City Contract: 140 action sheets to lead in 2 priority sectors

“An extremely important document for the territory” evidenced - Anne Laubies said – by “the presence, this morning, of the regional directors and partners” to sign with president Aline Hanson the city contract of Saint-Martin.

The city contract shows “the new policy that the state wants to lead with institutions and various operators, social landlords, associations, etc.”, explains Anne Laubies. The partners of the Collectivité and the prefecture, which are the National Education, CAF, CGSS, the regional health agency, justice, the CCISM, Pôle Emploi, the ‘Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations’, the société immobilière de Guadeloupe (SIG) and the two District Councils concerned (1 and 6), have five years to implement this new policy that will focus on five themes* defined in the framework contract signed last July by the Collectivité and the prefecture.

Furthermore, according to the will of the State to reduce the “social divide” and give more resources to the weakest areas, two areas on the French side were identified, the Quartier d’Orléans and Sandy Ground; “The others are on standby” said the prefect.

Specifically, these two areas will achieve, by 2020, 140 action sheets included in the City contract. They were written by different partners according to the expectations and needs of citizens and the financial resources of such partners. Indeed, if the State guarantees to provide €250,000 per year, other agencies will complete the financing of actions concerning them. According to General Director of Services of the Collectivité, €15 million could be released over five years.

Among the listed actions that will be carried out in these two areas, the help and support for the establishment and operation of a victim support association, the opening of information points so that individuals have more access to their rights and to information on justice, the development of early schooling (under 3 years), teacher training for the first level of education and collèges to teach French as a foreign language and therefore better guide students whose mother tongue is not French. The CAF intends to implement some CEJ (contrats enfants jeunesse) schemes (stands for youth and child contracts), and also engage in the opening of social centers. The SIG has announced the continuation of work.

“This is an important effort of collaboration and an ambitious approach but it must meet the needs of the population. This is a strategy that will help curbing difficult situations” commented the President of the Collectivité, Aline Hanson. And she admitted that “the hardest is yet to come”.

The 5 themes

• Habitat, the environment and the living atmosphere
• Health
• School success
• Security and crime prevention
• Training and economic development

A film school in Quartier d’Orléans

The information has not been developed but announced by the General Director of Services (DGS) of the Collectivité during the presentation of the City contract on Monday morning: a filming location and a film school will be created in Quartier d’Orléans. The project is to be carried by the Collectivité which should enter it in the next budget.