MIDDLE REGION–Cleanliness of the country is at all-time low with roadsides littered with rubbish from uncovered trucks along with residents and businesses taking advantage of the post-Hurricane Irma solid waste collection challenges.
The unsightliness of the roadsides and in neighbourhoods as well as the smoking dump did not escape the notice of members of the Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament. The nine-member delegation was on a one-day site inspection of St. Maarten on Thursday.
Giving his impression of the country, delegation leader Committee Chairman Alexander Pechtold told the press: “There is a lot of rubbish lying around. It doesn’t even need a hurricane, but a normal storm, to lift it up and damage things or, even worse, injure people.”
Removal of all rubbish and tackling the problematic dump that is “bad for people’s health” must be at the top of government’s priority in this continued recovery.
Irma did not create the messy roadsides; rather, this existed to some extent before the hurricane devastated the island almost 11 months ago.
“There was rubbish already on the island. … Let’s face it, car wrecks and all other things were normal on this island,” Pechtold said.
The Committee’s visit stems from members, some of whom have been overly critical of St. Maarten, wanting to see the post-hurricane progress first-hand.
The group wanted “to see with our own eyes what is necessary, and when we can speed up things we will do that,” Pechtold said after touring the under-construction house of senior citizen Lorna Rogers in Middle Region. The house is one of more than 50 reconstructions overseen by the White and Yellow Cross Care Foundation (WYCCF) via Dutch early recovery funds.
Rogers, a sexagenarian, had been in the spotlight before; she was visited by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte almost two months ago. She is living in one of the Ikea shelters sent by the Dutch Government in the weeks after Irma. She has been in the shelter screwed together in her back yard for several months now.
Rogers’ new fully-concrete house on Davis Drive is slated for completion by month’s end. However, she will still need furniture and other household items to supplement the little she managed to save from her hurricane-destroyed home.
Meeting Rogers and seeing the overall progress in the country from when he visited in February as an observer for the February 26 snap election, Pechtold said: “What’s positive for me is the habit and resilience of the people. … In the Netherlands, I can’t imagine in a quarter like this with so many roofs still needing to be repaired that after half a year people will be and keep so positive. I am still impressed.”
Pechtold’s committee will visit again in January 2019 for the Inter-Parliamentary Kingdom Consultation IPKO.
Asked whether there is not a need for the committee to have closer contact with and more frequent visits to the Dutch Caribbean to better understand the complexities and challenges, Pechtold said, “I agree when you have relations for so long a period, you should invest more in each other. That’s the reason I am happy that so many of my colleagues are interested to be here” for the one-day visit.
The overall relationship between The Hague and Philipsburg was strained to a breaking point followed political strife after Irma. This came about after The Hague pressed for the implementation of an integrity chamber and more border control before much-needed financial aid was given to the country.
Relations have improved since January. Pechtold said of this development: “Looking at the past is always interesting but it won’t help.”
“Politicians – I am one myself – they should work for the people on both sides of the kingdom. There is also an opportunity. We have reached the bottom in our relations and now we can literally build up again,” he said. “Politicians on both sides [of the ocean – Ed.] should be looked at carefully.”
Also part of the delegation, besides Pechtold, are Joba van den Berg of the Christian Democratic Party CDA, Antje Diertens of the Democratic Party D66, Attje Kuiken of the Labour Party PvdA, Nevin Özütok of the green left party GroenLinks, Stieneke van der Graaf of the Christian Union, Henk Krol of the 55-Plus Party, André Bosman of liberal democratic VVD and Ronald van Raak of the Socialist Party (SP).
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/78545-pechtold-to-country-clean-up-the-rubbish
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