Pundits are saying that while the island is pressured with a financial crisis and a worldwide recession the monies spent on the logo is a complete waste of funds since the COM also lost over 21 million Euros from the Octroi de mer funds. They said the COM is using scare tactics to get the population to pay the road tax for last year and has began calling on vehicle owners to pay the 2009 road tax less than nine months after they paid the first vehicular tax. Residents already indicated that they would not be paying these additional taxes since the elected officials at the COM are not using tax payer's monies to the benefit of the people.
SMN News understands that President Frantz Gumbs hosted his birthday party at the La Samana Hotel in December where he invited some 40 persons. The bill for this party was paid for by the COM while just last week another birthday bash was held at the COM for a newly employed DGA.
Another concern for many St. Martiners is that just last week the President of the Collectivity of Saint Martin recently notified the local union that he would not be respecting the protocol signed by former President of the COM Louis Constant Fleming which states that the employees would be receiving an increase in their salaries. This information SMN News understands was disclosed to the union during a meeting on Friday.
Sources close to the party said that there is a high rift between the former president and now senator Louis Constant Fleming and the present president Frantz Gumbs whom he appointed when he was sanctioned last July. It is understood that Senator Fleming is highly disappointed and even feels guilty at the way the country is being run since Gumbs was his selection for the post.
It is said that Fleming is constantly dealing with party problems each time he returns to the island while valuable information on the management of the COM is withheld from him.
The well placed source said that the party leader is looking into taking drastic measures since there is a huge division within the ruling party. One such division is the lack of support given to Territorial Councilor Ida Zin Ka Ieu who is also president of the Tourist Office who has not yet gotten her yearly indemnity. It is said that Zin Ka Ieu is having severe problems with her colleagues which would soon escalate.
SMN News was reliably informed that Fleming saw the true colors of his pal Frantz Gumbs last Wednesday night when he invited them to a UMP meeting at his Bellevue office. Sources say that one of the VP's walked out of the meeting and slammed the door behind him saying he is not going to continue taking anymore "BS".
The source said that Fleming is now working on ways to take measures against the people who were elected under him.
