Overlooking Local Professionals and Companies in St. Maarten

As we reflect on St. Maarten/St. Martin Day, it is an opportune moment to address a longstanding issue that has drawn attention in recent years, the tendency to overlook local professionals and companies, particularly by the government and state-owned entities.

There has been considerable discussion about how government-owned companies often favor international firms for major contracts and leadership roles, while qualified local companies and residents are passed over. This concern affects all residents of St. Maarten and raises questions about the long-term impact on our local talent pool.

Despite calls for our students to return home and contribute to national development, many come back to mid-level positions with limited room to advance. This contributes to brain drain and limits the potential of highly educated locals who want to serve their communities.

It is important to be clear that the blame should not fall on foreign candidates who apply for these roles. Once they arrive, we should extend the friendliness and hospitality for which St. Maarten is known. Welcoming newcomers supports collaboration and inclusion rather than division.

The root of the issue lies in policies and practices. Government agencies often hire international consulting firms for recruitment without a clear mandate to prioritize local talent. This perpetuates a cycle in which qualified residents are overlooked, reducing the benefits that local professionals can bring.

We should also examine the use of Dutch funds managed by the World Bank. It is troubling that a large share of these resources appears to go to foreign companies. Local employment matters, when contracts go to local firms, money circulates within the community, tax revenue grows, and the local economy strengthens. Directing these funds abroad weakens our economy and prolongs the cycle of exclusion.

This is a moment for reflection by leaders and stakeholders in St. Maarten. As we hear speeches about unity and nation-building, actions must match those words. Building a resilient nation requires that local companies and professionals receive priority in government contracts and hiring.

Let us advocate for policies that elevate local talent and support the economic progress of all residents. The strength of our community lies in empowering its people and creating a collaborative environment where everyone can thrive.

Kendall Dupersoy - Local Professional

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(𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫 - 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦’𝘴 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳. 𝘐𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳’𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘜𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘢 “𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘚𝘶𝘣𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.”. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.  𝘚𝘶𝘣𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘌𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺, 𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. 𝘞𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴. 𝘞𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺, 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦.)

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