Philipsburg:--- Over the past weeks St. Maarten became the centerpiece of the world for the second time this year because politicians on St. Maarten decided to put themselves first instead of the county, its people, and the integrity of the nation.
Earlier this year St. Maarten was the talk of the world when the Bada Bing videotape was released, politicians in the Netherlands criticized government especially the former Minister of Justice Roland Duncan and Member of Parliament Patrick Illidge who was seen stuffing his pockets with what appeared to be monies from a businessman. When the Dutch businessman claimed that the leader of a political party orchestrated the taping to use as blackmail, another politician was brought into the Bada Bing investigation. A complaint filed by Member of Parliament Romaine Laville against the leader of the United People's Party Theodore Heyliger was the icing on the cake for those Dutch politicians that have been screaming that St. Maarten is a corrupt country with politicians that abuse their power while nepotism is the way of governing.
While many would agree that the Dutch politicians made their statements based on what was printed or leaked to them by people living on the island, one must also agree that since October 10th, 2010 to May 21st, 2012 there were only a few people that were being taken care of by government. Contracts were awarded to either spouses or close relatives to those in charge while close to two hundred people lost their jobs because a legislator (Member of Parliament) chose to fire the workers of SBRMC. Even though there was a change in government, most of the Pelican (SBRMC) workers are still out in the cold while government did nothing but make empty promises. A few of the Pelican workers got bus and taxi licenses but the true story behind the licenses that were granted to mostly foreigners is yet to be told.
On May 6th, 2013, St. Maarten became the centerpiece of the world when the NA/ DP/I-3 coalition fell apart because three politicians felt they got what they wanted within the one year period and so it was time for them to go back to their respective camps. Member of Parliament Romaine Laville ensured that his father got contracts at the habour, long lease land from government, and monies for TEMPO while the Sucker Garden Boyz still have to give account for the monies they were awarded to clean trenches.
Besides the self enrichment schemes by these politicians who have chosen to mislead the people of St. Maarten simply because most of the people of this great nation are not fluent in the Dutch language, there are still a few scholars that are able to tell you that the English translation of constitution is misleading to say the least and that the constitution of St. Maarten is not used the way it ought to be used.
The people of St. Maarten are told that the Parliament of St. Maarten is the "boss" and what they say goes. Several politicians that have spoken thus far based their argument on article 33 of the constitution, while they forgot that the constitution of St. Maarten also has article 59 which gives the Council of Ministers certain powers to ensure that checks and balances are in place in order to safeguard democracy and the country.
The Prime Minister of St. Maarten said that article 59 can only be used if there is no majority in Parliament to form a government. While the rules of order that govern the Council of Ministers states that the Prime Minister is the one that chairs meetings, makes up the agenda for the meetings, and determines if a document is ready for handling, those stipulations are for regular administrative business that governs the day to day running of the country.
When it comes to the application of article 59 of the constitution, the decision has to be taken by the Council of Ministers and be done by a Landsbesluit (LB) and not a Ministerial decree. This is where the confusion of the day comes because the English translation of the constitution states that this can be done by an ordinance. Again the interpretations as to who has the power and the authority to decide if Parliament must be dissolved are misleading to say the least. If it was the Prime Minister who had that power then the constitution would have stated that it could be done by a Ministerial decree and not a LB. The constitution is clear when it states that the decision has to be taken by the majority in the Council of Ministers and a LB has to be prepared for this to take place.
The electoral law states that the Prime Minister has the authority to organize elections but nowhere does it state that she/he is the only one that could decide whether or not Parliament must be dissolved.
Literature on the constitution states that article 59 gives the Council of Ministers a right in any situation that they believe would serve in the best interest of the country. The literature did not show any type of limitations or restrictions as to when the Council of Ministers can apply the use of Article 59 of the constitution which is to dissolve the Parliament of St. Maarten. Beneath this article readers can read the literature on article 59 and the dissolving of Parliament.
The Governor has to Ensure that the laws and Constitution is Respected.
Several citizens and legal experts have expressed their concerns about the amount of time the Governor of St. Maarten took to bring an end to the instability in the country. It is clear that one set of politicians (majority) in the Council of Ministers exhausted themselves to apply the legal right given to them in article 59 of the constitution but they had to throw in the towel and call on the people when they realized that the Governor of St. Maarten was not ready to admonish the Prime Minister to ensure that the expression of the majority in the Council of Ministers is respected. While the necessary consultations on the formation of a government is currently taking place, it is left to be seen if the Governor of St. Maarten will use the power vested in him by the Kingdom to ensure that democracy prevails in this ongoing political saga. It is clear that the Governor cannot enter into politics, he has to remain independent when it comes to politics and whatever he does and says to the politicians remains behind closed doors.
Considering that the former UP/DP/Illidge Government only had nine seats in the parliament they could not function optimally because they needed a two third majority to pass a law, something they did not have. The NA/DP/I-3 coalition had ten seats, they were in a position to draft laws and pass them without a doubt based on the country's constitution. Because of the abuse of power and self interest, the country was destabilized for almost three weeks because eight members of Parliament believe they are the majority and they have the right to determine when a government goes home. Rightly so, the majority in parliament rules but the same applies in the Council of Ministers.
It is the opinion of several legal experts that the Governor should take into consideration, that should one of the eight persons (MPs) fall ill and there is need for an urgent meeting of parliament, that would not take place because a simple quorum they would not have to convene a meeting, notwithstanding that if the constitution and democracy does not prevail now then the opportunity for checks and balances between parliament and government will be lost. On page 231 of Professor van Rijn's text book "Staatsrecht van de Nederlandse Antillen" it states:
"The governor as head of state does not possess any independent authority. His task can be described as the right to be consulted, to encourage, and to admonish. He may form an independent opinion about government matters, but in the case of a conflict the opinion of the ministers is always decisive. This is a given since the van der Meer affair in 1955. How this all works out in the relationship between the governor and the ministers remains behind closed doors."
His main tasks are to ratify all Landsverordeningen (Country Laws) and National decrees and send them on to the Kingdom government in Holland. He will not ratify them if in his opinion they are in conflict with a Kingdom regulation, an international regulation, or the interests of the Kingdom.
This also would give the Kingdom Council of Ministers enough reason to say that the Governor of St. Maarten did not bring about justice and democracy and it's time for them to march in and take control of what goes on St. Maarten.
Click here to view part of the literature on the Constitution especially Article 59.
