What are we busy with?

Recent developments involving the Prime Minister, the Minister VSA, and a senior member of the latter's ministerial cabinet became a mini public novela on Thursday. Judging from the reaction of the public, the majority are just shaking their heads. In the middle of it, an international reader sent a brief Facebook inbox message to The Peoples' Tribune that is worth reflecting on because it was a timely reminder how St. Maarten is often viewed from the outside.

The reader wrote: “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘌𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺. 𝘕𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩.”

That message is a reminder that perception travels quickly. There are more people abroad following our public affairs than we sometimes appreciate. They read our headlines, study our decision-making, and measure our institutional maturity. Some of them are potential investors, partners, and advocates who want to see stability, clear process, and predictable governance.

It is also a reminder that investment decisions are not based only on incentives and opportunities. They are shaped by confidence, confidence that disagreements can be managed professionally, that communication is measured, and that institutions remain steady even when personalities collide.

None of this means that concerns should be hidden or that accountability should be avoided. By all means, get to the bottom of the issue. At the same time, there is a difference between openness and dysfunction that leads to governmental disorder. In small communities like ours, the manner in which matters are handled can become as significant as the substance, especially when the country’s economy remains heavily dependent on external confidence.

St. Maarten has every reason to be ambitious about growth and attracting serious long-term partners. That ambition is strengthened when leaders show restraint and communicate in ways that protect the credibility of the institutions they represent.

If there is a lesson to take from the reader’s message, it is to recognize that professionalism is not a luxury, it is part of national development. The more consistently we model calm and disciplined governance, the more we reinforce confidence, locally and internationally, in St. Maarten’s readiness to match its potential.

And finally, at the local level. These folks are all in the same camp. The dysfunction is becoming worrisome. An entire day that should have been devoted to the people’s business was instead consumed by an issue that likely could have been addressed with a phone call or a summon to an internal meeting. Truly, what are we busy with?

‍