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St. Tosia’s Art Scene

SINT MAARTEN (COMMENTARY by Cdr. Bud Slabbaert) – Duncan La Mar is a well-known painter on St.Tosia. He has a distinctive ponytail dreadlock Afro hairstyle under his straw hat and small but thick golden hoops hanging from his ear lobes, and a fuzzy white beard. Most of his daytime Duncan spends on the Kaya Loco Strip, the boulevard where creativity and entertainment are embraced with all oddities.  Around ten in the morning, he toddles along the Kaya Loco Boulevard pulling his cart with the two scavenged bicycle wheels. Duncan is a person who wouldn’t go anywhere before 10 o’clock in the morning anyway.

On the plywood cargo bed is all the equipment to set up the joint that he calls his mobile “en plein air” art studio. The easel, a bar stool, a sun umbrella and a large utensil box are all strapped down by bungee cords. Duncan usually sets up on the stone wall bordering the platinum beach in the stretch between the “Windhole Resort and Beach Hotel” and the marina of the ”Puerto Olvidar Imperial Yacht Club”. It is a prominent location where the lightly dressed eye candy promenade in a happy bouncy strut, with big sunglasses and their noses in the air, while enjoying the attention they get from the million-dollar troopers who on their turn enjoy the sexy vibes.

Duncan unfolds the sun umbrella which shows a bit of wear and tear on the faded orange colored canvas that once must have been as bright as the blossoms of the island’s flamboyant trees. Under the sunshade, he opens up the tripod easel and at the cross bar he attaches a broken clothes hanger with a roll of toilet paper that he uses to clean his brushes. A linen canvas is put on the easel. From the box on the cart he takes the brushes and tubes of oil paint that he needs for creating a new piece of art and puts them on the paint station console of the three-legged art facilitation apparatus.

As he positions the barstool in front of his workstation a voice from behind inquires:

“Hey Picasso, another day of inspired hard labor?”

Without turning around Duncan knows the familiar voice of Constable Fushkin doing his rounds and looking for a bit of a handout to fix up his humble salary as police officer.

The artist grabs in his pocket where he has a 5-dollar bill ready for this daily corruptive routine.

“Here lawman,” he says as he hands him the money, and adds: “You would be the perfect motivation to create a dark piece of art and call it ‘Evil in Paradise’.”

The constable has no understanding of fine arts and no clue of what Duncan is referring to. With a big dumb and dirty grin and in an attempt to come over as having some sense of humor he asks sarcastically: “Need a receipt for your accounting?”

“Beat it, man, beat it,” Duncan responds as he is sorting his paint brushes and he mumbles for himself: “You are distorting the vision I have for my next brilliant and astonishing creation.”

Duncan is perfectly happy not doing a whole lot. He believes that freedom includes freedom to do nothing. He also believes that freedom is to do things his own way.

"It's all a ‘whim’, man! I do my own thing and paint badly, but I just pretend that it is my style. Oh, it’s a fact man. It takes courage to paint the way I do. It’s a fact.” For not knowing what he is doing, he does quite well. To Duncan “color felt” is nourishment and the messenger of illumination; color is his language and color abstraction is his lingo whereby differentiation is used to shape the conceptual reflection of the moment; a pictorial diary that inspires him to capture the ever-present storyline of daily life in St.Tosia.

“I do things with paint that no one asks me to do, and no one would really want it, but the well-heeled socialites tell each other that they ought to have it. It’s a fact, man, it’s a fact. But it’s fine with me.”

While most of the members of the artistic community on St.Tosia are struggling to eke out an existence, Duncan is doing very well painting his pictorial quirky “whim” in bold luminous cadmium green, red, orange and yellow colors, inspired and nourished by the tropical Caribbean surroundings. Almost flagrant, his art sparks with life, engaging the senses of the viewer.

Shortly after sunset, Duncan packs his easel, sunshade, bar stool, and the art utensils box on his cart, straps them down with the bungee cords and grabs the cart by the hinge and tows it to the “Hakuna Matata Shack” at the East end of the Kaya Loco strip, the hang-out of all artists. In tune with the meaning of the Swahili phrase Hakuna Matata, akin to “don’t worry be happy”, it is a crazy, funky fun place and one of the hottest social scenes for marginalized and impoverished artists, writers, journalists, and actors gathering round and arguing fueled by either intellect or alcohol. There are two elements at least, that seem essential to them. The first is devotion or addiction to art or some form of creativity; the other is poverty. They take pleasure in practicing an unconventional lifestyle in the company of like-minded artistic talents who are untroubled by the disapproval of society. Without exception, whether wannabe artists who lack the X factor, or established successful creative performers, they all enjoy being part of the Caribbean zest of life.

