With all that has been happening both locally and abroad, last Friday’s story about a virtual ceremony of National Institute for Professional Advancement (NIPA) should not go unnoticed. A total of 109 students received their MIC Institute of Technology-recognised diplomas in Construction, Plumbing, Electrical, Masonry, General Property Maintenance and Carpentry.
These trades are often in demand and certainly during still-ongoing rebuilding activities following the devastating passage of Hurricane Irma. That process in the private sector was slowed by the COVID-19 crisis but recently picked up again, hopefully providing much-needed work for these graduates and others.
The post-Irma retraining of hundreds of workers temporarily left un- or underemployed back then with a stipend, health coverage and small transportation allowance involving NIPA at the time was one of the best ways made use so far of the Dutch-sponsored Trust Fund administrated by the World Bank. However, some of those people too are still jobless and if various other projects of the National Recovery Program Bureau (NRPB) could just be started, sped up and/or expanded, that would certainly help.
The general audit chambers of both the Netherlands and St. Maarten as well as the local Ombudsman and Consumers Coalition have been quite critical especially about the repair of homes and roofs, regarding both the pace and quality in terms of being more storm-resistant. The latter was not always possible due to the need to obtain permits and do major reconstruction work.
The Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament again raised the issue last week and United St. Maarten Party (US Party) faction leader Claudius Buncamper has now asked (see Monday paper) for an urgent meeting on this matter with Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs (General Affairs) and the NRPB present, a request backed by five other members of several parties. It is essential in the current socioeconomic climate to get the pending projects and programmes going as quickly as possible, with the cooperation of all involved.
The same can be said for the construction of a new hospital and rebuilding of the airport terminal. While proper procedure must always be followed, this – if ever – is a time to avoid too much bureaucracy and unnecessary formalities.
For example, the boat wrecks have been in Simpson Bay Lagoon for 2½ years while it surely does not take a rocket scientist to safely remove and dispose of them. The people’s patience over the slow application of means ultimately made available to improve their lives is understandably growing increasingly thin, particularly at this moment of financial misery and great uncertainty.
Those concerned better take note; the heat is on.
