The immediate dismissal of – now former – caretaker Prime Minister William Marlin imposed by the Kingdom Council of Ministers via an instruction to Governor Eugene Holiday has understandably sparked quite some debate. As stated earlier, it concerns a highly unusual measure taken during exceptional times.
Regardless of how one may think about what went down between The Hague and Philipsburg, the main focus at this moment must be on alleviating the suffering of the people from the onslaught of Hurricane Irma. With most major hotels to remain closed all winter, social consequences such as less income, unemployment, poverty and crime are increasingly being felt.
Continued assistance from the Netherlands in overcoming this massive blow is indispensable to execute projects that can also help give the devastated economy a boost and prepare the destination for the at least partial restoration of its hospitality industry hopefully by the end of 2018. In the meantime, St. Maarten will have to make do with what travel business it can still attract, which – for example – is why salvaging boat wrecks in Simpson Bay Lagoon quickly to get the yachts back is so crucial.
The Dutch civil mission will soon have a new head, who will obviously be shifting gears towards rebuilding from the initial relief and recovery stage. Those locally in charge, both currently and in the near future, should concentrate their efforts on seeing to it that the millions of euros to be made available are spent to the maximum benefit of persons who need and deserve it most.
