Why I am saying this is because there is no way that you would be able to evaluate the governing of any ruling party or parties without writing the vision or the direction that they are taking the country in.
This Governing Accord that will be for a four year term must reflect the way they tend to handle the many problems that we as a country is being faced with, in particular the high unemployment amongst youth and persons that exceeds the age of 45 years of age. There must be a plan of action included in this program. To achieve a comprehensive plan I believe that all hands must be on deck and therefore I commend the Chamber of Commerce amongst others who reached out to Government to inform them that we are willing to sit with you and to assist you with the plans that you have for the further development of our economy.
A study must be made to find out what the true impact of the recession has been for us thus far and how are we going to tackle the many uncertainties we have in the mean time. We as a Government (the people) must become proactive and let our elected officials know what our needs are and how we would be able to work along with them in meeting those needs.
So many families are silently hurting not knowing who and where to turn and sometimes even not wanting anyone to know that they are facing a financial crisis. They prefer to suck salt than to say that they are hurting. The St. Maarten people must realize that this country can and should not build without their involvement. But this involvement can only come if we the St. Martiners demand that we be counted in the development or Nation Building of our Country.
Let us not have ulterior motives by putting our focus in the wrong direction. All of us have our roles to play once we are living on this island St. Martin. The good we do we will do it to ourselves and the bad we do we will do it to ourselves. St. Martiners I'm appealing to you to set the tone and be the examples so that others will follow. Do not have your soul objective just to make sure that your brother or sister does not succeed because you are not taking your responsibility serious and therefore you do not allow or want to see your fellow brother or sister succeed.
Let us move to a new paradigm shift because only together each of us can achieve more. This is the acronym for TEAM work. We are now at a cross road. You can either go down the road of destruction or you can take the road of success. You choose. When the new Government Accord for the ruling coalition is presented I appeal to every citizen to please get one and read it so you can evaluate the content of that document. It is not only for your future but your children's future as well.
We must hold our elected officials accountable for their actions or non-actions regarding the promises they made which is included in the Governing Accord. We will finally have a document whereby we can measure there performance for the next four years and this is very important. However we must also hold ourselves accountable for not voicing our opinion about the matters that affects us as a people.
You must be critical if you want to see change. All of us feel that more can be done for the development of this country and all of us should act as an agent of change. The future of this country depends on you.
Therefore I want to at least commend the Coalition for announcing or informing the general public that the Governing accord is almost completed and will be presented to the St. Martin population in September. They are now moving a step in the right direction which is a good start. St. Maarten you be the judge after the four years of their Governing Period.
Jeffrey Richardson
