SXMElections.com

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister Plenipotentiary Josianne Fleming-Artsen accompanied Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs to the Dutch First Chamber of Parliament, also referred to as the Senate, on Thursday, where he met with President Ankie Broekers-Knol.
Minister Plenipotentiary Fleming-Artsen stated on Thursday that President Broekers-Knol was very interested in the relationship between the Netherlands and Sint Maarten, and this was one of the points that was discussed in the meeting.
“Several issues were discussed during the meeting between the Prime Minister and President Broekers-Knol Read more

Maduro Donates Bulletproof Vests

MP Franklin Meyers wears a bulletproof vest, surrounded by representatives of Maduro and Sons and the two Chief Inspectors. Photo contributed

St. Maarten – S.E.L. Maduro and Sons donated ten bulletproof vests to Chief Inspectors Rudolf Bloeiman and Ricardo Henson. The vests are for members of the bike patrol who are considered the ambassadors of St Read more

Port Attends Security Conference

GREAT BAY – Port St. Maarten Security and several law enforcement agency representatives from St. Maarten recently attended a Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL) security conference where a strategic security alliance has been formed.

RCCL allowed a team of security and law enforcement professionals from St. Maarten to speak at the conference held by Global Security for the company’s security staff. This conference is held twice a year, and this is the first time that a port destination has been included as speaker.

The St Read more

Serial Robber Drags Down Young Cousin With Him

Prosecution demands 15 and 10 years for seven robberies

St. Maarten – Jurendy Jacob B. has a criminal record that goes back to 2006. Yesterday the 27-year-old was in court for a dozen armed robberies, committed between November 29 of last year and June 1 of this year. Prosecutor Nanouk Lemmers demanded a 15-year prison sentence in the Court in First Instance. B. dragged down his 23-year-old cousin Lorine L. with him; she is facing a 10-year prison sentence for providing transport and for firearm possession Read more

Scell Officially Opened At Usm : “Develop Commitment To Lifelong Learning”

St. Maarten – The University of St. Martin (USM) officially opened its new school named “The St. Martin School of Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning (SCELL)”, which was launched on August 1, this year. Ministers Rita Bourne-Gumbs and Claret Connor represented the Council of Ministers at the reception while Managing Director of the Windward Islands Bank Derrick Downes is the first official donor of the programs the school offers.

Master of Ceremonies Rolando Tobias gave an introduction giving insight about the many programs SCELL offers: professional trainings for organizations, organizational event planning, Women Island Network, AHLEI certified hospitality & restaurant training, community personal development workshops, young professionals network, forward action mentoring program for youth, educational workshops for schools, motivational presentations and business power networking.

USM Board President Valerie Giterson-Patophlet called the SCELL program the new vehicle to move the university forward Read more

CFT says ‘no’ to Government’s NAf. 25M budget amendment

PHILIPSBURG--It's a clear "no" from the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT to the Marcel Gumbs Cabinet on its proposed NAf. 25 million increase of the 2015 budget. The pending budget amendment seeks to move the total budget amount from NAf Read more

No autonomous authority for Dutch police in St. Maarten

THE HAGUE--The Dutch National Police will not have autonomous authority or tasks in St. Maarten. Dutch police officers, who will be dispatched to St. Maarten to strengthen the law enforcement sector, will be added to the Detective Cooperation Team RST under the existing legal framework.

Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk stated this on Thursday in response to written questions of Members of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament Wassila Hachchi and Magda Berndsen-Jansen of the Democratic D66 Party.

Hachchi and Berndsen-Jansen sought clarity on August 20, following media reports on the visit of National Police Chief Gerard Bouman to St Read more

Maria Plantz tipped as country’s CFT rep

PHILIPSBURG--Committee for Financial Supervision CFT will soon have a member from St. Maarten. Tipped for the post is Corporate Legal Expert Maria van der Sluijs-Plantz.

