By Suzanne Koelega
THE HAGUE--The St. Maarten delegation that attended the Inter-Parliamentary Consultation IPKO in The Hague this week included three new members: Members of Parliament (MPs) Silveria Jacobs, Wycliffe Smith and Rolando Brison. They all found their first IPKO to be a positive experience, an opportunity to exchange thoughts with their colleagues from the other countries in the Kingdom and to take away misconceptions where needed.
The first experience of the new delegation members was the tripartite meeting on Monday with fellow Dutch Caribbean countries Aruba and Curaçao, in preparation for the IPKO the next day. Jacobs of the National Alliance was pleasantly surprised about the level of discussions and the willingness to operate as one front.
“I found the tripartite meeting to be very open. We have many similarities as parliaments and countries. Before, I had some cautious feelings about the outcome, but the tripartite provided us the opportunity to bring our common points to the IPKO,” Jacobs told The Daily Herald on Friday, the last day of the meetings in The Hague.
Smith of the St. Maarten Christian Party said the IPKO had left him with a positive, satisfactory general impression. “Now that I have been a part of it, I see the benefits that the IPKO offers as a platform. It made me realise that we need to keep working on the relations with the other countries and that we should exploit these types of meetings more, use them to our advantage for St. Maarten’s further development,” he said.
United St. Maarten Party MP Brison, the most junior member of the St. Maarten delegation, said he got a good impression. “I saw a serious commitment, a genuine effort to get things done. Coming in as a first-timer I wondered whether these meetings were just going to be a formality or whether we would really get things done. I am happy that the latter was the case.”
Smith said the IPKO contributed to diminish the vision of negativism that exists about the relations with the Netherlands. “I sensed the willingness to work together and to continue the efforts to arrive at better relations. It is important to do so. The Dispute Regulation was an example of how we share the same view as parliaments in the Kingdom and how we decided to tackle this together.”
Jacobs agreed with Smith and Brison on this part. “We were in line with each other as four parliaments. It gives us a sense that we are one Kingdom, whereas in the past I didn’t get that feeling. The discussions that we had, the decisions that we took gives us material to continue working with our own parliament.”
Brison said he was content to have been able to share an update with the other three parliaments as to the status of implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular the SDG Planet and Prosperity. He said exchanging information with the other countries on this important matter was valuable. “I learned from them and they learned from us.”
The approach to the SDGs is different in St. Maarten, explained Brison. That has everything to do with Hurricane Irma. “We are applying the SDGs to rebuild St. Maarten in a more resilient way. The reconstruction provides a good opportunity to apply the SDGs.”
During his presentation on Tuesday, Brison mentioned how Sonesta Maho has begun reconstruction with materials that can withstand winds of more than 240 miles per hour. “I saw a video of one of the structural integrity tests showing a jet engine blowing winds close to 300 mph into the material to be used to reconstruct the resort.” He said he was sure that other businesses and vital infrastructures like the airport and hospital would follow suit in their efforts to rebuilding better.
One of the better aspects of attending the IPKO is that it provides the MPs an opportunity to meet with the individual members of the other parliaments. In these talks, the St. Maarten MPs were able to provide information about the developments in their country and to create more understanding for St. Maarten’s position.
Smith noted that he had very useful talks with the Christian parties in the Second and First Chambers of the Dutch Parliament, the ChristianUnion, the Christian Democratic Party CDA and the Reformed Political Party SGP. “I plan to further exploit those contacts to the advantage of my party and to St. Maarten. These parties see the connection in terms of our philosophy,” he said.
“The individual talks have proven to be conducive in terms of creating a more positive outlook of St. Maarten’s position in the Kingdom,” said Jacobs, who said she very much looks forward to receiving the delegation of the Second Chamber in St. Maarten in July this year. She lauded the fact that there were plenty of female MPs whom she was able to exchange thoughts with while attending the IPKO.
Referring to the individual talks with the colleagues of the other countries as “investing in the human factor,” Brison said these tete-a-tetes were a good way of taking away misconceptions on either side. While in The Hague, Brison also made use of the opportunity to meet with a group of young St. Maarteners and to discuss the latest developments with them.
Brison was content about the fact that St. Maarten moved as one team, out on a common mission. “We were 100 per cent one team. There was a level of maturity and it gave me a good feeling to be working on one mission with zero politics involved. In fact, the new St. Maarten Parliament has already shown that it can work past party lines, and act in the best interest of the people. We brought that political maturity to the IPKO,” he said.
Jacobs voiced similar words. “We held one head as St. Maarten delegation. The IPKO was a great experience. We now have our homework to do, to give proper follow-up. It is clear that we need to collaborate in the Kingdom and inspire our people.” She complimented Brison for his positive contribution as the youngest MP.
“For me it was a successful trip. Continuing to work on the relations between the four parliaments is important. The Dispute Regulation is a good example of working together. We all shared the same view and we tackled it together,” said Smith. The St. Maarten delegation, headed by veteran politician Sarah Wescot-Williams, is returning home on Sunday.
