Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
The skirmish between a security guard and client at the Receiver's Office (see Friday paper), although an isolated incident, could be indicative of the kind of stress and frustration caused by long lines at the government agency. The story did not mention whether the man in question had come to pay his road tax, but considerable waiting times for such were reported both at the main location on Pond Island and the Public Service Centre at the Simpson Bay Market, despite the drawing of numbers for a turn system used there.
While some may want to blame management and/or the employees, it's realistically quite a challenge to process 31,028 motorists in just two months in addition to the usual monthly tax and other payments. Sure, extensions often are given well into March, but law-abiding citizens rightly prefer to meet their obligation as stipulated.
January has 31 dates and February 28, but only a total 42 of those qualify as working days, or 51 with openings on Saturdays. This means one would have to handle an average of more than 600 cases daily, which is exactly what happened during the first two days on Friday, January 2 (685), and Monday, January 5 (635).
Nevertheless, the current situation is far from ideal and can be remedied easily. One way to do so is by spreading out the payments over a longer period. St. Kitts did something similar a few years ago by tying the last digit on the number plate to each of the first 10 months and it appears to be working well.
Of course, enforcement is important and the costly 2012 experiment by former Finance Minister Roland Tuitt of not ordering new licence plates or even stickers showed that people will take a chance if effective control is lacking or simply not feasible as was the case two years ago. However, if the suggested change is made correctly police still should be able to tell the difference easily.
Moreover, also the issuing of a separate vehicle inspection card seems rather superfluous, as one needs a valid one to pay road tax in the first place. It's no secret either that many already wait to have their cars inspected until that moment comes, so why not have one single document proving both?
In short: there has to be a better way.
