~Lewis says residents continue contacting him about uncollected garbage, accuses VROMI leadership of failing to demonstrate accountability, and declares: “The people are fed up. I am fed up.”~
PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament and former Minister of Justice Lyndon Lewis delivered a sharp public rebuke of VROMI Minister Patrice Gumbs Jr. Thursday morning, telling the minister directly that if he cannot get Sint Maarten’s garbage situation under control, he should “do the honorable thing” and allow someone else to take over who can get the job done.
Lewis made the remarks during the continuation of Public Meeting No. 22 on Thursday, August 27, 2026, with Gumbs present in Parliament for the 2026 budget debate.
The MP said he did not want to “sound like a broken record,” but made clear that complaints from residents left him unwilling to stay silent about the ongoing garbage problem.
Residents Still Complaining about Uncollected Garbage
Lewis told Parliament that individuals had reached out to him concerning uncollected garbage. He also said he received a video Thursday morning from a Sint Maartener who had been paid to pick up garbage in another area.
For Lewis, the continuing complaints raised the obvious question of why Parliament and the public continue having the same discussion without seeing sufficient improvement on the ground.
“It makes me wonder,” Lewis said.
He said the country is once again “singing the same song” on garbage collection, despite the issue already featuring prominently in the budget debate.
Lewis: I Heard No Accountability from the Minister
Lewis then turned his criticism directly toward Gumbs.
“I listened to the minister during the budget debate. I didn't hear any sounds of accountability for what is going on,” Lewis told Parliament.
The MP acknowledged that Gumbs is not personally responsible for physically collecting garbage from the streets.
But Lewis argued that this misses the point.
“You are not a garbage collector. You are not the one who physically does this,” he said.
The responsibility of a minister, Lewis argued, is management — ensuring that the ministry, contractors, personnel, and systems under his political responsibility are properly organized to deliver the services residents are paying for and expecting.
“It's all about management and how you have your stuff in place,” Lewis said.
That distinction goes directly to ministerial accountability.
A minister does not have to personally drive a garbage truck to be held responsible when garbage collection repeatedly fails. Political responsibility rests on ensuring contracts are properly managed, performance is monitored, and failures are addressed.
“The People are Fed Up”
Lewis then delivered the strongest part of his intervention.
“The people are fed up,” he declared.
And he made clear that he shared their frustration.
“I can be friends with anybody inside of here, but when it comes to people's business, the people are fed up. I am fed up because I'm overwhelmed with the information,” Lewis told Parliament.
His remarks separated personal relationships inside Parliament from the responsibility elected officials have toward residents.
Lewis' message was that political friendship cannot excuse silence when basic public services are failing.
“If the Minister Cannot Get It Right…”
Lewis concluded with what amounted to a direct challenge to the VROMI Minister's continued leadership of the garbage portfolio.
“If the minister cannot get it right, please just do the honorable thing and leave somebody else who really can get it done,” Lewis said.
The statement is significant because Lewis did not merely demand another cleanup, another explanation, or another promise from VROMI.
He openly questioned whether Gumbs should remain responsible for the portfolio if the garbage situation cannot be brought under control.
Garbage Crisis Is Now a Question of Political Accountability
Garbage collection has become much more than a question of overflowing bins.
For residents, uncollected waste affects neighborhoods, businesses, tourism, public cleanliness and confidence in government's ability to deliver one of its most basic services.
Lewis' intervention Thursday therefore shifted the argument squarely toward political accountability.
His position is straightforward: while the minister may not personally collect garbage, the ministry falls under his political responsibility. If contractors or government systems are failing, residents should not be expected to indefinitely accept the explanation that someone else physically performs the work.
Management is part of governing.
Oversight is part of governing.
Accountability is part of governing.
And according to Lewis, the patience of residents — and his own — is running out.
The message he delivered directly in the presence of VROMI Minister Patrice Gumbs Jr. could hardly have been clearer:
Fix the garbage problem, demonstrate accountability, or make room for someone who can.
