Melissa Gumbs
PHILIPSBURG–In this second instalment of The Daily Herald (TDH) publishing the responses of various political parties contesting the upcoming snap election on Thursday, January 9, the leader of Party for Progress (PFP) Melissa Gumbs outlines her party’s plans if elected to St. Maarten’s Parliament.
TDH: St. Maarten does not have money. Government’s coffers are drying up fast and the economy is still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Irma. What are your party’s concrete short- and long-term plans to increase income for government?
Gumbs: It has been stated over several years that we have an issue with compliance on St. Maarten … such as tax compliance and compliance with rental fees charged for government land. Where it pertains to tax compliance, [PFP – Ed.] has opted to look at improving this via first prioritising restructuring of our tax system with the final goal being a system that is simplified, clear and allows for improved compliance across the board … For the short term, we do believe that moving forward with small business loans structured via the existing Trust Fund would boost the already-remarkable economic recovery we have seen simply through the will and perseverance of the people.
TDH: Education is in shambles – from claims that the Foundation-Based Education (FBE) system is not working the way it should, to the shortage of educators and students underperforming in some vocational sectors, and challenges in the tertiary education system. What are your top three priorities for education and how do you plan to achieve them?
Gumbs: PFP believes that an actual assessment of the state of FBE is necessary. This must be done across all school boards to evaluate the impact the system has had on our teachers and students and its effectiveness within our educational environment. Secondary to this, PFP believes that vocational skills are of utmost importance throughout our society, particularly when considering our primary economic pillar, tourism. Many of the issues impacting St. Maarten Vocational Training School are also tied to our shortcomings in special education. We tend to brand students as “difficult” and then group them together in one environment, but this is incorrect. For too long the approach to education has been snap solutions that do not address root causes. PFP believes it’s time we do just that.
TDH: What are your plans to address the challenges in the labour sector such as unemployment?
Gumbs: Great strides have been made regarding our labour sector, with the amendment that a six-month contract automatically becomes a permanent one at the third such contract granted. However, this process of stimulating flexibility in labour needs to continue with consultation and empowerment. We believe that empowering the Departments of Labour and Social Affairs is one of the most important steps towards addressing these issues … They must not only be consulted on programmes that can address unemployment for skilled and unskilled labour, but must also be given the support, via Parliament, to execute said programmes. Alongside this, we aim to curb the abuse of short-term contracts … empowering the necessary departments to do their jobs with regard to inspection and discipline.
TDH: The burgeoning landfill situation is getting out of control and while there have been meetings and proposals, etc., no government has been able to bring to fruition a long-term, sustainable waste-to-energy solution. What is your party’s concrete long-term plan for the landfill and what is your timeline to achieve this?
Gumbs: Short-term options are to ban the import of non-biodegradable single-use plastics and Styrofoam products, which is already in process within Parliament. What comes next must be assessing how much waste we generate; previous reports had us generating 9.7 kilogrammes of waste per capita per day. We need to identify if this has changed. Thereafter, PFP aims to identify and engage export options within the region to handle part of our waste as we work towards a permanent solution. After consultation with waste management experts, it can be determined that waste-to-energy is actually not a feasible solution. We do not generate enough, even when combined with the French side, to make this a sustainable, long-term option. Instead, PFP seeks to have the Ministry of [Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure] VROMI, [utilities company] GEBE, and the [Kingdom Services Caribbean Netherlands] RCN of Saba liaise with one another to implement an environmentally friendly, cost-effective solution that would include waste incineration. Saba is currently in the process of implementing such a structure and plant to handle their waste management.
TDH: What is your party’s plan to put roofs over the heads of the many residents who are still living under tarpaulins and leaky roofs since Hurricane Irma?
Gumbs: There have been successful efforts within the community, through organisations such as SMDF [St. Maarten Development Fund], that have spearheaded the repairs of roofs since the passing of Hurricane Irma. PFP, in our belief that government must act as facilitator, will continue to champion these initiatives. Simultaneously, we would support further involvement of the Ministry of VROMI [looking] into the delayed repairs within the Belvedere community, which was a concern brought to us by that community even before the start of the campaign. PFP [also] believes that there must be efforts made to create a disaster response fund that is specifically earmarked for such scenarios and is not utilised or accessible unless there is inclement weather approaching. This will provide some immediate form of support for qualifying individuals in the event of a natural disaster.
TDH: What is your position on the future of Port St. Maarten? Do you think it needs a strategic partner and if not, how do you propose to lift the public company out of its current debt of roughly US $200 million?
Gumbs: PFP is surprised that an economic powerhouse such as the port is still bogged down by $200 million in debt. The majority of this debt should have been serviced by now, considering the finalised construction of both piers. It is no secret that the Port somewhat departed from its core business of cruise and cargo processor and behaved at times as a real estate developer, which might be a contributing factor to its current heavy debt. A careful analysis and assessment must be made, based on a transparent strategic vision for the next 10-15 years as to what the best option would be for the port: finding a (private) strategic partner within the Kingdom or taking another loan at the bank.