The Hakuna Matata’s walls are littered with a collection of artworks by artists who couldn't pay their bill. It would make art lovers and collectors drool with envy. The pieces are held until the artist can pay or until someone will buy it, whatever comes first. The scarce light of flickering candles and oil lamps give the accommodation an aromatic ambiance. The center piece of the lounge room is “Ye Old Winston”, the round mahogany debate table where the torchbearers of conservative resentment can discuss in a fact-free zone amid a fog of double-talk which represents the spirit and freedom of thought and speech. It is the meeting point where unusual ideas are hatched and mulled over and inspiration is a gratification.

Of course, that inspiration comes in many forms to the individual liking, but inspiration is a topic of endless discussions which give the gathered artists the strength to continue when they may get tired or burned out and therefore they believe that debating and arguing at “Ye Olde Winston” is meaningful. Every evening there is a mélange gathering of minds. Just to name a few:

Jean Baptiste Mallau is the poet who came to St.Tosia to "sin disgracefully" and write inspirational poems. He believes that the root of all inspiration is the idea that nothing is complete without trying anything at least once and only then his life will become meaningful. “Joie de Vivre” is his trademark. It is common knowledge that members of the opposite gender prevail among the admirers of his poetry and they seem to cannot get enough of his dreamy phrasing and romantic rhyming in the tropical island nights.

Lord Spencer is the singing and songwriting “Soul of St.Tosian Calypso”, a former auto mechanic and specialist in fixing tires, who turned itinerant vocalist. He is one of the most prolific musical performers in the Caribbean. At age sixty-six, he still remains as committed to his musical craft as when he was young, and he first devoted himself to a life of melodic expression and musical intimidation.

Jahi Kamanda is a wannabe play writer and the stereotype of the struggling and starving artist who believes that life is an exhausting amount of work and only inspirational ideas can help renew himself to complete his ever-unfinished series of theater play fantasies. To make ends meet, on Saturday nights, he plays the piano in the bar of the “Casa Rosso” house of ill repute.

Dick Doherty, once a technical writer of NASA, channeled his enduring spirit of space adventure into writing columns about the celebrities visiting St.Tosia for a gossip boulevard magazine back home. He claims that for him inspiration is knowing that what he does matters deeply to the universe and his observations and comments about the lifestyles and behavior of the superstars in the dialogs are often as from an astral flying object of a third kind.

And then there is Alvaro Mantaquin, who is dressed ragged as a cocklebur. He is devoted to a simple life of “genuine focus” and finds inspiration in uncorking bottles and to become filled with strength and vigor to fulfill his life's purpose to paint overlapping washes of color that are sumptuous and create intensification and movement. He manipulates the angles of his subjects on the canvas in order to gain an original perspective as seen on St.Tosia. The interplay of objects juxtaposed against varied shapes and decorative backgrounds shape the effect of cocooning his creation and telling a fairytale.

In the “Hakuna Matata Shack” of St.Tosia there is no end to discovering the mystery that leads to experiences which draw to a higher understanding and consciousness of Tosiatic art and its creators.

Visitors from all over the world and especially the so-called millennials love the uniqueness of the St.Tosia community. The art and artist are part of the Tosiatic authenticity.

About the author.

The almost true stories and almost believable stories of St.Tosia are written by Cdr. Bud Slabbaert who claims that it is what he has experienced while residing on St.Tosia and monitoring what else is going on in the Caribbean.

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Sint Maarten continues in a Race Against Time: Climate Change

SINT MAARTEN (COMMENTARY - By Roddy Heyliger) - With the political campaign for decision day January 9, 2020 well underway, 2020 will usher in a new agenda of what we all would like to accomplish in the New Year individually as well as politically. 

From the individual to the political parties currently pounding the campaign trail across the nation, goals, plans, projects and visions are being considered, debated and presented.

