Philipsburg:--- Member of Parliament Frans Richardson who is championing the construction of a drag strip and cricket stadium told Parliament on Monday that the project that he supports did not come out of nowhere. MP Richardson showed Parliament that the project was incorporated in the National Alliance manifesto which was presented to the people of St. Maarten during the 2010 elections. Richardson said he has heard it all on the various talk shows and television programs. However, he made clear that while he was the commissioner of Tourism and Economic Affairs in the National Alliance/Heyliger Government he worked on the project and that is why it was placed in the manifesto of the National Alliance. Richardson was the deputy leader of the National Alliance Political Party when it contested the 2010 elections. In a rebuttal statement, Member of Parliament Johan Janchi Leonard in his address said "William Marlin nobody likes you and if MP Richardson had believed in the manifesto of the National Alliance why did he jump ship or leave the National Alliance and become an Independent Member of Parliament. The people of St. Maarten wants to know and I would be ashamed to produce the manifesto of the National Alliance in the House of Parliament when I am no longer a member of the party," Leonard said.
The Eight Hundred Pound Gorilla --- Laveist.
Member of Parliament Louie Laveist took a jab at the media during his presentation claiming that the media is the 800 pound gorilla. Laveist said that a particular media house on St. Maarten has a reporter that is part of the United Peoples Party and being paid by the Harbor Group of Companies to promote the UP Party and its leader. While not naming the reporter or the media house he was referring to, Laveist said that the integrity of the news media has now become questionable because articles that are published in the newspaper the reporter works for are no longer objective. "Everyone on St. Maarten knows the reporter who is a member of the United Peoples Party and being paid by the Harbor Group of Companies, that media house has lost its credibility," Laveist told Parliament.
Member of Parliament Louie Laveist further stated that he intends to call the management of the Harbor Holding Company to Parliament to get the answers he needs regarding the reporter that is being paid by them. "The Harbor has to tell me how they were promoting the projects they worked on while the UP/ DP was in government and they also have to tell me how they paid the reporter."
Member of Parliament Johan Janchi Leonard said he is not there to defend the media but he thinks that it was unnecessary for MP Laveist to attack the media on the floor of Parliament since media workers are not politicians. Leonard even expressed an experience he endured as an elected official when he was accused of awarding a contract to Tamara Leonard. MP Leonard said the TODAY Newspaper accused him of securing a contract for his daughter and he did not lash out at the media because he is of the opinion that everyone including his wife and daughter knew that the writer of the article wrote trash. "Elected officials have to expect that the media will criticize them even if it means writing lies when they are in power. I am not here to defend the media because I know they can defend themselves but it is unfair to attack people that are not in this hall to defend themselves."
The media became the center piece of Monday's meeting after several Members of Parliament took offense to an article that was published last week which indicated that the Deputy Prime Minister/ Minister of VROMI William Marlin does not like French citizens because he said that a small toll fee will be charged for persons who use the causeway. Member of Parliament Dr. Lloyd Richardson in his presentation said that he believes that the persons that made the statement against the Minister of VROMI should apologize to the Minister because his wife is from the French side of the island and it is absurd for anyone to think that the Minister has anything personal against French citizens and residents. MP Richardson said that Members of Parliament should be more cautious of what they say on the floor of Parliament because right now everyone should be giving thanks and celebrating because the island was spared of the hurricanes this year but it appeared to him as though the MPs want some severe disaster.
MP Laveist also asked the Minister of VROMI who was at Parliament to answer questions on zoning and infrastructure and to tell the people of St. Maarten who acquired the land in Simpson Bay where BBW had its company in the past. The National Alliance Member of Parliament also quizzed the VROMI Minister for answers regarding the changes that were made to the causeway and if proper procedures were followed. Laveist lashed out at the leader of the United Peoples Party and former Minister of VROMI for adding two cents to gasoline and Naf. 150 to container fees to finance the causeway without consulting with Parliament and the people of St. Maarten.
Laveist said he wants to know if the increase on gasoline and container fees would be temporary or if it will become permanent like the Turn over Tax (TOT).
Laveist also questioned the Minister of VROMI on the current status of the land around Kim Sha Beach. MP Laveist said while he was a member of the former executive council several restaurateurs approached government and expressed their dilemma about the lack of parking in Simpson Bay. He said at the time government decided to keep the land around Kim Sha Beach as the people's patrimony but he recently heard that the former Minister of VROMI and Leader of the United People's Party gave the land to one of his relatives. "While the current Minister of VROMI said that the land at Kim Sha is still government land I would like for the Minister of VROMI William Marlin to do some indepth research to see if the land was given away and the parking for the businesses in that area has been abolished."
Member of Parliament Gracita Arrindell asked the Minister of VROMI to tell Parliament who owns land from Tropicana Casino to the Royal Palm Beach area, while Member of Parliament Hyacinth Richardson asked the Minister of VROMI to go a bit further and tell the people of St. Maarten who own the lands from the Princess Juliana International Airport to the Tropicana Casino.
