Business View Caribbean | May 2019

38 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN MAY 2019 A s Prime Minister of St. Maarten, Leona Romeo-Marlin has taken on a role that is both daunting and rewarding. Offering strength, vision, and hope to a population still reeling from the onslaught of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, and focusing government efforts on post-hurricane restoration, while recognizing the inevitable need for changes and sustainable economic decision- making. After taking office in January 2018, Prime Minister Romeo-Marlin outlined five strategic objectives: Setting It Right; Revive and Restore; Restructuring Government; Safety and Security; and Health and Social Wellbeing. In a recent conversation with Business View Caribbean, the Prime Minister discussed these important objectives. The following is an edited transcript of her remarks. BVC: Could you describe, in detail, your government’s five strategic goals? PM: “Those five points are in our ‘Building a Sustainable St. Maarten’ program and we have incorporated all aspects of that into the direction we want to go as a government.” Setting It Right “Since we’ve been in office, our focus has been to set things right, as it relates to homes and schools that were destroyed, the public service we give, infrastructure that was damaged, residents that have lost their jobs. It’s included in our National Recovery and Resilience Plan because it is part of our governing program. Having long-term management plans is key for us and we’ve been working diligently on that. “It’s basically putting St. Maarten back on track. Cleaning up the landfill, our coastal waters; we’ve had several island-wide cleanups and we’ll continue to do such because we still have to deal with the debris on the island. We are looking at establishing a waste and THE PR IME MINI STER OF St. Maarten A CONVERSATION WITH LEONA ROMEO-MARLIN