PHILIPSBURG: --- While St. Maarten’s leadership paints a dazzling picture of an AI-powered future, the people they govern are left to navigate a grim reality of neglect and decay. In a stunning display of misplaced priorities, the government champions "digital trust" and a "National AI Strategy" while its own officials embark on lavish, globe-trotting excursions. This stark contradiction exposes leadership more interested in buzzwords and per diems than in fixing the nation's crumbling foundations.
On one hand, we are told that Artificial Intelligence is the panacea for all our problems. Governor Ajamu G. Baly’s recent address was filled with grand promises of digitalization and data-driven efficiency. This was swiftly followed by the Chair of Parliament, Sarah Wescot-Williams, declaring AI the theme for the new parliamentary year. They speak of transparency, of modernizing education with AI, and of building a high-tech paradise.
On the other hand, the actions of this same government tell a far more cynical story. Ministers, cabinet members, and parliamentarians are frequently on a traveling spree, jetting off to far-flung destinations for questionable meetings. These trips, like a one-day conference across the continent in Ghana, serve little purpose beyond allowing officials to pocket generous per diems and enjoy the perks of office. This wasteful spending is a slap in the face to every citizen who put them in power.
While our leaders discuss AI strategies in foreign lands, our children sit in inadequate classrooms where teachers are underpaid and overworked. The "National AI in Education Policy" is a cruel joke when the government fails to ensure that schools have basic resources, proper ventilation, or even enough staff. An algorithm cannot teach a child when the roof is leaking, and the teacher hasn't been properly compensated for months.
The hypocrisy runs deepest in the justice ministry. The Governor’s speech admitted to significant pressure on the justice chain, yet staffing shortages cripple every level of the system. Police officers lack resources, the prison is a humanitarian crisis, and the nation faces international shame for its failure to combat money laundering. Instead of addressing these critical shortfalls, the government prioritizes digital distractions and international photo opportunities.
The message from our government is clear: they offer the people digital bread and circuses while they feast on taxpayer-funded travel. This obsession with a futuristic image is a deliberate attempt to mask a profound failure in basic governance. The people of St Maarten do not need a national AI strategy; they need functional schools, a working justice system, and leaders who stay home long enough to solve real-world problems. Until this government grounds its ambitions in reality and serves the people it was elected to represent, all talk of a digital revolution is nothing more than an empty, expensive promise.
