Maria tenders resignation
~ DP will ask her to reconsider ~
PHILIPSBURG--Commissioner Maria Buncamper-Molanus tendered her resignation as Commissioner on Wednesday while a motion of no confidence against her was accepted with five votes in favour and four votes against.
The Commissioner was not allowed to vote on the motion. The only Island Council member not present during the meeting was Theo Heyliger of the Democratic Party (DP).
However, the Commissioner’s resignation seemed to have been more a strategic political move then an actual intention to leave office. That move was an attempt to have the motion of no confidence taken off the table.
Democratic Party leader Commissioner Sarah Wescot-Williams said minutes after yesterday’s Island Council meeting that Buncamper-Molanus, based on what had transpired the last two days, would be asked to reconsider her position. She referred to Claudius Buncamper resigning from the board of supervisory directors of TelEm and Buncamper-Molanus tendering her resignation yesterday.
Referring to the motion of no confidence she said: “The motion of no confidence is a motion of the opposition. There is nothing unique. It happens all over, all the time.” She pointed out that the motion had been passed because the National Alliance (NA) had more members present in the meeting.
However the opposition must present a proposal for dismissal for the Island Council to decide on, she said.
Buncamper-Molanus hinted that if requested to do so, she would stay on as Commissioner. “I will work for the people for St. Maarten,” she said.
Giving an explanation of the procedures, Lt. Governor Franklyn Richards said that now the motion had been accepted, a meeting of the Island Council had to be convened within 14 days to present a proposal for Buncamper-Molanus’ dismissal. That proposal should be sent to the Island Council at least eight days before the meeting is convened.
Regarding Buncamper-Molanus’ resignation the Lt. Governor said that it depended on the move of the Executive Council whether a new Commissioner would be put in place. The appointment of a new Commissioner must take place in the next Island Council meeting.
It will be an odd situation and confusing for the people if Buncamper-Molanus is presented again, the Lt. Governor said.
NA had requested a meeting of the Island Council to discuss financial contributions by TelEm to The Sky is the Limit Foundation. Its intention was also to table the motion of no-confidence against Buncamper-Molanus again.
The voting on the motion on June 9 was declared null and void because only five votes were cast, all of NA members, which did not comply with the prerequisite of more than half of all 11 Island Council Members casting a vote. The members of the Democratic Party had left the meeting just before the voting that Monday.
During yesterday’s meeting, NA stressed again the “blatant” conflict of interest with the Commissioner of Telecommunication appointing her husband Claudius Buncamper to TelEm’s supervising board of directors. In addition, Claudius had signed a letter from The Sky is the Limit Foundation, which he had founded and which the Commissioner chaired, requesting a financial contribution of US $25,000.
NA leader William Marlin said that in the answers to questions posed to the Executive Council, which he had received on Tuesday, the shareholder had stated that there was a semblance of conflict of interest. “Also semblance of conflicts of interest should be avoided,” he said.
He also emphasised that one of the objectives of the Sky is the Limit Foundation is to support Buncamper-Molanus as a politician. “The Commissioner has brought the situation on herself,” he said and again announced that the motion of no confidence would be tabled.
Claudius Buncamper resigning from TelEm’s supervisory board of directors and letting him taking all the blame was not enough for the NA. “The Commissioner did not show any remorse,” Marlin said.
Buncamper-Molanus said no crime had been committed and the entire situation had been polarised. She again admitted that things could have been done differently. However, she said she would not be put down by anybody and that DP had won the elections “fair and square.” Finally, she announced that she put her position at the disposal of the Executive Council.
Constitutional Affairs Commissioner Sarah Wescot-Williams pointed out that meanwhile the Executive Council had forwarded a copy of the code of corporate conduct to all government-owned companies giving directives on how to go about corporate governance.
She also pointed out that Buncamper had resigned from TelEm’s supervisory board of directors and that the Commissioner had made her position as a Commissioner available, and that the Executive Council and the DP had to take a decision on that.
Marlin called the Commissioner’s decision to tender her resignation a “poor attempt” to convince the opposition to take the motion of no confidence off the table.
“We see the game that is being played today. They show up and in a dramatic display of resigning try to make it look as if the motion of no confidence is superfluous. However, when the Island Council is on recess and everyone has forgotten about what happened, Buncamper-Molanus’ decision to resign will be rejected after internal consultation and she will continue in office,” he said.
After the deliberations the Lt. Governor went over to the voting on two motions: the one presented on June 9 and another in which two considerations had been added. However, the latter was retracted and the original motion was passed with five votes in favour and four against.
