Algemene Rekenkamer NCA

The Dutch government and the World Bank agreed that the fund's final objective would be laid down in a Strategic Results Framework, and asked the government of Sint Maarten to formulate it in order to secure local political support (p.19). It was not there: 'As no such long-term strategy had been finalised by the end of November 2018, no consensus has emerged about the clearly measurable objectives that the Trust Fund should be intended to achieve' (p.19). In consequence, 'there are only limited opportunities for comparing project proposals with proposals for future projects. It should be borne in mind that almost half of the Trust Fund has already been allocated to projects' (p.19). The framework would allow for deciding 'after the event whether the money in the Trust Fund has been spent on the right things' (p.19).

'There is a huge need for reconstruction on the island but only limited operational capacity' (p.19), with a government already under pressure to do its ordinary work, and 550 million euro is 'a large amount of money for a small country, representing as it does around 65% of Sint Maarten's gross domestic product' (p.19). The Court found that 'the government of Sint Maarten has neither the capacity nor the expertise that are needed to carry out all the reconstruction projects within the desired time limits' (p.19). The recovery bureau meant to close the gap is not yet running; the interim recovery committee standing in for it 'has a staff of eight, instead of the intended 20' (…), doing the work 'over and above their existing responsibilities' (…), with 'a shortage of experienced project managers, engineers and public procurement officers' (p.20). The Netherlands can supply technical assistance subject to certain conditions: 'This is not something on which firm arrangements have been made. Instead, a decision is made on pragmatic grounds on a case-by-case basis' (p.21).

The local water and utilities company responsible for both electricity and water supplies utility is barred from using the contractors it knows: ‘The World Bank has imposed a number of extra conditions in addition to the requirement that contracts should be awarded by a public tendering procedure. For example, GEBE is not allowed to ask its regular contractors to dig trenches for underground cables, without holding a public tendering procedure. GEBE is also not allowed to order the water tanks from its previous supplier without any form of tendering procedure' (p.28), alongside conditions on dividends, concession rights, risk analyses and rates (p.28-29). The outcome as of the audit: 'GEBE has not received any money from the Trust Fund because of its failure to comply with the conditions set by the World Bank in relation to tender procedures and financial management. Repair work is currently at a standstill for this reason' (p.29). The Court frames the general form of this as a dilemma in which 'the need for prudence, lawfulness and efficiency on the one hand must be weighed against the need for rapid reconstruction on the other' (p.7).

Help with house repairs reaches only those who put themselves forward: 'The problem is that households have to self-register for help. It is unclear how many vulnerable households are in need of help but unable to register for assistance, for example because they are not mobile or not sufficiently assertive' (p.25). Behind the register there is no usable record: 'the government of Sint Maarten does not have a comprehensive database with full information on all those in need who registered with the Ministry of [Public Health, Social Development and Labour] VSA. As a result, it takes the government a great deal of time to work out which households are eligible for state assistance, and the roof-repair programme cannot get underway as quickly as had been hoped' (p.26). The NGOs that did the early-recovery repairs had that information ‘which allowed them to get down to work without delay' (p.26).