Marlin strongly refutes Maria’s
‘smear campaign’ accusation
~ Criticises decision to reappoint Maria ~
PHILIPSBURG--National Alliance (NA) did not engage in any smear campaign and did not slander anybody, was NA leader William Marlin’s reaction on Thursday to Commissioner Maria Buncamper-Molanus’ accusation that NA had started a smear campaign against her concerning another donation The Sky is the Limit Foundation had received from the Harbour Group of Companies.
“It is absolutely not the intention of the NA to engage in a smear campaign,” Marlin said. However, he stressed that it was NA’s responsibility, if there were persistent rumours circulating about a particular matter that involved a particular member of the Executive Council, to find out whether this was so.
He said that based on persistent rumours in the community about a cheque from the Harbour that had been issued to The Sky is the Limit Foundation, the party had decided to pose questions.
“Where there is smoke there is fire, so I asked questions and the media found out about it,” Marlin said.
These are the same questions NA Councilman Frans Richardson asked about trips the Tourism Commissioner had taken using a private jet, Marlin said. “It’s the duty of the Councilman to find out if government was paying for the trips. It turned out to be private trips, but the Councilman had a right to ask.”
He found it interesting that Buncamper-Molanus had stated in her press release that she had pre-empted the NA making inquiries by presenting the Executive Council with the information long ago. “If you know that in the community there are rumours that could affect your good name then you should have come out long ago and said that you also received a contribution from here or there,” Marlin said.
He said he believed the Harbour Group of Companies cheque tied in with The Sky is the Limit Foundation receiving a cheque from TelEm. He said that when NA had asked questions, there had been an attempt to cover up.
A member of the Commissioner’s staff acting as press secretary had released a press statement saying that when the foundation had requested a contribution, the Commissioner had no longer been on the board and president of the foundation. This turned out not to be the truth and the Commissioner had ended up apologising for it, Marlin said.
He said Buncamper-Molanus had tendered her resignation during the process two months ago. However, he said it was no surprise to NA that the leader of the Democratic Party (DP) had announced that Buncamper-Molanus would be reappointed.
“When she tendered her resignation, I pointed out that it was just a game the DP was playing in the hope that the motion of no confidence would go away,” he said.
Marlin said again that NA had not shelved the process it had started when presenting the motion of no confidence, possibly to be followed by a proposal for dismissal.
“The NA, just as the DP did, is taking its time to do what it should do.”
If it was simply to get the Commissioner out of office, NA would have used the time Commissioner Theo Heyliger was off the island to push forward and complete the process then, “because we had the votes in our favour,” Marlin said. However, it was not about having the votes in NA’s favour, it was a matter of principle, he said.
“Does the DP support a Commissioner who while in office carried out certain actions that constituted a blatant conflict of interest? What message are the DP and its leader sending to the St. Maarten and Antillean people, the Kingdom and the world?” Marlin asked.
He said that in any decent republic, a Commissioner or Government executive who found him- or herself in a conflict of interest and resigned would pack up and leave. “You don’t stay on and hope the party will reappoint you. Or you don’t blackmail to tell the rest of the untold story. Neither would you appear at a press briefing talking about new policies presented to the Executive Council.”
Buncamper-Molanus’ reappointment, according to Marlin, showed that the most important thing for DP was self preservation. Marlin said the issue was not that anything illegal had occurred. “It’s not only about what is written in the ERNA, but also what is written in the principles of good governance and good corporate governance.”
Marlin said the DP leader had taken responsibility for the TelEm portfolio to appease those who criticised the conflict of interest, but he wondered whether every time a DP Commissioner did something wrong, he or she could apologise and stay on as commissioner while a portfolio would be taken away.
Whatever the commissioner is reaping today is what she had sown when she presented that proposal to the Executive Council to appoint her husband on the board of TelEm while she was Commissioner responsible for telecommunications, he said.
However, Marlin said he believed Buncamper-Molanus was not the only one to blame. It was the leader of DP who allowed it to reach this far, he said. “The minute it became a discussion, she should have been leader enough to say it was unacceptable.”
