The most obvious of these is that Mr. Brookson and his partners the Paas family were not the owners of the Emilio Wilson Estate in September 2005 when the Island Council first passed an Island Resolution declaring its intent to place "the estates the Industry and the Goldenrock on the list of monuments of St. Maarten" and concurrently indicated an interest in "the purchase of the property The Industry and the Goldenrock commonly known as the Emilio Wilson Estate". Nor did Brookson and his partners own the estate on June 23rd, 2006 when Government rejected the planning permit request submitted by the Emilio Wilson Estate B.V.
Brookson was also not yet the owner of the Emilio Wilson Estate on July 10th, 2007 when the Island Council unanimously passed an Island resolution in which they reaffirmed the Council's aforementioned decision of June 23rd, 2006 and decided to place the entire Industry and the Goldenrock estates, (the Emilio Wilson Estate), on the monument list.
As a matter of fact Brookson and the Paas family only obtained title to the estate one year ago on February 19th, 2008 over 2 years and 5 months after Government first indicated and motivated its intention to protect the entire Emilio Wilson Estate in September of 2005.
The only Government decision made after Brookson obtained title to the Estate is the one of July 1st, 2008 whereby the Executive Council resolved to have the entire Emilio Wilson Estate designated as a protected monument and to zone it for conservation purposes.
All of Government's resolutions and decisions related to the Emilio Wilson Estate have been well documented and publicized. Brookson was therefore fully aware of Government's intention to have the estate protected and zoned for conservation purposes when he pursued and secured a deal with the heirs of the late Mr. Emilio Wilson's brother Mr. Granville Wilson in 2008.
Statements by Brookson and his Lawyer that little seems to have been done by Government or Foundations since the Island Council passed the Island Resolution of September 20th, 2005 are misleading, considering the previously listed Island Resolutions and decisions of 2006, 2007 and 2008. Should Government have taken more measures to protect the Estate since 2005? Definitely!
St. Maarten's Environmental Foundations have however continuously advocated and pursued all feasible means of securing the protection of the Estate since at least 2005 and in some cases as early as the 1980s and 1990s. Foundation staff and board members even travelled to the Netherlands where they met with conservation NGOs as well as Funding Agencies to discuss the possibilities of purchasing the estate. International Funding Agencies, other NGOs and corporate citizens have expressed an interest in contributing towards the purchase and management of the estate but will not get involved until Government takes the initiative and allocates funding towards purchasing the property.
Upon analyzing the abovementioned chronology of events one could question why Brookson and others would pursue the purchase of property which has been clearly and repeatedly earmarked for protection by the highest council of local Government on the Island Territory of St. Maarten. One could argue that Brookson's conscious purchase of property already designated for protection constitutes an acceptance, on his part, of the estate's imminent protected status and associated development restrictions. Were Brookson's intentions honorable and did he obtain title to the estate in order to help facilitate its protection? Or was the purchase of the estate a rather unethical move Brookson undertook upon realizing the area's immeasurable historical and cultural value to the people of St. Maarten and the potential for this project to become his personal cash-cow? Taking into account the course of events the latter unfortunately seems more plausible than the former.
That Mr. Brookson became one of the co-owners of the Emilio Wilson Estate in February of 2008, (albeit with questionable intentions and in unclear circumstances) is certain and is not something which the Emilio Wilson Estate and St. Maarten Pride Foundations contest.
The Foundations, however, maintain their position of 2005 that the Emilio Wilson Estate is of vast ecological, cultural and historical significance to the people of St. Maarten as described in the Archaeological report by Dr. Haviser and several government commissioned reports.
Government would be well advised to reaffirm its commitments concerning the Emilio Wilson Estate to the people of St. Maarten through approving the "Preparatory Resolution Conservation Areas", expediting the process of zoning the Emilio Wilson Estate for conservation and recreational purposes and by securing funds to purchase the Estate from its current owners. The ball is in Government's court, their silence since July 2008 is as deafening as it is unsettling.
Emilio Wilson Estate Foundation
St. Maarten Pride Foundation
Every avenue should be explored.
Dutch Secretary of State for Kingdom Relations Ank Bijleveld informed the St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA) last week during her brief visit to the island that additional help might be possible via funds already allocated to Netherlands Antilles Development Foundation USONA and the Antillean Co-Financing Organization AMFO, adding that this aid could come in the form of technical assistance. Funding from the European Union (EU) can also be explored the State Secretary pointed out.
The islands should take Bijleveld up on her offer with respect to what are the possibilities to cushion the impact of the global recession. However, I do not agree with Bijleveld where she mentions about funds already allocated should be used for dealing with the economic recession. These allocated funds are already destined for areas that need to be developed and are priority areas for the respective islands.
Additional funds should be made available because this crisis is an exceptional one. The first thing the Dutch Government has to recognize is that, unlike other financial breakdowns that we have seen over the years, this one is not confined to particular economic sectors, markets or regions. It is global. Our island nation has to plan well ahead taking into consideration that this recession may well extend into 2010 and one has to plan for the inevitable. This is the most severe economic crisis since the Great Depression almost 80-years ago.
Even though the U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman announced last week that by the end of 2009 things may start to turn around in the U.S. economy, we still need to see ourselves through the second half of 2009 as well as 2010.
The Cayman Islands - a British dependency similar to Anguilla - will secure US$185 million in long-term financing to fund requirements for its 2008/09 budgetary year capital expenditure and investment projects. This money will be obtained on the international finance market through a bond issue to be floated by Scotia Bank and Trust (Cayman) Ltd and US-based JP Morgan.
Bridge financing has been secured from a consortium of two local retail banks - Scotia Bank and Royal Bank of Canada - and the Cayman Government has already drawn down US$90 million, with an option to withdraw another US$95 million, all of which is to be repaid when the bonds are successfully floated.
Our island nation of St. Maarten does not have the authority to seek funds on the finance market, but a dependency of the United Kingdom has this possibility. This is something that we need to think long and hard about. The Cayman Islands population is roughly the same as St. Maarten.
Despite our constitutional limitations in seeking the necessary funds that we need to fulfil our national development goals at this point in time of constitutional renewal, we must pursue every avenue available that would carry us through these turbulent times.
Roddy Heyliger