Great Bay (DCOMM):--- Honourable Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams last Friday signed an agreement with the executing agency, AMFO to execute a part of the country's Integrated Neighborhood Development Program (INDP).
The INDP is a program approved as part of the Social Economic Initiative and includes several components, such as community help desks, needs surveys, strengthening community Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and financing NGOs.
The program is being executed under the responsibility of the prime minister, as part of the government's vision to give high priority to community development and empowerment of stakeholders in community development.
The part of the NGOs financing has been commissioned to AMFO in the agreement signed with that agency on March 25th.
Also visiting St. Maarten was Vernon Daal, the coordinator for the district improvement program in Curacao.
On request of the Prime Minister, Vernon Daal consulted with stakeholders on Sint Maarten to exchange ideas and discuss best practices in the area of community development.
Sint Maarten's districts are quite diverse and while there are recurring challenges facing many districts, the ones best suited to analyze their district's strengths and weaknesses are those who work on behalf of the individual districts or in these districts.
During the past weeks, the Department for Community Development has been collecting data regarding the districts, so that tailor made programs can be developed by community workers.
The Prime Minister at the brief signing ceremony again reiterated government's plans for neighborhood development in the areas of infrastructure (roads, sewage, lighting and sidewalks); safety (police substations and community policing) and help desks (reference points, networking, capacity building).
