Think first

The ambition to rebuild St. Maarten as fast as possible is understandable. Everybody wants to go back to business as usual, the economy needs to get going and people need jobs and an income.

But fast is not always good and even though we are not into advice, we’d like to note that it is better to think first and act later.

The destruction Hurricane Irma has inflicted on our island ought to serve as a lesson. The devastating storm has relentlessly exposed our weak points – in construction in particular.

Rebuilding cannot be more of the same. If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got.

So it is time to look at construction methods that withstood the wrath of Irma and apply them to the rebuilding process.

Maybe all this will take some more time; it will certainly cost more money, but these considerations should not stand in the way of building a better and even more beautiful St. Maarten.