Benjamin Ortega.
PHILIPSBURG--President of the St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce and Industry (COCI) Board Benjamin Ortega on Tuesday called on the public and the business community to “stand together” during this time of distress due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
“The world is upside-down even more than ever. People are overwhelmed with their individual realities,” Ortega said in a press release.
“Some of us face the fact that a loved one has been infected with the virus. Some of us face the reality of being affected – directly or indirectly – by the virus hitting our shores. Many weeks we looked ahead of the world stories, giving us updates of the developments in their respective countries.
“Who would have thought that we too – one day – would be the centre of any world news even if this was from our own media? A reality check hit many of us hard when the rest of the world began to shut down and we too were affected [and – Ed.] forced to take the same measures in order to stop the spread of COVID-19 and save lives.”
He said government, various departments and stakeholders have been working around the clock to keep St. Maarten safe.
“A total closure of our country and restricting our movement was the only way – at present – to curb us from further disaster. Whether some would say late or not, this was the best thing to give each of us a fighting chance, especially those most vulnerable, the frail and those with underlying health conditions,” he said.
“During the last few weeks we have learned of many reports and deliberations on what our needs would be to survive this pandemic virus, keeping in mind that the entire world is under attack and that some war-like decisions are being made to keep every citizen of each individual country safe and sound.”
He said St. Maarten is not financially stable enough to carry the weight and financial burden that comes with the world economic crisis being faced.
“We remain to point out and refer to the world, as every piece of this planet faces pretty much the same situation. Because of our status in the Kingdom of the Netherlands we are entwined to seek assistance and approval within the Kingdom for our financial moves geared to save every last bit that we have, again mentioning the many deliberations, reports and analyses being made to reach what we consider the best option for us all.
“… We need assistance in every form to assist us out of this crisis: physical, medical and more so even financial. The core responsibility of our country and – just like many others – stated in the Constitution is to take care, provide and safeguard the wellbeing of every citizen within our country.
“This is the foundation that we govern from. During each disaster we face, everyone – every stakeholder group and every representative – will fight for as much as possible what he or she represents within their nation, whether you are considered a business fighting to keep your doors open or you are a mother or father fighting to feed your family and yourself in that matter.”
According to Ortega, capitalism has no place in a true crisis. It is not about the survivability of an individual business sector or company. It is about the survivability of the economy at large. It is not about how many persons a sector represents. It is about how many employees are retained.
“Nor is it how much injection we or government can provide to stabilise this crisis economy. It is about what we can afford and what measures we need to take to ensure we have a future – a future that we can rebuild from and onward ... At the end of the day when there is no time to waste and the country is in a financial dependency, grants, loans or commerce is needed.
“There is only one non-refundable reality check. How are we going to ensure that every person – woman, man, child – will be fed and safeguarded from this world pandemic and crisis that is bigger than us all.”
The COCI president thanked the organisations that participated in deliberations to provide feedback and insight for stakeholder strategies that have aided the less fortunate and that continue to contribute to the wellbeing of everyone.
“This crisis has shown us that we need to find more ways to conduct our daily lives, business and our country. Being resilient as we are, we need to ensure that digitalisation, data technology and diversity is at our foreground. Our door to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry may be closed, but we remain working as much as possible on improving and providing our services.”
Persons in need of services can send an email to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
for assistance until the COCI can reopen to the public.