Each and every year is a very important one for each one of us as individuals.  Each day, month and year that goes by, we are not able to bring back or take back what has already gone and is considered history.  We can only move forward and continue to do our best in bringing about national change for the benefit of all.

There are many issues impacting our nation today, from the stagnation in the airport reconstruction and development project, to the lack of public housing, the economy, environmental neglect, climate change and much more.

Climate change presents a threat to our very existence as a nation.  Climate change is happening!  We have had the experience of severe weather – Hurricane Irma.  The world is heating up and global temperatures are expected to rise further if trends continue bringing about wide-ranging and destructive climate impacts.

The 2019 United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference known as COP25 got underway earlier this week in Spain.  COP25 is the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC, which is tasked with making sure that the Convention (aka the 2015 Paris Agreement, which strengthens the Convention), are being implemented.

According to the latest climate chatter: “There is more evidence of the impacts of climate change, especially in extreme weather events, and these impacts are taking a greater toll.  The science shows that emissions are still going up, not down.

“According to the 2019 WMO (World Meteorological Organization) Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have reached another new record high. This continuing long-term trend means that future generations will be confronted with increasingly severe impacts of climate change, including rising temperatures, more extreme weather, water stress, sea level rise and disruption to marine and land ecosystems.”

Some of the trends of commitments on a positive note are: “Small island states together committed to achieve carbon neutrality and to move to 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030.  And countries from Pakistan to Guatemala, Colombia to Nigeria, New Zealand to Barbados vowed to plant more than 11 billion trees.”

The Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte told COP25 on its opening day that because of climate change, ‘rising sea levels pose a direct threat to our very existence.’ ‘None of us can escape the consequences of climate change. None of us can turn a blind eye to what is happening right now, and what will happen in the future,’ the Dutch Prime Minister Rutte reportedly said.  ‘All of us have a responsibility to tackle the causes of climate change and adapt to its impact. All of us – together.’

The Kingdom of the Netherlands comprises of four countries, the Netherlands, Aruba, Curacao, and Sint Maarten.

Political parties who make-up the 2020 Parliament of Sint Maarten post-January 9th elections, have to unite to bring about serious planning in preparation for climate change, because our own very existence as a nation-state is at stake.  The words uttered by Rutte are also relevant and timely for Sint Maarten. 

A Kingdom approach is required in order to chart a new future for country Sint Maarten as well as the other partners within the Kingdom.  This will require considerable investments to protect our very existence.

We cannot allow disaster risk to outpace resilience.  If we do not change, we will be bound to repeat disaster with catastrophic consequences, and we are now in a race against time.

Climate change should be one of the key issues of political parties vying for a seat in the House of Parliament.

Members of Parliament have to prepare the country’s readiness and resilience for future generations.  We are entering a new decade, and there is no time for procrastination.

Sint Maarten needs a “Climate Change Adapt-Mitigate” Plan of Action as our own very survival as a country depends on it.  Investments made in a timely manner will allow us to mitigate the changes for generations to continue to develop a vibrant and prosperous country for decades to come. 

Let’s work towards preparing our country’s readiness and resilience in a time of climate change.

The clock is ticking, and Sint Maarten is in a race against time. We cannot afford to waste more time.  In 2020 we need bold, decisive decision-making in order to move our nation forward.

Roddy Heyliger

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13 people, mainly the over-80s, are dying every day after a fall: CBS

SINT MAARTEN/THE NETHERLANDS – The number of people dying after a fall has risen in 2018 and mainly elderly people who live alone are affected, CBS figures show. In 2018, an average of 13 people a day died after a fall, compared with eight in 2014.

The tally of 4,628 deaths does not include falls from bikes, mopeds or disability scooters. Most people die after falling in their bathroom. A contributing factor is the fact that the elderly is living alone and in their own homes for longer, CBS researcher Dick ter Steege said.

‘It is quite remarkable that a person who is 90 now has a bigger chance of dying from a fall than 90-year-old would have done ten years ago,’ he told broadcaster NOS. Among the reasons the elderly suffers a fall at home are a reaction to medication and a reluctance to listen to advice, district nurse Fouzia Chahid told the broadcaster.

‘People think, I’ll just get this or that quickly from the bathroom and they leave their walker outside the door. But it doesn’t need much for an accident to happen.’ She also stressed the importance for personal alarms for the elderly.

