CDA President and independent Island Councilman Koos Sneek (left); CDA Statia leader Sjahairah Fleming (second right) and keynote speaker and Curaçao Member of Parliament Giselle McWilliam (extreme right) with event attendees.
ST. EUSTATIUS--Sjahairah Fleming was elected leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and Koos Sneek president, during CDA’s well-attended general membership meeting held at the Suares Building on Saturday, March 26.
The local party now officially has 19 members and hopes to increase its numbers. CDA President Hans Huibers and CDJA Chairman Tom Sceepstra addressed attendees via video teleconference during the meeting.
Sneek ran on the list of the CDA party twice in the parliamentary elections. He said he saw the importance of being involved in a national party – an important player on the level of the national government, where decisions are made that involve the people of the islands.
After he separated from the Democratic Party in 2020, he took it a step further and, together with Fleming, launched the CDA Statia chapter of the party in October 2021.
Because of the substantial number of votes he received in the Island Council elections in 2020, he felt obligated to stay involved in politics at least until the next election in 2023.
“And since I decided to do this, I could not just ride into the sunset and fade out with nothing left behind. That is why and how I found Sjahairah, a young and very aspiring and talented lady, who represents the younger generations of Statians. Together we have accepted the challenge to try to make a sustainable difference in Statia politics,” Sneek said.
He was already a member of a national party and for him establishing the local chapter was more like a continuation of an existing situation.
“But more importantly, I strongly believe in the value of being a part of a national party, a party that operates and is involved in decision-making on national level, decisions that oftentimes affect our lives here in Statia as well.”
He said another important reason is the enormous support one can get as a local chapter of a national party. The network they can tap into and the many educational opportunities that become available for their local politicians are positive.
He explained that even though the CDA did not do well in the national elections, the party is still the biggest national party on the local level. The party is based on Christian principles and their core values – public justice, shared responsibility, solidarity and stewardship (which means everyone must take care of the planet for future generations) – are values that hardly can be debated.
The last one also fits perfectly in what the Statia CDA chapter is focusing on. CDA Statia, he said, envisions becoming a party for a large part consisting of young people. He said CDA and CDA Statia in this respect are front-runners, as they are the first national party that also will be represented on the local level in the Caribbean Netherlands.
“As the local CDA chapter we do not always need to agree with the decisions that are made on the national level, even when our own party is supporting these decisions. CDA Statia stands for and will fight for local issues, things that are important for the people of Statia, and the party allows us to do that.
“Statia has the right to be well represented on all levels of government,” he said, adding that CDA Statia will officially enter the political spectrum in Statia with a new plan, with new ideas, with great input and involvement of the populace.
Fleming spoke about the party and the importance of the next few years with regard to politics. Fleming recently travelled to the Netherlands, where she has started to make connections and build up her own network. She was welcomed with open arms by the CDA party headquarters, the local chapters of Alphen aan de Rijn and Zeist, the CDA faction in the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament and the Association of Dutch Municipalities VNG.
The keynote speaker for the evening was Curaçao Member of Parliament (MP) Giselle McWilliam.
