SXMElections.com

>PHILIPSBURG:--- During the tenure of former Minister William Marlin of the National Alliance, the Waste to Energy Plant would have cost the people of St. Maarten a total of ZERO investment. The terms of reference was designed as such that the WTE supplier would be granted a concession for 20 to 25 years where GEBE would buy the Energy generated by the WTE plant Read more

>POINTE BLANCHE:---  Port St. Maarten Security as well as 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 country St. Maarten to speak at a security 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 at the conference.

The St Read more

Prime Minister Gumbs Meets With Vice-President Of The Council Of State For The Kingdom Piet-Hein Donner

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – 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 Read more

It’S All About Negotiations Mp Heyliger

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - During the tenure of former Minister William Marlin of the National Alliance, the Waste to Energy plant would have cost the people of St. Maarten a total of ZERO investment.

The terms of reference was designed as such that the WTE supplier would be granted a concession for 20 to 25 years where GEBE would buy the Energy generated by the WTE plant.

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

S.E.L. Maduro & Sons Donates Bullet Proof Vests To The Police

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - In the aftermath of Police Bike Patrol Officer Gamali Benjamin’s tragic demise, S.E.L. Maduro & Sons, in keeping with its pledge to the Police Force, has donated 10 bulletproof vests to Chief Inspector Rudolph C. Bloeiman and Chief Inspector Ricardo V. Henson.

The vests are specifically for the Bike Patrol unit who are considered “Ambassadors” of St. Maarten.

Raquel Coupland Wathey, General Manager of S.E.L. Maduro and Sons, said: “The safety of our officers is very important to us as a business and members of the community Read more

Garbage Meeting Fizzles: Many Questions, No Answers And No Solutions

St. Maarten – At the end of a long meeting, finally there were some fireworks when opposition MP asked Vromi-Minister Claret Connor to answer one question: “Is there a contract with a company to build the waste-to-energy plant and how does this jive with your visit to a project in Miami?”

Minister Connor, who had just said that he would be able to inform the parliament on Monday when he would be able to answer the more than one hundred questions MPs had asked, did not bite Read more

Gebe’S 55Th Anniversary: Laptops For Students

St. Maarten –  At a special ceremony held on the parking lot of Gebe’s main office in Philipsburg, the utility provider demonstrated that they are not only known for providing water and light, they also recognized and equipped five students at the elementary level that have attained exceptional grades.

The event that coincides with Gebe’s 55th anniversary was just one way of giving back to the community. Each of the students was presented with a Dell laptop. The recipients are Jaidev Nainani from the St Read more

Mp Heyliger: “The Dutch Keep Terrorizing Our Little Country” : Constitution Day Triggers Calls For Independence

St. Maarten – Parliament unanimously approved changes to several ordinances to establish the second Monday of October as Constitution Day, an official holiday. Under this legislation. Kingdom Day (December 15) will disappear from the local holiday-calendar. While approving the legislation was a formality, several MPs used the opportunity to express their sentiment about the country’s road towards independence.

“Moving towards the end goal – independence – it makes sense to move away from a day that celebrates that we are a part of the Kingdom,” National Alliance faction leader William Marlin said Read more

Regina LaBega asked to vacate airport post

AIRPORT--Princess Juliana International Airport SXM Managing Director Regina LaBega reportedly has been given eight weeks to vacate her post at the facility.

LaBega did not respond to an e-mail seeking a comment on the matter last night.

The Daily Herald understands that there were issues in connection with her screening by the national security service.

This newspaper also was told by a reliable source that Labega apparently was the only director of a Government-owned company who had been reluctant earlier this year to submit herself to the screening, which is now mandatory Read more

Minister Richardson answers MPs on Harbour/Zebec settlement

PHILIPSBURG--Deputy Prime Minister Dennis Richardson provided answers on Tuesday to questions Members of Parliament (MPs) had asked about the Harbour’s settlement with Zebec Development in a first round of questions during an emergency meeting the day before.

