PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — During the notification round of the Parliamentary ECYS Committee# 3, on January 25th, Member of Parliament Grisha Heyliger-Marten expressed her disgust at the state of the island when it comes to garbage and litter in and around the public areas.
Addressing the Government via the Committee Chair MP Angelique Roumou, she applauded the fact that the Minister of TEATT invited his colleague of VROMI to get a first-hand look at the extent of clean-up and repairs needed in the Philipsburg area.
“The Minister of TEATT considers safety in Philipsburg to be a significant concern. According to him, it is therefore necessary to act quickly, which is why he said he is pushing forward to get as much done to protect everyone who enters Philipsburg”, Heyliger-Marten said.
She then addressed the Minister of VROMI via the Chairlady, expressing her concerns about a much broader significant concern that she has. According to Heyliger-Marten, she has never witnessed so much filth on Saint Martin in all her years on the island.
She urged the Minister of VROMI to dedicate at least one hour per week, first thing in the morning, to tour the entire sixteen square miles of the Southern part of the island.
“I just took a walk from the old government building to parliament building like a do every morning. Madam Chairlady, it is an eyesore to see the garbage piled up in those cement plant pots. There is garbage and dead animals all over the place” Heyliger-Marten stated.
“Since the garbage collection is in the portfolio of the Minister of VROMI, I am urging him to look into this situation”, she said.
Heyliger-Martin continued by stating that she can’t in good conscience only blame the Minister of VROMI for the filth on the island. “We all have to do better, we are all responsible, we need to take pride in keeping Saint Martin clean. Remember back in the days when they went all out with the “keep Saint Martin clean” campaign? It was more prominent on the radio stations back then. So remember Saint Martin, together we can take pride, and don’t throw it outside”, Heyliger-Martin concluded.
