“It is with a feeling of great pride and satisfaction that I look back on the two and a half months that I was allowed to serve the People of Sint Maarten as Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labour.
“During this short period, my team and I worked tirelessly to improve the wellbeing of the population. We worked on issues ranging from the construction of a new hospital to increasing the pension age, indexing the minimum wage, indexing the tariffs for the general practitioners, recognition of our own local pre-hospital training entity WIEMS, meeting with and empowering the community councils, sending the long overdue legislation on regulating the abuse on the short term labour contracts, maternity leave, breastfeeding, change of enterprise and equal treatment for women, to Parliament.
“It is clear that I did not initiate the process leading up to all of these accomplishments. And I therefore thank those who were there before me for their foresight as far as these matters are concerned. Working with government organizations and non-government organizations is key in any anticipated achievement. Having said that I must give special thanks to Mr. Glenn Carty and his SZV team. The members of the Labour Tripartite Committee also deserve acknowledgement.
“I can never thank by name all of those who have in some form contributed in making the past two and a half months an experience that I will always cherish. However I must mention the members of my Cabinet and especially Mrs. Marilyn Pieters and Mr. Levinus (Len) Dijkstra. I do not know what I would have done without those two wonderful souls.
“The management team of the Ministry headed by the Secretary General Miss Joy Arnell, is as good as they come. Joy you hit it out of the mark. Thank you.
“Governing can be a gratifying thing once you do not lose sight of the pledge you made to the community you were called to serve. Opinions differ and methods differ. However whatever the differences, you should not lose sight of the big picture. Not everyone will be able to own their own home. Not everyone will be able to become a lawyer or a doctor, but everyone should have equal opportunity to own their own home and become a lawyer or a doctor.
“Everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect. Everyone has the right to decent work, everyone has the right to affordable, good quality healthcare. If my two and a half months in office have brought us a bit closer in enjoying these rights then the sacrifices I made in accepting this honourable job as Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labour would not have been in vain.
“Thank you Honourable MP Van Hugh Cornelius de Weever for the confidence placed in me. Thank you Honourable Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs for being a great leader and motivator. Thank you to the media for keeping the people of Sint Maarten informed and last but definitely not the least, a big thank you to the people of Sint Maarten for allowing me to be your humble servant for the past two and a half months.
“I wish the incoming Minister much wisdom and strength and hope that he/she will never lose sight of his/her pledge to the community of Sint Maarten. God bless you all and God Bless Sint Maarten.”