Richardson first tackled the reasoning for both the court case and the settlement, then went on to more individual questions asked.

Case/settlement

The core issue is that Zebec intended to develop the Dutch Village on long-lease land of the Harbour Read more

Minister to answer MPs’ dump questions by Friday

PHILIPSBURG--New Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI Claret Connor has confirmed with Parliament that answers to the pertinent questions about the landfill, as discussed in the urgent plenary session on Friday, can be expected on Friday, September 25.

Therefore, another follow-up plenary session scheduled tentatively for Thursday, October 1, depending on the status of these answers, should be able to go forward as planned Read more

Editorial - Costly oversight

The answers on the settlement between the Harbour Group of Companies and Zebec provided to Parliament on Tuesday afternoon were to the point and clear. Deputy Prime Minister Dennis Richardson, assisted by Port St. Maarten Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Mingo, said there was nothing sinister about the matter and it basically boiled down to a dispute over giving further content to a general property lease agreement for a Dutch Village to be built by the developers of Blue Mall.

The latter’s interpretation of the deal was not deemed favourable for the Harbour, particularly its separate arrangement with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (RCCL) that initiated an own US $100-150 million venture, including a hotel near the area in question Read more

style="text-align: center;">Board calls for Emergency Meeting ---- FBO permit in Limbo

PHILIPSBURG:--- The Prime Minister of St. Maarten Marcel Gumbs has dispatched a letter to the chairman of the Supervisory Board of Princess Juliana International Airport ordering them to get rid of the Airport Director Regina Labega. According to information SMN News received is that Labega did not pass the screening and the Prime Minister is using it against her because he got what some board members describe as having a “hard on for Labega.” Board members of the Supervisory board told SMN News that Labega has been doing an extremely good job but the Prime Minister does not seem to like her and thus he will do any or everything possible to get rid of her.
SMN News further learnt that Labega received the letter on Tuesday and she already consulted with her lawyer, while the chairman of the Supervisory Board Gary Matser has called for an emergency meeting to discuss the letter he received from the Prime Minister Read more

Dp Leader Maintains That Governing Program Lacks Substance

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Leader of the Democratic Party of St. Maarten MP the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams has accused the current coalition government of lifting certain segment of the governing program of the NA-DP-USP coalition government and using it in their own governing program entitled, “Ready to work for you”.

The DP leader was at the time speaking on the PJD2 aired program Breakfast with the Robert this past Sunday Read more

Your reputation is on the line

Dear Editor,

Permit me to express a word of caution to our new Minister of VROMI, Claret Connor. I write this article with such a heavy heart, because I know that you are not in the right place but as much as I would like the situation to be different, only you have the authority to choose the direction of your life. However, it is the prerogative of any individual to make comments that could generate further thought Read more

How Nutrition Affects your Feet!

FOR THE LOVE OF SHOES

Greetings!

My name is Ameera Groeneveldt. I am the owner of Shoe Solution SXM – the ONLINE delivery shoe store for women, men and kids; specializing in large shoe sizes 5 and up and wide-width shoes. I am also the ONLY shoe consultant on St. Maarten.

How nutrition affects your feet!

Eating the right foods can help keep your feet healthy Read more

Invest Caribbean Now 2015 to shine spotlight on investment opportunities

MARIGOT--President of St. Martin Tourism Office, Jeanne Rogers-Vanterpool, said she will be showcasing infrastructural and other opportunities to interested investors at the Invest Caribbean Now conference in St. Martin on September 25.

"As we gear up for the launch of our new Five Year Tourism Master Plan, we are excited to speak to investors about ideas and opportunities that are available,” she added, noting among the major projects available are the expansion of port services, the Marigot Bay Development Project and other tourism-related opportunities that fall within the Marigot Revitalisation project.

"Investment opportunities both inside and outside of these major projects include, among other projects, resorts, hotels, marinas, conference facilities, theme parks, nature parks, shopping centres and shipping related activities," President Rogers-Vanterpool pointed out.

