S TATIA N EWS

V OLUME 2 ISSUE 8 M AY 9, 2011

Statia Harbour expansion

L OVELY S TATIA Page 2,3,4

Inspiration Business Confe-

rence on Statia, Page 5

Opinion Gigi Merkman,

Page 6

Opinion about GEBE,

Page 7

Introducing Wilbert Stolte,

Page 8

Expansion of Nustar Oil

Terminal, Page 9, 10, 11

Opinion Harbour and Eco-

nomic Development,
Page 12

Poem Verceley Courtar,

Page 13

This picture was made by Alida Francis, sunset May 5. It was made from the
entrance of Fort Oranje, overlooking the Caribbean Sea toward Saba. In the
front the beaches of Statia where the Eastern celebrations took place.
In this edition of Statianews two mayor subjects: The Statia Harbour Expansion and the expansion of
Nustar Terminal. These are two subjects that are not being revealed to the public. That is why I don’t
know much about them, and merely try to spread the little info I have and do my best to inform you
as much as I can. I also have posed opinions about these expansions.
Statianews likes to be a platform where you can pose your opinion. So comments etc, send them to
info@statianews.com also if you have news to spread.
Enjoy this edition,

Annemieke Kusters - Jansen

P AGE 2 L OCAL N EWS
S TATIA H ARBOUR E XPANSION (1 OF 3)
On Wednesday March 16th 2011 the design and
built contract was signed between the Government
of St. Eustatius and Volker Construction Internatio-
nal B.V. in the Vincent Lopes Legislative Hall.
The works consist of the renovation and improve-
ments of the roll on roll off dock, dredging of the
harbour basin and installation of a mooring dolphin
so that larger ships can berth at the port. The har-
bour will be made more attractive to accommodate
visiting yachts, smaller vessels, the dive operators
and fishermen by creating a dock between the har-
bour and the little Pier called “Old Roro Pier” (not
between the harbor and Dive Statia as the press
anouncement from GIS said, A.)
The design, preparation and mobilization will take a
few months after which the physical works will start
in June of this year. The contract was prepared by
Lievense Consulting Engineers and has total value
of US $3.700.000,00 .
SEI M ONEY AND T HE H ARBOR P ROJECT
“The SEI (Sociaal Economisch Initiatief) is intended to
ensure a proper financial and economic foundation for a
sustainable future at the time the new constitutional
status of St. Eustatius becomes into effect.” This is what it
said in 2007, when the Netherlands decided to give each
island, including Statia, money to start building this fi-
nancial and economic foundation. Statia had 13 million
NAF to spend. The plans had to meet the SMART criteria,
which means they must be Specific, Measurable, Achieva-
ble, Relevant and Time Framed. The project proposals
had to be submitted by the Executive Council of the is-
land to USONA for evaluation and approval. It said: “The
stakeholders are going to be informed and can participa-
te within the process of a specific measure.”
The Netherlands gave a deadline. The islands were given
one and a half year to get their project proposals appro-
MAY 9 2011 Statianews
This project is financed by the Dutch Government
through the SEI (Social Economic Initiative).
The island Governor Gerald Berkel (third from
right) signs on behalf of the Government of St. Eus-
tatius.
Mr. Ruus Goossens (second left) on behalf of VCI.
Looking on are Commissioner Glen Schmidt (left)
Commissioner Clyde van Putten (second right) and
Island secretary Mr. Jan Helmond.
Standing in the back from left to right are: Henry
Dwarkasing (Usona),Siem Dijkshoorn (Planning
Bureau) Rogier Brans (Lievense) and Maldwyn Tim-
ber (Planning Bureau)
ved. Now how this has been going on, remained partly in
the dark. When I talked to Siem Dijkshoorn, he said the
SEI changes all the time. I had a version from March 2009
were this was said about the harbor: 5000000 NAF for the
first phase of adaptation and expansion of the harbor, to
be done in the second half of 2009. 750.000 NAF for the
