Dear Editor,
There has been a lot of discussion in “The Daily Herald” regarding a few issues plaguing St. Maarten that have simple solutions or at least partial solutions that could be instituted quickly and with little difficulty.
Problem – vehicles that have excessively tinted windows.
Solution – have the vehicle inspection station do a test to determine if the tint is too dark. If it is, fail the vehicle and make the owner bring it back in a condition that will pass. This inspection occurs every two years and is required to get updated licensing. More controls should happen to enforce any offenses seen between inspections and fines levied.
Problem – traffic is getting worse and will deter tourists from returning to visit the island. We need to acknowledge that there are too many cars on the road, it is too easy to import one and there is no central control over ownership.
Solution – while we are waiting for a comprehensive traffic study to be done by UNOPS, which will likely take a long time, we need to limit the import of new vehicles to the island. This can be accomplished by establishing a small import duty that is used to fund the removal of a vehicle for every new one allowed in. There are many abandoned vehicles taking up valuable parking spaces and making the country unsightly, that should be removed. This duty tax would create a fund to do so and would simultaneously keep the balance of vehicles at status quo. Any excess funds could also be used for ameliorating the proliferation of potholes on the roads.
A central titling system should be established where an owner gets title to a vehicle and when sold has to transfer the registered title to the new owner. Initially, this can be done at the same time as an owner getting new plates for their vehicle. Subsequently, upon importation of new vehicles to the country, an SXM title is issued. This would allow the government to know who last owned a vehicle and be able to charge that owner for removal, if abandoned. The titling and registration of vehicles will also have a positive impact on diminishing the rate of occurrence of sales of stolen vehicles to unsuspecting buyers.
Problem – curtailing the use of single use plastics.
Solution – most residents are using reusable bags for their grocery shopping and will likely get used to taking those bags into other stores, as they keep some in their vehicles. Tourists, on the other hand, do not have reusable bags readily available. Rental cars could have a bag or two in the trunk. Hotel rooms, timeshares and condo rentals should also have some in their properties.
All retail establishments should charge a nominal fee for each bag, paper, or plastic that they give a customer. That charge, less an administration fee to cover the turnover tax and cost of the bag, should be turned over to the government to fund a separate fund used to beautify the country. New public trash receptacles (hopefully designed to allow recycling) should be placed along the roadsides in heavily trafficked areas, by both vehicles and pedestrians. The fund would also be used for periodic trash cleanup and beautification.
Encourage communities to establish a neighborhood watch and adopt a one-day-a-quarter cleanup of their own neighborhoods, to include children, which will have the effect of creating buy-in to good stewardship of the environment at an early age.
These suggestions are relatively simple partial solutions to much discussed problems. The implementation of a vehicle import duty and or a titling fee and a bag tax are a bit more complicated, but it is not rocket science.
R. Paul Speece
Simpson Bay
