Dear Editor,

My name is Neville Hyacinth de Weever Labega. I am a medical doctor, specialized in family practice. I trained to become a doctor at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The Erasmus Medical Center is considered one of the very best institutions in the world. They work closely with the John Hopkins University and Academic Hospital in Baltimore in the United States.

After returning to my native island, Sint Maarten, I requested the SVB, the social security bank of the Netherlands Antilles, to become affiliated with them. That means that I would be able to become the general practitioner for persons insured with the SVB.

Philip Martes, the director of the SVB informed me that there were too many doctors already in Sint Maarten, I would have to wait until someone left the island or died to become affiliated. At first, I wanted to take the SVB to court, but then decided to wait.

Some doctors did go back to Holland; I tried to buy over their practices from them but they all informed me that they had sold out already to friends from Holland and Suriname. I kept writing letters to Philip Martes, but to no avail.

I asked Mrs. Sarah Westcot-Williams to intervene; however, she refused. She said that the SVB was a national institution over which she had no power.

I also wrote to the Executive Council several times requesting permission to be a general practitioner for persons insured with the Island Government. I never received a reply. I guess that Mrs. Sarah Wescot-Williams and the rest of her Mafia gang were just too busy.

After a long illness I wrote a letter to our present Executive Council on the 28 of July past, again requesting their intervention in becoming affiliated with the SVB and being able to have persons insured by the Island Government as my patients. The request was sent on to the Health Sector for advice.

I received a phone call from a young doctor, who is employed for half her time as a policy worker. She informed me that the Executive Council could not help me as they have no jurisdiction over the SVB.

Our Executive Council has of course everything to say about the SVB and the BZV (the institution taking care of persons insured by the Island Government). As of 10-10-2010, the BZV will cease to exist. For a period of two years, the SVB will take care of the administration of the SVB insured and also the former BZV insured persons. After that a national health insurance will be in place. Very strange that a policy worker at the Health Department is apparently not aware of this.

I wrote a letter again to Mr. William Marlin, our present leader of government, explaining the situation to him. However, no answer. It seems that when one becomes Leader of Government in Sint Maarten or a member of the Executive Council, one forgets the manners that one's parents taught them.

Mr. Heyliger, I do hope that this will not happen to you and your crew or I will have to start my own party for the parliament elections in 2014, and I'm really too busy for that as I will be opening my own general practice on October 3rd coming.

So Mr. Editor, to make a long story short, I have been waiting ten years to become affiliated with the SVB and on an answer from our Executive Council concerning persons insured by the island government.

My Cuban friend, Dr. Zamora Peres, waited six years for his affiliation with the SVB, but he got through last year at last. I guess Fidel intervened? I will not be waiting any longer. I will be taking the matter to court now.

Hopefully Mr. William Marlin or his legal representative will find their tongue in court and will be able to explain exactly what the problem is that the various governments of our beautiful island have with me. Is it something personal?

Thank you very much for the space in your paper.

Neville Hyacinth de Weever Labega.