The General Audit Chamber pointed out on today’s opinion pages that while recent heavy rainfall highlighted an urgent need for improvement of St. Maarten’s road system, the latter has suffered from “long-standing neglect and underfunding.” Reference is made to revenues from the annual motor vehicle tax.
These are supposed to go into a fund for infrastructural works and maintenance, but that has not – at least fully – been the case. Of the 10.8 million Netherlands Antillean guilders raised in 2022, only NAf. 5.38 million – less than half – was allocated for such and a mere NAf. 2.06 million actually spent.
When this issue came up in the past, government countered that levying, collecting and enforcing so-called “road tax” also implies many expenses and these should be deducted from the earnings before disbursement. That is a valid argument, but certainly in this day and age a formula exists by which this can be done efficiently to ensure specific means remain available for their intended purpose when required.
Another way to help finance essential upgrades is to charge developers whose activities may have an expected impact on infrastructure. In other words, especially large projects need to consider and adequately address beforehand foreseen possible effects like excessive water run-off not just on their own property but beyond.
To be sure, Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI Patrice Gumbs has already announced a new, environmentally more responsible approach to construction and related permits particularly on hillsides. Nevertheless, the chamber’s comments should certainly be taken to heart.
