PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – Gromyko Wilson is calling on the Government of Sint Maarten to explain what steps are being taken to address weaknesses highlighted in a recent study on crisis-management capacity within the Caribbean part of the Kingdom.
“The report recognizes that Sint Maarten has considerable experience preparing for hurricanes, and that is something we should be proud of. But hurricanes are not the only crisis our country can face,” Wilson stated.
The assessment points to vulnerabilities including limited maritime search and rescue capacity, pressure on medical and ambulance services during a major incident, limited heavy equipment and weaknesses in maintaining crisis coordination and information management during prolonged emergencies.
For Wilson, the issue is not about criticizing for the sake of criticizing, but about what happens next.
“My question to the Government is simple: What are we doing about these findings ?”
“If an independent assessment identifies weaknesses that could affect our ability to protect lives during a major emergency, then the public deserves to know whether those weaknesses are being addressed, who is responsible for addressing them and what the timeline is.”
For years Wilson was saying that the past Governments and the present were not prepared for a big disaster ever to happen on the island. Is not about this cabinet but for the past cabinets that run this island. He also pointed out that the problems are the people who are advising the government. They are the ones who have us vulnerable so it is time to replace them for people who yes know what to do.
Wilson said Sint Maarten cannot afford to prepare only for the disasters it already knows.
“Preparedness means identifying our weaknesses before the emergency happens, not explaining them afterwards.”
