The National Alliance strongly condemns the decision of the DP not to attend the meeting scheduled for Friday last to discuss a letter of Nov. 18th signed by six members of the Island Council. If this blatant trampling on the rules of good governance continues it should be of no surprise to anyone if Higher Supervision is slapped on the Government of St. Maarten.
The National Alliance leader further said that it is not the National Alliance that failed to form a government, but rather the DP that has been failing to govern. The DP won the last elections and had a majority in the Island Council, allowing them to form a government and govern.
The National Alliance only got involved in discussions after the DP lost the support of the majority in the Island Council, which technically entailed that the DP Government fell on Nov. 12th 2008.
Now that the DP, typical of how it has operated for the past several years, has made all kind of deals to patch things back up to keep the DP in government, they are trying to make it appear as if it is the National Alliance that failed to put a government in place.
It is becoming a habit that the Government of St. Maarten behaves in a manner that is not in keeping with the principles of Good Governance.
For the past several weeks the Government of SXM has found itself in sort of a crisis from which it has not fully recovered, which is not good.
It all started on October 22nd 2008, when one of its Commissioners, Louie Laveist had been arrested on suspicion of forgery.
While still in detention the Executive Council of St. Maarten announced via the media that it had stripped Commissioner Louie Laveist of all of his portfolios, with the Lt. Governor getting responsibility for the Census Office. Did this really take place? When was that meeting held? Following the election of the Executive Council on July 2nd 2007 the Executive Council met and distributed the portfolios in accordance with the Island Resolution AB 2007 No. 21 of 2007. Has a new resolution been established to replace mentioned resolution No. 21 of 2007? If no, why not?
Why has the Lt. Governor been given the responsibility for the Census Office and not a Commissioner as has always been the case?
After Commissioner Laveist had been released from detention he had written three letters to the Lt. Governor of St. Maarten, two of them in his capacity as Lt. Governor of the Island Territory of St. Maarten.
In his first letter, No. 6690, which was received on Nov. 12th 2008, Councilman Louie Laveist declared that with immediate effect the Island Government of St. Maarten could no longer rely on his support. To be clear he further stated: I have withdrawn my support from the current led DP-Government of Sint Maarten.
In his second letter to the Lt. Governor of the Island Territory of St. Maarten, Councilman Louie Laveist wrote that with immediate effect he declared himself an independent member of the Island Council of the Island Territory of St. Maaten.
And in his third letter of the same day, addressed to the Lt. Governor of the Island Territory of St. Maarten, Commissioner Louie E. Laveist stated: "I hereby inform you that effective immediately, I am taking a non-active position as a member of the Executive Council of the Island Territory of St. Maarten."
By virtue of the first letter of Councilman Louie Laveist, the Government of St. Maarten had lost its majority support in the Island Council of St. Maarten. And as far as we are concerned the Government of St. Maarten still does not have a majority support in the Island Council of St. Maarten. Why do we say that, because the letter of Councilman Louie Lavesit was never withdrawn.
To make matters more complicated, Commissioner Louie Laveist in one of his other letters, received on Nov. 12th 2008, informed, the Lt. Governor of the Island Territory of St. Maarten that effective immediately he was taking a non-active position as member of the Executive Council of the Island Territory of St. Maarten.
As far as we know, that is not possible given our constitutional make-up. You are either a member of the Executive Council or you are not!
That the Commissioner was stripped of all his portfolios we can understand, but that he wants to have a non-active position in the Executive Council, needs to be clarified.
Did the Executive Council ever meet to discuss this letter? What is the position of the Executive Council on this letter?
To add insult to injury and to make matters even more complicated, 5 members of the DP faction and the now independent member of the Island Council Louie Laveist, sent a letter to the chairman of the Island Council, Lt. Governor Franklyn Richards, which was received on Nov. 17th 2008 No. 6748, informing the chairman that the 6 members of the Island Council are in support of the Executive Council of St. Maarten of the members, Maria Buncamper-Molanus, Theodore Heyliger, Roy Marlin and Sarah Wescot-Williams.
The question again is what does this mean? We cannot have two Executive Councils at the same time. As far as we are concerned the Executive Council of SXM consists of five members, including the so-called, self-declared non-active member Commissioner Louie Laveist.
As far as we know, and from the documentation we have received up until today, Commissioner Louie Laveist never resigned since he was elected Commissioner on July 2nd of 2007.
The fact that the five remaining members of the DP faction, and also Councilman Louie Laveist signed a letter declaring that they are in support of an Executive Council, excluding Commissioner Louie Laveist, does not remove him from the Executive Council. For Commissioner Louie Laveist to stop being a member of the Executive Council, he would either have to resign from the Executive, resign from the Island Council or be given a vote of no-confidence and subsequently removed from his position by the Island Council of St. Maarten.
