Roorda's attorney to file for witness hearing

April 12, 2011 4:04 PM

PHILIPSBURG--The controversy surrounding the termination of the contract of now former Head of Finance Bastiaan "Bas" Roorda continues with his attorney Maarten Le Poole preparing to file today for a witness hearing.

Le Poole said that the letter he had sent to government on behalf of Roorda seeking his reinstatement had Monday as the deadline to provide clear answers about why the contract had been terminated.

"In the letter to Roorda, it was stated that it had to do with breach of confidentiality and then today there is an article saying it was because of insubordination. It makes no sense anymore," Le Poole said yesterday.

His aim with the witness hearing is to get to the bottom of why Roorda was fired, because the state of affairs now is "one big mess."

At the hearing, if granted, Le Poole wants to talk to all of the people who were present in the March 28 Council of Ministers meeting in which Roorda was interviewed and the people responsible for drafting the letter.

The attorney said several people had stated that the dismissal had nothing to do with Roorda filing a complaint with the Prosecutor's Office about possible embezzlement at St. Maarten Tourist Bureau, but the reasons are yet to be given.

Speaking about his client, Le Poole said, "Roorda is confused about the whole situation."

12 April 2011

Maarten Le Poole of HBN Law St. Maarten is representing Bastiaan Roorda in this case.

Labega: Roorda’s accusations unjust, unfair, unwarranted

PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten Tourist Bureau Director Regina Labega says the complaint filed against her and Bureau Marketing Head Edward Dest by former Head of the Finance Department Bas Roorda is "unfair, unjust and goes beyond character assassination."

Interviewed on For the Record, hosted by Eddy Williams on Radio Soualiga, Sunday morning, Labega said she had never been given the opportunity to be heard and/or to respond to Roorda's complaint as is stipulated by law. "There was never any due process," she said, adding that she and Dest had never been asked about or told what the allegations were.

Addressing the complaint publicly for the first time since her suspension from the department late last year, a suspension which was later lifted by Minister of Tourism Franklin Meyers, Labega said she did not know what Roorda's agenda was or is, but it was unwarranted.

She did not address Roorda by his name during the interview, but spoke about "the person you just mentioned," referring to Williams' mentioning of Roorda's name. She said the unwarranted accusations had now extended to the staff of the Tourist Office.

She said it was interesting to note that the "person making the allegations" was a Department Head, just like she is a Department Head, who has to follow a chain of command and report to different people, apparently hinting that Roorda had not followed his chain of command. This was also mentioned by Minister of Justice Roland Duncan (see related story).

"It saddens me that this is what this island has apparently come to, where the names of hard-working St. Maarteners are tarnished. It is sad and unfortunate."

Turning to the rumours that she would be appointed the next Director of the Princess Juliana International Airport operating company PJIAE, Labega confirmed that she had gone through the same process as anyone who was interested in the position and now awaited word.

If appointed at PJIAE, she said, she would miss most of all her staff, who she described as ambitious, hard-working, dedicated to their country and contrary to the picture the stigma paints of civil servants. She said her staff had sacrificed family time and had gone beyond the call of duty in service to St. Maarten.

She said she would be happy to be in the same industry with them, but would miss seeing them on a daily basis.

(Source: The Daily Herald St. Maarten)

11 April 2011