The political summer break is almost there and it is a good a time as any to assess the situation in our country. In my opinion (but who am I?) it does not look good and that is a pity.
Why am I writing this? St. Maarten is unable to repay loans the Netherlands granted fifteen years ago. The prison is a mess – nothing new: it has always been a mess. Prison guards do not take their responsibilities seriously: when a fire broke out their solution was to flee the premises. The Minister of VROMI says that bribery is still ongoing with the issuance of building permits.
Let me just stop there, because all this is already bad enough. If I understand it correctly, the government has not put a penny aside for the repayment of the loans it will now have to refinance, thereby making this debt the problem of the next generation. For fifteen years the government and the parliament did nothing.
The same is true for the situation at the Pointe Blanche prison. Everybody and his uncle know that the prison is in bad shape. Of course, it is not a holiday resort; it is a prison where people are kept that broke the law one way or the other. But now it seems that prisoners are so fed up that they set the place on fire. It does not surprise me; I would say: with all the neglect of the past, we had it coming.
Then there is the little matter of bribery with building permits. That cannot come as a surprise to anybody. Bribery has always been alive and kicking in St. Maarten; for more information just ask Theo Heyliger.
What does surprise me however is the minister’s announcement. He knows about the bribery and he has now publicly acknowledged it.
So if you know about the bribery, you should also know who is involved in these illegal activities. Therefore, one would expect action.
So why does that not happen?
I think this has to do with the nature of politics and the character of the people who populate this mystical landscape. Politicians like to talk; they like to complain; they like to point fingers. Up to a point this can be useful but at the end of the day the electorate expects politicians to come up with a solution. Clear those debts, elevate the standards at the prison and eradicate bribery. Something like that.
Will that ever happen? Forget it. Politicians (mind you: not all of them, the good ones know who they are) prefer talking about independence and criticizing the kingdom. But that is all it is: talk. Based on results, nobody has the balls to call a referendum and ask the people of St. Maarten what they think about going independent. If they vote in favor, I wish everybody good luck; a lot of it. But it is not difficult to acknowledge that the will of the people should always prevail.
Think about an independent St. Maarten. Our country is a tiny speck on the globe, we are up to our eyeballs in debt and the only party that could rescue us is the kingdom with an agreement to refinance our debt.
If we are on our own, interest rates on loans will go through the roof and thereby become prohibitively expensive if – and I emphasize if – there is anybody gracious enough to grant us a loan.
Thankfully, the political summer break is almost there. It will give our politicians time for reflection while they are sipping margaritas on a faraway beach.
I don’t expect much of it but maybe that is just me. There is always that elusive concept of hope: thinking against your better knowledge that our politicians will come to their senses and create meaningful improvements for the people that elected them.
By Hilbert Haar
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