construction of a new harbor road to create an alternative
route for heavy traffic (Nieuwe Havenweg) and another
750.000 NAF for the rehabilitation of Oranje Baai beach,
construction of artificial reef balls and snorkel trail in clo-
se cooperation with STENAPA.
All of this has changed over the one and a half year that
has gone by. The money was not spend on “De Nieuwe
Havenweg”, nor was it spend on rehabilitation on Oranje
Bay. Maybe these ideas were thrown off the table, maybe
these ideas weren’t good enough after all, we don’t know.
P AGE 3 L OCAL N EWS
S TATIA H ARBOUR E XPANSION (2 OF 3)
Now about half of the SEI money is being spent on the
harbor project and it seems like nothing can be done to
change this plan.
Was there communication with stakeholders? I don’t
know.
Now let us see who the stakeholders were in this specific
plan. (where the other SEI money went, I don’t know…)
One is fishery. As you can see on the map , land will be
created in front of the fishery (visafslag). Opposite the
fishery there is the possibility to start a shop. There will
be a dock. I don’t know if this dock is going to be for the
fishermen.
Another stakeholder is Tourism. I don’t know if “tourism”
was involved as a stakeholder in this plan.
When I look at the map, some things strike me and give
This is a detail of the harbor plan, that shows you the space opposite the fishery.
MAY 9 2011 Statianews
me doubts about how good this plan is for Tourism.
One of them is the gas station. On the map, the gas sta-
tion includes the bar that is presently being run there.
They both have one number: 41.
Does this mean the bar that is there has to go?
Because if that is so, if that bar will not remain the same
or if it will disappear, that would be very bad for local
Statians and tourists alike. It is the only place that has no
“drempel” at all and sells beer and pasteche for not much
money, is friendly and very Caribbean local style. Plus it
has a great view on all the business in the harbor and with
the fishingboats. Always something to see there. My
children even went swimming there and I could watch
them from the bar. I don’t know if that is possible in the
new plan.
The other thing is the diving school that is currently there.
Will it be able to continue their business?
>
P AGE 4 L OCAL N EWS
S TATIA H ARBOUR E XPANSION (3 OF 3)
This is the map of the entire harbor project. With thanks to the planning bureau who send these maps to
statianews.
On this map, you can see the entire project.
The sand colored part means land creation. Now,
where I use to go swim sometimes, was on the other
side of the harbor going to Crooks Castle. A lovely
quiet place and a great place to snorkle, a dream if it
had a beach bar there.
Will this be possible when land is created there? Will
people be able to cross the harbor and go to the
beach there?
One other thing. In the SEI plan of March 2009 I men-
tioned earlier, it said that a “Nieuwe Havenweg” was
going to be made to create an altenative route for
heavy traffic. This road is not going to be made so all
the trucks with building equipment and other goods
are still going to use the Road in Lower Town, having
to make the curve up the hill by Smoke Alley. This is
not good for tourism. If the little romantic roundabout
May 9 2011 Statianews
by Mazinga on the Bay will still exist in this plan
remains to be seen. Last year they had to tear it down
to let the trucks for Nustar go through.
Now Dive Statia, which is government owned will be
restored, not with SEI money, but with another Dutch
fund giving out cheap loans for monument restoration
(I guess). But the beach will not be enlarged (as men-
tioned in the March 2009 SEI plan) and nothing will be
done to facilitate the diving there.
The other stakeholder Stenapa was involved in the
beginning, but not in the end I guess.
If this harborplan is all what is St. Eustatius is getting it
will not help tourism to develop.
(by Annemiek)
P AGE 5 A NNOUNCEMENT May 9 2011 Statianews

