Open Letter to Grisha, Nathalie, Marinka, Luc and Claret, I want answers on Cupecoy Development

Dear all,

I address you by your first names not out of disrespect, but for two very deliberate reasons.

First, this is St. Maarten. This is how many of us address our people, including our politicians. Titles come and go. Office comes and goes. When your time in government is finished, you return to live among the same people you now serve.

Second, and more importantly, you work for the people of this country. You work for us. We pay your salaries. As one of the people who funds this government, I have every right to ask questions, and when I ask a fair and direct question about a public matter, I am entitled to a fair and direct answer.

So let me ask the question plainly:

What are the full details of the Public-Private Partnership signed by Minister Patrice Gumbs with Cupecoy Development B.V. for the Rolandus Canal project?

More specifically:

• What exactly defines this partnership?
• Who is paying for what?
• How much is each party contributing?
• What is government committing, whether financially, legally, materially, or otherwise?
• What is Cupecoy Development B.V. receiving in return?
• Is there a signed contract, memorandum of understanding, concession, development agreement, or any other legally binding instrument involved?
• If so, what are the terms?

These are not unreasonable questions. These are the most basic questions the public should be able to ask about any agreement involving government. Cupecoy if FAR from Philipsburg. Why are they helping?

You will notice that I am not directing this letter to Patrice or Melissa. That is intentional. If the PFP wanted to provide clear answers, they could have done so already. The public has been asking questions for days. Those questions are visible every day across social media and in public discussion. Patrice and Melissa have built much of their political identity around criticizing others for a lack of transparency. Yet now, when the public is asking for transparency from them, there is silence.

It should not take a letter like this to get basic information from a government that claims to believe in openness and accountability.

So if Patrice and Melissa refuse to answer, then the rest of you must.

You are all members of the Council of Ministers. You are collectively responsible for the standard of governance this country is receiving. Transparency is not optional. Accountability is not selective. And silence in the face of legitimate public concern is not leadership.

Let me be equally clear on this point:

There can be no hiding behind non-disclosure agreements, confidentiality clauses, or vague references to “private arrangements” when public business is involved.

If public funds are involved, then the public has a right to know exactly how those funds are being used.

If no public funds are involved, and Cupecoy Development B.V. is financing this entirely on its own, then the public still has a right to know what the company is receiving in return for undertaking works on a public matter. No serious person expects a private company to spend substantial money for nothing. So what is the consideration? What has been promised, discussed, granted, or negotiated?

And if this is truly an act of goodwill, done purely out of the goodness of their hearts, then that should have been said clearly from day one.

So again: what is the arrangement?

What is most frustrating is not only the lack of answers, but the attitude behind it. The apparent belief that government can simply make an announcement, expect applause, and withhold the details is unacceptable. That is not transparency. That is not accountable government. And that is not how ministers should treat the people they serve.

Ministers have a duty to be open with the public, especially when entering into agreements, partnerships, or understandings that touch on public infrastructure, public policy, public authority, or public money. That duty does not begin when pressure mounts. It begins immediately. The people should not have to drag information out of their own government.

I am angry because I am tired of citizens having to resort to the media, social media, and public pressure just to get answers that should have been volunteered from the beginning.

This is not a favor I am asking for. This is your duty.

So I am asking again, directly and publicly:

What are the full details of the Public-Private Partnership with Cupecoy Development B.V. regarding Rolandus Canal?

And I expect a proper answer.

(𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫 - 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦’𝘴 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳. 𝘐𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳’𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘞𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺, 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦.)