From left: Perla Rombley, Kenisha Reid, Sjemila Williams-Webster, Cresburk Brown, Sherlin Warrington, Kelron Bellot and Amanda Vital-Bedminister.
PHILIPSBURG--Candidates from three political parties participated in a political discussion themed “Your Representative, Your Voice” at the Dutch Quarter Community Center, on Friday November 24.
The event was hosted by Dutch Quarter resident Perla Rombley and a team, and was held in interview style in the presence of an audience.
Panellists were Sjemila Williams-Webster of National Alliance (NA), Cresburk Brown of United People’s (UP) party and Kelron Bellot of Nation Opportunity Wealth (NOW). Moderators were CHAI Chief Influence Officer Concierge and Dutch Quarter resident Amanda Vital-Bedminister.
The panellists introduced themselves, shared initiatives and spoke about changes they seek to bring legislatively once elected to Parliament. “This panel discussion exceeded the expectations of attendees and was a resounding success by those in attendance,” coordinators said in a press release.
At the start of the event, Rombley welcomed those in attendance and introduced Dutch Quarter residents Anderson Percival who led a prayer, O’Brian “Que” Dennis who sang the St. Maarten song, and moderator Vital-Bedminister.
The event began with a segment on “the Constitution of St. Maarten made simple” with legal expert, author and St. Maarten’s first Ombudsman Dr. Nilda Arduin, who is also a Dutch Quarter resident.
The panel discussion concluded with a question-and-answer segment that allowed the audience to give voice to their concerns and the opportunity for panellists to provide answers.
Issues highlighted included the Lynch Law; the youth; support for creatives; solutions; the role of the opposition; political affiliation; accountability and “legislations”.
Businesses in the area 2.3 Supermarket and Johnny Supermarket, resident Kelvin “Rasta” Williams and event volunteers were thanked for their support, along with National Institute of Arts (NIA) decorator Claudie Choisy, and Adrian Scott.
The Panel Discussion Committee hopes that this inaugural event will see a ripple-down effect whereby the other communities in St. Maarten will host a resident representative panel discussion to give voice to their community members.
