Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
St. Maarten – Residents from the Ebenezer District are disappointed that their trenches are filled with bush and debris. Grass and small threes can be seen budding from the bridge close to the Milton Peters College and behind in the trenches at the St. Maarten Academy PSVE. Daniela Richardson expressed her disappointment yesterday about the situation. She calls on public works to do something about it.
It is customary for the public works department to carry out major trench clean ups efforts before the beginning of the hurricane season. “This is a perfect example of not being prepared for the hurricane season,†Richardson said. Residents clean up the trenches from time to time on their own time however the grass has grown and the residents now urge public works to come to the neighborhood and clean the trenches as soon as possible. They fear that when a hurricane hits the island, the trenches will flood and this will have negative effects on the low laying areas of Ebenezer.
“The trenches in the area have been cleaned two months ago,†says Eustaquio Richardson of public works. “At the moment the advice for the awarding of the trench cleaning is following its due course.â€
The trench cleaning in the area has not been awarded to any contractor. In the past, Member of Parliament Maurice Lake awarded trench cleaning in the districts to youngsters who seek work in their neighborhoods when he was the Vromi-minister.
The contract with the group for the Ebenezer district has expired and a new contractor will soon be selected. In the meantime the grass continues to grow and fill the trenches.
The residents are appealing to public works to come and assist them with the cleaning. “This can end up in a disaster when we get bad weather,†Daniela Richardson said.
