GREAT BAY--The 2025 annual report of the Temporary Work Organization, TWO, highlights several areas of progress for St. Maarten under the Landspakket, including financial management, government ICT, tax reform, labor and social security, healthcare, education, agriculture and gaming regulation.
The report, titled Koers houden 2025, outlines how St. Maarten and the TWO continued working together in 2025 on reforms intended to strengthen the country’s economic and administrative resilience. In the St. Maarten section, the report places emphasis on cooperation between the TWO Landenteam Sint Maarten, the Department of Interior and Kingdom Relations, BAK, and civil servants across the various ministries.
The "Landenteam Sint Maarten" consists of three country advisors and program manager Mauriel van As. On the St. Maarten side, the counterpart is Angelique Gumbs, Head of BAK, who works with civil servants from the different ministries on the implementation of the Landspakket.
Gumbs, who has served as Head of BAK since 2019, is described in the report as having experience in public administration and as playing a linking role between the governments of St. Maarten and the Netherlands. The report notes that this role requires difficult and weighty considerations, realism and keeping processes on track in the interest of the country.
The report also highlights Gumbs’ view that policy and execution must remain connected. It states that she emphasizes the importance of linking the development of policy to the actual implementation of that policy, particularly in a small country where capacity is limited and civil servants often carry multiple responsibilities.
Gumbs said one of the strengths of the Landspakket is that it has helped build a working relationship between local teams and teams in the Netherlands.
“This is the beautiful thing about the Landspakket. The local teams and the teams in the Netherlands have built a bond through this program. Communication with the TWO is professional and accessible. We know how to find each other quickly and there is understanding for the context of St. Maarten. The cooperation is truly that: cooperation,” Gumbs said.
The report describes this cooperation as essential to the execution of reforms. It notes that progress depends on close contact, practical coordination and a clear understanding of St. Maarten’s local context. It also acknowledges that St. Maarten continues to face capacity challenges, but says the country has continued to move reform projects forward.
Gumbs and Van As also addressed the bottlenecks that arise during implementation. According to the report, they said these are addressed through openness, clarity and dialogue on the strategy to be followed.
One of the major bottlenecks identified in the report is St. Maarten’s limited capacity. Gumbs said technical assistance is being used to support local teams and transfer knowledge.
“We use technical assistance to support the local teams and transfer knowledge. In addition, work is being done to update outdated policy, legislative products and work processes. These form the basis for further sustainable development. That is why the Landspakket is linked to the National Vision of St. Maarten,” Gumbs explained.
Van As added that this approach is intended not only to improve the quality of government execution, but also to make government work more manageable. He said the focus is not only on clearing backlogs, but also on structural changes, such as improved work processes, so that backlogs do not return when individual staff members leave.
The report says the coming period will require continued work on reforms. Van As said that despite St. Maarten’s small scale and capacity challenges, the country has taken steps and made efforts to work on the Landspakket. He said St. Maarten deserves the opportunity to finish the most important reforms.
The report identifies progress in financial management, tax transformation, strengthening the functioning of government, and developments in economic strategy. Gumbs added that the socioeconomic developments and the General Health Insurance, GHI, are especially important because they form the basis for the country’s future and deserve extra attention.
Among the concrete results listed for St. Maarten in 2025, the report states that key financial work processes were established, along with a risk and control framework for important financial processes. It also notes that the new Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations financial administration system went live, replacing Decade.
The report further states that a design and roadmap were established to improve the budget cycle, while the first phase toward multi-year budgeting was incorporated into the 2026 budget.
In the area of public sector cost and effectiveness, the report notes that a project to strengthen the government’s ICT department was completed, including a new function book. It also cites the execution of a cybersecurity awareness campaign, access to digital legal information sources, and legal training through the Caribbean Center for Legislation.
On taxation, the report states that the tax regulation between the Netherlands and St. Maarten was adopted and published. It also notes that the transformation process for the Tax Administration was formally launched and that program governance for the reform of the Tax Administration was established.
In labor market and social security reform, the report notes that a legislative process was started to improve the dismissal procedure. Preparations were also made for the national ordinance on administrative enforcement, including further reporting and an inventory of affected legislation.
A separate St. Maarten-focused section of the report also highlights work between St. Maarten and the Netherlands on reforms to strengthen the labor market, social security and economic resilience. Between 2025 and 2027, seven priority reforms are being implemented, including the introduction of an unemployment benefit and more efficient issuance of work permits.
The report notes that St. Maarten’s economy is heavily dependent on tourism and imports, making it vulnerable to external shocks. It states that the reforms are intended to help the country better absorb such shocks, including by supporting faster retraining of workers for employment in other sectors.
The absence of an unemployment benefit is identified as a concern, with the report noting that people can experience a major income drop when they lose their job. It stresses that reforms must be aligned with St. Maarten’s local needs, scale, economy and institutional capacity in order to succeed.
The report also emphasizes that these reforms are being developed in cooperation with the local ministry, social partners, employers, unions and other stakeholders, and are not being imposed on the country.
In the area of economic development, the St. Maarten project results include a plan of approach for scaling up agriculture and the start of a pilot. The report also notes that a feasibility study was conducted into a floating farm.
In healthcare, the report lists the updating of the financial model for healthcare, the completion of the National Mental Health Strategic Plan, and the start of a prevention pilot for lifestyle interventions.
In education, the report states that a statistician and economist were recruited for the Management Information System. It also notes that the Higher Education Ordinance and the National Decree on Study Financing were adopted, and that the further report on the Ordinance on Education Supervision was completed.
Under other reform areas, the report cites a quick scan of St. Maarten’s online gaming market and the completion of research into gambling addiction, including analysis, reporting and presentation. It also states that national ordinances and national decrees for games of chance were prepared.
Looking ahead, Gumbs said one of her personal hopes is to help secure the harmonious bilateral relationship that has developed between St. Maarten and the Netherlands through the reform process.
The St. Maarten section of the annual report concludes that work on the reforms will continue, with an emphasis on completing the most important reform tracks and ensuring that progress is structurally embedded. The report underscores that lasting reform requires not only projects, but also capacity, clear processes, local ownership and continued cooperation.
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