Although Prime Minister Leona Romeo-Marlin updated Parliament behind closed doors about still-ongoing talks on the role of the World Bank in administering the Recovery Trust Fund, she did provide public information on early priority projects during the weekly press briefing (see related story).
Not surprisingly, disaster preparation is the focus with just over a month to go before the start of the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season.
Urgently-needed weather-related and communications equipment is being acquired. Emergency repairs will also be made to key buildings and homes with still-damaged roofs.
However, perhaps equally important is the continued removal of debris and strategizing solid waste management. This includes equipment to store and process the trash, reorganising, partially closing and reshaping the current disposal site as well as providing landfill cover materials.
While the latter does not yet entail a structural solution for the troubled dump, it could certainly help cut down on the frequent fires and the nuisance these bring. Waste separation and curb-side collection were also mentioned.
These steps would in any case mark the beginning of an earnest effort to finally address the serious garbage problem on the Dutch side that has long surpassed all reasonable levels of acceptability. Tackling such is highly necessary not just for environmental and public health reasons, but to safeguard the island’s tourism economy that provides for the livelihood of practically the entire population.
