SINT MAARTEN (PHILIPSBURG) – Independent Member of Parliament (MP) Christophe Emmanuel on Wednesday asked the people of St. Maarten to be wary of any celebrations from the sitting government regarding the replacement of the COHO consensus law with a so-called “mutual agreement”.
Word play, Emmanuel said, is a tool that the Prime Minister and her support in Parliament have used over the past few years to fool the people of St. Maarten. He stressed that the people must be vigilant, ask questions and understand that a mutual agreement does not mean it will be an agreement without conditions and stipulations.
Emmanuel, who was the first to raise red flags about COHO two year ago, said the government had been flip-flopping on COHO from the first day it came to light. “One minute they are carefully selecting words to say people shouldn’t worry because we need reforms and they are sticking to a trajectory, the next minute they are kind of against it but not really. Like they have proven on numerous occasions, you cannot trust them,” Emmanuel said.
He said other than a consensus law being withdrawn, apparently every other aspects that was tagged along with the COHO remains, although no details have been released. The country packages, some of which called for all sorts of new taxes, including references to property taxes, still remain.
“There is no indication about the level of involvement of the Dutch, the CFT or any other working entity already in place as part of the COHO trajectory. And who is going to vet this mutual agreement? Will the Parliament of St. Maarten get to see it before it is signed? We can assume that everything that was supposed to be in the COHO law, will re-emerge into a mutual agreement,” Emmanuel said.
He continued: “I speak very plainly because that’s what the people of St. Maarten deserve at this point. So I say to them, wait for the details. Do not fall for the victory laps being run by a government who has been known for laying burdens upon you, then running back to you seeking love after their abuse. How long will we be strapped with this agreement? What is the cost?
“Remember who we are dealing with here. The Dutch have a history of presenting the same gift, in the same box, with different gift wrap paper and we have jumped before thinking it was a new gift. The current government of St. Maarten has consistently been deceitful and disingenuous with the people of St. Maarten. So in both instances, you have to consider the messengers. Wait for the details,” Emmanuel concluded.
Source: Soualiga Newsday https://www.soualiganewsday.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=47812:chris-says-with-coho-consider-the-messenger,-wait-for-details-urge-public-to-remain-vigilant&Itemid=450
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