(DutchNews)

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Get Out and Vote

SINT MAARTEN (COMMENTARY By Edwin Gumbs) - As a senior retired citizen I spent my whole Monday in the legislative hall of Parliament looking and listening to our Parliamentarians doing their things. The newly sworn in Prime Minister and the newly sworn in Minister of Finance were representing the newly sworn in Government, sitting on for me the left side of the aisle.

A little over two weeks ago they sat on the right side of the aisle in that same legislative hall of Parliament, as then opposition to the Government. Left in the front row on the right were seated two young enthusiastic and energetic young ladies just sworn in as Members of Parliament.

A beautiful sight that filled my heart with pride and joy. It was touching to see the both Ministers taking pictures of the two young ladies across the aisle of them and it had a very homely cuddliness. The meeting as usual started out late again, because the game of signing off the presence list was as usual played again.

The new Prime Minister delivered her opening speech proudly and heads up, “look at me, I’m now the Prime Minister”. She briefly passed the word to the new Minister of Finance who was a little shy in the beginning, having a little problem with fitting into the shoes he now wears.   But also, a little “look at me, I’m now your Minister of Finance”.

During this whole ‘ceremony’ I distinguished this humming bee of an Member of Parliament floating around the legislative hall, leaning on the shoulders of the ‘friendly’  Members of Parliament, the shoulders of the Ministers, humming his sound in their airs like giving them instructions how to play their role in Parliament.

Again, a humming and not biting bee, which makes him lovable. The new kid on the block of whom is said that he works hard in Parliament, who does his homework in Parliament and as such is highly respected by his colleagues in Parliament. He uplifts this Parliament, but my truth is he barely manages to achieve anything for the People of Sint Maarten in Parliament. He reminded me of a character, ‘juffrouw Ooievaar’ in an old Dutch TV show for children “De Fabeltjeskrant” (“Fables paper”), who would  go around all the animals in the forest instructing, correcting and chastising them.

It really amused me, just as much as it amused my neighbor to my left in the public tribune who just a little more than two weeks ago vacated the office of Minister of Finance. I was overwhelmed by the feeling of looking at a play of the ‘Commedia dell’arte’. Being a person who loves the theatre you will understand that I enjoyed the play being performed before me.

I saw the pain when the young lady, new Member of Parliament was delivering a well prepared and deeply meant speech and the rest, even the Government side of the aisle, were showing little or no interest at all in her speech. She at one moment timidly held her breathe, staring around the legislative hall with seemingly pain in her heart, asking for attention to her speech and then undisturbed proudly continued delivering her speech. I solemnly believe that this young lady deserved a better treatment of Parliament.

And then is struck me hard to notice that I this day would be going to listen to all other Parliamentarians talking about themselves, grandstanding with “let it be stated that I am against this; not under my watch; the other government never wanted to release any information (grunting of teeth to my left), but this government as soon they got in released all information (more teeth grunting on my left); I never opposed the repairing of the airport seated on the other side of the aisle; etc, etc.”.

And of course, the motion that could have been passed a month ago in Parliament after some so called ‘adaptions’ was passed in Parliament after this whole ‘poppenkast’.

Yes, it strucked me and in my head,  it was pounding ‘our Sint Maarten deserves a better people representation in Parliament, our Sint Maarten needs to be taken serious and considered in depth by Parliament’.
Thanks God we will on the January 9th, 2020 be having new elections and this time the electorate can vote a completely new Parliament in of a just mixture of youth, middle age and experience with fundamental knowledge of the role of Parliament in our society.

So, vote the old actors out and vote in committed new Parliamentarians. I am counting on the electorate as I always count on them, because this time it’s time.

Go out there and vote massively for that new Parliament who will more consider the People and less themselves. VOTE VOTE VOTE.

Edwin Gumbs

COMMENTARY: The content is the sole responsibility of the author.

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Dutch teenagers are still happy, but school standards are declining

SINT MAARTEN/THE NETHERLANDS – Dutch teenagers remain among the happiest in the world with 79% of youngsters saying they are satisfied with their lives, according to a new survey of 15-year-olds around the globe.

