When I was telling people on my radio program about all these taxes I was labeled as spreading false rumors, misleading and creating fear within the community of Saba, that I was causing confusion. Time and only time has now proven that what I was saying was based on being able to read the Dutch language and understand it. Thank god I did not have to wait on any computer program to translate from Dutch to English to understand what was written in many of those draft fiscal laws.
The new fiscal laws for Saba are a done deal and right now the experts and messenger boys and girls are only coming to deliver the message. The Second and first chamber has ratified all of these laws and they are in place.
To come now and fool the people that some gentleman will be visiting the island on Tuesday of this week is just to pull the cloth over the faces of the Saban community. No messenger boy or girl can change these laws. Laws are changed via the second chamber and this is along drawn out process.
The fiscal laws for Saba has been agreed upon and accepted by the Commissioners that traveled first class to the Netherlands to attend all of these discussions with their advisors that has no knowledge about fiscal matters.
Nobody should be accusing or blaming the Dutch government or the Dutch technocrats, the blame has to be thrown on the doorsteps of Commissioners Christopher Johnson and Bruce Zagers. They’re the ones that agreed and accepted these laws on the people of Saba. At no point have I ever heard of the Island council meeting in public session to approve or disapprove of these fiscal laws for Saba and once that has not been done it mean that the government of Saba is in agreement with the fiscal laws.
And to now come and try to tell people that there is room for these taxes to be renegotiated is wasteful thinking to the highest degree.
Nobody can tell me that I was not telling the people of Saba what they were getting. Mind you I have no problem with the status that we have but I have a problem with the implementation of the many laws that is being brought forward with the consent of the government of Saba. Don’t blame anything on the Dutch the Dutch is only implementing what was agreed upon.
Commissioner Johnson on numerous occasion publicly stated that the Dutch as r good partners and they are serious. To come now and accuse the Dutch is poor politics to the highest degree.
The people of Saba has been taken for a ride and our rights as a people has been sold, out for a few Euro’s for Education and Health care which is yet to be seen. The Dutch government has made sure to put their things in place and make sure that they have a return on their investments on Saba.
With these new taxes that will be introduced on January 1st 2011, I can already hear the cries of the business community with some of them planning to scale down and some even planning to close down. Has the WIPM led administration studied the consequences of their failed negotiating skills? Do they have a plan in place in the event that people will be out of work?
But already they are out there telling people that they deserve another 4 year period in government. I am publicly calling on the people of Saba to reject the WIPM list of candidate on March 2nd 2011. They sold out our rights and our way of living and now they are trying to convince you that the Dutch government is introducing measures that were never discussed or agreed upon. Pure bull wash and people got to remember this on Election Day.
Lack of knowledge of the Dutch language has placed us into this situation right now. I call on our people not to enter into any fight or arguments with the Dutch representatives that are here to carry out their duties. The Customs and Tax Department people are only doing what the WIPM party representatives that traveled first class to the Netherlands and negotiated and agreed upon.
I will continue to be critical of this government here on Saba because I am convinced that they are not capable to govern this little island that we once use to call paradise.
Incapable, incompetent, arrogant and wicked is the only term that I can find about this Executive Council in its negotiating skills on behalf of the people of Saba. When one Commissioner can go around telling people that he don’t see anything wrong with the new fiscal laws and that people is only confusing things then I say that Commissioner is not worthy of being a Commissioner on behalf of the Saban people.
We have gone from a Freeport status to a tax import status with 6% at the port of entry. And people have to be reminded that Commissioner Christopher Johnson said that if people find Statia to be much cheaper then they should move there. It goes to show that there is no form of understanding and arrogance is playing the number one line on little Saba.
Dave Levenstone,
Political Leader of the Democratic Party.