A NNOUNCEMENT I NSPIRATION B USINESS

C ONFERENCE ON S TATIA
This Thursday and Friday the Chamber of Com-
merce & Industry of St. Eustatius & Saba, in cooper-
THURSDAY MAY 12
ation with St. Eustatius Tourism Development Foun-
dation and STEBA will be hosting “Inspiration Busi-
14.00 – 14.15 Opening by MC (secretary of
ness Trip St. Eustatius” which will take place on
STEBA).
Thursday May 12 and Friday May 13th 2011.
14.20 - 14.45 Word of Welcome by Lt. Gov. G.
It is a traveling conference that goes from island to
Berkel Bsc.
island and also goes to Suriname. This conference is
14.45 – 15.00 Hans Kluivers-recycling-environment
meant for people interested to do business on the
and asbest
Antillean islands and the Dutch West Indies and
15.00 – 15.15 GEBE-local electricity company
also in connection with Holland.
15.15 – 15.30 Tea break
15.30 – 15.45 Presentation Maij Logistic
As you can see in the program below, some inter-
15.45 – 16.00 Presentation Carlyle Tearr
esting “players in the field” will be present them-
16.00 – 16.30 Reza Abdoelrazak-Kiwa Nederland-
selves.
building certification, water etc.
16.30 – 17.00 Questions & Answer Period
If you want to join, you can send an email to the
18.00 – 20.00 Meet & Greet (Snacks & drinks )
chamber of commerce coc.statia@gmail.com
Killy Killy Band
Aloi Dancers
Registration Fee: $ 75,= includes:
Ending first Day
· two days of sessions
· refreshment breaks
FRIDAY MAY 13
· Luncheon
· Entry exhibition area
08.00-09.20 Registration
· Matchmaking(One on one)
09.20- 09.30 Opening by the MC
· Indicate any specific area’s of concern you
09.30- 09.45 Word of Welcome and Opening by
would like to discuss.
Commissioner of Economic Affairs and Tourism,
Mr. Clyde van Putten
Please indicate if you will need an exhibit space.
09.45- 10.15 Presentation head of Chamber of
Payment can be made cash or to the order of :
Commerce St. Eustatius and Saba Mr. Koos Sneek
“St.Eustatius Business Association”
10.15 – 10.45 Presentation Trico supplies
10.45 – 11.15 Presentation BPO Aruba
For further information: please contact 318-4051
11.15- 11.50 Matchmaking session
or 3184137 or 5805599
12.00 – 13.00 Lunch
13.15 - 13.45 Presentation Mr. Leon Ferrier,
Chamber of Commerce Suriname
13.45 – 14.15 Matchmaking Session
14.15- 14.45 Presentation Gert Zandsteeg, Cham-
ber of Commerce The Hague
14.45 – 15.15 Match making session
15.15 – 15.45 Presentation Aruba Investment Bank
16.00 - 17.45 Island Tour (for those interested)
CONCEPT PROGRAM 19.00 - 21.30 Island BBQ on the Beach (All inclu-
INSPIRATION BUSINESS TRIP AND MATCHMAKING sive) $ 50.= p.p.
ST.EUSTATIUS
DATUM 12 EN 13 MEI 2011
ST.EUSTATIUS
P AGE 6 O PINION May 9 2011 Statianews

D IVERSIFICATION AND I NVESTMENT

Entrepreneurial and Foreign should be a focus
for Statia going forward

For years, we've always heard our parents say,

go to school, study hard, and get a good job.
But for most of the Expatriates from St. Eustati-
us living abroad, getting a good job once you
get home has been a rarity. There are just two
major employers, one being The government,
which means there is hidden unemployment.
What happened to teaching our children to be
entrepreneurial or to develop a trade?
There are so many dying professions: carpen-
ters, shoemakers, and farmers come to mind.
Statia is so beautiful, but here in the United
My name is Giralda Merkman, some people know
States, Saba, our smaller sister island is more me also by Nydia or Gigi. My family has had ties to
well-known. Statia and the Antilles for generations. After gradu-
ating from Havo, I attended college in Florida and
The tourism, especially eco-tourism needs to be graduated from the University of South Florida with
promoted more heavily. Looking for outside a Bachelor's in Criminology and International Stud-
investors in the private sector will be a necessi- ies. I continued on to work on my MBA, but my
ty, because the world is headed into an era of work as a Financial Analyst with JP Morgan Chase
alternative fuels and green energy, so jobs in made it impossible to continue so I stopped half-
the Oil industry won't be around forever. Peo- way through. I've always been a believer that once
I found what I wanted to do that school wasn't nec-
ple need to be given incentives to save and in-
essary. I've worked with Bank of America, General
vest instead of strictly being consumers. Motors, as well as Ford Motor Co extensively in the
Finance, Credit, and Mortgage fields.
Complacency is the biggest problem that needs
to be addressed. Don't be happy with a medio- I now work as a Business Developer with a new
cre situation, it's up to you to change it. We company called Organo Gold that is now in 10
need to be more diligent with the upcoming countries, including the Netherlands, and launched
election to vote for the people that are running my own marketing company called Wakeupcall
for the right reasons, and once we've done that, Marketing. I am looking forward to the financial
be supportive when things don't improve im- freedom it offers.
mediately. It's up to everyone to do their part
to keep our island safe, beautiful, green, and
progressing forward.

