St. Maarten Private Eye

Several writers put the post above together, it was difficult for them, and for me to edit, because there is so much information and so many aspects of this whole issue that needs to be considered. For example, one part we forgot to add was the fact the IWACO report was commissioned because the SPA (we assume) govt decided the previous one they had, from 1988, was outdated. And here we are today, working from one that is already 10 years old, from which the recommendations appear not to have been followed or carried out.

You are right, blame does seem to be cast (not unfairly, PW and GEBE are his portfolios after all) upon Roy Marlin, when in fact it's the whole Exco that shares collective responsibility for the actions, or inactions, of any part of their government. We believe the calculations we have made are fairly sound and that they show that this deal Roy wants to make, which includes a small 3000m3 plant in an area that is not ideal, is bad for the island, not just financially. If anyone knows the approximate value of a plant such as the Enerserve, producing 11,000 per day, then we would like to know. We are confident it is in the millions.

We must also keep in the back of our minds the fact that the so called 'Sanitary' land fill has been known for years to be full by 2007, we understand there are reports similar to the IWACO about this that have also been gathering dust. Roy often quotes the TNO report, which apparently recommends an incinerator, we have not yet been able to get hold of a copy. Who is SXM Waste Management owned by?
And let's not forget Intaquin and the fact that now, 2 years after GEBE were recommened to get the contract, nothing has been done for our sewage, which is why our ponds are filling up with it.

Flipper