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The fateful date is fast approaching. On April 12, an election will ratify the renewal of the professional colleges and, by the same token, the management team of Saint-Barthélemy's multi-professional Chambre économique. Despite strong momentum and a proliferation of potential candidates when the call went out at the beginning of the year, only one list is standing for election. But with less than two weeks to go before the election, the team is showing its motivation.
"Helping companies on a day-to-day basis
In keeping with the principle of consular constitution, the list christened "Entreprendre et réussir SBH" is made up of personalities with very different profiles from one another. "All the colleges are represented and we have a good dynamic," boasts Benvinda Pereira, the only member of the team to have already been elected to the Cem. I joined during my term of office, so this is my first campaign," she says. I took the liberty of taking the reins to put together a fine list. "Alongside her, Pierre-Antoine Guibout believes that one of the objectives of the next mandate will be to make the Chamber better known to the island's businesses. They need to know that the Cem is there to help them on a daily basis," he insists. Professionals know that the Cem exists, but not necessarily what it offers. There's a lot of groundwork that isn't necessarily visible. "There are many avenues to be explored, including exercising all the Cem's powers to the full, developing relations with the judicial court and the court registry, making greater demands on members of parliament, continuing work on fisheries and agriculture, and cybersecurity. Nevertheless, to begin with, the candidate entrepreneurs are aware of the importance of the April 12 election.
"A strong mobilization
Of course, the fact that there is only one list of candidates means that there can be no doubt as to the outcome of the election. But it's more the scale of the turnout that concerns the members of the "Entreprendre et réussir SBH" list. Pierre-Antoine Guibout asserts: "The more people vote, the more weight we'll have. We need a strong mobilization to ensure that this list and its elected representatives have the legitimacy to carry the voice of the various businesses and colleges. A lot of work was done by the previous team, but the Cem is very young. It's reaching an age of maturity and it needs to be able to rely on a strong legitimacy to show, too, that the island's economic fabric has woken up. "
The message is therefore clear, and it is aimed at Saint-Barthélemy's entrepreneurs who are in a position to vote. On April 12, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. at the Cem offices in the Elvina center on Saint-Jean, they are expected to go to the polling station with their ID. "Every vote counts to give the Cem's elected representatives the means to better represent and support you", insists the Chamber.
T.F.
