Philipsburg:---The leader of the Democratic Party in her recent address portrayed herself as one of the women in the story of King Solomon in 1 Kings chapter 3 verses 16 through 28, who were fighting about who a child belonged to. The National Alliance agrees with several persons in the Christian Community that this is an outrageous, shameful, reckless and deliberate political manipulation of sacred scripture by the Democratic Party, and is nothing more than a reduction in absurdity. Everyone knows that the focus of the text is more about Wisdom rather than the maternal capabilities of two harlots. This is yet another example that proves how out of touch the Democratic Party has become. If they can’t quote the Bible correctly, are they really capable of leading SXM? We don’t think so and when you look at what the DP stands for, you’ll come to the same conclusion. This media circus only confirms that the Democratic Party cannot be trusted to make decisions on the general interest of the people. It is clear that the National Alliance is more competent to lead St. Maarten into Country Status. The DP knows that country St. Maarten is a new beginning; they want you to be afraid of a new beginning while they carry on with their old ways in the new St. Maarten.
Nine years of the Democratic Party governance left the St. Maarten constitutional ship adrift, the finances of government in disarray, investors and banks anxious, the people destitute and the image of St. Maarten badly bruised. The people of St. Maarten responded overwhelmingly to call of the National Alliance to rescue St. Maarten from national and international embarrassment, scandals, corruption, nepotism, social strangulation, economic collapse, substandard governmental services, and neglect for our youth.
The National Alliance is more concerned about the issues our people are facing and what we are going to do to make the people of SXM lives better. That is why immediately after assuming office, the NA-led government embraced the enthusiasm of the people of SXM and began to positively set about transforming our island, restoring its respectability, integrity and national confidence and making our people ready for Country St. Maarten. In our first term of office we channeled significant investment and energy into attaining the landmark achievement of phasing in Compulsory Education. We moved from a horrible situation where, every year, hundreds of children were being denied a place in school, to one where every 4, 5 and 6 year old child is now guaranteed a place in school. Education is no longer a privilege of the few, but a reality for all. We went on to reverse the poorly-conceived labor policy of the DP that endangered local small businesses and investor confidence, and we are busy refocusing and rebranding our tourism product to make St. Maarten the region’s number one destination of choice. The National Alliance government is also committed to reducing the economic burdens of all St Martiners, particularly the elderly and poor. We are busy exploring effective possibilities to bring relief to our people. In addition to this, affordable homes are being built, the long awaited Ombudsman law will be heading to the Island Council soon, and our leader will be going to Holland to discuss assistance from the Dutch to help put the necessary infrastructure in place for Country SXM which the Democratic Party failed to do.
But some will do anything to try to destabilize a secure and stable government in order to kill progress and change. Their only priority is scoring cheap political points, not the progress of the island. True “Country Above Self” puts people above party politics and personal gain. It is noteworthy that for Parliamentary elections of January 18, 2002, upon realizing that separate status was at the top of the agenda in the federal elections, the SPA invited all political parties to put country first, to band together and present a unified and inclusive team called the National Alliance, vowing to work together for St. Maarten. The Democratic Party, on the other hand, did what was in the best interest of DP party and ran on its own. While the DP bragged for 9 years, the National Alliance has been working for better days. The National Alliance will always remain committed to Team St. Maarten, for SXM is bigger than anyone of us.