Philipsburg:--- Minister of VROMI William Marlin handed over an agreement letter that was signed by Angelo "Luciano" Gumbs on behalf of the Sucker Garden unemployed boys who will be contracted to clean several trenches in the area and from Philipsburg to Pointe Blanche. Minister Marlin told reporters on Tuesday that the project was spearheaded by Independent Member of Parliament Romaine Laville who vowed to secure employment for the youngsters of Sucker Garden where he (Laville) grew up.
Marlin said that the Ministry of VROMI took a different approach to make sure the unemployed youths of Sucker Garden get work, as a result there was no bidding for the project that was given to the Garden Boyz. The Minister of VROMI made clear that the work that will be carried out by at least 12 unemployed young men and women in the area will be supervised by Public Works, namely Claudius Buncamper. Present on Tuesday when the signing of the letter took place was the vice president of the Sucker Garden and Upper Princess Quarter Community Council Eugene Heyliger and Member of Parliament Romain Laville.
Marlin said as part of the governing program the National Alliance has with the Democratic Party and three Independent Members of Parliament, government will work with the people in the different communities as they try to establish groups within each community who would dedicate themselves to keep their community clean. This, he said was derived from the district improvement teams but government stumbled on several of the community councils that are not functioning.
Marlin said that when government awarded the contract for garbage collection it did not include the cleaning of trenches while the secondary roads are to be cleaned once every three months. Marlin said another hindrance in the various communities are the "boys on the block." Marlin explained that these boys are young St. Maarteners who simply cannot find work on the island and they are marginalized by the current system. The VROMI Minister said that even though there are contractors that are obtaining contracts from government they have refused to include the locals. "Often times the local St. Maarten boys are overlooked, they are bypassed while others are getting the opportunity to gain employment in their district."
