are alarms in-

stalled especially for those living alone? Is there a neighborhood watch? What role does their dexterity play? The social aspects of their life is all but turned upside down through the loss of friends, not being technologically savvy, diminishing mobility, bad eyesight etc. all lead to seniors often time than not being very pessimistic. We can’t always tell what is going on in their heads but the following points are a clear indication of the severity being experienced by seniors.

1. Health Care Cost. The older we become the more care we need. Health care cost increases and so does the other cost associated with getting old like, dental, medical, etc..

2. Diseases like dementia, cataract, macular degeneration, rheumatisms and Alzheimer’s, heart issues, diabetes, etc., are common occurrences among seniors. These diseases impact our ability to function as we once could. We can add to this stress brought on by thinking of our impending death.

3. Physical aging, the inability to move as quickly as we need to. Our eyes, our depth perception, is no longer what they were. Our bones are brittle, they brake faster. Fractures don’t mend like before. There is a constant fear of falling or misjudging distances. This fear is particularly so for those seniors living alone.

4. Physical assistance. Going to the supermarket, paying GEBE bills, going to the doctor, a notary if need be, seeking advice, etc., becomes a thing of the past. The cleaning of your living quarters becomes more difficult with age and daily assistance is needed. I once heard an old man said that he was once down and out but none of his so-called love ones visited him. They would call for an update on his condition. He believed that no one visited him because they did not want to be confronted with finding him in a mess and having to clean him. This is an important aspect that makes seniors vulnerable. They are preyed on. Loneliness, immobility, desertion by family members, forces them to seek unhealthy re-

lationships to which they normally wouldn’t have aspired in their good days.

5. Financial Security. Inflation while living on a fixed income poses additional challenges and restrictions. One day a box of eggs cost 10 guilders. A few days later it is 12 guilders. This leads to a steady decline in purchasing power and hence the standard of living. In this context the importance of maximum prices for the food basket, is in order.

How does these challenges affect people and seniors in particular, psychologically, mentally and physically? It is often said that a society is known by the way it treats the weakest in its society. Yes it is true many seniors did not prepare or plan for their old age. The present then was important. The present today is of a different reality and severity. In this regard what about the principle of due care that government is responsible for? As a signatory to the charter on Human Rights, can government escape blame and thus renege on her moral, ethical and constitutional responsibility to take care of us?

A great part of the suffering that comes with old age are a given for all of us, but the man made suffering, lack of facilities, taxing of the seniors, generic medications, etc., is directly related to the way society in Sint Maarten is organized. The focus of our society is to make as much money as possible for the investors. In that strategy being social diminishes the returns. How many companies and brand name Hotels operate here based on tax holidays?

Is it then strange that the poor and seniors are the ones that fall by the wayside? After all they are not contributing any-

more, their fuel is spent. The investor’s only aim is to maximize their return. All mortgages and loans provided locally represent imported money which is here to make more money. Locally we don’t have a saving culture. Where government went wrong was when investors were invited, government neglected to put guard rails to safeguard and protect the citizens against social injustice. The mentality that was created through this neglect was one in which dog is eating dog. The politicians appear to be so insensitive to this meltdown. Added to this wheeling and dealing, the greed of our politicians, is an affront. Answer this question for yourself: How many politicians have been investigated, sentenced or are currently being investigated since 10-10-10?

The money stolen in whatever form or fashion is money that could have made the cost of living in Sint Maarten much lower and could have been used to make Country Sint Maarten a better place for all, even the investors. Corruption has led to life being unnecessarily harder for people through the design of the politicians. Of

course, not all politicians were investigated, but they are equally guilty because they knew what was going on and did nothing to halt it.

Another aspect that worsens the situation locally is the immigration issues. This means that social services, etc., are constantly being overrun so the rights and entitlements of the legal residents are watered down. Telling a senior he does not qualify for social aid because he or she might have a small apartment rented is ultimately disrespectful. Call a cow a cow and a bull a bull, but be honest and tell the people that government is not willing to take care of the people. In this regard, CFT brings nothing of substance to the table. Their loyalty lies in The Netherlands. In Sint Maarten society is organized in a way that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The intention is to get rid of the poor and the marginalized so that Sint Maarten in time to come can be promoted as a playground for the rich. Senior abuse and poverty is by design in Sint Maarten.

John A. Richardson

The pitfalls of crypto

Crypto currency is getting a bad name. Fast. But there are still plenty of believers who go out of their way to promote crypto as the way to go. MP Rolando Brison is just one of them.

He has openly declared that he wants to turn St. Maarten into the crypto capital of the Caribbean. He has announced that he wants to receive his salary in Bitcoin Cash. And he has made clear his intention to translate Dominica’s Virtual Asset Business legislation into something that would be useful for St. Maarten.

But so far, that crypto capital has not materialized and Brison is not receiving his salary in crypto currency. The silence about his plans to translate legislation from another jurisdiction is deafening.

And now Brison seems to be caught up in a potential scandal that has hit TRON DAO, a platform established by the Chinese crypto-entrepreneur Justin Sun. DAO stands for Decentralized Autonomous Organization, but that is another story.

In January, TRON was “proud to announce” that Brison would initiate legislation to legalize TRONbased crypto in St. Maarten. That sounded somewhat interesting, but only a few months later this plan blew up in Justin Sun’s face when the American Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint against him with a court in New York.

According to this complaint, Sun manipulated the market through wash trading and he orchestrated a scheme to pay eight celebrities to tout his crypto

By Hilbert Haar

currencies without disclosing their compensation.

We know now that actress

Lindsay Lohan received $10,000 to tweet (obviously in a positive way) about Sun’s crypto’s.

One may wonder whether MP Brison jumped on the TRON-bandwagon in January because he is enthusiast about its potential value or because Sun inspired him to do that by paying him an attractive bribe. It could be true, or it could be nothing. Fact remains that Brison was recently arrested on suspicions of taking bribes and abusing his position.

The truth will eventually come out, but for now we will have to make do with what others have to say about this issue. Marc Bitcoin, a Youtuber who promotes Bitcoin Cash said in a recent video that if there is crypto involved in the bribery-accusations against Brison, “it is most likely TRON.” He also stated that Brison’s arrest has caused reputational damage to crypto.

One thing is for sure. There is a lot of money floating around in the crypto-universe and some of it may well have landed in the pockets of MP Brison. Even if this are just suspicions (that could very well be unfounded) they must cause

others to look with suspicion at Brison’s relentless promotion of crypto as legal tender for St. Maarten. There has been a time when you could buy a whole Bitcoin for less than a dollar. At the moment of this writing the value of Bitcoin is around $27,500. So yeah, with hindsight one could argue that investing in crypto is very profitable. That is of course reasoning with lots of hindsight.

The reality is that crypto currency remain highly speculative. The value can go up but it can also go dramatically down. On February 9, 2011, Bitcoin reached a value of $1 for the first time. In 2017 Bitcoin was valued at close to $19,000, but only a year later it dropped to just over $3,100. By the end of 2020 a Bitcoin traded for around $29,000.

These price fluctuations show that crypto is highly speculative and not something for the weak of heart. Brison’s crypto capital may sound like a vision of things to come but until the court in New York has ruled on the SEC-complaint against Justin Sun and until there is clarity about Brison’s bribery-case the crypto world will remain crammed with pitfalls.

Don’t go there.