Not Loosely

The vendor who is owed money by government after performing technically complicated emergency work in Ebenezer brings up a thought. Government will always face emergencies. Public safety sometimes requires immediate action. In those moments, government must move quickly. Nobody disputes that. But moving quickly cannot mean moving loosely.

When emergency work is handled outside of the normal structure, or when it is driven from a cabinet rather than through the full technical and administrative controls of a ministry, government exposes itself to problems that are almost guaranteed to follow. Who supervised the site? Who verified the additional work? Who controlled the scope? Who approved the costs as they were being incurred? Who protected the public purse?

In any project, especially one involving public money, there must be clear supervision, clear documentation and clear authority. Without that, the contractor is placed in the position of effectively monitoring himself. It creates room for confusion, dispute and bills that arrive after the fact with government now forced to explain why more money is needed.

Then the Ministry of Finance is placed in the awkward position of saying what it must say: the money was not budgeted, the budget must pass first, and payment has to follow the proper process. That may be the correct financial answer, but by then the public have to read about yet another unpaid bill and government as a whole ends up looking disorganized.  And this latest bill is no chump change either. It's Xcg 281,627 of tax payers money. This is why procedures matter most when pressure is highest.

St. Maarten cannot continue to treat process as an inconvenience and then act surprised when the outcome becomes messy. The country needs emergency procedures that allow quick action without abandoning accountability. It needs proper site supervision, written approvals, defined limits, documented variations and a clear path for payment before work expands beyond the original scope.

This is not about blaming one minister, one ministry or one contractor. It is about a pattern that keeps placing government in a bad position. We rush, we patch, we improvise, and later we spend more time explaining the process than defending the work itself.

Public work can be urgent and still be properly managed. The two are not enemies. It is always a pity when good work becomes a bad story.

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