UTS is a government-owned company
Filed under: Business and Economy, Government & Politics, Internet and Technology
Like their Curacao colleagues, United Telecommunication Services (UTS) workers in the Windward Islands received an advance on the profit share of five per cent for employees as laid down in the Collective Labour Agreement (CLA) signed by the union Sitkom. While one undoubtedly has to be happy for them as fellow residents, the whole issue raises some questions.
How does a company that has been losing millions and millions for years already even sign such a CLA? If management’s reasoning at the time was that the company would never make a profit anyway, the Supervisory Board of Directors and shareholders should have stepped in.
Moreover, how is it that a company that has incurred such great losses that the managing director was held responsible and made to leave can suddenly turn around and come up with a profit of 25 million? There was talk that the former management used so-called creative bookkeeping to keep the profit down so that dividends would not have to paid, but the reported financial result for 2006 still seems questionable at best. While the profit sharing is in the CLA, the bylaws of the company reportedly also state that profits made after losses incurred should be used to offset those losses. Why was that not done in this case?
The answer is simple: UTS is a government-owned company and it was a political rather than business decision. Commissioner of Finance Mike Willem and Minister of Transport and Communication Maurice Adriaens initially had their objections, but they were overruled by the majority in the PAR/PNP/FOL coalition of Curacao parties governing at both the island and Antillean level.
It’s once more proof that the so-called ‘privatisation’ of utility services by making them government-owned companies instead of government services did not solve the problem of political influence. Who knows how much more affordable and reliable the service provided by these companies could have been had they really been privatised?
In any case the UTS employees have something to celebrate about. They should remember that this is an advance that hinges on the approval of the annual account confirming the profit. Considering all that’s happened at UTS in the past few years, they would probably do well not to spend it before that approval is granted, because in the event it is not, they may have to pay it back.
Source: The Daily Herald St. Maarten
St. Maarten Coast Guard personnel take the oath
SIMPSON BAY–The Coast Guard personnel in St. Maarten were sworn in yesterday at the Coast Guard facility in Simpson Bay.
Home Affairs Minister Roland Duncan came especially to St. Maarten for the occasion. He will be returning to Curacao today.
The oath taking is part of the personnel becoming officially Central Government civil servants. Head of Personnel and Training Brigitte Boekhoudt explained that the oath taking was a logical follow up of the implementation of the new legal status for the Coast Guard, which was finalised earlier this year.
Deputy director of the Coast Guard for the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba Hans Schreuder too was present at the ceremony. He said the Coast Guard has gone through an impetus growth the past years.
The Coast Guard has received new material recently and the first Dash-8 airplane in Coast Guard colours is at the Coast Guard Air Station Hato in Curacao.
Schreuder said that St. Maarten will possibly be receiving a second helicopter as well to help in its patrolling duties.
Duncan before the oath taking ceremony stressed to the personnel what the oath they were about to take meant for their integrity as civil servants and the importance of their duties serving the people of the Netherlands Antilles.
Duncan also explained that, as the Netherlands Antilles is in the process of being dismantled, he understands that the Coast Guard personnel too have to be informed about their future legal status.
Source: The Daily Herald St. Maarten
Curacao and St. Maarten should use the constitutional change process to take the necessary steps towards more maturity
~ Judge Wit tells Curacao, St. Maarten ~
WILLEMSTAD–Former judge on the Common Court of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba Bob Wit says Curacao and St. Maarten should use the constitutional change process to take the necessary steps towards more maturity, instead of remaining dependent on the Netherlands.
He made his comments during a lecture at University of the Netherlands Antilles in Curacao on the occasion of the establishment the Dutch Caribbean Human Rights Committee last Thursday.
Wit, appointed as judge on the Trinidad and Tobago-based Caribbean Court of Justice on June 1, 2005, said that in the negotiations for new constitutional structures, the Dutch, based on all that had gone wrong up to now, had been seeking to institutionalise some form of supervision on Antillean politicians as to their way of managing public finances, to avoid reoccurrence of the financial mess that had emerged.
Where they seem to go wrong is the way in which they apparently seek to establish that supervision, as they seem bent on taking that responsibility permanently out of our hands, Wit said in his lecture entitled Taking ownership of Human Rights towards a maturing Dutch Caribbean.
He said that, understandably, the approach of the islands had been to resist the measures of supervision as much as possible in an effort to give away as little autonomy as possible.
