~ A call to action for every self-respecting St. Maartener ~
Dear Editor,
There comes a time in every society’s history when the people have to rise up and collectively decide that the path which the country is currently on is not the right one. I strongly believe that for St. Maarten, that time is now. Too long have we ideally sat by and let the government do as it wishes without any form of repercussion for underperforming.
With elections a year-and-a-half away, you can already start seeing ministers and parliamentarians kicking into action, taking any photo OP they can to make it seem as though they have been actively contributing to bettering the island over the past three years. Please do not be fooled! These same ministers that are posting their “wins” are the same ones that have reactively dealt with the slew of problems the island faces or outright ignored them. What has been done in regard to:
* Affordable housing?
* Inflation and cost of living going up (gas, electricity, food)?
* The stay on salary increases?
* The brain drain happening in government?
* The mutilation of our hillsides?
* The encroachment of our public beaches?
* Gross misspending of public funds?
* And the list goes on and on…
No, I for one will not be fooled! It is time we the people demand our government does better. All too often we hear through the grapevine of this and that wrongdoing, but these cases very rarely come to light. That is why I strongly commend the person(s) within GEBE, and our investigative journalists such as Ralph Cantave on their speaking out against the blatant neglect, wrongdoing, and utter fiasco that is taking place within GEBE. This is just one example, but a most welcome one at that, and I urge every St. Maartener to stand up and say no! No, we will not accept shady dealings and gross misconduct anymore! Call it out. Call out any wrongdoings, misspending of public funds, or lack of integrity with which you are faced. Then and only then can we start righting the many wrongs that have become common place, and “the way things are done here on the island.” We need a culture shift. Accountability needs to be the pillar we build our country on moving forward.
Therefore, I for one will be playing my part in writing up pieces such as this one, in which not only critical questions will be raised, but also viable solutions as it would seem our government is severely lacking in that department. I do not care who is in office, I care about results, and if those cannot be achieved with the current players, it is time for new ones to jump in and start booking us some wins. We the people of this nation deserve better, we desperately need optimism to return, so we can all collectively strive for a better and brighter tomorrow.
Enough, is enough!
David Salomon
