By Ralph Cantave
SUCKER GARDEN- During the week of August 1, 2022, eye witnesses observed civil servants from the Ministry of VROMI applying an asphalt like aggregate at a driveway of a business at the entrance of Arch Road. Upon further inquiry it was revealed that a government aggregate known as Aquaphalt was poured and paved at the entrance of the business owned by Cloyd Ohndhae Marlin, the son of Member of Parliament, William Marlin. Cloyd is also a current employee in the faction staff of the National Alliance.
According to sources, the Minister of VROMI, Egbert Doran instructed his staff to prepare the aggregate used to patch roads. They were notified that the Aquaphalt was to be used to patch roads in Sucker Garden. However, there is little to no pot hole in Sucker Garden. At the time only a limited supply of the Aquaphalt was in stock which is typically reserved for emergency use but a new batch has since been received. Nevertheless, to the surprise of persons passing by, public workers were using the Aquaphalt for Marlin's driveway. Reports indicate that the new batch has been ordered to go to Colebay which the community has been signaling is in need of much needed patching up. Whether it will be used for public or private use is yet to be determined.
Marlin was contacted for comment and stated that he made a formal request to have the work done about a year ago. He added that it was certainly requested and is in possession of a DIV number (number to identify government documents). Questions were also sent to the Ministry. The main questions regarding this decision are, has it always been a policy for requests by businesses to have a driveway paved freely with government inventory? Was the instruction of Doran to the civil servants to pave the driveway or patch Sucker Garden roads? Given that limited supply of the Aquaphalt was in stock at the time why weren’t other gaping pot holes patched and given priority? How many more private businesses made such requests where work was completed by government workers and how many are pending? Nonetheless, the misuse and questionable allocation of public resources highlights a worrisome trend of close associates to Doran or the coalition benefitting from their affiliation as seen in example of board appointments, long lease land issuance and the disputed Ombudsman report that highlights possible bid rigging.
During the Council of Ministers press briefing of August 10, Doran announced that several roads will be resurfaced to improve the road network on the island. The Minister added that this would be done to provide a long surface life to the roads and drainage will also be addressed. He also cited several dirt roads which will be hard surfaced with cement. According to the General Audit Chamber’s “Audit into the allocation of motor vehicle tax” report of May 2022, “in 2009, a detailed draft document was prepared to show that the entire infrastructure had a maintenance backlog of about ANG 360 million.” The report highlights the lack of compliance with the Road Fund ordinance and suggests recommendations for its efficiency as it was legislated to address road maintenance, public lighting, draining and traffic management.
Considering this, St. Maarten is in need of every resource available. What remains alarming is in cases of emergency, if government resources are tapped into for private use, the concerns and needs of the public remain in jeopardy. Unforeseen circumstances such as shipping delays or heavy rain could have led to the need for emergency use of the limited Aquaphalt at the moment. Whether Prime Minister, Silveria Jacobs will also address the phenomena of ghost workers is also pending. According to sources Marlin rarely reports to work in Parliament, which reflects on a custom of political parties that employ immediate family members to factions in Parliament or in their Minister’s cabinets while they maintain business ventures or employment elsewhere.
