National Alliance (NA) leader William Marlin and independent Island Councilman Theo Heyliger signed a declaration on the formation of the new Executive Council in Emilio Wilson Historical and Cultural Park on Saturday.
The "Emilio Wilson Declaration," as it has been called, states that NA and Heyliger have agreed to work together to form a new Executive Council comprising five commissioners who will be sworn in today, Monday, in an Island Council meeting at 10:00am.
The NA-led Executive Council will be supported by seven of the 11 members of the Island Council, giving it a two-seat majority. Marlin will be referred to as "Leader of Government" while Heyliger will be the "Deputy Leader of Government."
A governing accord is in the works and should be completed and signed within 21 days of the formalisation of the Emilio Wilson Estate Declaration. The details and negotiations will be hammered out in a leadership conference of Marlin and Heyliger.
Island Council Chairman Lt. Governor Franklyn Richards was informed by the two coalition parties about the declaration a short while after it was signed. Other governments in the Kingdom were also informed of the declaration within 24 hours of its signing.
New Commissioners
The new commissioners are Marlin with responsibility for Constitutional Affairs and Education, Heyliger (Harbour Affairs and Public Works), Frans Richardson (Tourism and Economic Affairs), Hyacinth Richardson (Health and Labour) and Xavier Blackman (Finance). The commissioners-to-be were introduced to a gathering of NA and Heyliger supporters and the press in the park after the agreement was signed.
Blackman is the only non-politician in the mix. He was an Associate Director of KPMG Advisory Services in the Dutch Caribbean and is considered one of the Netherlands Antilles’ top financial experts. He was selected by the new NA/Heyliger coalition government for just this reason.
Blackman has since resigned from his post at KPMG. He has also resigned from his post as a board member of St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Convicted independent Island Councilman Louie Laveist also supports the coalition. He pledged his support to the NA in May after withdrawing it from the DP-led Executive Council, leaving the DP without the one-seat majority it had enjoyed since November.
This led to contact between the two main parties NA and DP with the purpose of forming a broad-based government. These talks never took off, as the leaders could not agree on the fine points. After that NA, with a mandate from its members to form as stable as possible a government for the island, "invited" Heyliger for talks.
Laveist will hold no position in the new Executive Council and had not suggested or asked to appoint anyone. He was not present at Saturday’s signing.
This resulted in the declaration signed Saturday. The location was chosen because the park and the estate hold a special place in the hearts of people. There have been some indications that the new government, which is in favour of preserving the estate, will be looking keenly at purchasing it.
Changes
State Secretary for Public Health George Pantophlet will be back in the Island Council as he reclaims his seat from present Island Councilman Patrick Illidge who was appointed in January. Illidge will take Pantophlet’s post in Curaçao.
Pantophlet will also take up one of the parliamentary seats vacated by Marlin and Frans Richardson, who will now be commissioners. The other parliamentary seat goes to Island Councilman Rodolphe Samuel, Marlin announced Saturday.
Governing Accord
According to the declaration signed Saturday, a Governing Programme will be drafted under the guidance of the Leadership Conference and ratified by the Island Council. It will also include an Action Plan with projects and programmes to be carried out as priorities of the new Executive Council.
The accord will cover the rest of this Island Council term, which is about 18 months. The focus will be on constitutional affairs, in particular the attainment of country status for St. Maarten as voted for in the referendum in June 2000. Also high on the agenda are the crisis in education and the environment.
NA and Heyliger by means of the declaration "commit and bind themselves to putting all efforts, manpower and available resources into the completion of the constitutional process to establish St. Maarten as a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands as to be set forth in the Kingdom Charter."
They also agreed to meet regularly to discuss any and all relevant matters that may be put on the agenda, as well as prepare decision-making of the Island and Executive Councils.
The following pictures are some highlights of the event:
