PHILIPSBURG:--- The newly formed coalition headed by the United Peoples Party Leader Theodore Heyliger is having disagreements even before the broad based government is formed.
SMN News understands that the leader of the Democratic Party is now demanding that she be allowed to appoint Ministers and her party should have portfolios for their support. Inside sources said that the UPP Leader and negotiators gave Cornelius de Weever two ministries for him to abandon the NA/USp/DP coalition. According to the information SMN News received, De Weever was offered the Ministry of Health and Labor as well as Education. It is further understood that De Weever called on National Alliance MP Silveria Jacobs to take on the Education portfolio but Jacobs bluntly refused the offer. MP elect De Weever it is understood will appoint the current head of Labor and Social Affairs Peggy Ann Dros as Minister of Health and Labor while he also contacted Angie Gumbs from Oranje School to take up the Education Ministry and Gumbs also refused the offer. The source said that when the UPP leader negotiated with the leader of the Democratic Party Sarah Wescot Williams he offered her the same portfolios he offered to De Weever also the Chairmanship of Parliament.
According to persons affiliated with the Democratic Party, the members of the DP exploded when they heard that the party leader went with her son to negotiate with the UPP and she accepted the chairmanship of parliament and did not get any Ministries. Most of the DP membership are angry because the party leader did not even inform them of her decision. Some said they recieved a BBM message around 12:30 the night before informing them of the decision Wescot Williams and her son took. In that BBM message Wescot Williams promised to provide more details to her membership later that day. She however met with the members of the DP on October 12th 2014.
It is further understood that when Wescot Williams met with her members at least two of them resigned from the party they are Marinka Gumbs and Richelda Rodrigues-Emmanuel.It should be noted that Marinka Gumbs resigned on October 10th 2014, two days before the meeting was held. Gumbs actually expressed her shock and disgust when she learnt via the media that the leader of the Democratic Party join forces with the UPP/De Weever coaltion without informing her membership. "Furthermore, several of the DP members who ran on the DP slate said Wescot Williams took their votes as if they were all hers and used it for her own self interest and not the in the interest of the country.
Sources said that Michael Ferrier the former President of the DP board is also contemplating resigning from the DP in order to fully distance himself from the decisions the party leader took.
SMN News further learnt that the coalition members met Wednesday night as they tried to iron out their issues.
SMN News will bring you more information on the current development as it becomes available.
