DP board members Racquel Carty, Bernadine Woodley, Maritza Patrick, Winston Fleming, Floyd Woodley, Shanna Mercera-Gibbs, Candida Woodley, and Koos Sneek.
ST. EUSTATIUS--The Democratic Party (DP) on St. Eustatius held its general membership meeting on Saturday at which new board member Candida Woodley was introduced. All DP board members and supporters were present in the Lion’s Den.
Former Councilmember Adelka Spanner spoke first and said the DP faction met with former Governor Gerald Berkel to form a collaborative platform; those invited to participate were those that were in Government or who won a seat in the elections. She said the coalition Government was invited but after consulting with their people and legal representatives they were told not to sign on.
The collaborative platform, she said, is so organisations can share information for improvements of the Government during this transitional period.
Board member Ernie Simmons explained how the island got to the point of a Dutch takeover. Simmons said the takeover stemmed from the deposed Government showing a lack of readiness or preparedness to govern as well as poor decision-making.
To illustrate his point, he said the takeover was linked to sending home the Finance Unit Manager without having adequate replacement, viewing the financial and administrative instruction from Minister Ronald Plasterk in 2015 as a threat rather than a call for action, limited progress with the execution of the Plan of Action to improve the administrative and financial management of Government and unfounded baseless push for constitutional reform based on the failed 2014 referendum. He stated many of these items were pointed out in the Wise Men report.
Former Council member Koos Sneek spoke next and said that the measure to put the Island and Executive Councils aside is a measure to kill or cure. “It is an ultimate measure when there is nothing else left; after this you cannot do anything else, which means it cannot fail and it cannot be allowed to fail,” he said. He advised everyone to keep their eye on the future as they have to look beyond this time because there will be a locally elected Government again.
Sneek spoke on February 7 law that saw the Island and Executive Councils removed. He said that he believes that there was sufficient proof that the former Government severely neglected their responsibility. He said the Dutch Government have taken far too long to step in.
He also spoke of his meeting with Government Commissioner Mike Franco two weeks ago, along with members of SLAM and UPC. Sneek said that they had a very fruitful meeting and that he came away from the meeting with the impression that Franco was looking out for the political parties who reached out to him. Sneek said that he believes there is a need to supply political information with Franco to bring ideas forward. They suggested that they would meet with Franco and his Cabinet at least on a monthly basis.
DP President Winston Fleming spoke next and promised those gathered that they would remain resilient, strong and be ready at all times to be able to govern whenever elections are called.
It is important, he said, to facilitate cooperation with the current island administration, because it is impossible for any political party to jump in and take over the island if they don’t have a relationship with the people that are sitting there now. He promised everyone that the Democratic Party will be ready.
He said that one of the most important things the DP party does and will continue to do is share information with the public. He said they will cooperate with all entities that can contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the cooperative platform.
He also spoke on the social advisory board, and said that board plays a very important role because if you cannot get to Government, you can get to the board. It is important to stay in close and good contact with them.
Woodley, the newest board member, said, “We are going to move forward, we know better, so we will do better. We are truly ready to take over and last, we are going to be strong and reliable for future generations.”