Top of the new OECD ranking were teenagers from Mexico, where 83% said they are satisfied with their lives. Finnish teens were in third place with a 78% rating. The OECD average was 67%.

However, the mammoth PISA research project also showed that Dutch school standards are declining in key areas. The research showed a quarter of 15-year-olds in the Netherlands do not read well enough to fully participate in society, almost in line with the OECD average.

Dutch pupils scored an average of 485 out of 550 in the most recent Pisa reading and comprehension tests, well down on the 503-score recorded in 2015. Dutch scores were also down in science but rose slightly in maths although the overall trend is downward.

Dutch teaching union AOb said the results are extremely worrying. ‘It is a scandal that a rich country like the Netherlands is not capable of keeping educational standards up,’ the union said in a statement. China dominated the results in almost every category.

(DutchNews)

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Student clubs ‘given 75% discounts’ to encourage heavy drinking

SINT MAARTEN/THE NETHERLANDS – Students’ associations are continuing to sign up to deals with breweries that reward heavy drinking by their members despite pledging to change the ‘alcohol culture’ at universities.

Major breweries offer student unions a series of staggered discounts that increase depending on how much alcohol they serve in a year. The so-called ‘hectolitre bonus’ can be as high as 75% of the wholesale price if consumption is high enough.

One fraternity organisation in Groningen received a €45,000 bonus for €60,000 worth of beer, effectively paying €15,000 for a year’s supply, according to research by RTV Noord.

The Rijksuniversiteit and the Hanzehogeschool in the city recently signed a covenant with the city council to change the drinking culture among students, but financial incentives for student clubs undermine those efforts, said Wim van Dalen, director of the Dutch institute for alcohol policy STAP.

‘Drinking alcohol is incredibly widely accepted among students,’ he said. ‘If suppliers are giving discounts on it, they’re stimulating alcohol use.’ He said the agreement with the local authority should address the issue of discount pricing.

‘It’s the ease with which people consume alcohol and the financial independence of the breweries. My plea to brewers is: stop doing this!’

Target group

Neither Heineken nor Bavaria would disclose to RTV Noord if they included discounting incentives in their contracts with student unions. But Tom van Erven Dorens, who negotiates contracts between breweries and associations, said there were obvious incentives for the companies.

‘Brewers do this because student associations are a very interesting target group,’ he said. ‘Students drink a lot of beer and if student associate with a brand of beer, they’re more likely to drink that brand for the rest of their lives.

‘So it’s attractive for a brewer to put themselves on the taps at a students’ association and stay there. And the bigger the association, the bigger the bonus.’

(DutchNews)

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Second night of unrest after New Year beach bonfires abandoned

SINT MAARTEN/THE NETHERLANDS – Thirteen people have been arrested after riot police tackled a second night of unrest in The Hague’s coastal suburb of Duindorp.

Some of those arrested on Sunday were children, including a nine-year-old boy who was caught with a Molotov cocktail, the city’s acting mayor Johan Remkes said. Remkes urged police and other emergency services to work ‘closely together’ ‘to face down lawlessness in The Hague’.

NOS said police believed a group of around 50 people, many of them teenagers, were orchestrating the violence. A bus stop was also vandalised, and several container bins and pallets set on fire during several hours of disturbances.

On Saturday night a reporter and cameraman from local TV station Omroep West were threatened and pelted with eggs when they went to the neighbourhood to investigate rumours of potential unrest.

The trouble has been linked to the city council’s decision to ban the giant New Year bonfire towers that have been a feature of the annual festivities since the 1990s. Last year strong gusts of winds caused ‘fire tornados’ at Scheveningen when they carried flames from a 48 metre-high stack of burning pallets across the seafront.

Krikke resigned

The city’s previous mayor, Pauline Krikke, resigned in October when a safety board report revealed that she was aware that the bonfires breached safety rules, including a limit on the height of the stack, but decided not to intervene because she feared repercussions.

The organisers of the traditional vreugdevuur – literally ‘fire of joy’ – last week pulled out of talks with the council to organise smaller-scale bonfires this year. They said their plans did not meet the local authority’s stringent guidelines, such as a 10-metre limit on bonfires.

The council had been due to make a decision on whether to allow the event to go ahead on Tuesday.

