Marigot: ---The Board of the Tourist of Office voted a motion of non confidence because of the lack of trust against Yann Claeysen two Monday ago. The marshal was called in to deliver the letter to Claeysen as well as getting him off the property. Claeysen had to hand over all keys of the property prior to leaving.
According to a well place source the board had to take a decision because they said the director has committed some sort of embezzlement since some $700,000 is missing. They said that the Director can be considered a racist since he has completely refused to work with the island Dutch counterpart. Claeysen is also accused of dividing the employees who has worked in the tourism sector for years.
SMN News has been reliably informed that when the motion was presented second vice president Daniel Gibbs walked out of the meeting an angry man. "You can say Daniel voted against Claeysen because he did not stay for the vote" one source said. SMN News understands that the UPP members only now realized that Gibbs and Claeysen are personal friend's years prior to him being hired. They said that Claeysen was Gibbs best man in his wedding and when confronted by the UPP he denied knowing Claeysen. Other sources say that the two men wives are related but that could not be confirmed. The source said that Gibbs and Claeysen are school mates and they remained friends throughout their adult lives "For this reason no one could have convinced Gibbs he was making the wrong decision when he was hiring Claeysen. Secondly Gibbs did not make sure the man could handle the job. His mission was to hire his white friend". One
source claimed.
"The former President of the UPP Louis Constant Fleming on numerous occasions warned Gibbs about hiring Claeysen, Fleming told him that he did not follow the law when it came to the recruitment of Claeysen and he Gibbs should have looked for someone locally and if he could not find someone here then take an older person from outside who could have trained a local. None of the advice the former president and party leader given to Gibbs was accepted since the two men have what is described as a strange relationship".
Leader of the Union Pour le Progres and St. Martin's first senator Louis Constant Fleming returned to the island to deal with the matter since the Director has filed an official complaint against the President of the Tourist Office Ida Zin- Ka-Ieu, he has also threatened to take the Collectivity and or tourist board to court.
Sources say the director has made up a file against Zin- Ka-Ieu and vice versa. One of the complaints are that the director Yann Claeysen is not happy with the decision taken by the Territorial Council to have the Tourist Office under the EPIC since they have to open their books and be transparent with their spending to the council.
Prior to the COM decision which was taken last year the Tourist Office was managed under an Association who did not have to give the commune neither COM any accountability despite it was public funding that was managing the Tourist Office.
"Due to the fact that the Tourist Office was under and Association, several persons who worked their in the past managed to enrich themselves rather than spending monies on proper marketing for the French side of the island. There were people who were paying for phones for their wives and children from the Tourist Office monies while others were buying plane tickets for their entire family to go on vacation". The COM had ordered an audit be done at the Tourist Office but to date the outcome of that audit was not made public.
SMN News was informed that the second vice president is also not happy since he was the President of the Tourist Office for nearly one year. According to well placed sources Gibbs traveled on numerous occasions on the Tourist Office budget and each time first class. "That man eats up over $100,000 in his travelling expenses alone. They said that Gibbs decided not to continue the joint marketing in the United States because he wanted to make sure he had enough monies for his leisure trips. Most of travelling they said was when Gibbs was making the necessary arrangements for Claeysen to come to St. Martin.
In an invited comment President of the Collectivity of St. Martin Frantz Gumbs confirmed that the board of the Tourist Office voted a motion of non confidence against Yann Claeysen. He said rest of the procedures remains in the hands of the President of that sector Ida Zin -Ka Ieu. Gumbs said that the Director of the establishment also has the right to fully defend himself. "The director personally informed me that he was going to file a complaint as such I am not able to further divulge information to the press since the matter has become a judicial one." One of things that have to be considered is that if the head of a department and the person that has political leadership is not getting along then the two must part ways. Gumbs explained.
