PHILIPSBURG–The availability of vital statistics about St. Maarten, including tourist arrivals, continues to be a challenge as privacy laws and the reluctance to share across government ministries, bar, among others, the Department of Statistics STAT.
A plea to Parliament to look into the reciprocal sharing of information within government, the strengthening of the national statistical system and STAT, and, most importantly, the amendment of laws hampering information sharing came an unexpected quarter on Thursday.
Representatives of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) called on Parliament to support the need for statistics collection and sharing and, together with government, find ways to present incentives to the private sector to share theirs.
The collection and sharing of statistics are also vital in tracking the country’s attainment of the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Along with those goals some 232 indicators were developed after it was found that the progress and non-progress made worldwide related to the millennium development goals could be quantified.
Those indicators (heavily dependent on statistics) aim to measure how countries implement and progress on the SDGs.
Diane Quarless, Director ECLAC sub division Caribbean, told Members of Parliament all producers of statistics should be encouraged to share stats, and efforts must be made to remove challenges and hurdle to sharing.
Based on queries from MPs Ardwell Irion, Jurendy Doran, Silveria Jacobs of the National Alliance, Wycliffe Smith (St. Maarten Christian Party) and Rolando Brison (United St. Maarten Party), ECLAC Head of Delegation, Statistics, and Economics Abdullahi Abdulkadri said MPs understand the importance of the need for data. “Half the battle is won already,” he noted.
Quarless said ECLAC has been approached by the secretary-general of the Ministry of Tourism and Economic Affairs TEATT to assist with ways in which to diversify the tourism-driven economy. The agency will also seek to put forward ways the country can tackle the revamping of its fiscal (tax) system.
ECLAC’s meeting with Parliament formed part of its fact-finding mission connected to a three-year project on SDGs implementation and execution. This UN agency was one of the first to assess the country’s damage and challenge post-Hurricane Irma in September 2017. It is from their report that government has built the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP).
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/77402-eclac-reps-make-plea-for-better-statistics-collection-and-sharing
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