Good Morning! And a happy Constitution Day.
I Ajamu Baly have just handed over to this esteemed body a duplicate of the Royal decree concerning my appointment and the official record of my oath-taking, and I am about to notify you, the residents, of my acceptance of the office of Governor.
But before I do that, Madam Chairlady please permit me to share with you a story.
A story about: A village;
Its greatest asset Progress.
The Village
I stand before you today not as a product of my own concern, but of one molded, encouraged, invested in, loved and inspired by my village.
A village built on blood, sweat and tears inspired solely by a vision of a better tomorrow. The tomorrow of then that we
experience today. A heritage of our ancestral village.
We are all here as a result of the struggles, actions and triumphs of our direct and distant ancestors.
You see, it took a village to raise this child.
You brought me to this point, it is only right that I do my part to ensure that we are able to bring the next villager to this or whichever point they wish to arrive at. This in order to keep the circle of life flowing maintaining our human capital.
To the Sint Maarten Diaspora; your village needs you!!
Its greatest asset
So, what is the greatest asset of our village?
Is it our beautiful beaches, the sunshine, our lush green hills, our expansive hilltop views, our world class cuisine, uniqueness of our French and Dutch side and the list goes on and on.
I once read that a person/people will never rise above the opinion they have of themselves. What opinion do we have of ourselves?
It is said that we are a traditionally hard-working, friendly, proud and resilient people.
We were entrepreneurs long before entrepreneurship was a thing. My Grandmother, Mrs. Olinie Sherwood-Romney ran a successful bakery right here on Backstreet selling amongst others some of the sweetest sweetbreads you ever
tasted. And I say the following with all respect to those baking sweetbreads today; I have yet to taste another that comes even close. But hey, I am biased. She also had a franchise of this bakery on Anguilla where she also had property.
My Great Grandmother Ms. Eler Brown; we called her Gran, farmed cattle, on Bush Road, right here in Cul-de-Sac where I was raised. Gran fed that cattle with the best grass that Gran herself would go to Beacon Hill to cut. Gran used to go to Great Bay very early in the morning where she closed deals on the sale of the milk and meat of her cattle, then travelled back home to Cul-de-Sac to instruct (the eldest of her ten children Mrs. Floricia Baly-Brown) my grandmother;
to deliver the products; said milk and meat to her clients in Great Bay and this was all done by foot mind you, before the midday hour. Yeah, I don’t know how either, I guess time really moved slower back then. But I digress…
These are just two examples of some phenomenal women of our island. And so there are many more examples of
phenomenal men and women alike.
You see, it is important for us to remember where and who we came from, the challenges that our ancestors have
overcome for us to be here. Our resilience is no happenstance it is engrained in our DNA.
So we owe it to them to give it our all everyday but we also owe it to ourselves and to the future. (A future whose blueprint is in our hands as architects of our own future and that of the next generation).
A tremendous responsibility. But, with our individual and collective brilliance, tenacity and propriety we are determined and destined to continue to rise to this challenge.
And in doing so inspire the next generation as we are inspired by the generations before us.
In the event it is not yet evident or I have not been clear on what our greatest asset is; it is you; our people of this great nation Sint Maarten/Soualiga.
As leaders of this our beloved village we should take decisions with this asset always in mind. Those decisions taken today ought to be taken with the reverence of our villagers that came before us and with the determination for a sustainable future for the villagers that are to come after us.
As it states on our Coat of Arms, Semper Pro Grediens; always progressing.
Progress
We stand here today a Country 12 years young, we have endured and weathered many storms in this period literally and figuratively. We have overcome challenges and accomplished a great deal. And yet we have many challenges ahead of us.
Although daunting these challenges are not insurmountable. Not only because our people are a spiritual people, a praying people, but because by working together we can overcome these challenges.
Initial steps to be taken are in my view:
- A vision towards the future; A clear course has to be charted moving forward into the future. And whatever that course may be it needs to be rooted in a commitment to giving the best of yourself, a commitment to caring for the most vulnerable in our society and a commitment of creating a level and fair playing field with opportunities for all.
