Dear Editor,
As I patiently observe the talk around the landfill, old and new, my level of amazement has reached new heights. From the man on the street to the people who form part of our trias políticas (Government, Parliament and the Judiciary) it is somewhat – no, simply put – amazing to listen to the discussions of the cause, action and result.
To be clear, “I born Here” and I am older than the existence of the dump. Old enough to have experienced my parents burning our household garbage in an old oil drum at home and old enough to understand that at the time the dump was started the interior and exterior territorial waters fell under the responsibility of the Central Government/The Government of the Netherlands Antilles, which therefore leads me to conclude that the start of the dump was permitted by the Central Government. At the time, probably a better solution than dumping the garbage in Back Bay or for that matter burning at home or burning in the small incinerator located on A.T. Illidge Road across where Pitusa Hotel is today.
Fast forward to the 21st century: 2008 a committee was established consisting of 3 wise men, but the solution which that committee found was terminated and followed by a court case. Several years later government established a Steering Committee to find a solution to the over-40-year-old sanitary landfill, which for over 20 years we called “Mount Luis” but has since graduated to “Mount Fire.” The sanitary landfill has expanded since September 2017, across the street where today the Irma dump is located.
The Steering Committee which was established in 2012 consisting of 3 wise men – an engineer of the Ministry, a secretary-general of the Ministry [of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure – Ed.] VROMI and a very experienced consultant who worked here for years during the rebuilding post-Hurricane Luis – was supported by a well-established law firm in the Dutch Caribbean.
The steering committee of 2012 tasked with finding a solution found one in 2013 which didn’t materialize and was eventually terminated in 2017. Then came the last solution which reached the furthest and got approval of the council of ministers back in December 2017. This proposed solution also hit a stumbling block because of the commonality in all solutions – that government changed before the process could be completed; that all choices were backed by solid advices from a reputable legal firm in the Dutch Caribbean and waste-to-energy experts from the Netherlands. Another common denominator in the solutions are the choices each of the committees made; A waste-to-energy processing plant.
Now here is an interesting observation; the new governments did not change the committee members over the years; the new governments crushed the proposed solutions they met when they assumed office and instructed the committee to come up with a new solution.
Legal consequences: The previous solution required a waiting period to avoid legal action against government which would have accompanied a hefty financial penalty. The consequence was that no action has been taken to solve the problem, which is the sanitary landfill.
We are now at solution number 3, with a signed MOU, an approval from Council of Ministers and a request from the Governor for additional information in order for the Governor to further process the decision that has reached his desk which will solve the sanitary landfill problems.
The government, which is the new government, which met the solution on the table, rather than exercise continuity in government does not take the time to provide the governor the requested information, instead the sitting government dismisses the proposal and wants to go to a new public tender.
A public tender in itself is usually the best way to get a fair deal. It takes about a year to prepare and another 6 months at best to sort through the proposals, fine tune the agreements and sign an agreement; that is, if any reputable companies will bid, because now everyone in the world knows that even if you participate in a public tender in St. Maarten or for that matter negotiate with the highest authorities on this island, there is a big chance that the government will fall and that your proposal, your efforts, your money spent will be lost because the government of St. Maarten has a notorious reputation not to exercise continuity in government.
Finally, with respect to the assistance being offered by the Dutch Government through the Trust Fund which sits at the World Bank, I have this to say. The (old) sanitary landfill is not a result of the hurricanes of 2017, and as such, while we appreciate the help, 1. it should not be a quick fix, rather a long-term solution will remove the landfill and process garbage optimally, and, in an ideal situation, even generate income and jobs; 2. The Trust Fund should focus on its intended purpose, namely rebuilding St. Maarten after the damage caused by the hurricanes in 2017; as such the Irma Dump is within your scope.
I re-emphasize: Use the reconstruction funds for reconstruction. There are solutions on the table that will not cost us significant funds, let those take their course and focus on the reconstruction.
In conclusion I would like to remind the readers of this letter of the common denominators: The Committee which has the same members throughout 3 governments; the committee brought 3 solutions to the table, all backed by solid advices from a reputable legal firm in the Dutch Caribbean and waste to energy experts from the Netherlands, a Waste to Energy processing plant are the choices each of the committees made; the proposals were left unfinished and 3 subsequent governments did not continue or finalize the solution
Suggestion: Let’s complete the proposed solution for the sanitary landfill that is currently on the table. Let us use reconstruction funds for reconstruction.
Soualiga Native
Name withheld at author’s request.