In Wits view, both approaches are to be deplored. Going back to the basics, we have to be mindful that this whole enterprise of constitutional restructuring should be aimed at furthering the right of self-determination for us, the Dutch Caribbean peoples.
He said that at the same time, the people should be mindful of the fact that this is not a right per se, but one that implies a duty for us to foster in a meaningful way the high ideals of democratic governance.
He said focusing only on the external outline of constitutional arrangements such as a separate status similar to that of Aruba, the islands would have achieved little because internally, and thus basically, everything would have remained the same.
Judge Wit continued: In order to mature in the big bad world of today, one needs to take responsibility for those things that matter. One cannot claim the right to stand on ones own two feet whilst staying in bed. One has to get up and stand.
The right to carry responsibility for ones own affairs, therefore, implies that one starts carrying that responsibility. Even if it were true that mother knows best, we cannot accept that mommy will take care of us to eternity.
Source: The Daily Herald St. Maarten
And so, any arrangement that sees to it that the Netherlands will forever be in charge of our affairs will reduce us to eternal adolescents, pitiful creatures indeed. This would be a violation of our right to human dignity which is, I think, the most fundamental right there is.
He said that to prevent this impending violation, we have to start behaving as adults. We have to take our fate in our own hands even though, for the time being at least, we will stay within the confines of our almost imaginary Kingdom which, by the way, is still real enough to produce both limitations and benefits for us.
Coalition to meet on Duncan’s less self governance statement
PHILIPSBURG–Recent statements that the new countries Curacao and St. Maarten will have less autonomy compared to the Netherlands Antilles has put Constitutional Affairs Minister Roland Duncan under pressure within the coalition. He was even called a “stranger” with an own St. Maarten agenda by the FOL party during yesterday’s Curacao Island Council meeting.
The Minister told The Daily Herald that a coalition meeting has been requested based on what he had said.
He will inform Parliament as well about the latest developments on the constitutional change trajectory. Duncan said he will prepare a presentation stating his position on the trajectory.
He defended his earlier statement saying that he did not express a view about whether less autonomy was a good or a bad thing. “I only pointed out that the autonomy for Curacao and St. Maarten will be less. As far as I know, we are living in a democracy, and I’m entitled to state my opinion.?
On Tuesday the MAN political faction in Parliament requested an urgent meeting of the Central Committee to discuss the results of the October 9 negotiations that took place in The Hague on constitutional change issues.
The MAN party wants Duncan to be present in the meeting, not only based on his capacity as the Minister responsible for Constitutional Affairs, but also based on his remarks that the new countries would have less autonomy.
According to the MAN party, this goes against the April 2005 referendum held in Curacao. Member of Parliament for the MAN party Rignaal “Jean” Francisca said that they want to hear from Duncan what exactly had been discussed in the Netherlands.
“It’s still a secret what took place. Government is busy in all kinds of committees trying to receive money from the Netherlands, but it’s parliament that in the end has the last say,” Francisca stated.
He believes that in order to get financial aid from the Netherlands, government has been giving away the autonomy of the islands. “We have been giving in to the demands of the Dutch Government just to receive financial aid.”
Francisca said that the Dutch have been using the constitutional change process to re-colonise the islands. “They are paying to get the beautiful islands. More and more Dutch are coming to the islands. They come to do business in an attempt to circumvent the strict rules imposed by the European Union,” Francisca said.
Duncan?s statements were also topic of debate in a meeting of the Island Council on Tuesday. The meeting was requested by the Executive Council to give information on the October 9 negotiations.
However, MAN Island Council Member Urvin Mackaay proposed for the Island Council to hear on his statement that Cura?ao and St. Maarten would obtain less autonomy compared to the Netherlands Antilles.
But the MAN proposal was declared invalid because there weren?t enough Island Council Members present in the meeting at the time of the voting. Only 19 of the 21 Island Council members were in the meeting because PAR Island Council Member Remco Gomez and PAR Commissioner of Education Marilyn were off island.
However, when it came to voting on the proposal, the Island Council Members supporting the coalition left the meeting, leaving only the 10 opposition members in the meeting.
The rules of order state that at least half of all the Island Council members should vote to make the voting on a proposal valid. As this was not the case, Acting Lt. Governor Magali Jacoba said the proposal was invalid.
While opposition members commended Duncan for his straight forwardness on the matter, coalition members said that the Island Council had no authority to request the presence of a Minister.
“This goes against all rules. Duncan is active on Central Government level. Here the Executive Council wants to give information,” Constitutional Affairs Commissioner Zita Jesus-Leito said.
