Could St. Maarten create its own "Trump-like" DOGE
GREAT BAY--Minister of TEATT Grisha Heyliger-Marten recently said St. Maarten’s 530 million guilder budget is simply not enough. According to her, the country needs at least 200 to 250 million more each year just to function properly. “Education gets 120 million, Justice 107 million, and VSA 97 million. Yet all three are still underfunded,” she said. TEATT itself receives only 22 million, of which just 4 million is used to market the country, despite tourism being the engine of the economy.
Her comments highlight a dilemma that has frustrated governments for years. No matter which administration is in office, the budget feels too small, the needs are too big, and the cycle repeats itself. But what if the answer is not just more income, but also a serious effort to cut waste and improve efficiency?
One idea presented to The Peoples' Tribune whether St. Maarten should set up a "Trump-Like" Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE – an independent unit focused entirely on saving money, eliminating waste, and making government more disciplined with its spending. What could such an entity look like?
(𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘳 - 𝘐𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘭, 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘊𝘧𝘵 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘺𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺, 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴. )
𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬
Reports from the General Audit Chamber show where money is slipping away. Audits of travel and parliamentary delegations revealed weak controls, missing receipts, and advances that were not always paid back. These may sound minor, but multiplied across the public sector, the losses add up quickly. An efficiency department could start with simple, visible fixes. Tighter travel rules, quicker repayment of advances, and public reporting of official trips are steps that both save money and build trust.
Additionally, St. Maarten has already taken steps toward modernization. With support from the World Bank, the Digital Government Transformation Project is upgrading government IT systems. This includes tools that can streamline payroll, procurement, and record-keeping.
If fully used, digital systems can cut costs dramatically. For example, ministries often buy goods and services separately, which means missed opportunities for bulk savings. An electronic procurement platform would allow government to compare prices in real time, combine orders, and publish contract awards. That translates into lower prices and fewer no-bid contracts.
𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝
𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴: Government pays millions each year to rent office buildings. By mapping all leases and utility costs, then consolidating departments where possible, St. Maarten could shrink its footprint and save on rent and electricity.
𝘗𝘢𝘺𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦: Salaries take up the largest share of the budget. No one wants to see frontline workers lose jobs, but overtime and temporary contracts often balloon without strict control. Automated timekeeping and stricter approval systems could reduce excess costs without cutting core services.
𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴: Heyliger-Marten has pointed to Barbados as an example. There, a proposed Tourist Accommodation Bill would require all hotels and short-term rentals to register and be inspected. The idea is simple: close the loopholes, bring informal operators into the system, and make everyone contribute fairly. St. Maarten could adapt this model to fit its own needs.
𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐩
Creating a DOGE would not require a new ministry. The Council of Ministers could establish it by National Decree, placing it under the Prime Minister’s office.
The department could run for a fixed period, two or three years, with a clear mandate: identify savings, enforce better standards, and publish results. It would need a small but capable team made up of experienced public finance officials and trusted private-sector professionals. To keep credibility, members would have to disclose conflicts of interest, and the General Audit Chamber could review results independently.
Just as important, the department should have an exit plan. Once its reforms are written into law or adopted as permanent procedures, the department could be dissolved. This avoids creating yet another permanent bureaucracy.
𝐀 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬
1 - Travel and meetings: tighten pre-approval, mandate economy-class by default with transparent exceptions, publish monthly travel ledgers, and reconcile advances within ten working days. Expected outcome, fewer trips, lower fares, faster closeout.
2 - Procurement and contracts: implement e-procurement, aggregate common goods, enforce three-quote rules above low thresholds, and disclose awarded contracts on a single portal. Expected outcome, lower unit prices and fewer sole-source awards.
3 - Facilities and leases: inventory all rented office space and utilities, consolidate where possible, and set energy efficiency targets linked to lease renewals. Expected outcome, rent and utility reductions without service loss.
4 - Payroll controls without austerity optics: freeze non-critical vacancies already excluded in the 2025 frame, normalize overtime authorizations, protecting frontline roles. Expected outcome, fewer ad hoc payouts.
5 - Compliance that pays: synchronize TEATT compliance drives with revenue collection, learning from Barbados’s push to license and inspect all tourist accommodation, while tailoring for St. Maarten’s scale and stakeholder concerns. Expected outcome, a cleaner playing field and fewer leakages.
𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬
Independent budget advisors have long warned that St. Maarten’s finances rest on shaky assumptions. The IMF has flagged risks to the country’s fiscal balance, and the Governor has spoken about weaknesses in financial controls. These concerns make the case for efficiency stronger than ever.
The government is already looking at ways to raise more revenue, but pairing those efforts with a disciplined cost-cutting drive could produce faster, more visible results. Savings from efficiency may not close the entire 200–250 million gap, but even a 10 percent reduction in waste would free up over 50 million guilders each year, money that could be redirected to schools, healthcare, or infrastructure.
Setting a target of 20 percent savings across government may be ambitious, but starting smaller could still deliver big results. For example, focusing on travel, procurement, and office space alone could yield immediate improvements without disrupting core services.
The political challenge is real. Ministries often resist outside oversight, and no Minister likes giving up control of their budget. But if designed carefully, with clear reporting lines and accountability, a DOGE could serve as a neutral referee, showing citizens exactly where and how money is being saved.
The entity should be housed under the Prime Minister for cross-government reach, chaired by a director with public finance credentials, and overseen by a small board including the Secretariat of the Council of Ministers, Finance, and two vetted private sector members via the SER channel, with conflict-of-interest disclosures published. Its authority should be clear, set standards, audit against them, and recommend sanctions to line ministers, not run ministries. Quarterly reports to Parliament and an external review by the General Audit Chamber at year end will protect legitimacy.
Minister Heyliger-Marten has made clear that St. Maarten cannot continue under the current budget ceiling. While she has focused on raising revenues, an efficiency department would tackle the other side of the equation. Together, the two approaches could finally help St. Maarten break the cycle of underfunded budgets and constant shortfalls.
A DOGE would not solve every fiscal problem, but it would send a clear signal. It would show that government is serious about cutting waste, respecting taxpayers’ money, and building a leaner, more disciplined state. For a country under constant financial pressure, that could be the most valuable reform of all.
Finally, the government could start to look at the size of its organization and reduce it. Many economists have argued that St. Maarten's government is simply too big (in terms of personnel). But this is a serious discussion for another time.