Sincerely,

Giralda Nydia Vivian Merkman

P AGE 7 O PINION
A N O PINION A BOUT G EBE
George Works is an engineer from the United Sta-
tes who lives on St. Eustatius.
It makes no sense to me to have Statia's electricity
supplied by a company owned primarily by the go-
vernment of St. Maarten, which is a different coun-
try. This seems especially true since the financial
dealings of GEBE are not very transparent, and the
government of St. Maarten is short of funds and has
an incentive to overcharge Statia. I also doubt GE-
BE's technical competence given the almost daily
power failures on St. Maarten, the utility poles that
have stood in Statia's roadways for years, and the
fact that GEBE has done nothing about alternative
energy sources during the past six years while the
cost of oil has quadrupled.
I read recently in the Daily Herald that a submarine
cable Caribbean power grid is being considered to
connect Nevis, Saba and Puerto Rico. If it is economi-
cal for Nevis to sell geothermal power to Puerto Ri-
co, it would seem likely that it could also sell it to
Statia at an attractive price from the cable that will
be passing right off our shore. I would expect that
anyone seriously interested in Statia's electric power
supplies would be inquiring about this possibility.
But I haven't heard anything to this effect.
E LECTRICITY P OLES L ODI
May 9 2011 Statianews
As to who should be responsible, I agree with Mr.
Sneek that Statia's only significant technical experti-
se lies in the NewStar terminal and they are certainly
a possibility. Another possibility would be a Dutch
utility company that might be interested in taking
over the management of electricity on Statia, pos-
sibly with a service contract from the Netherlands. I
would think it might be more acceptable to the Ne-
therlands to pay for a service contract to a Dutch
company with proven expertise than to pay subsi-
dies to GEBE. Possibly the Nevis electric company,
which seems to be doing a good job, might also be
interested.
As part of separating from GEBE as an electricity
supplier, I would like to see the billing separated as
well. GEBE has made considerable improvement in
its billing process in recent years, but this key part of
the business really should be under the direct con-
trol of the supplier. It could be done directly by the
supplier or outsourced to a billing contractor with
proven performance, and reasonable cost.
With kind regards,
George
See more about this on: http://www.scribd.com/
doc/54996772/From-the-Daily-Herald-About-Gebe
On this you tube video, you can see how the Gebe
electricity poles are set up in Lodi.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-
5BoU5sbmxA&feature=youtube_gdata
P AGE 8 L OCAL N EWS May 9 2011 Statianews

I NTRODUCING M R . W ILBERT S TOLTE

(from the RCN)

Effective May 1st, 2011 Mr. Wilbert Stolte, will be the

new Representative of the National Government for
the Public Entities Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. He
began immediately with an introductory visit to the
three islands. May 2nd he was on Saba, on May 4th he
visited St. Eustatius and May 6th he traveled to Bon-
aire.

Introduction

In the programme of his intensive introductory visit a

Meet and Greet with the inhabitants was planned.
On all three islands he made acquaintance with the
Executive Council and Island Council. He held discus-
sions with representatives of different social organi-
zations and meetings with the press. Also on each
island he made acquaintance with the workers of
Rijksdienst Caribisch Nederland (RCN).

