Philipsburg, Sint Maarten – The Employer Council of Sint Maarten (ECSM), which represents the majority of private sector employers through its member associations, including the St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA), the Indian Merchants Association (IMA), the Sint Maarten Marine Trades Association (SMMTA), and the Sint Maarten Timeshare Association (SMTA), supports the development of a Strategic Economic Plan for country Sint Maarten, it does however call for a more inclusive and transparent process.
Sint Maarten needs this strategic economic plan. For such an important document to succeed, the process matters as much as the plan. Both the design and implementation must be inclusive, transparent, and built to last.
Timeline Reveals Limited Stakeholder Input
Between January 12 and 21, 2026, the Employer Council’s member associations received invitations to participate in a five-day workshop titled “Addressing Sint Maarten’s Crossroads: Charting a New Way Forward” on the development of Sint Maarten’s Strategic Economic Plan. What was presented was an outline of an approach already developed by the Ministry, including the format, methodology, and set goals.
Based on this information, the Employer Council notes that the engagement was framed around participation with a preset agenda, in a predetermined activity rather than early involvement in shaping the process.
In recognized engagement practice, meaningful engagement begins at the stage where the process is being designed by key stakeholders, ensuring that those most affected have a voice in what is discussed and how future decisions are shaped. For the wider community, this leads to decisions that better reflect everyday realities, support more stable jobs and stronger businesses, and contribute to long-term economic security. Without this foundation, even well-intentioned initiatives risk falling short of outcomes that can be realistically implemented and sustained.
Context of the Strategic Economic Plan
The workshop forms part of reform package E6 of the Landspakket Sint Maarten, a Kingdom-funded reform trajectory. According to the publicly available execution agenda, this trajectory includes two formal Plans of Approach: one for an Economic Carrying Capacity Study and one for the Strategic Economic Development Plan. Both prepared by Sint Maarten, and once approved at least a management summary should be published.
Recognizing that, in principle, Plans of approach should be approved before the start of any project as outlined in “bijlage C Werkwijzereglement Sint Maarten” as mentioned in Art 4.5 of the “Onderlinge Regeling”
Recognizing that these Plans of Approach provide essential context for understanding the overall economic planning process, the Employer Council indicated that it could not responsibly participate in the proposed workshop without first reviewing the plans of approach in order to understand how the workshop fits within the broader development of the Strategic Economic Plan.
This prompted an urgent meeting convened by the Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) on January 27, 2026, with the Employer Council and other representative organizations and members. During the meeting, stakeholders shared their concerns about the proposed workshop, including issues related to timing, process clarity, and the ability to participate meaningfully under the current conditions.
In addition, stakeholders reiterated their request for access to the Plans of Approach. At that point, the Employer Council was advised to request the documents from the Tijdelijke Werkorganisatie (TWO) the ministry could not provide them. TWO in turn indicated that it is up to the ministry to share plans of approach with interested parties
To date; the plans of approach have not been made available and the workshop participants have not been able to review the project to establish a strategic economic plan for country Sint Maarten. This workshop is an integral part of the project, financed via the TWO. The “onderlinge regeling” states that in principle the plans of approach should have been approved on a ministerial level by both the COM and the Minister of BZK before starting any project and at least a management summary should be published after approval and before starting on the project.
What the Employer Council Calls For
With the aim of strengthening the process rather than delaying it, the Employer Council proposed the following adjustments:
- Providing stakeholders with access to the Plans of Approach or their management summaries;
- Clarifying governance and accountability;
- Establishing a realistic engagement timeline that allows for meaningful participation in both process design and content development.
Unfortunately, to date, no changes to the process have been communicated, and the Employer Council continues to raise these points as a constructive call to action.
Commitment to Sint Maarten’s Future
The Employer Council remains fully committed to contributing to an inclusive and forward-looking economy for Sint Maarten. The private sector will ultimately be responsible for investing, creating jobs, and adapting to any strategic economic direction adopted. For that reason, the integrity of the process is as important as the outcome. We remain ready to contribute constructively when the process meets basic standards of transparency and good governance.