A delegation of more than 40-Beijing companies including Showland Investment Group Corp Read more

Sandy Ground school children spread the message for peace

MARIGOT--An estimated 550 children from the Sandy Ground UNESCO-affiliated elementary school (now renamed Aline Hanson School) and the Jérôme Beaupere School took part in a march Monday at 9:00am in observance of the United Nations’ International Day of Peace.

As was the case last year the march followed a short circuit in Sandy Ground, starting from and finishing at the school Read more

MPs question Dennis on Zebec settlement at Port

~ Sarah’s call for more speaker’s time voted down ~

PHILIPSBURG--Members of Parliament (MPs) fired off numerous questions seeking clarity on the Harbour’s settlement with Zebec Development during an emergency meeting on Monday.

The meeting was adjourned after the first round of questions to give Deputy Prime Minister Dennis Richardson a chance to obtain answers. The meeting will continue at 2:00pm today, Tuesday.

A proposal by Democratic Party (DP) MP Sarah Wescot-Williams at the start of the meeting for the speaking time to be increased to 30 minutes in the first round and 20 minutes in the second round was voted down with eight MPs voting against the proposal and six voting for it.

The vote was called after United People’s (UP) party MP Franklin Meyers said he opposed Wescot-Williams’ proposal Read more

Court to decide on SHHC appeal against Dock Maarten in October

POINT BLANCHE--After a failed attempt in Civil Court in December to halt Dock Maarten N.V. construction plans, St. Maarten Harbour Holding Company (SHHC) N.V. filed an appeal centred on a building permit and was heard in administrative court on Monday. The Court will give its decision October 19.

The Harbour is against a building permit for expansion issued by the Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI on July 21, 2014. The Harbour argues that the construction forms both a hindrance to vessels and a danger.

Attorney Marcha Woudstra also argued that the decision by the ministry to issue the permit had not taken into careful consideration previous reports made, and that the decision was at odds with the law Read more

Technical Services to start work for Blue Zone parking

MARIGOT--The Collectivité’s Technical Services will begin installing infrastructure and informative signs to indicate Blue Zone parking areas in downtown Marigot as of this Thursday, September 24.

This first phase requires a month-and-a-half of work, the Collectivité noted in a release. Commissioning of the Blue Zone is scheduled for mid-November, just before the start of the new tourist season.

The creation of a Blue Zone was initiated by President Aline Hanson’s majority party in the context of the revitalization of Marigot’s town centre Read more

NATO say Russia must withdraw heavy weapons from Ukraine

LVIV, Ukraine--NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday an ebb in violence in eastern Ukraine was not enough to bring peace and demanded Russia withdraw heavy weapons the alliance accuses it of providing in support of separatists.
  Ukrainian diplomats said Stoltenberg's two-day visit, his first to Ukraine as NATO Secretary-General, held strong symbolic importance for the country in its drive for Western integration in the face of a pro-Russian rebellion in eastern territories.
  With a troubled peace plan for the Ukrainian conflict nearing its year-end deadline, Stoltenberg said the drop in fighting since the start of September was encouraging but called it fragile and far from sufficient Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---- Last Friday, Posh Productions hosted its first Corporate Cocktail Pageant Presentation for Corporate St. Maarten. This very “posh” evening was hosted at Princess Port de Plaisance and was well attended by the Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports, the Honorable Rita Bourne-Gumbs and representatives of various businesses on the island.
Posh Productions recognizes the general perceptions and reservations many institutions and individuals have about pageantry. Often times, pageantry is perceived as not serving much purpose or holding any value, but quite to the contrary, pageantry has significant importance for our community and serves as a pillar for growth throughout the world Read more

Members of Parliament wanted more speaking time in Zebec/Harbor debate.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Members of Parliament were called to vote on Monday when a member of the opposition asked for speakers time to be extended and a member of the coalition opposed the extension. MP Frans Richardson who supports the government voted in favor of the extension citing that he believes that Members of Parliament should be given extra time if they need when debating certain topics Read more