His Task

Mr. Wilbert Stolte, the Representative of the Nation-

al Government forms an administrative link between
the National Government and the Public Entities. He
promotes cooperation between the National Govern- Mr. Wilbert Stolte, new Representative of the
ment and the governments of the islands Bonaire, St. National Government.
Eustatius and Saba. He has various legal tasks with
regards to higher supervision. He is tasked with re-
viewing decisions of the Public Entities in view of
good governance. Also some island ordinances must
be approved by the Representative of the National
Government before these can go into effect.

C ENTRE OF Y OUTH AND F AMILY O NE YEAR A NNIVERSARY

May 12, the Centre of Youth and Family will celebrate its’ first anniversary.
There will be games for children, face painting and lots to eat and drink. An
invitation for this event will be send to you.
P AGE 9 L OCAL N EWS May 9 2011 Statianews

E XPANSION OF N USTAR O IL T ERMINAL (1 OF 3)

When you click on this link, you can see a documen-
tary about the terminal (then Valero) made in Ja-
nuary 2007, as it was shown on Dutch television. It is
interesting to hear Bram Pepers’ views. Bram Peper
is a sociologist, former mayor of Rotterdam and for-
mer Minister of Internal Affairs.

http://www.eenvandaag.nl/buitenland/34880/
sint_eustatius_armlastig_

This picture shows you the expansion plans as they

are on the table now. As you can see the oilstorage
will be situated on the Southside of Signal Hill.

This is an alternative plan (thanks to Raimie Richardson who made the graphics) Here it shows the storage
on the North side of Signal Hill. More alternatives on the next page.
P AGE 10 L OCAL N EWS
E XPANSION OF N USTAR O IL T ERMINAL (2 OF 3)
This is what Nustar wants to do. Above py the pier, you see
the present Terminal, the expansion is on the other side of
that hill known as Signal Hill. This land is owned by Nustar
Terminal and it is flat. It is situated on the Airport Safety
Zone. It is said that the tanks can not be seen from Lower
Town, that is the small touristic area under the cliff by that
small harbor further South. For the rest of the island,
where there will be tourism aswell, they are probably not
out of sight. From the Quill you can see them for sure.
The land used for this other alternative is now pro-
tected as a nature monument. Not visible from the
rest of the island. I don’t know if the pier they pre-
sently use is too far away for this expansion. Here
also they have to dig out the hill and they probably
have to blow the hill up, since it is very rocky there.
May 9 2011 Statianews
This is a preferable location. You see the expansion is
closer to the present Terminal and to the pier. This
expansion is situated behind Signal Hill, so even from
the Quill you can’t see the tanks. This land is also
owned by Nustar. This expansion is more costly,
because they have to dig out the hill. (see picture
page 9)
This area is also not to be seen on the rest of the is-
land, also nature preservation. If this is done, there
will be less work to prepare the land, because it is
not too steep there. A road can be made connecting
the hills to the rest of the island, which could attract
investors to Venus Bay which can then be developed
according to the spatial plan.
 P AGE 11 L OCAL N EWS May 9 2011
E XPANSION OF N USTAR O IL T ERMINAL (3 OF 3)
On this map you can see the current plan of the expan-
sion of Nustar Terminal on the purple area South of
Signal Hill. Statianews contacted the director of the
Monuments Foundation (SEMF) Walter Hellebrand
and the local archaeologist Grant Gillmore to ask what
valuable ruins or excavation sites are to be found in
this Nustar area. As you can see on the map, the im-
portant historical sites are shown in the purple areas
with circles and dotted areas. In the purple area of the
expansion there is the remains of the Benner planta-
tion and the remains of Schotsenhoek with cemetery.
On the “horseshoe”, that is the part of Signal Hill that
is green and protected, there are the remains of Fort
Panga and of Redoubt Jussac. There is also the remains
of a covered road between these two remains, so that
Statianews
was a defense system. There is also a cistern half-
way from Jussaz to battery Royal.
In the Green striped red area there is a number of
monuments that form a route along the coast:
Battery Royal, the Waterfort (or Battery Amster-
dam) with the remains of the Slave house, Battery
Rotterdam and Lazaretto with cemetery, the Plan-
tation Godet and the remains of warehouses/
houses North of Smoke Alley. Here is also were the
Indian burialplace/settlement was found.
SEMF filed a complaint against the expansion of
Nustar because of the unique value of these monu-
ments.
 May 9 2011 Statianews
P AGE 12 O PINION

