Prolonging the Plans of Approach concerning the Police Force and prison for a fourth time (see Monday paper) should not be viewed in a negative manner. Of course, it means the country is lagging behind in making the necessary adjustments, while Curaçao managed to meet similar conditions so that its related Progress Monitoring Committee could stop functioning since last July.
Although Hurricane Irma inflicted great damage on both the main police station and the penitentiary in Pointe Blanche, Dutch State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops made clear that wasn’t the main reason for the extension. Even before the natural disaster it had become obvious that St. Maarten wouldn’t be able to fully comply by the October 2018 deadline.
Nevertheless, the catastrophe certainly didn’t help. For one thing, due to its impact there was barely an assessment of the progress made in executing these plans.
That will now hopefully be done during the next two years, be it in difficult circumstances and with a serious lack of resources because of the devastated local tourism economy. Signs of a recovery are there as again witnessed by two inaugural flights in the last few days, but it’s obviously going to take quite a while before the situation is near back to normal.
In wanting to complete this improvement process, the Netherlands should also be realistic enough to understand that the government in Philipsburg faces major financial issues. These will probably require more soft loans for liquidity support, but also to continue the current direct law enforcement assistance from The Hague.
Make no mistake, all the efforts now taking place to restore the dominant hospitality industry could be seriously q:\jeopardised by any spike in especially violent crime. Keeping the streets relatively safe regards not only protecting the population but also safeguarding their very livelihood, making it a matter of survival.