FOL Island Council Member Renfred Rojer could not understand why the opposition wanted to hear Duncan and said it was a “shame” that the opposition wanted to hear a “foreigner” instead of the Cura?ao Executive Council. According to Rojer, Duncan proved by his statements that he had an own St. Maarten agenda.
Source: The Daily Herald St. Maarten
Cutter Gallatin Returns Home
CHARLESTON, S.C. – A local Coast Guard cutter will return home to Charleston Tuesday at approximately 1 p.m. after a seven-week deployment in the Caribbean Sea.
The CGC Gallatin, a 39-year-old cutter, steamed more than 10,000 miles in the Caribbean Sea to keep United States shores safe while deployed in support of campaign Steel Web, the Coast Guard’s overarching counter drug strategy to reduce the supply of drugs to the U.S. by denying traffickers access to the maritime routes.
During the patrol, Gallatin saved three people from a sinking vessel off the coast of Curacao and saved two people stranded in a pleasure craft in the Florida Straits. The crew also conducted a joint boarding of a coastal freighter with the Colombian navy.
On the transit back to the Low Country, Gallatin hosted a luncheon in Key West, Fla., for The Interdiction Committee with guests including Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen and the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy Roger Walters.
Coast Guard Cutter Gallatin is scheduled to deploy again later this year.
Source: Military.com
Funeral home in Curacao seeks help to bury Jamaican woman
Filed under: Government & Politics, Law Enforcement and Crime
The proprietor of a funeral home in Curacao is appealing to authorities in Jamaica to assist with the burial of a Jamaican woman who died in the island two months ago.
Owner of the El Senoryal funeral home, Charisma Henriques is crying foul because the family of Marie Bowen who died on the island on August 11 has refused to bury her.
Mrs. Henriques told our news centre that Mrs. Bowen’s daughter Claudia Thomas, who is from Olympic Gardens in Jamaica, left Curacao Tuesday without claiming her mother’s body.
“And nobody wants to bury her. The daughter says let the government bury her, the government will not bury her because there is no money to bury the Curacao people how could there be money to bury strangers,” said Mrs. Henriques.
Mrs. Henriques added that other family members have also refused to pay for the burial.
She has appealed to anyone who knew Ms. Bowen to send a birth certificate so arrangements can be made to bury her.
“We need right the papers. Although there is no money to bury her there is a place where they bury the dead dogs and animals and so on, we can make a hole there because she cannot stay in the freezer anymore,” he continued.
Source: Radio Jamaica
Prison Problems in Curacao and St. Maarten
Filed under: Government & Politics, Law Enforcement and Crime, St. Maarten News
Yet another killing in Curacao’s Bon Futuro Prison confirms that there are serious problems within the penitentiary system of the Netherlands Antilles. While there have been no such fatal incidents in the prison of St. Maarten so far, it is clear that overcrowding, a chronic shortage of manpower, lack of resources and the bad condition of parts of the facility at Pointe Blanche have created a far from healthy situation.
Because there is no room in the prison, the judges have already agreed to extend the 10 days people can be held in the police cells to 18, but that period too is regularly surpassed. This leads to considerable sentence reductions, when people are already concerned that the punishments for especially violent crimes are often not severe enough and do not act as an effective deterrent.
Justice Minister David Dick is in the Netherlands, despite the fact that the talks on the Netherlands Antilles Safety Plan were postponed because the preparations had not been concluded. The minister says he needs 300 million guilders to execute all projects that are part of the plan, while the Dutch Government has so far committed only to 21 million euros.
New prisons for both Curacao and St. Maarten are part of the plan, but if the Dutch do not give more money it is doubtful whether they realistically can be financed before the Netherlands Antilles ceases to exist. Once St. Maarten becomes an autonomous country in the Kingdom with a target date of December 15, 2008, it will take over from the Central Government responsibility for both the prison and local law enforcement, along with a host of other tasks.
What seems more realistic is to use part of the money already committed to recruit and train more guards, improve facilities and fix whatever is broken at the Pointe Blanche prison. If that is not done soon, one has to fear the situation will become worse and may eventually escalate to situations like those in Curacao, where inmates seem to have relatively easy access to weapons, drugs and cell phones, to the point where the guards have to worry more about their own safety than the prisoners they are supposed to control.