None of the above has taken place, at the least not up until today!
It is not about who is in government or not, it is about government doing things right; doing things in accordance with the law and in accordance with the principles of Good Governance.
The National Alliance had prepared several questions which were to be asked in the meeting convened for last Friday. On Monday the questions were submitted to the chairman of the Executive Council, asking for them to be answered in writing, before the meeting is reconvened.
The National Alliance leader said that the DP could have run on Friday last, but they cannot hide forever. If they choose to show up again or not, they will have to answer the questions.
Playing political games is one thing, but playing with the future of St. Maarten is a totally different matter and will not be tolerated by the faction of the National Alliance.
That a house divided cannot rule, we have all realized by now. But a government put together on the basis of deals is even worse.
1. Who were the Commissioners in the Executive Council of St. Maarten on Nov. 28th 2008?
2. When have these respective members of the Executive Council been elected?
3. How many votes did each one of them get respectively to be elected member of the Executive Council?
4. Does the Executive Council agree that the Executive Council lost its majority support when Councilman Louie Lavesit informed the Chairman of the Island Council in his letter dated Nov. 10th 2008, No. 6690 that, with immediate effect the Island Government of St. Maarten could no longer rely on his support; that he had withdrawn his support from the current DP led Government?
5. Did Commissioner Louie Laveist ever resign as a member of the Executive Council, following his election to the Executive Council on July 2nd 2007?
6. Was Commissioner Louie Lavesit ever fired from the Executive Council following his election to the Executive Council on July 2nd 2007?
7. Is Commissioner Louie Lavesit not still a member of the Executive Council of St. Maarten?
8. Has Commissioner Louie Laveist been stripped of his portfolios? If yes, in which meeting of the Executive Council did this take place?
9. Is it true that the Lt. Governor was given responsibility for the Census Office? If so, what is the reason for this decision?
10. Following the election of the Executive Council on July 2nd 2007 the Executive Council met and distributed the portfolios and on July 3rd 2007, this was established in Island Resolution AB 2007 No. 21. Has this resolution ever been withdrawn? Are there any other resolutions establishing the division of portfolios in the Executive Council of St. Maarten other than Island Resolution AB No. 21 of 2007?
11. How is the distribution of portfolios in the Executive Council in accordance with this Island Resolution AB No. 21 of 2007?
12. If there is another resolution, other than the one mentioned above, how is the distribution of the portfolios in accordance with that resolution? May we obtain a copy of said resolution?
13. The Executive Council of St. Maarten is made up of the following 5 Commissioners: Sarah Wescot-Williams, Louie Lavesit, Roy Marlin, Theodore Heyliger and Maria Buncamper-Molanus. In a letter to the chairman of the Island Council, 6 members of the Island Council declared that they are in support of the Executive Council of St. Maarten, consisting of the members Maria Buncamper-Molanus, Theodore Heyliger, Roy Marlin and Sarah Wescot-Williams. What does the Executive Council interpret this to mean? A. That Louie Lavesit is no longer a member of the Executive Council? B. That only 4 of the 5 members of the Executive Council have the support of the mentioned 6 members of the Island council? C. That there is a new Executive Council of St. Maarten? D. That the letter has no legal bearing on the position of the Executive Council of St. Maarten, and that the Executive Council still does not have the support of the majority of the Island Council?
14. Does the Executive Council consider the present situation, whereby the Executive Council of St. Maarten has lost its majority support in the Island Council since Nov. 12th 2008 and has continued to govern without assuring itself of a majority, as in keeping with Good Governance?
15. What is the opinion of the Executive Council on the letter of Commissioner Louie Laveist dated Nov. 10th 2008, No. 6692, addressed to the Lt. Governor of the Island Territory of St. Maarten, informing the Lt. Governor that effective immediately he is taking a non-Active position as a member of the Executive Council of St. Maarten?
16. How many persons had still been attached to the office of Commissioner Louie Laveist on Nov. 10th 2008, as political appointees in the capacity of Secretary, Administrative Assistant, and Executive Assistant, etc. who had not been civil servants before their appointment to serve on the staff of Commissioner Louie Laveist?
17. Are these persons still on Government’s payroll as political appointees, attached to the office of Commissioner Laveist?
18. If no, why not, and effective which date? And if yes, why?
This matter is a very serious one and must not be taken lightly. The DP is playing its usual political games, which is not only unacceptable, but poses a serious threat to Good Governance. While holding talks with the rest of the Kingdom for St. Maarten to become Country we cannot have a sitting government trampling on the principles of good governance, simply for their own personal and party political agendas.
Enough is enough, and the DP Executive Council has to give account to the people of St. Maarten. The Executive Council is not the private play ground of the DP, but one of our legal institutions established by law and must therefore uphold the rule of law.