President of Parliament, Hon. Sarah A. Wescot-Williams, received Ombudsman, Mrs. Nilda Arduin and her Dutch counterpart, Reinier van Zutphen on June 14th, 2018.
While it was a courtesy visit paid to the President of Parliament, the opportunity was seized to exchange ideas and thoughts, especially given the renewed focus of the St. Maarten Ombudsman, following hurricane Irma and the current reconstruction phase the country is in. While the reconstruction efforts on all fronts are admirable and offer many opportunities to build back better, the massive scope of the reconstruction and the time pressure also bring along unanticipated challenges.
It should be a comforting thought for the people of St. Maarten that an institution like that of the Ombudsman remains active and alert, even though that office like the entire country is faced with the aftermath of one of the worst storms on record. Especially during these trying times, institutional relationships within and outside of the Dutch kingdom can surely prove to have added value.