PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — The Harbor and Zebec have in the recent past publicly leveled serious accusations of breach of contract against each other that included claims of 100 million USD in damages, repeated failure to adhere to contractual obligations, failure of the harbor director to comply with terms of the agreement, frivolous lawsuit and serious misconduct and so forth.
According to the latest media reports, the Harbor and Zebec have now resolved all differences and have settled all issues and damages, however the terms of the settlement have been obscured by a yet another confidential and out of court settlement. The DP is adamant that the people have the right to know the terms of the settlement.
Given the seriousness of the accusations and the sizable financial consequences to the Harbor, the DP believes the details of the settlement should be made public, after all if the Harbor had to pay serious penalties for contractual failures, the people have a right to know. If failure by the Harbor to honor terms of the agreement resulted in substantial financial losses, the people have a right to know. If future commitments have been made to Zebec, the people have a right to know.
The Harbor is an asset that belongs to the people. In the event there is a financial crisis, the burden will fall on the backs of the people of St. Maarten. If a settlement was made that was in the best interests of the people, why the need for a confidentiality agreement?
The question can be rightfully asked if this settlement has something to do with the “administrative” investigation, initiated by the Prosecutor’s office on St. Maarten.
The Democratic Party has campaigned for open government and will continue at every opportunity to advocate for an inclusive government with integrity, one that is transparent, accountable and fiscally responsible. It is a well established fact that the citizens of a country that have an open government are more prosperous and happy.
