SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY) - The following speech was delivered by Prime Minister/Minister of General Affairs Hon.Dr. Luc Mercelina on Friday, May 3rd, 2024, during the onboarding process at the Government Administration Building.
His Excellency Governor Mr. Baly, President of Parliament of Sint Maarten, Mrs. Wescot Williams, Mr. Mussington, Members of the High Councils of State, Members of the Independent Advisory Organizations, Members of Parliament, the newly sworn in ministers of this Government, the immediate past Ministers of the former Government, the civil servants, distinguished guests, and the people of Sint Maarten; Good afternoon and welcome to this special day.
Ladies and gentlemen, citizens of St. Maarten,
Today, I stand before you with a heart filled with gratitude and humility. I am deeply Honored and privileged to have been entrusted with the responsibility of leading this nation as your next Prime Minister. I want to extend my sincerest thanks to you, the people of St. Maarten for your confidence in our coalition government and for placing your trust in me. It is a profound privilege to serve you, to work for you, and to strive for the betterment of our Sint Maarten.
Together, we form a collective force for positive change, and I am committed to working collaboratively with everyone of you to address the challenges we face and to seize those opportunities that lie ahead of us in the best interest of our people.
As we embark on this journey together, let me assure you that this government will represent all citizens of St. Maarten, regardless of race, color, gender, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.
In our diversity lies our strength, and it is by embracing our differences and uniting as one people we will achieve greatness.
Cohesion, inclusiveness, and unification are concepts for us to promote and guardian.
My fellow St. Maarteners, I understand the hopes and aspirations that rest upon our shoulders. I recognize the challenges that lie before us, not easy, but I also see the immense potentials and opportunities that resides within our nation.
Together, we have the power to shape our destiny, to build a future that is prosperous, just, and inclusive for all.
Our focus should be and must be on the following:
First of all:
We will have to work on the development of a sustainable Health Care Financial system for Sint Maarten. We are overconsuming over our allowed budget, approximately between 30-35 million to cover healthcare costs for our people. If we continue with this trend, our social insurance bank will collapse in 5-7 years from now.
Secondly:
We will have to enhance regional cooperation in the area of economic development, education, healthcare, and climate change.
Thirdly:
We will have to prioritize the further development of social housing and affordable housing for our people. As we know there is an inacceptable waiting list for housing for the less fortunate groups in our society. In this particular moment, we have 4000 families on a waiting list for housing.
Fourthly:
Combating of Poverty in a multidimensional approach must be the order of the day. Let us focus on this by accentuating betterment in Education, Border Control, improvement of social welfare conditions, and establishing minimum living standards.
AND…
We must start working on a comprehensive mental healthcare system. I am very worried with the growing amount of dropouts in our society that I every day see on the streets of Sint Maarten
Dear people,
The only way to move forward a country like Sint Maarten, is to work diligently on the concept of NATION BUILDING.
But let us start making this NATION BUILDING CONCEPT tangible for our people;
Think on for example the idea of having:
A own National Police Academy for Sint Maarten.
A recognized and accredited National University acknowledged in a National Ordinance on Higher education and scientific research: A National well-equipped library; A National Development Bank.
Let us further define an education model for Sint Maarten that will Cather to the necessities of the labor market.
Ironing out the path to ease the progress of the ongoing General hospital project.
The question is if the current framework which is being used for the advancement of nation building, as for example the four country consultations on level of justice, education, labor and social affairs, and maritime and aviation topics, The DCHA (The Dutch Caribbean Hospital Association), the development of a USM (University of Sint Maarten) by using the academic framework of Curacao and Aruba for its development, will ultimately have a positive impact on the formation of Country identity and of course the bigger picture of Nation Building.
What also needs to happen on a short term is: A general clean up of the island; Beautification of the Island with landscaping; Prevention of placement of Containers all over the place.
And Removal of car wrecks all over the island.
Ladies and gentlemen; we have a few huge challenges ahead of us waiting for the new government to deal with.
First of all: The huge poverty that is overtaking this country.
Actually, in a dimension that is challenging our values and norms.
Secondly: We have to assist in preserving and strengthen our Utility Company GEBE.
Thirdly: we have to go an extra mile to Preserve and Protect our Telecommunication Company (Telem).
The emphasis on the last 2 mentioned should be:
Sustainability, Modernization, Capacity Expansion, and Adjustment to infrastructural growth and demand.
I would also like to make use of this opportunity to draw your attention to the following:
In the past 14 years, we have always had challenges with the formation process of the new governments because of the fact that the entire screenings process for candidate ministers was and is not transparent and evident.
The unwritten constitutional norm has been too loosely used in the past for 14 years.
There are a lot of discussions about the legal basis used for certain elements of the screening.
Do not forget, that at the end of day it is Sint Maarten’s autonomous right to form its own national government expressed via the democratic will of its people.
It is time for a national ordinance for the screening of candidate ministers and I commit with my government to present this draft law. By the way, we have to impression that it took forever this time to form this government. I can assure you that in total the formation of this government took exactly 17 days more than the formation of the former government in 2020 after deducting the 17 days that was used by informateurs to present their report.
On another note:
On kingdom level there is also some work to do:
We have to improve the working relationship between the Netherlands and SXM.
We have to work on our democratic deficit in the kingdom, that stands in the way for a healthy autonomous evolution.
We must discuss the handicapping national debt position of Sint Maarten within the kingdom.
We will have to work on a sustainable development for SXM.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Let us recapture the spirit of optimism and determination that has always defined the people of St. Maarten. Let us draw strength from our resilience and our ability to overcome adversity.
Let us work tirelessly to create a society where every individual has the opportunity to thrive, where every voice is heard, and where every dream is within reach.
In the days, weeks, months, and years ahead, I ask for your support, your patience, and your unwavering commitment to our shared vision for a brighter tomorrow. Together, we will write the next chapter in the storied history of St. Maarten, a chapter filled with hope, progress, prosperity, and unity for all.
I want to make use of this opportunity to thank my political party board, my party members, my advisors, and all those that have supported us in this process. I would also like to thank my coalition party members.
Thank you, St. Maarten, for entrusting this government and myself, as your Prime Minister, with this profound honor.
Members of this council of ministers, I am looking forward to a great working relationship with all of you.
May we journey forward together, hand in hand, towards a future filled with hope, opportunities, trust, and peace.
Last but not least, I would like to give an enormous thank you to my Parents that are unfortunately not with us anymore. I would like to thank my sister for her unconditional loyalty, and of course my wife and children for their love and support.
God bless St. Maarten, and God bless us all.
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