Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
PHILIPSBURG: --- Member of Parliament Leona Marlin- Romeo is expected to appoint the husband of her aunt Ernest Sams, a pensioner from GEBE as Minister of TEATT. SMN News has been reliably informed that MP Marlin- Romeo contacted two other persons who declined the offer. Those persons are the former wife of MP Maurice Lake Marla Shemont who is currently working at the Tourist Office citing that her family does not agree for her to take up the position. MP Romeo – Marlin then approached DCOMM employee Marsha Beauperthuy Gumbs, the first cousin of Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs who also declined due to several reasons. It is understood that Beauperthuy- Gumbs outlined the law to the MP making her aware that she cannot be part of the Council of Ministers when her first cousin is the Prime Minister. She made clear that it is illegal and therefore is not interested in leaving her position at DCOMM to take on a Ministerial position. Secondly the source said that Beauperthuy-Gumbs also declined the offer because MP Marlin Romeo wants to appoint her campaign manager Henry Lynch as chief of cabinet who was dismissed on February 4th 2015 from the St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF) SMN News contacted Beauperthuy-Gumbs for a comment on whether or not she was contacted but she decline to comment.SMN News further learnt that the MP then chose her aunt's husband Ernest Sams who recently went on pension. Sams was working for GEBE.SMN News further learnt that due to the deal the leader of the United Peoples Party (UPP) Theodore Heyliger made with his coalition partners has caused the government to become very shaky. The sources said that several MPs is not supporting their party leader who wants to remove Minister Claret Conner from his Ministry to accommodate MP Leona Marlin and place Minister Conner at the Ministry of VROMI. SMN News further understands that the current development will cause St. Maarten a second rounds of government instability. The source said they want to know what type of integrity and transparency Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs spoke about at his inauguration speech if he is allowing these types of nepotism to take place in his cabinet. According to several supporters of the UPP the current situation has brought on severe stress on the UPP leader causing him to become very disgusted with his own elected officials and supporters.