In a Facebook post, the organisation blamed the council for failing to allow the bonfires to go ahead, describing the outcome as ‘a blow for the many hundreds, or maybe thousands, of people who warmly appreciate our vreugdevuur‘.

The large communal bonfires were introduced in the 1990s to regulate the informal tradition of lighting street bonfires from discarded Christmas trees, which led to fights between gangs.

The bonfire organisers wrote: ‘As an organisation we have focused for years on building a controlled vreugdevuur so that the problems in and around our neighbourhood disappeared.

‘Since we are not being allowed to organise a fire, we will not be used to organise other activities to keep the peace. The ball is now in the council’s court because we are washing our hands of the whole thing.’ Acting mayor Johan Remkes said he would not be forced to change his mind by the threat of violence.

‘The government must never be blackmailed in this way,’ he said. ‘That at least is the attitude of this mayor, and I hope the council will not allow itself to be swayed by this either.’

(DutchNews)

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Banana Republic

SINT MAARTEN (COMMENTARY – by Cdr. Bud Slabbaert) - St.Tosia is definitely not a Banana Republic; it is a Maracuja Republic. A few clarifying lines of political science may be appropriate here. Every government system is a ‘Cracy’ which originates from the Greek word for power: ‘Kratos’. Democracy maybe the most favored as it is supposed to be the power of the people. Experts of various kinds claim that due to human nature being essentially faulty, every government system in the beginning of its development has been a Kakistocracy, which is rule by the stupid; a form of governance where the worst or least-qualified citizens are in control. Common non-experts of various kinds believe that such still applies to the political situation in many countries worldwide.

By definition, a Banana Republic is considered a Kleptocratic system that economically depends upon the exports of bananas and features a society composed of an impoverished Ergatocracy and a ruling Plutocracy, composed of the aristocracy of business, politics, and the military.

St.Tosia is called a Maracuja Republic because it blooms like a Passiflora Incarnata or Passion Flower, which knowingly has herbal calming effects but also may increase the amount of gamma-aminobutyric acid in the brain which decreases the activity of certain brain cells which is not uncommon for politicians and noticeable in their speech and action.

The fruit of the Passionflower is of course the Passion Fruit or Maracuja. St.Tosia is an island full of passion. The islanders are extremely passionate which comprises anything from love, affection, mania, fascination, obsession and neurosis. The Passion Fruit is a vigorous, climbing vine that clings by tendrils to almost any support, something that is also typical for politicians on the island. And so.., there is no similarity whatsoever with Bananas which grow in clusters hanging from the top of the plant. Because of these differing characteristics a Maracuja Republic is therefore not comparable to a Banana Republic.

St.Tosia is more in line with what the laid-back region is really all about. The island is a political adhocracy. The philosophy is typified by aversion to planning, tendency to respond only to the urgent, as opposed to the important, focusing on 'firefighting,' rather than on establishing systems and procedures through goal setting and long-term planning. There is a world of business interests driven by society members who migrated to the island on the one hand, and the other hand a world of following, supporting and taking sides among families and clans of native St.Tosians in a House of Assembly. And the world of business and politics often blend harmoniously well depending on the potential opportunities of benefits and favors for the individuals. And so, the St.Tosian Adhocracy is flexible and non-permanent and can respond faster to a changing environment and circumstances and it can be a thriving factor on the wellbeing of the island.

On the other hand, political analysts from abroad believe that St.Tosia politics stands for a blend of Kleptocracy and Bankocracy. Kleptocracy is the Rule by thieves; a system of governance where its officials and the ruling class pursue personal wealth and political power at the expense of the wider population. Bankocracy is the Rule by banks; a system of governance of excessive power or influence by banks and other financial authorities on public policymaking.

Admitted that St.Tosia is worldwide known for ‘Tosiatic’ banking and finance. But leading psychologists have determined that such characterization is based merely on human envy and jealousy. As a gesture of appreciation for this thesis, St.Tosia’s Minister of Finance, the Honorable Sir Charles P. Dribcloss Sr., nicknamed ‘Laundromat Charly’, has offered support and incentives to those members of the Psychological Science community who are willing to settle on the island and lecture at the St.Tosia University and become Professor in a new Academy of Financial Psychology, the field that integrates Psychology with Financial Management.

