Minister of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI) Hon. Maurice Lake says the indecisiveness within the Council of Ministers is costing government money and sending the wrong message to the youth.
“A case in point is Denicio Richardson, former Head of Postal Services St. Maarten, a national company providing services to the community. This young gentleman has been taken to court by government four times, and Denicio Richardson during the last case the judge ruled in his favour.
“I am a part of government, but the postal services falls under the Ministry of General Affairs which falls under the Prime Minister. I have learnt a lot from being part of government during the past 12 months, and we need to bring forth a new way of doing things and how the people are treated.
“What message are we sending to our young professionals? Government took Denicio to court because he was fighting for his rights. He couldn’t afford a lawyer anymore and represented himself in court.
“Government used tax payer’s money to fight the young professional who went away to study and return home to serve his country and this is the way we treat young professionals?
“The system is broken and we need to change it. We need to spend tax payer’s money to shape and run the country in a sustainable manner to help the people, not run our young professionals out who want to contribute and make a difference and build our community.
“The Vorst Cay Hill property is another example of where certain members in the Council of Ministers were indecisive. The judge ruled that government has to pay the land owners for the property, and this court case could have been avoided but due to indecisiveness in the Council, the judge had to make the decision, which is a pity.
“Country Sint Maarten will not move forward when you have indecisiveness in government, people who are afraid to make a decision,” Minister Hon. Maurice Lake concluded.