Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
National Alliance meeting draws a large crowd
St. Maarten - A large crowd came out to listen to the National Alliance party candidates as they launched their first political meeting in Sucker Garden on Saturday evening. NA-leader William Marlin called on the electorate to come out in numbers and vote for his party.
“Come August 29 make no mistake, don’t vote because of the green flags, because you were given 100 cents, vote because you need a decent honest government, with hard working ministers and parliamentarians who will look out for you every day. So that we will bring not four, not five, not seven but we will go straight to eight, we will settle for nine and will be glad for a perfect ten,†said Marlin.
He stressed that there is need to elect honest people like the candidates on the National Alliance slate even though the choice is up to the voters. He said that he is not interested in forming a coalition since his party “is going straight to eight.â€
“When we march to the new administration building at the end of the elections they will say free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty we are free at last,†Marlin said. This statement sent the crowd screaming and shouting. They were honking car horns and dancing in the crowd. “Give us four years,†Marlin said. “After that time we will not have to come on our knees begging for your vote since we would have earned your respect.â€
Marlin addressed the proposed purchase of the 11,200 square meters Vorst-property in Cay Hill by Vromi-Minister Maurice Lake for 10 million guilders. He and pointed out that there was never any government that purchased land to build any school in St. Maarten. He said that when he was in government they purchased 14,400 square meters of land in HOPE Estate for 1 million guilders.
The NA-leader furthermore addressed the United People’s party claim that they are ready. “What they are ready for is to rip the people off,†Marlin said. “When they were caught with their hands in the cookie jar and we asked what the land was for they said it was to build social housing.â€
He went on to explain where the money came from to purchase the land and what happened to the Dutch Quarter road project that was promised to the people in that community and had to be completed by December 2013. He noted that when that project was completed the Dutch Quarter main road would have been the most modern road on the island.
Several other initiatives by the National Alliance were highlighted including the homes in South Reward that were sold to the homeowners for a symbolic guilder. He pointed out that money was put aside in the 2014 budget for a number of initiatives but they were scrapped by the UP/DP government.
