When Prime Minister William Marlin spoke last week he made mention of a National Recovery Plan that was in the works, but would be ready within the next 2-3 weeks. We got word today, per the Sint Maarten government, that the road to a final plan was underway.
Today, Sint Maarten announced that they have formed a committee — or a work group, as they’re calling it — to draft the first version of the National Recovery Plan. And while there was no word on any of the details as to exactly how the plan would be developed, the government indicated that the committee will “take the various damage and needs assessments into consideration and will consult both local and international stakeholders as part of the assignment to draft a comprehensive national recovery plan that will serve as a roadmap for the reconstruction and recovery of Sint Maarten.”
We’re hoping that means the process for developing the plan will be transparent to the citizens of the island. Without a formal process being revealed, it’s hard to say exactly how it will work, but it’s most certainly a step in the right direction.
There’s also hope that, while the development of a well-thought out and proven plan is completed, it won’t slow down the rebuild process along with continued support and relief for the community. The committee announced that they will issue a draft report by the beginning of October and a final report by the end of 2017. That feels like a long time to finalize the plan but my hope is that the draft will at least provide the framework to start implementing items sooner than year-end.
The National Recovery Plan is intended to formalize the initiatives for short-, mid-, and long-term recovery.
The members of the work group are:
- Mrs. Joane Dovale-Meit, Chair and Member
- Mr. Dennis Richardson, Vice-Chair and Member
- Mrs. Cassandra Janssen, Secretary and Member
- Mr. Jan Beaujon, Member
- Mrs. Mackini Hickinson- Persaud, Member
- Mr. Fernando William, Member
No further information was provided at this time.
