PHILIPSBURG:---The board of the United St. Maarten (US) party on Tuesday questioned how the National Alliance (NA) led coalition government can govern effectively when issues that should be dealt with in coalition meetings are being resolved on the floor of Parliament through motions against sitting Ministers. The board of US also questioned what vision government has for the country moving forward.
The US lamented that with everything St. Maarten is going through economically and socially, the people of the country are not getting vision and planning, but divisions with the governing National Alliance and United People (UP) party.
It seems like every day, the board said, the people of this country are faced with a scandal or accusations of wrong-doing by the government. “It feels like deals are being made among the coalition partners to put out the daily fires. It feels like the coalition is so busy trying to find ways to cover their backs, nobody thinks it is important to consult and inform the public about anything,” the board said.
“Effective governing, from which your population benefits, requires cohesion between the coalition representatives in parliament and the executive level. Effective leadership requires vision and a plan, but most importantly governing responsibly requires a commitment to sound and transparent decision making in the full interest of the people of this country and not the blind execution of instructions,” the US board said.
“The three motions tabled and passed almost unanimously in Parliament last week, one coming from the leader of the NA faction against one of its own ministers, brought more questions than answers with regards to leadership than the motion itself. It also highlighted the division and total lack of communication that exist in both factions of this NA lead coalition,” the US board said.
The US board said that with another decision pending with regards to data privacy, the people are again being kept in the dark on a decision with far-reaching consequences without full disclosure and/or consultation, which leads US to question government’s commitment to responsible leadership.
“Data protection has now been added to country packages that have yet to be disclosed in its entirety to the people on whose behalf these decisions are being made. The constitution guarantees the people of this country fundamental rights that this government continues to trample on. It is government’s sworn duty to uphold the constitution and make decisions in the best interest of its people. Based on its decisions thus far, it is questionable whose vision is being executed, and at what cost,” the board concluded.
