Letter to the editor by Raeyhon Peterson
My history with VROMI is well known; I was the Acting Head of Domain Affairs (Government land) for about three years. While there, I developed a love for the process and management of Domain, but I saw serious issues with how government land was being handled or treated by the respective minister. It wasn’t fair or transparent for everyone, something myself and PFP do not stand for.
As an MP, I focused on the Ministry of VROMI specifically because I knew how confusing internal processes were and many took that as me being hard on them, for no reason. I knew how it would look, to openly criticize the Minister, and I knew when PFP called for a pause to major developments so that the country could assess where we were, we would be called crazy. And we were, indeed, called crazy. It was never personal, though; it was always about putting the country and the people first.
I was the first member of Parliament to bring a motion of disapproval against a Minister, to give them the chance to fix the issue, because it wasn’t personal. Myself and PFP did not want to see the Ministry fail; on the contrary, we wanted to see it succeed, and in the first two years of being in Parliament, I did my best, even as an opposition member, to bring forward suggestions and solutions to put the Ministry on the path to success.
But, vision always looks crazy to those who cannot see beyond their nose. So when nothing improved and nothing was fixed, the Party for Progress brought a motion of no confidence, and even though we did not get the vote, it’s safe to say we had the foresight and understanding to know that something was very wrong.
One of the major issues affecting our country right now is the energy crisis; NV GEBE cannot produce enough energy to meet the country’s needs, a lot of that coming from the fact that big developments have come online, developments they knew nothing about. This is not something I’m making up; it’s something I, as a former Member Parliament, alongside MP Melissa Gumbs asked about for three years, with vague answers or outright lies coming to us in response. And now, here we are.
People are angry about GEBE, they’re angry about having to deal with another election but what I also know for sure is that they’re angry when they think about the reality that there is a St. Maarten being built around them that they can barely afford and that their children will not be able to afford. I know they’re angry that they live in districts that get ignored, to the point where they do not trust the Ministry of VROMI or the Government as a whole. That is what happens when community and stability are just buzzwords that we use during campaigns.
Now, as Chief of Staff of VROMI I’m in the position to help repair the damage between GEBE, the Ministry and people; even if it’s something as administrative as making the permit process more transparent, informing GEBE of upcoming projects before they hit the grid or meeting with community after community that has been neglected in the past because helping them didn’t bring a benefit or photo op.
There is a common belief that a leader is a person that everyone likes; that’s not the case. The reality is that a leader says the hard thing and does the hard thing even when it’s not the popular thing. And I have always preferred to say and do the hard thing, even if it’s not popular or exciting; handling the business of the people is sometimes just the smallest, unnoticeable change in a process or a procedure.
As the #2 candidate on the Party for Progress, the only promise I continue to make to the people of St. Maarten is to continue to be open, transparent and honest with you all. On August 19, 2024, choose the party that would rather guide you through a storm instead of lying and telling you it’s not raining.
Choose the future. Choose Progress.
Raeyhon A. Peterson
Party for Progress, #2 Candidate
Source: Press Release
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