T HE H ARBOR AND E CONOMIC D EVELOPMENT

A great part of the SEI money goes to the harbor project. Until now, this harborproject is only for the harbor
in Lower Town. (see page 2,3,4)

The orange line in the first picture shows the situation now: Ships with freight come in the harbor with food,
bricks, cars, containers, you name it, travel into town and to the (to be developed) industrial zone north of the
airport. This is how it is done now: they drive through Lower Town, which is the touristic area. Last year they
even had to demolish the little round about by Mazinga on the Bay to let big trucks with building equipment
for the Terminal pass through.

The purple line is following the road the trucks will drive if another alternative road is to be built. Using this
road will mean no more trucks through Lower Town, but for these trucks to go to the industrial zone, they will
have to drive through town.

The orange line in the second picture is the ideal situation where all ships with freight can be unloaded and
transported to the industrial zone via a road to be built. Driving into town from there is easier too.

There have been several harbor studies and a pier there by Signal Hill was one of the options in them. It was
too expensive to do with the SEI money St. Eustatius had. If Nustar contributes, or pays for this pier and road,
there will be no strain on the local or central budget.

The question is: Will they do that if they themselve can’t use this pier for their own ships? Or will they only do
that when their expansion is South of Signal Hill?

I have no idea how the negotiations go, but knowing Nustar, I think they will. Just think about it: They sell the
land they have on the airport safety zone, make a pier and a road to the industrial zone and the flat land can
be used for this road and for agriculture (elephantgrass for animals no maintenance) The question is: who can
they sell this land to and what kind of deal can be made that is reasonable for Nustar?

Now, in the SEI it said that Statia has to look out for government-private enterprise possibilities. This harbor,
the industrial area, the airport, an airline, the agriculture area, the electricity supply, all of it has the potential
to be gov-private Enterprises or be done together with other islands.
Annemiek
P AGE 12 P OEM May 9 2011 Statianews

V ERCELEY C OURTAR : “T HE S TATE WE ’ RE IN ”

Who know how to read fine print and even between lines
(poem written before the local elections)

There are those who have shortchanged us and polluted our seas
Well if it wasn't for the good ole newspaper

But it's all well and good since they have a few "local" employees
And articles placed by both St. Maarten and Saba

Nobody wants to say it, but I will not hold my speech

How would we ever know what state we're in

We got a scoreboard and playground in exchange for our beach

Since our brilliant leaders rarely tell us of anything

What is to become of us, is this really to be our fate?

Our healthcare package is poorly organized

Speaking of which, has anyone seen Winair's latest rate?

And the taxes, well that's financial homicide

I guess it doesn't really matter if sxm and Guadeloupe doesn’t accept

our new identification
Many stand to loose, everything they call their own

Since they're levying everything except our homes Since due to our ONLY airlines latest crisis, they might soon drop this
destination

It's election time and suddenly everyone cares

I am usually very positive and not prone to this much negativity

Yet I ask, where was this concern the past several years
And just imagine, I haven't yet mentioned water and electricity!

Why should we allow you, yet one more try?

Even the famous youths, whom our leaders claim to cherish

You have been found guilty, you have got no alibi!

I see they've abandoned that approach. Yes we have ALL noticed!!

And to those of you saying, you are the new hope

But I wont say anymore simply because I believe my point is clearly
overstated

Exactly why do you feel, you deserve my vote?

Someone needs to take responsibility for the mess that's been creat-
ed
Don't tell me what someone else, did or didn’t do

Now all that's left to see come March, is just how serious we are in
Only interested in hearing why I should have faith in you this land

We need tough negotiators and leaders with spines May we all have the foresight to recognize that the only REAL change
lies in OUR hand!!