Philipsburg: --- The island government of St. Maarten would have to put more focus on the completion of the new administration building said leader of government William Marlin at Wednesday's press briefing. Marlin said if one look at the building from the outside they would get the impression that government can occupy the building. He said the building does not have any interior partition; neither does it have fittings for telephone and IT.
The new leader of government said they would need at least ten to fourteen million guilders to complete the building before the civil service can actually move in to the new building. He said everyone knows that when the island takes up its country status the civil service will grow. Even though there is room for the added staff he said it is would not be enough. Marlin further explained that they would definitely have to move ahead with block D. He said the piles for the block were driven but the actual building is yet to be constructed.
Another focus the new government would have to take on is a building for the parliament since the island is looking to take up its country status. He said the present government administration building in its present form will not be able to accommodate parliament. He said even if they maintain the space and do some remodeling there would be no public tribune which he said he said would be difficult.
Education Portfolio.
The education portfolio also falls under the new leader of government William Marlin. He said already he is receiving a number of invitations for a number of graduations. The first is for Saturday at USM. Marlin said presently they have to focus on the scholarships for those students who would be leaving the island to continue their education.
While students that were approved for scholarship would not have any problems those that were turned down and is now in appeal will be affected Marlin explained.
He said they are looking to make sure there is a smooth transition especially for students travelling to the Netherlands. Marlin said so far he has not spoken to no one in the education and scholarship division to see how many students are set to leave.
Marlin said he was already approached by the president of the Teachers Union WITU Claire Elshot as well as some individual teachers expressing the amount of problems they are encountering in public education. The education commissioner said the WITU president and the teachers are very much concerned about the new set up of the school board for public education. He outlined some of the concerns are the placement of teachers, the appointment of school managers and supposedly the demotion of persons who were acting principals for over 10 to 15 years. Some of these persons may have to go back as being classroom teachers while others are moving up the ladder. He said right now this matter has to be reviewed while they would have to also deal with court cases that were also filed in court. He said these areas will have his attention in the next few days.
Blackman to handle Personnel and Finance.
Newly appointed commissioner Xavier Blackman would be responsible for personnel affairs and finance. Blackman made the disclosure at Wednesday's press briefing. The new commissioner said he did not have any exciting news to share with the media since only two days ago they took office.
He said the new executive council has a gigantic amount of work ahead of them and the only thing they need to focus on is to deliver.
He said for them to do so they would need to do rootless execution without wavering and looking back with hesitation. The executive council would have to do everything jointly. He said in the new setting the human resources will play a major role and for this reason he has been saying that there would need to be open and good communication and dialogue for proper execution to take place for the transition date.
Frans plans to Revamp Sports-Says Now he is in Driver Seat.
Commissioner Frans Richardson said he is responsible for Economic Affairs, Tourism and Sports. He said he know that the task ahead of him is huge especially pertaining to the island's economy. He said during his first press briefing on Wednesday that the executive council as a collective body is ready to take on the new challenges that lie ahead of them. Richardson said they are also looking forward to working with the other stakeholders.
The Economic affairs commissioner said they are eagerly awaiting the report on the economic summit that was held over two months ago so the government can seek solutions to regenerate and revitalize the economy of St. Maarten.
Also on the economic front Richardson said he being a young businessman has some ideas on what needs to be done in the issuance of licenses. He stressed with the present economic down turn everyone needs to become proactive in finding solutions.
With regards to sports Richardson said this is something that has always been dear to him. Most importantly he said he has heard of the sport policies of the former government and now he is looking into seeing that document to see where they were heading. His intentions he said is to merge his goals and intentions into that policy for sports.
He said he already has an idea on what needs to be done but it is in his opinion to see this handled jointly with government and the business community. Richardson said he believes a lot of issues relating to the youths that has little or nothing to do after school can be solved.
He said he believes the two major stakeholders, businesses and government should get off running on this issue.
Richardson said on more than one occasion he went to the media complaining about the lack of concentration on sports. "At that time I was not in the driver seat, now that I am sitting in that seat I intend to drive"
Richardson said the new executive council does have experience with them and he vowed that they would get off the ground running after they get their staff and office in order. He called on the media to give them some time for them to properly install. As for the airport he said he knows of the plans since he worked at the PJIAE for ten years. "What is happening at PJIAE, I know of it because I had seen the design and I know what the company's vision was".
Richardson said he knows that some tweaking needs to take place within that government owned company but he felt with the good relationship he had with his former boss he believes they will be able to identify the things that needs to be regulated.