New status, social issues, education
take centre stage in final debate
PHILIPSBURG--Questions about a new constitutional status for St. Maarten and about social issues and education took centre stage during the third and final AVS political debate last night ahead of the April 20 Island Council election.
The debate, which was broadcast live on radio and television, lasted more than three hours and featured the leaders of the three parties currently represented in the Island Council: Sarah Wescot-Williams of St. Maarten Democratic Party (DP), William Marlin of National Alliance (NA) and Gracita Arrindell of People’s Progressive Alliance (PPA).
Apart from some minor confusion about the rules, the debate went as expected.
In his closing remarks Marlin said the choice was clear and the voters had received the reasons why a change in government was needed. “The Democratic Party (DP) government has been a divided government for eight years, with commissioners openly fighting each other,” he charged.
Contending that his party would win the election, he said relief was on the way.
He said the DP’s contention that it was dangerous to change government now was just “another scare tactic.” He also noted that as NA leader he had been a member of the Constitutional Affairs steering group and had been to every meeting regarding the constitutional change process.
Arrindell in her closing remarks asked the electorate to vote for a new a generation of political leaders with the education and training needed, and to send the current politicians in power home with a failing grade. “It’s your decision on how many seats PPA will get,” she said.
She said the people of St. Maarten were sick and tired of corruption and incompetent government. “Under a PPA-led government St. Maarten will get a true separate status and not one with higher supervision,” she said.
Wescot-Williams said in her closing remarks that she believed she had been put at a distance from the two other political leaders purposely, to show that she represented government and the other two the desire to be in government. She said her leadership had been tested, contrary to that of her two colleagues.
She said St. Maarten was at a point in its history where it had the unique opportunity before obtaining separate status to bring all things together and form the country St. Maarten. “People’s representatives of St. Maarten need to step up to the plate and tell us what is necessary to grow,” she said. She accused the opposition parties of often twisting the truth and using forums like yesterday’s debate to do so.
The well-attended debate chaired by Rolando Tobias and held at the Philipsburg Cultural and Community Centre featured questions posed by students of University of St. Martin, by members of the audience and by persons who had submitted their questions via e-mail.
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