GREAT BAY--On the occasion of the United Nations International Day of Older Persons, observed on October 1, President of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams called on Government to view the growing longevity of St. Maarten’s population not as a burden, but as an opportunity, particularly in addressing persistent staffing shortages in the public sector.
This year’s UN theme, “The Age of Longevity: Rethinking Systems for Longer Lives,” calls on governments and societies to ensure that longer lives translate into healthy, productive, dignified and equitable living.
“Rethinking systems is exactly what is needed,” Wescot-Williams said. “And here in St. Maarten, we have a system that is in urgent need of rethinking: the way we fill vacancies in government.”
Wescot-Williams pointed to the lengthy period that can pass between identifying a vacancy and actually filling a position, saying Government can lose qualified candidates along the way while the workload continues to build and existing staff are stretched further.
She proposed that Government explore the voluntary use of experienced older persons, including former civil servants and other seasoned professionals, as a temporary bridge while recruitment processes are being completed.
“Only if they agree, of course,” she stressed. “No one should be pulled out of a well-earned retirement. But many of our older persons are healthy, capable and willing, and they carry decades of knowledge about how government and other institutions work.”
Under the proposed approach, experienced professionals could temporarily support departments to keep essential work moving while Government continues recruiting new and younger employees.
Wescot-Williams said the arrangement could also provide an important second benefit once new recruits are hired. Older professionals could assist with onboarding and help transfer institutional knowledge and practical experience that may not be captured in manuals or formal procedures.
“This is not about replacing young people. It is the opposite,” Wescot-Williams said. “It is about making sure that the door stays open for them, and that when they walk through it, someone experienced is there to help them find their way. That is how knowledge is transferred, and that is how we honor the contribution of our older persons.”
The President of Parliament noted that the United Nations recognizes that longer lives can generate a “longevity dividend” when older persons are supported to remain active and engaged in society.
She encouraged Government to examine how such a bridging arrangement could work in practice, including the contractual, pension-related and budgetary considerations necessary to make it fair for participants and workable for Government.
Wescot-Williams said the idea would allow St. Maarten to address immediate staffing pressures while also creating a structured way to preserve knowledge that might otherwise be lost when experienced public servants retire.
“Our older persons built this country,” Wescot-Williams concluded. “Many of them would welcome the chance to help build its future as well. Let us give them that opportunity, on their terms.”
