To say that the just-sworn-in ministers have their work cut out for them would be an understatement. The local hospitality industry was basically left in shambles by Hurricane Irma and the dire consequences are increasingly being felt.
Moreover, it involves an interim cabinet that will guide the February 26 early election and soon make room for the next government to be appointed by the newly-chosen Parliament taking office on Monday, April 2. Normally such a short term and transitional status would dictate concentrating on daily operations only, rather than major policy decisions, but these are hardly normal circumstances.
There is no time to lose in taking measures that can alleviate the fast-deteriorating social conditions especially resulting from growing unemployment. The planned paid courses particularly for workers of closed resorts need to get in gear and make a positive difference, as do other assistance and relief programmes, including large-scale home repairs.
Projects that provide temporary jobs but also contribute to a sustainable recovery of the island must be prepared quickly but well, so they pass the scrutiny of the World Bank through which the Netherlands has made 500-plus million euros available in reconstruction funds. To be clear, the focus is to remain on initiatives that help boost the tourism economy, because that’s ultimately the best way to improve the people’s quality of life in a structural manner.
All this is to take place with the advice for an instruction regarding St. Maarten’s still-unrealised 2018 budget on the table of the Kingdom Council of Ministers. The content will obviously change considerably from last year’s amended version due to the foreseen huge drop in tax income over the next 12 months, with the suggested deadline now March 1.
All in all, the UP/DP/Brownbill government is expected to very much hit the ground running. A lot is going to be asked of them, and with good reason.
