Maria reappointed
as a Commissioner
~ NA does not participate in ‘charade’ ~
PHILIPSBURG--Maria Buncamper-Molanus, as expected, was reappointed Commissioner in the Democratic Party (DP) Executive Council on Monday.
Only the DP Members of the Island Council participated in the voting, as the National Alliance (NA) members walked out of the meeting.
“The NA political faction will not take part in this charade of misleading the people and actually insulting them, all in the name of democracy. First the Commissioner resigns, then apologises, and then returns as Commissioner as if nothing wrong was done. This is unacceptable. It’s another clear example of might over right,” NA leader William Marlin said.
All six DP Island Council members voted in favour of Buncamper-Molanus, who has been caretaker Commissioner since June 18 when she tendered her resignation shortly before the Island Council passed a motion of no confidence in her.
After her reappointment, Buncamper-Molanus gave an extensive discourse, saying that in the course of her entire public life she had never allowed herself to be distracted from working on behalf of the people of St. Maarten.
“When the people re-elected the Democratic Party and afforded me the privilege to serve as a Commissioner in the Executive Council, I promised them that I would always serve with their best interest in mind,” Buncamper-Molanus said.
“I have expressed my true feelings and regrets to the people of St. Maarten over the string of events that have led us to this point today. There is no need to recap, although today Councilman William Marlin still tried to twist the truth. I hope that the people of St. Maarten know that my apologies were sincere and my intentions were pure.”
Buncamper-Molanus said she had resigned at the time as a result of the political climate. Following the tendering of her resignation, she said, she could have hidden away in a corner somewhere, left her staff to tend to unfinished business, and said, ‘To heck with the people of St. Maarten, the stress is now up to whoever will follow me.’
“I could have turned my back on the caretaker role that, by law, I had the responsibility to uphold. Despite the dark clouds that hung over my tenure, I still chose to fulfil my pledge to my people and continue working for their benefit until my party made a decision pertaining to my reappointment or not.
“For doing this, the opposition criticised me for carrying on as if everything was normal.”
The reappointed Commissioner said furthermore that for her it was normal to continue working to ensure the development of sports, the transfer of the ADC lab to SLS, short- and long- term solutions for rising food prices and that a proper vaccination survey was conducted to determine accurate immunisation data for children.
“If my critics wish to criticise me for ‘acting normal,’ then for the people of St. Maarten, I gladly accept that label,” she said.
Buncamper-Molanus presented also what she called “a mere snapshot” of the work she, her staff and the various departments had done over the past year. “There is so much more in the pipeline and I am grateful that I will still have the opportunity to see them through.”
Finally, she thanked all her supporters for their encouragement, the departments for continuing to work, her staff for standing by her, the DP and her colleagues in the Executive Council for their support.
Buncamper-Molanus singled out DP leader Sarah Wescot-Williams, thanking her for standing by her side. “Last, but definitely not least, my family and friends who have witnessed my most personal moments during the last few months. Your love and understanding cannot be measured.”
