On January 4, 2015 I wrote the following in an earlier Letter to the Editor:
"...to our Parliamentarians: I challenge you to make one of your first endeavors to be the changing of the Ordinance regulating benefits for former Ministers and former Parliamentarians (known as "Political Authorities"). AB 2010, GT no. 8 states in article 1d, that DISMISSAL of a Political Authority is: "the formal termination of the appointment as a Political Authority, BY ANY MEANS". Now I can understand if during any 4 year term, should a Government fall and Ministers abruptly become unemployed, there is a "catch-net" in place to allow them to find new employment. But why should we the tax payers continue paying ex-ministers and ex-Parliamentarians when their appointment, or the 4 year term to which they were elected ends? That COULD not have been the intention of the authors of the Ordinance, nor SHOULD it be. In the Private sector when someone accepts an employment contract for a specific term, they know that at the end of that term there is no more income. Yet I know of at least 9 former Parliamentarians, whose term ended on October 10, 2014 (something they knew would be the case since at least October 10, 2010), that have formally requested Government to continue their benefits in accordance with this 24 month catch-net provision". I went on to quote Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs, when in his 2015 NEW YEAR'S Message he said: " Good Governance and Integrity are priorities to ensure the needs of the Community are met with the utmost of honesty and fairness; in order for St. Maarten to get where it needs to be, we need everyone to play their part; we will strive to set the ship right so that we can continue moving forward to becoming the great nation we all know St. Maarten can be".
So eagerly I looked forward to changes to be proposed by our new Parliamentarians, many of whom campaigned on the theme "WE READY!", as well as others who promised OPENESS in Government and CUTS in Government expenses..... Now I read in the daily papers of September 8 and September 9th, 2015 that " Ex-MP's cost taxpayers close to NAF 811,000 in the first year after 10-10-2014". I take it that they will probably cost the same amount for the next 12 months! That is in excess of 1.6 MILLION guilders for 9 people who worked PART TIME at an already PART TIME job, when they HAD a job and now are still getting paid for doing NO JOB!! No wonder every Tom, Dick, Harry, Leroy, Louie, Romaine, Gracita and others clamor to get a seat in the Parliament of St. Maarten, where they are guaranteed 6 years of US$ 12,000+ per month pay for 4 years of promise-to-work. WHAT A COUNTRY WE LIVE IN!
Prime Minister Gumbs: Good luck with getting "everyone to play their part to set the St. Maarten ship right"! I for one am counting on you!!
Michael J. Ferrier
