There is a story in today’s paper about a St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF) repair programme. It started in December and the roofs of blocks 15, 16 and 17 consisting of 19 dwellings are currently being tackled, while those that cannot be replaced this year will be given a coating to stop leakage.
However, the agency also wants certain things from Government, like transferring funds presently in escrow for Hope Estate 1 and 2 so they can be used for repairs, rehabilitation and new developments. SMHDF also requests that Government start paying a contribution for the 24 Red Cross senior units pending from 2002 and the rental allowance for 318 social homes plus subsequent indexation that hasn’t been honoured since 2012.
It’s not clear whether announcing all these matters at this very moment has anything to do with last week’s news that Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI Christophe Emmanuel had asked members of SMHDF’s Supervisory Board to resign immediately. If not, the timing would obviously be quite a coincidence.
Emmanuel’s reasons were a number of complaints about deplorable living conditions. Seeing the state of an 86-year-old woman’s home had been the last straw for him.
The latter is understandable, but one has to wonder whether the Minister was sufficiently informed by board and management about the ongoing projects now described and planned for the future. Perhaps such a process can still be initiated, because the best interest of residents and the population in general, both short- and long-term, is ultimately what counts most.
After all, had there been more prior communication and consultation, parties might not have been at loggerheads in the first place.
