MP Christophe Emmanuel.
~Says govt. an embarrassment to itself~
PHILIPSBURG--On Tuesday, independent Member of Parliament (MP) Christophe Emmanuel had only four words in response to reports that the Council of State has determined that the Caribbean Body for Reform and Development COHO is in contravention of the Kingdom Statuut: “I told you so.”
Emmanuel continued: “And I have been telling government and the people of St. Maarten since November 2020: this government is careless and an embarrassment unto itself.”
Emmanuel has vehemently stated his position against the COHO and was the only MP to vote against the three laws cutting income and benefits of civil servants and workers at government-owned entities. He was also critical of the country packages that support the COHO, having asked well over 100 questions to date and pointing out several instances of what he believes are infringements on St. Maarten’s autonomy.
“News broke on Tuesday that the Council of State has advised State Secretary Raymond Knops not to present the COHO legislation to the countries (St. Maarten, Aruba and Curaçao) in its present form as it goes against the Kingdom Statuut,” Emmanuel said in a press release. “The Council of State in its advice states that the approach of Knops is inappropriate and doubts that the design of the COHO will lead to intended and successful results. It also decried giving far-reaching powers to an army of Dutch officials which would weaken the countries, not strengthen them. The Council also considers that the law gives the Netherlands too much scope to change the rules of the game during the game, by unilaterally changing the conditions for further support.”
Emmanuel called both State Secretary Knops and Prime Minister (PM) Silveria Jacobs deceitful since both knew of the advice from the Council of State. He explained that Knops knew about the advice since March 3, 2021, and still proceeded to ask St. Maarten’s PM to re-affirm her commitment and that of Parliament. In fact, the president of Parliament had already submitted a letter to Knops rubber-stamping Parliament’s support for COHO and the country packages, Emmanuel said.
The PM and the coalition, Emmanuel continued, received the advice since Friday last and to date neglects to mention it to Parliament and the people of St. Maarten. “It is plain deceit from a government and their Dutch partners hell-bent on making the lives of St. Maarten people harder,” he said.
“The COHO is a heavy-handed, colonial construct by the Dutch, supported and pushed onto the people of St. Maarten by the PM of St. Maarten and the MPs in Parliament who support it and the country package. It is clear that the government of St. Maarten, lacking any creative ideas to pull St. Maarten out of an economic funk, foolishly agreed to these measures that trampled on the autonomy of the country. This government and their support in Parliament chose not to fight for the people of St. Maarten. They made jokes that only one disgruntled MP stood against. That is okay. At least I was not afraid to stand for my people,” he said.
The MP stressed that if the COHO is questioned and is problematic, so should the country package be, the three laws to cut civil servants’ income and benefits, as well as the presence of the temporary working organisation which is now active and moving ahead with so-called reforms. “If the setup of the COHO is problematic, everything that supports it [should be questioned – Ed.],” Emmanuel said.
“Anyone with common sense could have read the COHO document and concluded exactly what the Council of State has concluded. Instead, you have coalition MPs saying that they are waiting for it to come to Parliament, while they could have already pressured the Dutch to do away with it and perhaps come to better means of support. Their actions are treasonous,” Emmanuel said.
