PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — The Unified Resilient St. Maarten Movement (URSM) has taken note of MP Omar Ottley’s recent announcement to hold a town hall meeting and start a petition demanding GEBE relief. While we fully agree that our people deserve fair, affordable, and reliable electricity, we must call this what it is “a political stunt dressed up as advocacy.”
The truth is simple: “these problems didn’t appear overnight” as they were “inherited from the very period when MP Ottley himself sat in the Council of Ministers.” While the GEBE hack was happening, “no solutions were provided, no agreement was reached on a new billing system, and no real relief reached the people.”
And this is important “in his role as a Minister, both as VSA Minister and Acting TEATT Minister, MP Ottley had the authority to act.”
Now, in opposition, MP Ottley is “presenting himself as a champion for the people but the record shows otherwise.” If this is part of the United People’s Party’s rebranding, then “it shows a clear disconnect from the realities of today.” Our people do not need “headline-grabbing petitions or political theatre” as they need “leadership that continues to act when it matters most, not after the damage is done.”
At URSM, we remain committed to “real solutions” such as stabilizing GEBE, reducing fuel dependency, modernizing infrastructure, and protecting households from further economic strain “without turning the people’s struggles into campaign props.”
“The people of Sint Maarten deserve better than empty gestures, ” concluded the Board of URSM