Source: The Daily Herald St. Maarten
St. Maarten and Curacao Police
Filed under: Government & Politics, Law Enforcement and Crime, St. Maarten News
News that negotiations with the Dutch Government on the Netherlands Antilles Safety Plan have been postponed is most unwelcome. Considering the increasing law enforcement problems the islands, particularly St. Maarten, are facing it is a matter of the highest priority.
Policemen on the street will tell you that what are required are not more consultants presenting beautiful plans, but more personnel, vehicles and other resources. They fear the Safety Plan will get so bogged down in paperwork that the police won’t receive much of what is actually needed on the ground anytime soon.
It is understandable, of course, that financial assistance with Dutch taxpayers’ money to strengthen law enforcement in the Antilles must be justified and based on plans that must be approved. However, it is also important to take concrete action quickly, as has been done already mainly in Curacao with funds made available till now, and with some result.
For St. Maarten one can only hope that part of the 20 million euros the Dutch government has committed for the plan is used for projects to strengthen the Windward Islands Police Force, because while the Antillean Justice Minister may say he needs 300 million guilders, it is doubtful if The Hague will agree to such an amount. Under the circumstances, while the prison is overcrowded and dealing with problems, the police should have priority over a new prison.
What is positive is the meeting the Antillean Justice Minister held with the Island Territories, because while St. Maarten and Curacao will have their own police forces that no longer fall under the Central Government when the Netherlands Antilles is dismantled, considering the scale involved it is important to maintain a practical working relationship and exchange expertise and other resources where needed.
What St. Maarten needs to realise is that to protect its tourism economy, it will have to invest heavily in law enforcement as soon as possible. That, we fear, is quickly becoming a matter of life and death when it comes to the livelihood of practically everyone who makes ‘The Friendly Island’ his or her home.
Source: The Daily Herald St. Maarten
145 foreigners interviewed on naturalisation requests
PHILIPSBURG–A total of 145 foreigners have been interviewed in six days concerning their requests for naturalisation. The interviews had to take place in light of the new naturalisation regulation that will go into effect as of Monday, October 1.
Lt. Governor Franklyn Richards told The Daily Herald that, because the new regulation did not provide for a transitional period, all the requests for naturalisation that already had been submitted had to be handled before October 1.
“If we had not dealt with the requests these persons would not have been able to do the interview after October 1,” Richards said.
Four persons of the Central Government Directorate of Judicial Affairs in Curacao were sent to St. Maarten to help in conducting the interviews. Richards said he was very pleased with the assistance received after he had taken up the matter with Justice Minister David Dick.
The assistants went back to Curacao on Friday and Richards said they had indicated all the interviews had gone well. In general the applicants were well informed about St. Maarten, but lacked knowledge about the Netherlands Antilles and the Dutch Kingdom.
Richards said he would be informing all of the persons interviewed next week about the result of their interviews and whether they passed the test. The naturalisation test will no longer be taken in the form of an oral interview after October 1, but will be a written examination consisting of two parts.
Source: The Daily Herald St. Maarten
Dick blames 2000 changes for current police problems
Filed under: Government & Politics, Law Enforcement and Crime
WILLEMSTAD–The problems of the Police Force originate from the reorganisation that took place in 2000, according to Justice Minister David Dick.
He told a press conference held in Curacao Friday that not enough thought had been given to the reorganisation.
The minister, who during the last month has been under much pressure from police union NAPB to solve several problems, noted that especially in the area of salaries, many problems are being encountered and these are affecting the functioning of the police force.
Also, the police ranking system is not working and there is no dress code. Hopefully by December the dress code will be ready to be implemented.
Dick stressed that the past must be dealt with. There is a draft protocol and I hope the unions NAPB and ABVO will sign this. The protocol is for the development of the Police Force and proposes how to close off the past and start a new phase involving the unions.
The Minister gave as an example the fact that retroactive pay for police sergeants will cost government NAf. 9 million. He said that government doesn’t have that money and a solution should be sought to deal with this matter in the future.
The problem with the police sergeants originated a couple of years ago when three sergeants were appointed. Now all the sergeants have the same right on receiving that pay.
Regarding a total of 50 functions in the Police Force that were not properly evaluated, he said that those have been solved and he hoped the Council of Ministers would approve the new evaluations next week.
Another existing problem is a group of sergeants who wants to be promoted to chief officers, Dick said. I cannot promote them, because based on the former ranking system that would mean that they will become chief inspectors automatically. So we have to create a new function to promote the sergeants, Dick said.
Source: The Daily Herald St. Maarten