Peggy-Ann Richardson: Consumer Protection Association is not anti-GEBE, Peaceful protest March set for June 15

GREAT BAY--Peggy-Ann Richardson announced on Friday that the Association for Consumer Protection St. Maarten, ACP SXM, was officially incorporated on May 29, 2026, stressing that the organization is not an anti-NV GEBE group, but a legally established consumer protection association with a broader mandate to protect residents from unfair treatment by major service providers and institutions.

Richardson said the association has received overwhelming public support through calls, messages, shares and social media engagement. However, she urged residents to remain focused and to understand clearly what the association is and what it is not.

“This Association is not an anti-NV GEBE association,” Richardson emphasized. “This is a Consumer Protection Association.”

She explained that ACP SXM has been established with the legal mandate to pursue collective legal action, including class actions or collective lawsuits, against entities whose actions, policies or failures significantly affect consumers and residents. These entities may include government-owned companies, medical institutions, insurance companies and large businesses that directly affect people’s finances, access to essential services and quality of life.

According to Richardson, while NV GEBE is currently the focus because of the serious pressure utility bills are placing on households and businesses, the association was not created to target one company only. Instead, she said, it was created to give consumers a structured and legally recognized vehicle through which they can seek accountability when large institutions affect the public.

“Today it is NV GEBE. Tomorrow it can be the General Hospital. The next day it can be SZV,” Richardson said, adding that accountability and proper governance will be central to the work of ACP SXM.

Richardson said the incorporation of the association marks an important step because residents often express frustration individually, but lack the structure, resources or legal platform to challenge institutions collectively. ACP SXM, she explained, is intended to help organize those concerns, ensure they are properly documented and allow legal action to be pursued where necessary.

She said the organization’s purpose is not to create chaos or encourage reckless public anger, but to give consumers a lawful, disciplined and strategic way to seek answers, accountability and redress.

Richardson also confirmed that a public march has been scheduled for Monday, June 15, with participants asked to gather at 1:00 p.m. at the APS parking lot, located near the Government Administration Building on Pond Island. She said residents should wear white or a white shirt as a symbol of unity, peace and solidarity.

Richardson said she is hoping for a strong turnout and called on at least 5,000 people to attend. She noted that she was recently corrected on the size of GEBE’s client base, saying it is closer to 20,000 rather than 40,000. Against that background, she said a turnout of 5,000 residents would send a powerful message of unity and public concern.

She stressed that the rising cost of utilities and the broader cost of living crisis are not issues that affect only one group in St. Maarten. Richardson said utility costs affect people across nationality, race, legal status, income level and background.

“The cost of living and the cost to survive do not discriminate,” Richardson said. “It does not discriminate against skin color, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, place of birth or legal status.”

Richardson called on all residents affected by utility costs to participate, including GEBE account holders, tenants who pay utilities through landlords, small business owners and families struggling to keep up with monthly electricity and water bills.

She said the purpose of the march is to show that residents are united around the need for fair treatment, transparency, proper billing, accountability and better protection of consumers. She also made clear that the public action must be conducted in a way that strengthens, rather than weakens, the legal strategy already being prepared.

Richardson emphasized that the march must be purposeful, disciplined and strategic. She said participants must understand that legal action is already being prepared for filing in court and that nothing done publicly should undermine that process.

“Nothing that we do should negatively impact the legal action that is already being prepared,” she said.

For that reason, Richardson said more details will be provided on the structure, conduct and messaging of the march. She said the way people behave, the signs they carry and the overall tone of the march must be calculated and responsible.

Richardson said ACP SXM intends to move forward on a steady course, with unity, discipline and legal focus. She said the association will continue to share information in the coming days, including details about its official Facebook page, website and email address.

She encouraged residents to save the date, wear white and come out in large numbers on June 15.

Richardson said the association’s larger goal is to ensure that consumers in St. Maarten are no longer left to face major institutions alone, especially when decisions or failures by those institutions affect the cost of living, household stability and basic quality of life.

ACP SXM, she said, will remain focused on consumer rights, accountability and lawful collective action.

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