Prime Minister William Marlin’s initiative for a Youth Employment Fund (see related story) is in itself admirable. Obviously, much will depend on the cooperation of the private sector to give the
youngsters involved a chance.
Contrary to the mandatory counterpart labour policy, which does not include a way to help offset the added cost of hiring one, the intention is that the fund will cover the salaries and basic benefits of candidates employed and provided with in-house training under the programme for at least a year. This no doubt could make a big difference to the businesses concerned.
Obviously, finances will be required and the prime minister gave an indication by saying that adding two guilder cents to the basic electricity tariff could yield some NAf. 2 million per year and just one cent per litre on gasoline NAf. 750,000. Those examples may sound reasonable at first glance, but there are still several aspects to consider.
For one thing, while energy bills are currently relatively low due to the drop in oil prices, this could change rapidly in the near future. The same is true for fuel, for which the existing excise tax also needs to be taken into account.
Nevertheless, the idea deserves the benefit of the doubt pending further details, such as how it relates to balancing the budget, compensating for earlier deficits and settling Government’s considerable debts. Also, the expenses may be a bit hard to estimate, as that depends on the number of cases, so it might be wise to set a maximum amount beforehand.
If employers who are able to do so assume a positive attitude and truly try to support this venture, it well could work. Surely those who love St. Maarten would agree that getting more youngsters off the street and on the job is likely to benefit society in general.