St.Tosia has eighteen government ministries. The constitution of St.Tosia was written by Zadekiah Jones, a man with tremendous foresight for his time in 1898 when the government form on St.Tosia was officially changed from the ‘Most Serene Monastic Republic’ to simply ‘Republic’. Zadekiah was also a very social oriented person. Because of that, he became known in the history of St.Tosia as the ‘Father of the Island’. In fact, he was the father of an undetermined number of children from a just as undetermined number of different women. Whether that is true or not, elders on St.Tosia know that truth can be stranger than fiction, and lovers can be stranger than both.

It was Zadekiah’s philosophy that it is better to have more administrative offices rather than just a few because the government could employ more politicians and cronies as civil servants. One may expect that this would create more bureaucracy. On the contrary! On St.Tosia, it enhances adhocracy since nothing gets done in the first place unless it absolutely urgent, and then it will be done on of the spur of a moment related to an upcoming festivity. St.Tosians love partying and the incentive of having a festivity can be very motivating to take quick and positive action.

With more political seats available, one needs fewer votes to be elected for office. It supports a democratic system that distributes political power in the hands of the public which forms the electorate. In St.Tosia, it was never quite clear whether it would result in less power for more people or more power for less people. About two hundred votes are enough for a seat in office which pays well, provides health and retirement pension benefits plus a bodyguard and a private secretary of their own choice. In order to secure enough votes, there are various options. Government land can be leased to some members of large family groups to build dwellings and develop animal husbandry. Every piece of land has owners and families and thus multiple voters attached. Issuing various business licenses is another option to secure a constituency.

About the author:

The almost true stories and almost believable stories of St.Tosia are written by Cdr. Bud Slabbaert who claims that it is what he has experienced while residing on St.Tosia and monitoring what else is going on in the Caribbean.  

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January 9th, 2020 is judgment day, the electorate shall properly respond!

SINT MAARTEN (COMMENTARY – By Edwin Gumbs) - This Government Silveria Jacobs showed such a hurry to get in the Governments’ seats, while knowing that on January 9th 2020 a general election will be held in order to elect a new Parliament, which on its term will elect a new Government.

So basically, this Government is just for the period of November 17th 20019 through January 9th, 2020 and depending on the outcome of the negotiations for a new government maybe a prolongation up to say February 2020.

Minimal 8 weeks up to 13 weeks. Popular said three months. NA through Silveria Jacobs and William Marlin pushed and pushed to get her government for a limited period of three months sworn in as soon as possible, because their period could only get less as swearing if lingered on.

My friend poor Christophe Emmanuels could not make the screening and Silveria and William decided to leave him behind in the hills of Sint Peters cause they decided to move on November 17th, 2019 to swear in the Cabinet Silveria Jacobs with 5 Ministers including the Prime Minster.

They were in such a hurry that in my opinion they really disrespect the people of Sint Maarten and our honorable Governor drs. Eugene Holliday by swearing in mr. Rene Violenus as Minister of TEATT, knowing that probably within two weeks he would be replaced in the COM and re-appointed in The Hague as Plenopotenciairy Minister.

Dutch says Violenus was “voor spek en bonen” appointed Minister of TEATT, because just like the other Ministers in that short period could not do anything for the people of Sint Maarten as Minister of TEATT. And that’s not the way you treat Peoples’ Affairs, you should take the Ministry for serious.

But lucky for mr. Violenus he can window dress his CV with ‘former Minister of TEATT’.
And by swearing in Cabinet Silveria Jacobs they made space for three NA candidates to be promoted to Members of Parliament.

Today November 28th, 2019 two new Ministers were sworn in, Minister Melissa Arrindell Doncher for TEATT and Minister Pamela Gordon-Carty for VSA. This all going into December 2019 with the Christmas Recess of Government and Parliament coming up.  

That’s how Silveria and her NA misspends governments money as if it was abundantly available in Governments Cover. Sint Maarten didn’t have to be spending extra money they don’t have for three months.

The caretaker Cabinet Wycliffe Smith could have sat out the elections of January 9th, 2020.
And Cabinet Silvera Jacobs has more things planned for the people. It’s payback time. Dutch calls it “Bijltejesdag”.

Minister Ardwell Irion, sworn in November 17th, 2019, today November 28th, 2019 sends out a statement that he believes that Secretaries General of the various ministries should be held ACCOUNTABLE and will be discussing the evaluation of these professionals in the next Council of Ministers meeting.

