~ Says big project needed to ignite economy ~
MARIGOT--Former Mayor Albert Fleming says creating jobs and cutting Collectivité expenses are two main priorities the next government must tackle head on, and believes firmly St. Martin needs a "big" project to be implemented if it is to rise out of the doldrums.
With six more days to go until next Sunday's Territorial Council election, The Daily Herald questioned the former mayor, as an outside observer, for his views on the upcoming elections.
Fleming said it was the first time ever that he has seen six lists contesting the election adding that he does not pay too much attention to opinion polls, suggesting these can also be fabricated.
"It's difficult to predict the outcome but I do know that with six lists it's going to be extremely difficult to win in the first round when you have to get 50 per cent of the votes plus one," he said.
"But each candidate has friends, families and other links, so you never know. Having six lists tells you there is no unity. People talk about loving St. Martin but if there was real love you would only have one list."
He recalled in 2006 when the Commune was about to enter the unknown of a new setting that all parties should come together as one, but his appeal fell on deaf ears.
While there are 18,000 registered voters this year he estimates 10,000 at the most will go to the polls next Sunday. That contrasts with 15,519 registered voters in 2007, of which only 7,195 voted in the first round for the five lists.
"The reason for this low voter turnout is that people are so discouraged with the social and economic situation that they can't see anybody who they can trust to turn things around," he suggested.
Fleming has made no secret of his support for Daniel Gibbs who worked with him first in 2001 as a new politician.
"It's very difficult for anyone coming in to politics for the first time to do the work that Daniel accomplished in the first six years," he said. "Daniel is someone who has charisma, integrity, and will complete a task to the best of his ability. I'm supporting him because he has what it takes to lead St. Martin.
"The other parties have good candidates but I don't see them coming up with anything to create the spark that will ignite St. Martin's economy. I'm looking for a group that will put people back to work. It really concerns me the number of unemployed we have in St. Martin. When there are jobs filled, crime decreases. We need training schemes but most important a young person must be interested in the training for the job in the first place."
With all the difficulties encountered during the first five year mandate, Fleming claims not a lot was accomplished and the burden will fall on the new government.
"But I believe Daniel Gibbs has the capacity and the potential to ignite what I'm looking for. He's young, ambitious and has the will to do something for St. Martin. If he wins I advise him to take his time and explain his projects to the people so they understand clearly the pros and cons. The first year will be rough that's for sure. France has its own problems so they are not going to be a guardian angel handing out money."
So in his opinion where did the ruling majority party get it wrong in the first mandate?
"They should have taken more time to analyse the new setting. Article 74 has components that are positive and negative. When you have the competence of the Region and the Department you must also make sure you have the financial competences in place otherwise without that those competences can't function properly," the former mayor said.
Does he think the Collectivité's massive budget deficit of 40-million euros can be resolved?
"It will stay like that for a while. You have to start putting people back to work because that will alleviate the burden on the Collectivité. The budget is of primary concern but what's in the heads of the population is jobs and putting food on the table. That's the priority that I see and I speak to a lot of people.
"To keep on borrowing money to pay is a vicious cycle you never get out of. You have to cut expenses. Since I left 300 persons were hired and that puts a heavy burden on the Collectivité. The Collectivité cannot run without taxes but one needs to look at indirect taxes instead of direct taxes. No St. Martiner is going to read a 651-page tax code. It needs to be something small and easily understandable. We should never have stopped the Impot Sur le Fortune (ISF) for one thing. A million euros here and there would have filled a hole nicely."
Asked for his opinion on the much-talked-about waterfront projects, one of which Gibbs has proposed as catalyst to revive Marigot and jump start the economy, Fleming said these projects must be presented to the people first for them to understand the concept.
"Secondly investors must understand that these projects must be completed in phases. There are several criteria in the phases. The local people need to be trained for the jobs and when the first phase of the project is completed the locals can then be integrated. These investors need to be reputable people who have the financial capacity to follow a project through from A to Z so we are not left with a white elephant, and ideally [we need] a project spread over ten years, phase by phase."
He recalled the furore and resistance that surrounded the proposal for the "boardwalk" in Philipsburg and reminded how successful that project turned out to be in the end.
"They also complained the new airport was too big, the pier was too big, no... nothing is too big. What we need in St. Martin is a big project to ignite the economy. But it must be tailored to suit us. You can't just give an investor carte blanche to do what he wants, and then risk an influx of overseas people. Again, there must be training for our people to take the jobs."
Fleming brushed aside criticism of him during his time in power.
"I've been accused of bringing in too many foreigners, and getting rich off the Commune among other charges. You can't be mayor for 24 years and expect people are not going to criticise you, but older St. Martiners will know where I took St. Martin in 24 years from the beginning to where I left off in 2007. I feel I've done a lot more good than bad."
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