SXMElections.com

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Leader of the National Alliance William Marlin says UP's VROMI Minister Maurice Lake has been caught lying again noting that Lake told parliament one thing about his Vorst Estate land deal in Cay Hill weeks ago and is now saying something completely different in his statement to the public last week.

Marlin said this was not just another desperate attempt by Lake to blindfold the people of St. Maarten with concocted plans and false promises; it is also an effort to divert attention from the real issue - his shady and overpriced Vorst Estate land deal.

"It seems as though whenever this back to basics minister digs himself into a hole he lies to get out of it and he probably has a network of tunnels to escape from when he's lying. Lake told the country's highest legislative body one thing and weeks later, is telling the public something else to play on the emotions of the electorate.

When he was in Parliament the minister said the Vorst Property was being purchased for social housing. No mention was ever made of anything else."

Marlin said anyone could download a photo from the internet attach it to a press release and call it a project. "I am sure if you go on Google you will find the image somewhere. And it's the same regarding the image put out there for the St. Maarten Maarten Medical Center.

Minister Lake is trying to blindfold the people of St. Maarten by quickly providing an image to create the impression that something great is about to happen. Anyone can download an image and give it out as plans without providing a shred of information as to how this will be executed and financed."

Marlin also questioned the sustainability of a sewing center with what the minister said will have more than 100 employees. It would cost at US $1.2 million alone a year to pay 100 persons the minimum wage. How will such salaries be generated? The minister should not try to mislead people who are genuinely in need of work with unrealistic opportunities.

Additionally, the empty statement issued by the minister also leaves more questions than answers. While we know that the minister has confiscated money from poverty alleviation projects in the districts to buy the Vorst Estate land, he gives no information about the cost of the building, how the construction of the building will be financed, will it be a government owned company, will the workers be civil servants working for government and if not for whom will they be working etc. "There are many unanswered questions about this which gives it the impression that it is exactly as we see it: a political gimmick intended to play on the emotions of the electorate."

Marlin, who had bought land for several housing projects in St. Maarten in the past, also questioned how exactly the minister expected young professionals returning home to be able to afford homes built on land purchased for an overinflated, exorbitant price. He also said that all professionals in St. Maarten deserved to own a home. Government, he adds, has land on the Pondfill, which it did not have to pay one cent for. Minister Lake should put the sewing center on this land rather than holding money for projects to benefit the people hostage.

Marlin said Lake's hastily put together release is his vein attempt to sidestep the matter to actually cover up the main issue, which is his desire to purchase land for an inflated price, which appears to be intended to enrich someone. "If it looks like a deal, talks like a deal and smells like a deal, then it is a deal. This minister has built a track record of telling lies to look good from the day he entered office, but the people of St. Maarten are not gullible and will not accept these things."

The National Alliance is the political party with a track record of actually focussing on the real issues and providing social housing and schools for the people of St. Maarten in the various districts. "Lake should address the real issue and tell the truth on this matter."