He isn’t even two weeks minister, yet he already wants to keep public servants accountable! Based on what? What does this Government know on the functioning of the SG’s.

Cabinet Silveria Jacobs is all about NA politics for NA politicians bettering their personal positions for a very short period on the cost of the people. And I’m convinced that the electorate on January 9th, 2020 will chastised these politicians for their gravy behavior on the people’s expense.

The people will vote for a new Parliament that will form a completely new Government, the TENTH IN TEN YEARS FROM 10-10-10 on. But this new government of another signature will bring stability for four years long to the country without intervention through throwing down Government and really work for the people.

Really an unnecessary waist of the Peoples money. Yes, Cabinet Silveria Jacobs should be held CCOUNTABLE by the electorate and not our hard-working Secretaries General by you not even two weeks in office Minister. You trying to bring other NA followers in top position in the Government apparatus?

January 9th, 2020 is judgment day, the electorate shall properly respond!
Edwin Gumbs 28/11/2019

COMMENTARY: The comments here are the sole responsibility of the author.

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Minister Doran applauds Stevie Constantin on draft initiative for a Disability Act

SINT MAARTEN (POND ISLAND) - Acting Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor (Ministry VSA) Egbert J. Doran applauds young St. Maartener Mr. Stevie Constantin on his initiative to draft a Disability Act to guarantee the rights of disabled persons in the country.

Minister Doran said sadly that disabled persons in the community are often times overlooked and the draft is a very positive step in addressing many of the deficiencies that exist, in order to enhance the lives of disabled persons.

“I am very proud for this young man for taking the initiative to address this very important subject in our community. We have a responsibility to put mechanisms in place to ensure that the needs of persons who are disabled in our society are catered to, so that they can have an opportunity to live their lives as best as possible, and it is only by addressing their needs that this can be accomplished,” said Minister Doran.

“It is important that the disabled have easier and unrestricted access to public places, such as banks, government offices, supermarkets, health care facilities and any public establishment that they need to visit. For too long, this issue has remained unaddressed and the least that we can do is to continue to develop this draft in the interest of the most vulnerable in our society.”

Mr. Constantin developed the initiative during his internship at the Department of Education in 2018. During his internship, he provided support with the vision for Secondary Education and Special Needs Education policy.

While working on the latter, it was discovered that there was no legal foundation to support Special Needs Education and as a result, he took the initiative to start a draft for a proposed disability act. The objective of the Act is to secure the rights of disabled persons, and thereby promote for them equal opportunities, independent living and active participation in life (Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2019).

The Act also seeks to protect and promote the equal enhancement of fundamental freedoms and human rights for all persons with disabilities and to encourage respect for their inherent dignity.

Some of the main points highlighted in the draft are the following:

  • All persons with disabilities are provided with the same scope, quality, and standard of free and accessible health care and programs for others, including sexual and reproductive health programs, and public health programs for the population.
  • The prohibition of discrimination against persons with disabilities in providing medical and life insurance, where national legislation permits such insurance, which shall be delivered fairly and reasonably.

Minister of Public Health, Social Development & Labor Egbert J. Doran Minister Soualiga Road 1 P.O. Box 943 Philipsburg St. Maarten Soualiga Road 1 P.O. Box 943 Philipsburg St. Maarten

  • Persons with disabilities have access to indoor and outdoor facilities, including schools, housing, medical facilities and places of work.
  • Private entities which offer publicly accessible facilities or services take all aspects of accessibility for persons with disabilities into account. The draft is still a work in progress, as additional research is needed, and it also requires the input and relevant data from other ministries.

Mr. Constantin recently graduated from The Hague University of Applied Science with a bachelor’s degree in International Public Administration. He intends to return to St. Maarten within short.

Minister Doran wishes him well and encourages other young dynamic St. Maarteners to follow suit in contributing towards St. Maarten’s overall development and the development of its people.

As of Thursday, November 28th, 2019, a new Minister will take responsibility of the Ministry of VSA. Minister Doran intends to discuss this draft act with his incoming colleague and hopes that she will look into the possibilities of taking this draft Disability Act further. He welcomes his incoming colleague and wishes her all the best in working in the best interest of the people of St. Maarten.

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