Sarah says clarity needed on use
of Saba licence on St. Martin
PHILIPSBURG--Commissioner Sarah Wescot-Williams says clarity is needed on the use of driver’s licences in French St. Martin that were issued in Saba.
For a number of years already, many St. Maarten residents have been travelling to Saba to do their driver’s licence exams.
The use of Saba issued driver’s licences in French St. Martin has been a topic of discussion in the community and on many radio programmes, since an article appeared in this newspaper on Wednesday, September 12, in which St. Maarten resident Ysamela Diudone claimed that she was stopped by the French police in Belle Plaine and told that she could not use her Saba issued driver’s licence on St. Martin. The lady was taken to the Gendarme station in La Savane where she was fingerprinted and her photo taken. The Gendarmes have since confirmed the incident. Spokesperson Stèphane Aurousseau said the woman’s licence had been issued in Saba and therefore was not valid in French St. Martin.
“We need to get to the bottom of it and solve it,” Wescot-Williams said when asked to comment on the matter during Wednesday’s Executive Council press briefing.
“Apparently, the Gendarmes claim to be adhering to whatever law or policy, and we just need to have a clear understanding what that (policy) is and what is the problem, because persons have asked, for example, what about (people) coming here with licences from elsewhere in the world to drive, so we need to understand what is the issue and get to the bottom of it and solve it.”
The Commissioner speculated that the issue is probably on the agenda of recently appointed Coordinator for Dutch/French relations Marcel Gumbs. She said the issue of the use of Saba issued licences “…ever so often, it flares up and I am sure that Mr. Gumbs is aware of it and will be tackling that issue as well.”