TDH: The electorate has been forced to go to the polls almost every year because of the current electoral system. There has been talk about electoral reform for many years, but the issue was never concretely addressed. What concrete plan or proposal will your party pursue to address this issue once and for all and what is your timeline to achieve this?
Gumbs: PFP understands that our Article 59 [of the Constitution] does not differ from other countries and islands with similar democratic legal systems. The lack of political maturity has caused the people of St. Maarten to believe that the law is the problem, and not those invoking these legal tools for the wrong and sometimes personal reasons … A remedy could be to involve the judiciary branch in the process when invoking Article 59 of the Constitution so that this decision, before it reaches the Governor to sign through national decree, is taken to a panel of three judges. This could serve as an advisory step to assess if the decision to dismantle Parliament is in the best interest of the country. Perhaps this advice can be taken into consideration when the decree is sent to the Governor for signing … But to change the system into one that prohibits the executive branch to send the legislative branch home under certain, sometimes critical, circumstances would be unconstitutional and against basic democracy.
TDH: The Pointe Blanche prison has been plagued by many challenges over the years and the situation has reached a breaking point. What are your party’s plans for the prison and does your party intend to make finances available for the much-needed construction of a new prison? How big of a priority is this for you?
Gumbs: A fair and equitable justice system is one that focuses on prevention and rehabilitation as opposed to incarceration. Through our consultations with justice professionals, PFP believes that the actual state of our justice system remains an enigma. Without being privy to the “nitty gritty” of the situation, we do aim to focus on allocating resources, whether financial or personnel, primarily towards prevention, especially with regard to youth delinquency … This will involve including the Court of Guardianship, a very often neglected and overly criticised body that does not receive the support that it should.
TDH: How would your party address issues such the absence of a functioning Rental Committee, Casino Gaming Board and Tourism Authority?
Gumbs: The Rental Committee needs a complete revamp and must be supported through updated legislation, which we will aim to introduce in Parliament. With regard to a Gaming Board, we are in full support of establishing this entity, with a structure and mandate for supervision that leaves it independent and impartial. Finally, the time for establishing a Tourism Authority has come … Whatever it is called, a Tourism Authority for St. Maarten must be structured as flat and effective as possible for proper functioning that encourages private/public partnership, which many of our competitors have used as their approach to destination marketing authorities (Aruba, Barbados, etc.). An amendment must be introduced where such an authority is directly funded by a tourist, such as a redesigned dollar-a-day programme that adds an amount to each hotel night booked per guest or per disembarking cruise guest.
TDH: Should your party be elected; will your Members of Parliament (MPs) take a salary cut of 10 per cent and what definitive steps would be taken to achieve this?
Gumbs: We would support a cut in the salaries of MPs and Ministers that would bring us more in line with remuneration amounts elsewhere in the kingdom. At the same time, we would aim to decrease the duration for receiving “redundancy” pay that is currently in place for dismissed Ministers and removed parliamentarians (through dissolution), as this is a burden the country can no longer carry.
TDH: What are your party’s plans to permanently (not temporarily) address the traffic situation around the country?
Gumbs: The existing Link Road Network plan needs to be assessed to see what, if any, areas can be executed under the Trust Fund; we understand that Link 6, for example, has been earmarked for such funding. In addition to this, we have championed the establishment of a Road Fund, in accordance with Article 24a of the Motor Vehicle Ordinance, which is an independent authority that is funded by our road tax payments. This authority can then hire traffic experts to assess our existing bottlenecks and provide feasible solutions. A long-term plan that PFP will introduce and champion is the establishment of a national public transportation system, which we will seek to implement through consultation and collaboration with the Collectivité of St. Martin. This will lead to a proper bus system, supported by clearly established and enforced bus routes, allowing for less vehicular traffic on our roads.
TDH: How does your party plan to reform the national health insurance system? Do you generally agree with the draft law in its present state, or will you propose a new system and, if so, what would be the key factors of this new system?
Gumbs: PFP would support requesting the insight of [National Health Insurance] NHI professionals from, for example Aruba, to identify what best practices we can learn to support an efficient and effective implementation here. First and foremost, however, would be ensuring that our census data is as close to 100 per cent accurate as possible. NHIs around the world are calculated based on the latest available census data sets. If we do not have accurate data for forecasting models, then implementing NHI as-is can be disastrous for the country.
TDH: In the immediate aftermath of the election on January 9, which party/parties would your party like to work with in a coalition setting and why?
Gumbs: It is too soon to say who we would work with. However, we remain open to working with parties that consider and respect the priority issues outlined in our manifesto and who best align with our vision of improving quality of life for all in St. Maarten.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/93783-pfp-leader-outlines-party-plans-if-elected
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