Challenging task

Finance Minister Gibson has said on numerous occasions that the economy is in trouble and now data from the Central Bank confirm this.

St. Maarten’s economy has contracted in the second quarter and it stands to reason to expect more bad news when the data about the third quarter become available.

Fewer cruise arrivals, fewer stay-over arrivals and fear for the Zika-virus are the three components the Central Bank mentions to explain the decline.
And which actions did our minister of tourism and economic affairs take in the face of this downturn? That’s a good question and we don’t have the answer; so go figure.

There is therefore a challenging task ahead for Arrindell’s successor – UP-leader Theo Heyliger.

For the sake of St. Maarten, we wish him lots of wisdom.