TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Dutch government firm on conditions

Daily Herald story Marlin and the SXM government need to agree to their conditions. Period.

This is byond incredible!

How so?

Marlin will not agree to their terms which seem to me to be reasonable so the island will not receive the much needed money to recover.

Due diligence is a must when in the situation now facing SXM.
We have all seen the stories of the construction vultures arriving in numerous locations in the world following disasters. With the resulting millions wasted together with inferior reconstruction.

Agreed. St. Maarten needs to agree to the Dutch conditions. Period.

Thank-you Carol. I was starting to think rhat I had missed something here.

Having learned too many times over too many years how things often seem to happen on Sint Maarten, I don’t blame them for insisting on these things. There has to be some integrity and accountability, both of which have often been missing in the Island government’s dealings. Don’t know how the border thing would work out but for sure, there has to be accountability over that kind of money, and the people who so desperately need it shouldn’t be held hostage in this mess. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

The Prime Minister sucks.

Don't sugar coat it, tell us how you really feel. LOL

I can't get the article.

The Daily Herald has been having a lot of problems recently. Try back later.

I was able to get the article after a few attempts. Like Carol said the DH servers have been acting up. Having said that I re-read the article and it seems to me, reading in between the lines, that the Dutch government doesn't have much faith in the St. Maarten government to be good stewards of the funding. I can understand their stand because of what I've read of the current PM.

Doesn't matter which recent PM you are talking about, the SXM government in general has not been good stewards of the people's money.

Ha! Everyone knows about those "wrong" pockets!

Hello GeBe!?!

Zackly, hence the preconditions, which IMO are necessary. I believe it is very foolish position for the PM to take when the people of St. Maarten NEED the assistance and rebuilding the economy through reconstructione is the only way to do it. Again, I think that if one has nothing to hide then one would embrace an oversight committee to be a system of checks and balances. As for the border situation, I can only imagine that it wouldn't really be to hurt the residents and/or tourists but rather to make sure that those coming in to help the rebuilding are there legally. Unfortunately there are some that will dwell upon those in need with criminal actions. Definitely think the SXM gov't is hiding something. As the old saying goes, "He doth protest too much."

Well said , thanks.

I completely agree. We were talking about this last night. There is no reason not to have oversight. You are the ones asking for something (money) so you should be willing to do WHATEVER the person giving wants. Why can't it be transparent and have an integrity committee? That means you are hiding something.
Let the Sunshine In.

So I wonder - if the people who need this relief want it to come in WITH conditions, is there anyway for them to force Marlin's hands? It's unbelievable that at a time like this, he's playing politics with relief funds. ALL relief funds come with strings and conditions.

He holds an elected office, so there's bound to be a way for the political process to run its course. How long can he continue to hold his ground in the face of his constituents, who are desperate for the aid? Who knows? Probably not very long would be my guess.

I am not at all surprised that he is making a lot of noise about this. As I mentioned, there is a democratic system of some sort, and the insistence on an "Accountability Commission" constitutes a vote of no confidence in him by the Netherlands. They are saying in a very direct way that they do not trust him to do what he has been elected to do. If he is as pure as the driven snow, this is patronizing and offensive. And if he isn't, he will lose the ability to deal the money out to his friends. For him, it's bad either way.

But the money talks, so there's no question how this ends. Just when.

Sint Maarteners need to organize and show up at Administration building and get TDH, everyone involved. Not the status quo. Enough already. This is what I told a friend to do when she got a $1000 usd Gebe bill for August and Sept. With no power or water since Sept 5th.
Wish I was down there organizing!

The offer was only until Oct. 31st-haven’t heard of any extensions.

Theo says to give the Dutch what they demand. Daily Herald story

Theo smart. Can't squeeze something that is dry. He's been around a long time now!
Grandpa would be proud! LOL

According to a post on FB the government has now turned down the conditions set so no money from Holland will be coming. I just can’t believe this.

An OFFICIAL government post on Facebook?

Sorry, which means what? Sounds like they are still negotiating?

It means Marlin is saying NO to the Dutch and he seems to believe that the Dutch have to give in to him. His offer to "negotiate" is simply a politician trying to sound at least marginally competent. The fact that Rutte has indefinitely postponed his visit to SXM suggests to me that the Dutch are going to let Marlin at least delay if not kill an aid package getting done. I hope Marlin is prepared for a serious riot if he actually angers the Dutch enough to stop the aid from happening.

It sure looked official but now I can’t find it so maybe not-hope not.

OK. Riot is correct. God help Sint Maarten.

This is not "negotiating". He is sitting at a table by himself. This is called "posturing". The Netherlands holds all of the cards, every single one. Again, the PM can express real or feigned outrage, but at the end of the day, he will do what the Netherlands requires, or there will be no money.

Autonomy and independence are two way streets. Without getting too political, a number of the affected islands have the same issue, including Anguilla. You want to be "independent"? No problem. That means you are on your own, with aid a purely private matter. If I exercise no control over you, then I owe you nothing.

Correct on all counts.

Couldn't have said it any better myself. Most of the St. Maarten politicians are in it only for themselves. Not all of them, but for sure most of them. It is about time for their constituents to demand they do what they were elected to do--and that is take care of St. Maarten residents. I can't for the life of me imagine why the same bunch of thieves who have lied to them in the past over and over keep being elected.

But Theo is already riling up the people now.
Marlin needs to get over himself.

Not that anything will change in Marlin's position, but there is supposed to be a meeting of Parliament at 4 PM today to discuss this matter.

I will not pretend to be at all familiar with the form of government in Sint Maarten. That said, if there is a Parliament, and if he is a Prime Minister, it sure sounds like some form of Parliamentary government. If that is the case, the Parliament usually has the power to remove a Prime Minister by a vote of "no confidence". Does anyone here know if that is actually the case?

Yes - a basic parliamentary system.

On a vote of no confidence the Prime Minister "shall resign."

Or, if you could put together enough votes - probably require a supermajority - the Prime Minister probably could be dismissed.

I suppose it possible that this is a big enough deal that Marlin's government could fall - I will believe it when I see it.

Doesn't the government there fall fairly frequently? I seem to recall reading about that on multiple occasions.

For those interested, the parliament meeting is supposed to be carried live on www.pearlfmradio.sx and www.sxmparliament.org There is some kind of a session going on now, but the session about the Dutch aid is supposed to be 4 PM today.

And yes, the SXM government has fallen many times, but I would doubt it in this situation.