The workers of the post office, their union and their management team got the government to agree to cover their November and December salaries. However, during a recent press briefing, Boasman, who is the interim Prime Minister in the present caretaker cabinet for the National Alliance-led government, mentioned that the option for the post office of the BES-islands of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, operated by the concession-holder Flamingo Express, to take over the postal services on St. Maarten was being considered.
Naturally, the post office operation in St. Maarten would have to be downsized in order to make this option viable and profitable for this private company. Yes, its a private company. So why not let private companies on St. Maarten also put in bids to manage the post office on our own island? How worst can they do than the government-owned PSS NV?
Certain factions in government want PSS to move to a new location and pay rent for this new location so that the present building can be demolished and a new building erected. The new building would be the proposed new location for Parliament and other government entities such as BTP, BIP and APS. Space in the new building would also be rented out to the private sector such as law firms and other commercial entities. But not to the post office. The irony.
Maybe redundant post office workers can be repositioned and trained to be prison guards in the new Point Blanche prison, as the same Prime Minister Boasman, wearing his Minister of Justice hat, announced that a new prison would cost $50 to $60 million dollars. He will need people to work in that new prison facility. But we are just dreaming for now. After all, we are gearing up for election time and anything is possible during election times. Maybe our St. Martin university might get subsidized after all as well. We are certainly keeping our fingers crossed.
