The cover of UPG’s recovery and regeneration plan Operation Pelican.
~ By Suzanne Koelega ~
THE HAGUE–A small group of young, professional St. Maarteners in the Netherlands, united in Unleashed Potential Group (UPG), drafted a comprehensive recovery and regeneration plan for St. Maarten after Hurricane Irma.
The comprehensive plan, called Operation Pelican, and the associated planning have been fully ready for use since January 2018. Unfortunately, the St. Maarten government has not used the plan or the free-of-charge services offered by UPG, despite the initial positive response to the work of the young professionals, coached by senior expertise.
UPG’s Operation Pelican, named after the national bird, contains 96 pages and is divided in two major stages, short-term and long-term recovery. The short-term and immediate activities serve to fill the basic needs of the people and the fundamentals to create socio-economic stability. The long-term development, split in several phases, serves to make St. Maarten stronger and to modernise and differentiate the economy.
The short-term projects envisioned include clean-up, restoring/repairing of buildings (homes, schools, government buildings and the airport), infrastructure (telecommunication, water, electricity and roads), stimulation of tourism and the economy (soft loans, restoration of hotels), education and workforce stimulation (training programmes, job placement, protecting the local workforce), security (law enforcement, security plan for Philipsburg and Simpson Bay) and social care aid.
For the longer term the plan contains concrete proposals in areas like sustainable energy, waste disposal and recycling, a restructured landfill, improved and expanded sewage treatment, production of food, innovative business, mental and social care (poverty reduction, the people’s wellbeing) and an extended airport runway.
Waste management
Waste disposal, separation and recycling have a central place in the plan. The dump along with the related landfill issues has been a sore spot literally in the centre of the St. Maarten community and poses a severe health threat to the population and visitors, not to mention the serious environmental issues that it causes. Therefore, UPG has recommended tackling this critical issue in the first phase of recovery.
In the opinion of UPG, it has taken too long for the waste issue to be addressed and there has been too much political talk to proceed with a sustainable solution. The UPG plan is very clear in taking immediate steps, the first step being to collect and separate the different types of waste at a special facility at the landfill.
Recycling is the key for it not only drastically reduces the amount of waste, but it also has value. These recyclables include: cardboard and paper, steel, glass, aluminium and plastic. These recyclables can be re-used either on the island or shipped out. Organic waste can be turned into fertiliser. Unusable/non-recyclable waste would be shipped out to be processed off-island.
The UPG plan proposes extending the landfill with debris from the hurricane. Sheet walls and ridged plates would isolate the waste, preventing contamination of the surroundings. The current landfill needs to be restructured to lower the elevation, and professionally covered.
The lowered and covered landfill site can then be used for other purposes such as a golf course, an amusement park, or an area for start-up enterprises or industrial production purposes. This approach will create new jobs. Cooperation with the French side is important in order to create larger volumes.
Social development
Another interesting aspect of UPG’s Operation Pelican, a copy of which was supplied to The Daily Herald and thoroughly analysed by this newspaper, is the special attention for social development. Hurricane Irma caused more than economic damage and had a devastating effect on the people’s social wellbeing.
The plan strives to establish a better balance between profit and the wellbeing of the people. According to UPG, the St. Maarten economy is too focussed on capital and profit, with detrimental consequences for the people. This imbalance undermines the basics of the rebuilding process.
Instead, the actions need to concentrate on creating a good social basis, in balance with a healthy economy that everyone can profit from, not just a few. “Such a structure will be able to better withstand large impacts.” The goal is to lower poverty and associated problems, including crime and the lack of education. Operation Pelican is based on a different philosophy: putting the people of St. Maarten first. Mental health also has a prominent place in the plan.
Sustainable energy is an important factor to reduce the use of fossil fuel and to lower electricity prices. Green energy can be generated through wind turbines and solar panels. A suggested location is the corner of Guana Bay Point where there is a lot of wind and almost no homes.
The long-term planning includes an extension of the airport runway to 4,000 metres which would allow larger aircraft to land and also make it possible for aircraft to land under rough weather conditions. The expansion would have to take place on the Maho side and would involve the road to Beacon Hill running underneath the runway.
The runway extension would make it possible to create more facilities and services near the airport to bring more value to the hub and feeder function. Mentioned in the UPG plan are new industries in the areas of technical service of heavy goods, cool and freeze storage, equipment storage, and service accommodation halls.
Easy to read
The plan is set up in such a way that it is clear, illustrative and easy to read and understand for everyone. Besides a clear structure for the short-term and long-term needs, it is full of practical details such as a project plan outlining what to do, when to start and when a project is expected to be completed. These details are missing in the current major plans, such as the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) and Governing Programme, according to UPG.
The plan is divided up by areas of focus rather than by ministry, as would be typical. The latter has proven not to always work for St. Maarten because the cooperation is not always good between the government departments/ministries. The UPG setup has ministries and divisions working with each other to get results. This by itself has a learning curve built in, to reach better cooperation within government.
The plan accompanies a new way of operating for the government to include cooperation and integration. Also, the plan caters for a structural relationship with the Dutch government and the important role that the St. Maarten Minister Plenipotentiary in The Hague will play in it.
Under Operation Pelican, the three-year recovery process would operate in a triangle with the St. Maarten government in the lead, the Dutch government providing the finances and UPG giving support. “During the reconstruction, the influence on the government and the people will be massive with large organisations coming in. Government has to facilitate interactions with third parties, while keeping control of its own development.”
Operation Pelican is organised in such a way that the recovery process is kept at a distance from day-to-day government operations, which would safeguard the process and ensure continuity of operations. The candidate ministers of the interim Cabinet of Leona Romeo-Marlin provided input to the plan early this year.
“With this plan, the St. Maarten government is well equipped for the recovery task. It is a comprehensive plan, right from the hearts of St. Maarteners to rebuild St. Maarten by and for St. Maarteners with the focus on involving the local community,” it was stated in the plan. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/79543-upg-s-operation-pelican-a-complete-recovery-plan
View comments
Hide comments