Audit Chamber red flags climate, privacy, and permit weaknesses in 2025 Report

GREAT BAY--The General Audit Chamber’s 2025 annual report paints a concerning picture of weaknesses in several important areas of government administration, with climate policy, data protection, and the building permit process emerging as some of the clearest trouble spots identified during the year. While the report reviews the Chamber’s own audits, outreach, and internal development, its more important message is that key public systems in St. Maarten continue to show structural gaps, limited coordination, and weak safeguards.

The Chamber's 2025 Annual Report, outlines a year marked by intensified oversight of public spending, a strong focus on climate-related governance, and continued institutional strengthening. The report provides an overview of the Chamber’s constitutional role, its audits and advisory work, communication efforts, and financial management during the 2025 service year. The Chamber presented its 2025 Annual Report to the Governor and Parliament on March 31st, fulfilling its obligation to submit the report well ahead of the required deadline, before July 1st .

Among the strongest warnings in the report is the Chamber’s assessment of St. Maarten’s climate response. In its ClimateScanner review, published in April 2025 as part of an international initiative involving more than 100 national audit institutions, the Chamber found that although efforts are being made, the country still lacks the structural legislation, coordination, and financing needed to support a coherent climate resilience strategy. The report called for a more integrated approach to strengthen the island’s climate response, a finding that carries weight in a territory exposed to environmental and weather-related risk.

The finding suggests that climate action remains more fragmented than institutionalized. The Chamber’s concern is not simply whether certain activities are taking place, but whether there is a strong enough legal and administrative framework to ensure that climate goals are pursued in a coordinated, durable, and measurable way. In effect, the report points to a gap between the recognition of climate risk and the state structures required to confront it properly.

Another major area of concern is the protection of personal data. In its efficiency audit on privacy, published in August 2025, the Chamber concluded that government is falling short in the implementation of privacy legislation. It pointed to the absence of oversight, the use of a digital admission form that processes sensitive personal data without a legal basis, and a failure to adequately inform citizens of their rights. The Chamber said stronger compliance and corrective measures are urgently needed to safeguard the fundamental right to privacy.

That finding  raises the larger question of whether citizens’ personal information is being handled within a system that is legally sound, properly supervised, and respectful of basic rights. The absence of oversight, combined with the handling of sensitive data without a proper legal foundation, points to a state apparatus that, at least in this area, has not yet built the level of institutional discipline modern governance requires.

The building permit process was another area where the Chamber found serious weaknesses. In its October 2025 audit, the Chamber reported that the permit system is based on outdated legislation and marked by manual procedures, limited transparency, and inconsistent application of policy rules that are not legally binding. It further found that departures from technical advice are rarely properly explained, and that the lack of digital controls, standard procedures, and sufficient qualified personnel creates a high risk of errors and fraud. According to the report, without reform in legislation, automation, and staffing capacity, the system will remain vulnerable and public trust will continue to erode.

That assessment is especially significant because the permit process sits at the intersection of development, regulation, and public confidence. A weak permit system does not only slow decision-making, it can create uncertainty over fairness, consistency, and accountability in one of the country’s most visible areas of governance. The Chamber’s language suggests a system whose weaknesses are no longer minor administrative defects, but long-standing institutional problems.

The annual report also points to other governance concerns raised through the Chamber’s work in 2025. In January, the institution published a focus audit on experiences with the tax system based on responses from 562 participants. That review identified poor service delivery, unclear tax assessments, and weak communication as recurring complaints, while also noting that many taxpayers rely on outside help because of the complexity of the process.

In September, the Chamber published its legality review of the 2024 financial statements of APS. While it found that the statements presented a fair picture of the fund’s financial position, it also raised concerns about risk management, transparency, the sustainability of local investments, and long-term premium policy. The report noted that the increase in the actuarial interest rate improves the picture on paper, but masks structural vulnerabilities for participants, including risks tied to purchasing power and future indexation.

In case after case, the Chamber is pointing to weak structures rather than isolated mistakes: missing legislation, incomplete oversight, outdated procedures, limited transparency, and insufficient institutional capacity. The recurring issue is not simply that problems exist, but that the systems meant to manage them are still not strong enough to produce confidence.

The report itself frames 2025 as a year in which the General Audit Chamber paid particular attention to climate, while continuing its constitutional role as a High Council of State overseeing the lawful and efficient use of public funds. Chairman Alphons M. Gumbs said in the foreword that the Chamber mapped risks, tested policy objectives against actual results, and made recommendations for improvement where necessary. He also said the institution worked to strengthen transparency and public awareness through social media and public campaigns.

The Chamber also highlighted a notable step in its own internal development, reporting that payroll administration was fully managed in-house for the first time in 2025, with salary payments handled on time and records maintained correctly. Staff training continued during the year, including audit-related training, ergonomics, and first aid certification. Regionally, the Chamber remained active within CAROSAI, and Chairman Gumbs was re-elected to the organization’s board for a new three-year term during the May 2025 congress in The Bahamas.

On the communication side, the Chamber said it continued to expand its online interactive environment and carried out workshops at schools and for members of the private sector. Its WhatsApp channel grew from 382 members at the end of 2024 to 405 by December 31, 2025, while LinkedIn followers rose from 340 to 433. On Facebook, the Chamber recorded 187,452 views in 2025, although interaction and follower growth declined compared with the year before.

Financially, the institution reported a 2025 budget of XCG 1,604,459 and total expenditures of XCG 1,406,994, representing a budget realization rate of 87.7 percent. Personnel costs totaled XCG 773,136, while material costs reached XCG 633,858. The report states that the under-spent balance of XCG 197,465 will be settled with Government.

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