- Decision making ought to be steered by this humble commitment to the collective good.
In this process we need to hold each other accountable this applies first and foremost to Government, parliament and the entire public sector in relation to each other and in relation to the citizens of this country but this
also applies to NGO’s and the Private Sector businesses and this in addition to their corporate social responsibility.
Society you see is but the sum of all its components. If we all play our part, take action in the best interest of all our people and pay our fair share the wealth of this village can be distributed more fairly and every single individual will be able to provide for their family, with dignity.
Providing continuous enhancement of the quality of life of our people.
In the words of the poet S.C. Carter; “May the best of your todays be the worst of your tomorrows” end quote. Semper pro Grediens.
- Servant leadership; the best interest of the people. Let that genuinely be our North Star, our lighthouse on dark desolate waters, our compass and in our day and age: our Google, Alexa, Siri. It shall be mine…
So to be clear; this is why we serve. For our village, its villagers; its greatest asset, for their progress.
True progress is only achieved when every single one of us has that equal opportunity to do so. When all in society do not have equal opportunity to prosper we all fail!
Ensuring that the vulnerable within our society are cared for is essential in this; the elderly, the youth, those living with a disability and those living in poverty. This just to name a few. The topic of Mental Health is also not to be forgotten in this aspect.
- Financial independence via enhanced sound financial management; continued
- Increasing our human capital; we have to continue investing in the youth and as a result they and society shall reap the
benefits far into their retirement age.
And 5. Greater self-sustainability; In order to be less susceptible to external shocks we have to lessen our dependency on imports where possible. Think of alternative energy, produce and fisheries.
In my role as Governor I am here to support Government, irrespective of party lines.
Know that each and every one of you can count on my support for I am here to serve on behalf of the people.
In respect to my dual role as representative of the King in the capacity of head of Government and representative of the Kingdom Government, I shall at all times focus on remaining impartial and I shall always, always take action in every and all matters in the best interest of and for the well-being of Sint Maarten and its people, this in line with the oath I have taken.
I would like to thank the Sint Maarten Government and the Kingdom Government for the confidence placed in me.
I thank all those who have supported me, continue to support me, and have pledged to support me in the future in one way or the other. I won’t mention names, you know who you are.
Well I must mention a few. As I embark on this journey, I do so with the support of my village, my wife Janique, my children Jahred and Chloé, my parents; Joyce Baly & Glenmore Romney and the rest of my family and close friends. Because although this function I have been told, is a lonely one I know I will not be able to carry it out without
their support. Thank you.
To Governor Holiday; mention has been made in the past couple of weeks of filling of shoes and the like. With all the respect due to you, I prefer the African proverb that says;
Wisdom is like fire, one takes it from the other. So thank you Excellency for passing on the torch of wisdom. I shall do my utmost to keep the fire burning.
In closing:
We are indebted to our ancestors; to those who did the right thing then in order for us to stand here today, and we owe it to those to come after us so they too may stand on higher ground. Our gaze must always remain focused on the long term, on the perpetual forward motion of our nation, our people. Sincerely being the best you can every day and giving of your talents for the betterment of the greater good. Striving for Excellence, and being good whilst doing so .
1 .For the future is watching all of us through a lens of sustainability, visionary and servant leadership. Who do we want them to see when their gaze is on us? Looking in that mirror called time, reflecting back on every single one of us tasked with this privilege of public service.
1 For what good is it for a man to gain the world but lose his soul in the Process.
While it is of cardinal importance that truth is spoken to power. It is of equal importance that the powerful speak truth to one another.
Madame Chairlady, people of my beloved Sint Maarten, it is a privilege and honor which I shall do my utmost to serve and carry out with respect, integrity, dignity and grace, I Ajamu Glenston Baly hereby accept the office of Governor.
Thank you, God bless you all and God bless our great village Sint Maarten.