Dear Editor,
This weekend the National Alliance (NA), United St. Maarten Party (US Party) and two newly declared independent Members of Parliament (MPs) Dr. Luc Mercelina and Chanel Brownbill have formed a new nine-member majority coalition. The question is based on which governing accord, and which governing program?
Three members of the UD deserted the UD/SMCP coalition. What happened in the United Democrats that three MPs left the party and declared themselves independent?
Each of the three MPs who declared themselves independent gave their own personal reasons to explain their disaffiliation of the United Christian Democratic Governing Coalition. Why they cannot longer support their own government coalition? None of the three coalition members of parliament gave as a reason non-compliance of the governing coalition with the 2018-2022 governing program “Building a Sustainable St Maarten.”
Remember that both the party leaders, the Members of Parliament of the United Democrats and the incoming Ministers of the governing coalition have signed the governing program to be executed. Are MP Brownbill and MP Mercelina still in agreement with the “Building a Sustainable St. Maarten governing program which they signed last year? And what about the NA and US Party parliamentarians? What is their governing program in the interest of the people of St Maarten?
Will eradication of poverty be a priority in the new governing accord? The Anti-Poverty Platform has drafted for all political parties to sign before the last two elections held the Declaration to Eradicate Poverty. The St. Maarten Christian Party had signed the Declaration of Poverty and as such has committed to prioritize the eradication of poverty in the governing period, contrary to the other three political parties (UD, NA, USP) of which none of them signed and only the US Party board in a letter to the platform committed to address poverty eradication if elected in Parliament or in government.
With no commitment from the UD to eradicate the poverty, the negotiations with the SMCP resulted only in a paragraph heading “eradication of poverty” in the governing program. Only a poverty line study to be realized within the 4-year governing program of the UD/SMCP coalition was the consensus reached between the two parties.
Is the new NA-USP-Brownbill-Mercelina majority formed in Parliament willing to adopt the eradication of poverty declaration in their coalition agreement?
Dialogue requested before and after governing accord. We have requested the UD/SMCP Council of Ministers on three occasions to have a dialogue with the Anti-Poverty Platform, which dialogue did not take place until today! For us the fall of the UD/SMCP government could have been prevented if the Council of Ministers had reached a consensus with the Platform on the eradication of poverty and the realization of the right to development of the people of Sint Maarten.
With the Central Committee of Parliament only one meeting took place with the Anti-Poverty Platform, and no consensus has been reached on the eradication of poverty! Since all MPs have to represent the interests of the people of St. Maarten, we the co-coordinators of the St. Maarten Anti-Poverty Platform hereby publicly call upon all political parties and all parliamentarians who want to form governing coalitions for a dialogue with the Platform before they agree on any governing accord.
After guaranteeing in that governing accord the interests of the 13.000 poor and needy households, the dialogue should continue to guarantee in the governing program that policies to fully realize the right to development of the people of St. Maarten are explicitly included.
Dialogue also before and after new parliamentary elections. With the decision of the Council of Ministers to invoke article 59 of the Constitution and to dissolve Parliament and call elections for November 23, 2019, we expand the dialogue request to all aspiring political parties to the November elections.
We want to remind all politicians that we the co-coordinators of the Anti-Poverty Platform represent the following social organizations: seven of 8 labor unions in St. Maarten affiliated to the Windward Islands Chamber of Labor Unions, the Seniors and Pensioners Association, and all the NGOs [non-governmental organizations – Ed.] affiliated to the St. Maarten United NGO Federation (SUNFED).
Neglecting to dialogue and to reach to a consensus with the Anti-Poverty Platform will be explained to all members of our affiliated organizations as a refusal to defend the interests of the more than 13,000 poor and the needy households, to be taken into consideration when they have to cast their vote in the upcoming elections!
St. Maarten Anti-Poverty Platform
