Visit of the President of the National Assembly

Speech of Thursday, November 23, 2017

Speech by the 2nd Vice President, Mr. Yawo Nyuiadzi

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Mr. President of the National Assembly,
Madame the Prefect,< br />Mr. Deputy of Guadeloupe, President of the Assembly delegation overseas,
Madame the Deputy of Yvelines, Vice-President of the Assembly delegation overseas,
/>Madame the Member of Parliament for Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin,
Ladies and Gentlemen, vice-presidents and territorial councilors of Saint-Martin,
Hello everyone and welcome to the community hotel.
Mr. President of the National Assembly, I thank you on behalf of our president, Mr. Daniel Gibbs, for coming to us to report on the situation.
Thank you for being come to appreciate for yourself the ordeal that the people of Saint-Martin are going through, since September 6, the date of the passage of hurricane IRMA.
I would also like to greet the members of the delegation who are accompanying you on this trip . After the President of the Republic, on September 12, then the Prime Minister, on November 6, it is an honor to welcome the representatives of Parliament to our small territory.
For almost three months, our compatriots Saint- Martinois have learned to live with the consequences of this devastating hurricane, dealing day by day with daily emergencies and the difficulties that accumulate.
Many people are still homeless, housed by family or friends – 17,500 homes have been declared uninhabitable, half of which are completely destroyed.
The community takes care of around a hundred people in an emergency accommodation center – here in a school in Marigot – and near 2,000 emergency aid files were registered by the Solidarity and Families center of the Community, in charge of social action.
In the aftermath of the disaster - while Saint-Martin was in a difficult situation absolute emergency - the State services, the military, the gendarmes have been of great support on the ground... They have supported our community and its inhabitants in many ways, and we would like once again - through your presence among us - salute their commitment.
We are also very grateful to the non-governmental organizations and the numerous volunteers for having provided valuable assistance in managing the emergency from which we are just emerging.
Three months after IRMA, Saint-Martin is gradually recovering, too slowly. The expectations of our fellow citizens are still numerous and very legitimate.
The clearance is still in progress despite a considerable effort from the community (8.2 million euros were invested in the clean-up), the insurance companies have carried out their findings, but are slow to initiate reimbursements, the foundations of reconstruction are being put in place, but in concrete terms this is not yet visible and our population is still waiting for strong signs.
We have signed an operating protocol with Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, last November 6, which will help secure the community's finances in the coming months, and - no later than Tuesday November 21 - we ratified the investment protocol "For an exemplary and united reconstruction of Saint-Martin », with the Minister of Overseas Annick Girardin.
We recognize significant progress for Saint-Martin; this is a new step taken, but we are also waiting for certain points to be clarified, in particular concerning the financing of reconstruction.
This is why we remain vigilant regarding the continuation of negotiations with the state. We want a united and lasting reconstruction, and as President Daniel Gibbs said, “in a win-win partnership” with the state.
The President of the Republic is committed to this… We have we also “shaken up the procedures”, as he indicated, by creating a plan for the economic and social recovery of Saint-Martin that President Gibbs called the Phoenix Plan.
Today, the absolute emergency, while many people find themselves unemployed, it is quite simply to allow our socio-professionals to survive, and to get back on their feet as quickly as possible. In this area, the situation is so critical that we cannot limit ourselves to common law.
Negotiations are underway in Paris, we have good hope of being heard.
With this aim, we fervently await the arrival of Mrs. The Minister of Labor, in order to move forward on the social issues that are important to us and avoid the threat of mass unemployment devastating for our social cohesion and our convalescent public order.
We also hope that the number of law enforcement officers will be maintained at a high level in 2018. These reinforcements should not leave too quickly and leave behind a resurgence of insecurity.
The future of our children is a priority of the Nation: I hope that the State will help us to succeed in this challenge - here in Saint-Martin.
The presence of the State must be reinforced, Saint-Martin must be able to benefit from a full-time prefect, with the presence of decentralized services which still do not exist, ten years after our accession to the status of Overseas Community.
The state must also assume its competence in matters of immigration control, and strengthen legality control as he has committed to doing. We also have an urgent need for statistics and for this we are asking for an INSEE branch in Saint-Martin.
Here - Mr. President - dear deputies - are the expectations and concerns of Saint-Martin residents in the aftermath of the unprecedented natural disaster, which hit us head-on.
Here are the