Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
It was interesting to see the picture of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in Panama City with St. Maarten's Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs and Telecommunication Claret Connor and Port of St. Maarten CEO Mark Mingo on Monday's front page. The three men attended a round-table meeting about opportunities offered by the expanded Panama Canal, among other things.
This is noteworthy especially because Members of Parliament (MPs) in The Hague, particularly from Rutte's own VVD party, have been very critical about the Harbour Group of Companies on several occasions. Some have even gone as far as insinuating that things may be taking place there that can't see the light of day.
Launching allegations directed at the local political establishment is one thing, but the port is vital to the island's economy. It very much relies on continued confidence from creditors and, of course, its clients, particularly the major cruise lines of which several are also financiers.
In any case, the government-owned company was placed "at arm's length" from the shareholder for a reason and the influence of, for example, public administrators is therefore limited at best. It also must comply with the corporate rules, including financial audits.
All this in no way means management's actions with apparent approval by the Supervisory Board should never be questioned, as rightfully was done when it turned out security expenses at the port were being tripled while the firm providing it had just changed hands. While it's understandable that contracts with other private entities are not to be published, this newspaper still believes a general explanation on the reasons for the steep hike also in the hourly rate is warranted.
However, immediately suggesting foul play without evidence is an entirely different matter and could hurt the business on which so many inhabitants depend for their livelihood. Not only that, but the importance of maintaining a high level of trust in the port's operations was illustrated once again recently with the announcement of a US $120 million tourism project there by Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (RCCL).
The fact that the harbour has made considerable investments elsewhere on the island is often frowned on, but it's the so-called share buyback deal in cooperation with the Netherlands and development execution agency USONA that facilitated these in the first place. Moreover, they proved crucial in terms of the Philipsburg shopping area product offered to the ever-increasing number of passengers coming off the visiting ships.
Those involved would do well to refrain from usually vague and unfounded accusations targeting the harbour in the future. There may be a lack of transparency as stated in several reports too, but that doesn't automatically translate to wrongdoings.
What needs to be improved must be tackled, no doubt, but the intention cannot be to wilfully and unnecessarily put what is actually a huge success story in a bad light. The "Friendly Island" deserves better.
