Honorable Minister, Good evening,
It is with great shock and disappointment that the St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) has taken note of the unilateral decision to close a section of Pondfill in front of the booths along that stretch, thereby creating what amounts to a second Carnival Village.
This decision is unfair to the stakeholders inside Carnival Village, as it cuts off direct access to the Village during the peak of the Carnival season. Our booth holders are livid, and the SCDF cannot allow this decision to go unchallenged.
The government’s original policy of allowing only 24 booths was already increased to 41, creating a chaotic, uncontrolled environment that government controllers and KPSM are now unable to manage properly. The booths remain open longer than they should, seating is now being allowed along the roadside, which was not permitted before, and the result is a mass gathering of people on a main road.
This is not a situation created by the SCDF. It was created by the government, and the SCDF and its stakeholders are now suffering the consequences.
Our booth holders inside Carnival Village are subjected almost daily to health, fire, economic, and, most recently, tax inspections. At the same time, they have seen their sales dwindle due to developments outside the Village.
We understand safety, but what is being created now is a new gathering area outside the Village, in public, with no security, no weapon scanning, no controls.
As such, we are requesting an immediate and urgent meeting. We are also requesting that the Minister reverse this decision and that the overall situation involving the booths on Pondfill, which the SCDF has warned about since a similar attempt was made two years ago, be discussed in its proper context with the SCDF, not around us.
We look forward to your swift response.
On behalf of the board of the SCDF,
Edwardo Radjouki
President
St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation
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Illidge Road 60-E
St. Maarten - Dutch Caribbean
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