Minister Gumbs reacts with surprise, calls meeting over garbage hauler payment delay

GREAT BAY--Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure Patrice Gumbs has reacted with surprise to reports that the garbage hauler contracted to collect household waste in Cole Bay has not been paid for the past three months.

Minister Gumbs said he was not aware of the non-payment and has called a meeting with contract management to determine where the bottleneck is in the process.

“As Minister, but more so as a human, I immediately called the contractor, as no one should work without pay, and I need to seek clarity on where in the process this is continuing to go wrong,” Minister Gumbs stated.

He added that VROMI takes the matter seriously, particularly given the ministry’s reliance on contractors to execute public works and essential services.

“We are one of, if not the most, executionary Ministries. I need contractors to know we take this seriously,” Gumbs said.

The issue follows reports that the hauler responsible for household waste collection in Cole Bay has continued to carry out its duties despite not receiving payment for work already performed. According to information received, the company has been under increasing financial and operational strain while still attempting to maintain service in the district.

The company is reportedly among the garbage haulers whose original five-year collection contract recently expired and was extended by VROMI for an additional six months. The extension was intended to maintain continuity in garbage collection while government works toward completing a new tender process for garbage haulers to cover a three-year contract period.

The reported payment delay comes as St. Maarten continues to face garbage collection challenges in several districts, with Cole Bay among the areas repeatedly affected by service disruptions and illegal dumping. Continued delays in payment can place pressure on contractors and their workers, particularly as fuel, equipment, labor, maintenance and other operating costs remain ongoing.

Minister Gumbs’ response also comes after his remarks during Wednesday’s Council of Ministers briefing, where he renewed calls for accountability from garbage haulers, businesses and residents as the ministry continues to address persistent collection problems and illegal dumping.

At that briefing, the Minister said the garbage situation in Cole Bay over the weekend was the latest in a series of incidents that remain a serious concern. He reminded haulers that they are contractually obligated to carry out daily household garbage collection and urged them to report operational challenges, including truck issues, directly to the contract management team rather than allowing service failures to continue unchecked.

Gumbs also noted that government had already extended the current garbage collection contracts for six months and reassigned certain parcels to new haulers as part of efforts to improve performance in problem areas.

The Minister said the immediate priority is to determine why the payment issue occurred, where the process failed, and how the matter can be addressed.

‍