The St. Maartener, who lives in the Netherlands, has already served the country as the vice chairwoman of the first Corporate Governance Council (CGC) that was established in 2010. She serves as Vice Chairman of Strategic Development at TMF Group Holding BV, a company that focuses on corporate compliance. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CFT Chairman Age Bakker said in a press conference on Thursday that a nominee to fill the vacant St Read more

More than 700 pilgrims die in crush in worst haj disaster for 25 years

MINA, Saudi Arabia--At least 717 pilgrims from around the world were killed on Thursday in a crush outside the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi authorities said, in the worst disaster to strike the annual haj pilgrimage for 25 years.
  At least 863 others were injured. Saudi King Salman said he had ordered a review of haj plans after the disaster, in which two large groups of pilgrims arrived together at a crossroads in Mina, a few kilometres east of Mecca, on their way to performing the "stoning of the devil" ritual at Jamarat.
  Thursday's disaster was the worst to occur at the pilgrimage since July 1990, when 1,426 pilgrims suffocated in a tunnel near Mecca Read more

Open letter to Parliament

Dear Editor,

Please allow me some space in your newspaper to address the chairman of the house of parliament, the honourable Lloyd Richardson and the honourable members of parliament of country Sint Maarten.

Ladies and gentlemen, please permit me to draw your kind attention to the following problem taking place here on this lovely twin island of St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---- During his working visit to the Netherlands, Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs met with Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Bert Koenders on Wednesday.
During the meeting a number of issues were discussed including an invitation to travel to New York City for a meeting of the United Nations (UN) Security Council.
All Prime Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---- United People’s (UP) Party Member of Parliament (MP) Maurice Lake has mixed feelings about Tuesdays Parliament meeting with respect to the agreement between ZEBEC and the St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies.
“No matter the agreement is legal and according to the law but if you look at it from an ethical and moral point of view I have mixed feelings Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---- On the second day of his first working visit to Holland Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs met with the Vice-President of the Council of State for the Kingdom Piet-Hein Donner, where they exchanged views on current affairs.
Before becoming Prime Minister, Marcel Gumbs was an active member of the Council of Advice for Sint Maarten.
In a pleasant atmosphere, information was shared with respect to the position of Sint Maarten towards the current instructions that came from the Kingdom Council of Ministers.
Donner and Prime Minister Gumbs a discussed the National Ordinance to establish an Integrity Chamber, which has recently been brought to the Constitutional Court by the Ombudsman.
The Vice-President of the Council of State for the Kingdom Donnor, stressed the importance and need for a Kingdom dispute regulation and the need to improve communications between the four countries within the Kingdom and on all levels.
The Prime Minister’s delegation included St Read more

St. Maarten Prime Minister In The Netherlands For Talks With Kingdom Relations Minister

Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs is in the Netherlands for talks with Kingdom Relations Minister Ronald Plasterk. There is no information available about the content of these talks at this moment, but the photo seems to suggest that, after all the tensions that have marred the relationship between the Kingdom and St. Maarten, Gumbs and Plasterk now appear to be the best of friends Read more

St. Maarten Prime Minister In The Netherlands For Talks With Kingdom Relations Minister

Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs is in the Netherlands for talks with Kingdom Relations Minister Ronald Plasterk. There is no information available about the content of these talks at this moment, but the photo seems to suggest that, after all the tensions that have marred the relationship between the Kingdom and St. Maarten, Gumbs and Plasterk now appear to be the best of friends Read more

Mp Marlin Wants To Talk About Dress Code

St. Maarten – There are zero journalist here. They are boycotting this meeting of parliament,” National Alliance faction leader William Marlin said yesterday afternoon during the debate about the deal the harbor made with developer Zebec Read more

Mp Marlin Wants To Talk About Dress Code

St. Maarten – There are zero journalist here. They are boycotting this meeting of parliament,” National Alliance faction leader William Marlin said yesterday afternoon during the debate about the deal the harbor made with developer Zebec Read more

Meeting About Zebec-Deal Continues: Opposition Questions Deal, Coalition Praises Harbor

St. Maarten – Parliament will have to wait until this afternoon for answers to the questions it posed yesterday in a public meeting about the settlement between the Harbor Group of Companies and real estate developer Zebec over the failed Harbor Village project.

