Dear news media,
When I read Member of Parliament Sjamira Roseburg’s recent remarks about GEBE disconnections and the rights of consumers, I could not help but feel a sense of disgust at the blatant hypocrisy on display. Rosenberg is not some powerless observer; she is an MP for the URSM Party—led by Prime Minister Luc Mercelina—and a full member of the governing coalition that has presided over nearly two years of hardship for the people of St. Maarten. If Roseburg truly cared about protecting the rights of ordinary citizens, she would not have voted against the motion in Parliament to provide relief from the crushing energy bills GEBE has been charging. She would have spoken up months ago, not now when it is politically convenient to appear as “the people’s champion.” As an attorney at law with the privilege of continuing her private practice while collecting over NAf 18,000 per month as an MP, Roseburg has no difficulty paying her own electricity bills. With her position as a Member of Parliament for the Coalition, even if she had a problem with a high GEBE bill, she can afford to call GEBE management directly for answers—an option the average citizen does not have. Where was Rosburg when St. Maarten was plunged into darkness after the island-wide blackout—when businesses were forced to close, tourists fled, and our island’s reputation was blacklisted in the United States and Canada as unsafe due to electricity instability? Where was her outrage when homes and businesses lost valuable appliances with no compensation, while GEBE’s bills kept climbing without explanation?
At no time did she stand up for the people, defend them against her party’s failures, or challenge the Prime Minister’s empty promises. She sided with her leader and voted against relief. Let us not forget: This leader and Party is Prime Minister Luc Mercelina, the same man who publicly said that generators could have been on the island within a week of the blackouts—but chose not to act, because according to him it was “too expensive.” Instead, he and his URSM government have done nothing but make excuses, shift blame, and now fire the GEBE board in a desperate attempt to cover up their incompetence. St. Maarten, this may be a case of you getting what you deserve because you are the ones who voted for them. But not even that is enough reason for anyone to deserve this kind of injustice. So, for Rosenberg to suddenly discover her concern for the public is not only insulting—it is a calculated political manoeuvre designed to erase her voting record.
I hope this marks the beginning of her redemption, now that she has awoken from her deep slumber and possibly distanced herself from Luc Mercelina and the URSM Party. Because she truly can do better, I think. However, if she must follow the decisions of a Narcissistic leader whose goal is merely to be called Prime Minister, rather than to do the work, then she, like the URSM, is wasting the people’s time and not genuinely trying to help them. I remain a believer in the people of Sweet St. Maarten, and although politicians hope they can count on the people to forget, I believe the people of St. Maarten remember. They remember the promise of relief “by the end of July” that never came. They remember being told there was no double TOT on fuel—only for the Prime Minister’s own words to confirm that, yes, fuel is taxed at wholesale and again at the pump. They remember the lies, the excuses, and the two years of the new government and no action. Roseburg’s words are meaningless unless backed by action—and she has already shown, through her vote and her silence, exactly where her loyalty lies. The URSM government has failed the people of St. Maarten at every turn. They cannot fix what they promised to fix, they cannot keep the promises they made, and they think firing a board member will hide the fact that they have done nothing for nearly two years except protect themselves. The people must ask: how much longer will we allow such hypocrisy and disregard for human decency to go unpunished? How can we trust those who, in our time of desperation, chose party loyalty and personal comfort over the needs of the very people they swore to represent? Roseburg, the answer to your question of whether you're getting my vote, is NO. It should be the same for every other St. Maartener because that is what you said when the opposition members of Parliament brought a motion to get relief for me and the rest of St. Maarten from the financial burden and hardship that GEBE has imposed on us.
Concerned Citizen.