PHILIPSBURG—Independent Member of Parliament Christophe Emmanuel has publicly called on the government of St. Maarten to publicize the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) it has entered into with GridMarket and the Island Resilience Partnership (IRP).
The MP was reacting to a government press release that announced that St. Maarten will leverage the GridMarket platform to transition away from diesel dependence and create a sustainable, resilient, low-cost energy future.
“It all sounds nice and well, but the devil is always in the details,” the MP said. “I am quite certain that many people reading that release had questions as it was very technical. The government should publicize the MOU about this new public-private partnership, along with explanatory notes clarifying what exactly this agreement means,” he added.
He noted that the Prime Minister stated that her government is leveraging the GridMarket platform to achieve its energy goals. “Which are what exactly and how? What is this so-called committed and coordinated approach across all government agencies towards clean energy? Will this eventually entail open bids for these services by international companies? What is the role of GEBE? Instead of just issuing technical releases, provide information so people can understand what you have committed the country to,” MP Emmanuel said.
In addition to explaining what the specific points of understanding are, the project itself, the scope, and details of each party's roles and responsibilities, the MP would like to know if the MOU contains any legally enforceable promises. “The government can save time by just publicizing the MOU so a real public discourse could take place before it moves forward with this project,” the MP concluded.
