~ Justice Minister thanks police for continued service ~
PHILIPSBURG--In the name of the recovery process for St. Maarten, the local Police Force KPSM presented several “Quick Win” projects with urgency to get the Force up and running as soon as possible.
The entire Hurricane Irma recovery process has been very challenging and one of the main projects presented was the purchasing of new police vehicles. These vehicles are necessary to provide service and assistance to the community. This project has finally been accomplished. The vehicles have been purchased and this was possible though direct financing from the Netherlands.
Minister of Justice Cornelius de Weever received keys for 10 newly purchased police vehicles during a short ceremony in front of the Philipsburg police station on Wednesday. These vehicles will be distributed among the various departments that are in desperate need of them to carry out their duties.
The keys for these vehicles were handed over to Minister De Weever by Real Motors representatives Janice Balborda and Austin Helliger. Immediately after receiving the keys the minister handed them over to Police Chief Carl John and congratulated him on the achievement.
Dutch representative Robert-Jan de Wilde was also present to personally witness and capture the moments of this symbolic event. These vehicles will immediately be outfitted with all the necessary equipment and put into service as soon as possible.
John expressed his gratitude to all entities and persons who were instrumental in one way or the other in making this project a reality and said he looks forward to having other projects such as new uniforms for police personnel, the installation of the new Emergency Central Dispatch and the repairing of the police stations dealt with as quickly as possible.
The minister said in his address, “10-10-10 marks St. Maarten’s Constitutional Day which is also twinned with Korps Day. To the entire KPSM, I wish you a happy eighth anniversary and thank you very much for your dedicated service to the people of St. Maarten.
“It is also serendipitous that on 10-10 we are unveiling the 10 cars that were obtained through direct financing from the Netherlands.
“As we move forward with patience, compassion, understanding and a clear vision of where KPSM is heading, let us remember to ignore the negative voices, articles and stay focused. Without safety and security St. Maarten cannot progress; in other words, without KPSM, without you, St. Maarten cannot prosper.
“Some projects were labelled as ‘quick wins,’ but know that even these take time because we want to do it right. Let us continue to do it right.”