As Today reported on Monday, September 14, social insurance agency SZV borrowed the harbor $10 million on a short 3-month loan to settle the dispute with Zebec.

Yesterday’s meeting did not bring anything new to light Read more

Meeting About Zebec-Deal Continues: Opposition Questions Deal, Coalition Praises Harbor

St. Maarten – Parliament will have to wait until this afternoon for answers to the questions it posed yesterday in a public meeting about the settlement between the Harbor Group of Companies and real estate developer Zebec over the failed Harbor Village project.

As Today reported on Monday, September 14, social insurance agency SZV borrowed the harbor $10 million on a short 3-month loan to settle the dispute with Zebec.

Yesterday’s meeting did not bring anything new to light Read more

Mp Silveria Jacobs Embarrassed By Ministers’ Crude Language

St. Maarten – National Alliance MP Silveria Jacobs admonished Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs and Vice Prime Minister Dennis Richardson yesterday for the language they have used in public fora Read more

NA: Marlin’s waste-to-energy plan called for zero investment

PHILIPSBURG--The still-pending waste-to-energy (WTE) plant would have cost taxpayers “a total of zero investment” under the plan left behind by National Alliance (NA) leader Member of Parliament William Marlin after his tenure as Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI in 2012-2013, said the NA board in a press statement on Wednesday.

The terms of reference were designed so that the WTE supplier would be granted a concession for 20-25 years and utilities company GEBE would buy the energy produced by the WTE plant, said the board as they chided United People’s (UP) party Member of Parliament Theo Heyliger for saying in Parliament recently that projects require investment.

“So you see, MP Heyliger, you are not correct Read more

Statia meets with UN, starts process for more autonomy

NEW YORK/ORANJESTAD--The St. Eustatius Government delegation that met with the United Nations (UN) Decolonisation Committee in New York this week has decided to proceed with the process to gather international support for the island to be placed back on the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories (NSGTs). Drafting a St. Eustatius Constitution is part of that process.

Also, a white paper on St. Eustatius’ present status as a Small Island Developing State (SIDS), including examples of the Dutch Government’s neglect of its responsibilities, will be prepared, as well as a draft UN resolution for re-inscription on the list of NSGTs.

The Statia delegation that met with the UN this week consisted of Commissioner of Constitutional Affairs Reginald Zaandam, Progressive Labour Party (PLP) party leader and Island Council Member Clyde van Putten, and United People’s Coalition (UPC) leader in the Island Council Reuben Merkman and advisor Xavier Blackman.  

During the constructive exploratory consultations at the UN in the past days, the delegation discussed the process of having St Read more

Colombia, FARC vow to end 50-year war within six months

HAVANA--Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and the top FARC rebel commander pledged on Wednesday to end their 50-year war within the next six months, sealing their pact with a handshake likely to stand as a lasting image in the South American nation.
  Santos and FARC rebel leader Rodrigo Londono, better known by the nom de guerre Timochenko, also agreed the leftist guerrillas would lay down arms within 60 days of signing the deal, which now has an official deadline of March 23, 2016 Read more

Should have known

Dear Editor,

It is a very high standard, but a very basic tenement of management. The fact is that a settlement of this size is catastrophic for the harbour.

I disagree with your editorial of “costly mistake” – there is no such thing. There is only accountability when it involves transactions of this magnitude. It is irrelevant whether he knew or not – He is the Director – and should have known.

Mr. Mingo needs to resign immediately. Anything short of that is the typical nepotism and favouritism that has been protecting “Teflon” Mark Mingo, and is a direct insult to all my former colleagues that were shown the door for far less costly “should have knowns.”

Allard Stamm,

Former Director EDC – ousted because "I should have known" that Don Hughes would protest a retail facility at the Harbour, and unlike Mr Read more