SXMElections.com

Bahamas power company bid raises questions for Washington

NASSAU, Bahamas--A recent report by the Tribune newspaper in The Bahamas stating that US Secretary of State John Kerry certified the integrity of an American company bidding for a multimillion-dollar management contract from the state-owned Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) appears to be causing difficulties for Washington in addressing the rationale for such certification.

On January 27, while not identifying the US firm he was referring to, the Tribune reported Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie as saying: "I have received written support from the Embassy in Nassau, from the Deputy Secretary of State and the Secretary of State of the US government [John Kerry – Ed.] with respect to a particular applicant, certifying their integrity."

At the same time, the Tribune also reported that a US public company Carolinas-based PowerSecure "is effectively the only contender remaining at the table for the BEC management contract," leading to the conclusion that PowerSecure was the applicant for which integrity was certified.

Attempts to clarify the reported "integrity certification" by US officials up to and including Kerry, after several days of promising a response, were deflected on Friday by the State Department to the Commerce Department, notwithstanding that it is State Department, not Commerce officials who are reported to have made the statements in question.

Furthermore, no comment from any US government agency has yet been forthcoming on the reported "integrity certification" in the context of two pending lawsuits alleging violations of securities laws by PowerSecure and/or its senior management.

The first is a shareholder class action lawsuit filed on May 23, 2014, in the US District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina Read more

Gov’t allocates EC $74.7M to complete Argyle Int’l Airport

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent--The St. Vincent and the Grenadines government has allocated EC $74.7 million (One EC dollar=US $0.37) towards the completion of Argyle International Airport.

Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves said the EC $729 million airport has missed several completion deadlines, the most recent being December 2014.

But Gonsalves told Parliament it "will be completed this year and ready for operation."

Gonsalves, who is also Minister of Finance, said a portion of the EC $74.7 million is the remainder of the US $9.5 million (EC $25.6 million) long outstanding on the US $20 million sale of lands to developers in the southern Grenadine island of Canouan.

He said he has been reliably advised that the money would be paid within six weeks.

Prime Minister Gonsalves said that delays in the timely receipt by the International Airport Development Company (IADC) – the state-owned firm responsible for building the airport – of negotiated resources and excessively inclement weather have hampered the pace of construction of the airport.

The government had said that the airport would have been "substantially complete" at the end of 2014.

"As always, our government makes contingency plans in the event of the delay in the draw-down of grants or soft-loans Read more

Sarah: Integrity efforts made no difference to Dutch plan

PHILIPSBURG--Describing the Dutch government's actions to impose Article 51 to tackle integrity issues in St. Maarten as a slap in the face of St. Maarten's government and a slap in the face of St. Maarten, Democratic Party Member of Parliament (MP) Sarah Wescot Williams said sidelining elected representatives of the people of St Read more

Record number of parties contest election in Statia

ST. EUSTATIUS--A record number of six parties will be contesting the March 18 Island Council election in St. Eustatius. All parties presented their lists of candidates at the Civil Registry on Monday, among them newcomers Statia Liberal Action Movement (SLAM) and a nameless party headed by former Commissioner of Finance Glenville Schmidt.

All candidates' lists were presented to Merlene Hudson-Elliott, who also verified the credentials.

SLAM is a new name on the ballot. This party will contest the election with current independent Island Council member Millicent Lijfrock-Marsdin at its head Read more

Connor reiterates position on timeshare protection

PHILIPSBURG--Government's position to establish timeshare consumer protection and meet the goal of bringing credibility to St. Maarten's Timeshare product was reiterated by Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs Claret Connor via press release on Tuesday.

The Minister said that Government understands full well the messages it is receiving from timeshare members.

"We know that they are immensely frustrated because they feel vulnerable as a result of many questionable actions by multiple timeshare resorts and management companies which are at times against timeshare owner's interest.

"Some members are so disgruntled to the point of feeling abandoned and in a number of cases betrayed," the Minister said.

"As stated in various media reports, the Caravanserai timeshare members have seen millions of dollars of their hard-earned investments in St Read more

Princess Heights celebrates pioneering eco-certification

Princess Heights Luxury Boutique Condo Hotel General Manager Emil Lee (centre) holds a Green Key programme plaque amongst key representatives of the hotel, Foundation for Environmental Education, Environmental Protection in the Caribbean, and the St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association as they all hold up a Green Key programme flag.

DAWN BEACH--Princess Heights Luxury Boutique Condo Hotel celebrated its milestone in becoming the first and only property on the island to be awarded the prestigious Green Key Eco-label certification on hotel premises on the evening of February 2, amongst a crowd of supporters and key stakeholders.

International Green Key Director Finn Thomsen of the non-profit Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), which owns and runs the programme, was on hand to mark the occasion Read more

Philippe Millon introduced as new DGS for Collectivité

MARIGOT--The new Director General of Services (DGS) for the Collectivité Philippe Millon started work on Monday, succeeding Pascal Averne, who held the post from 2007 to 2014.

Averne returned to Guadeloupe on December 23, 2014, but was back in St. Martin on Monday to go over details with the new Director and help him settle in.

Millon was introduced to the Assistant Director General (DGA) and other heads of services and institutions Read more

Children’s Parade to kick off French-side carnival

MARIGOT--The streets of Marigot will be filled with colourful costumes and creative floats this coming Sunday, February 8, when the Children's Parade sets the 2015 French-side carnival in motion.

Carnival was officially launched Saturday evening with the handing over of the symbolic key by elected officials to Festivités Carnavalesque de St. Martin (FCDSM) President Jean-Philippe Richardson Read more

WINAIR’s Captain A. Brouwer retires.

>AIRPORT ROAD:--- On January 31st 2015 as the sunset at Princess Juliana International Airport so did the career of Captain Age Brouwer after 27 years. Captain Brouwer retired after touching down at PJIA for the last time at 6:24PM to a large gathering of WINAIR staff members on the Tarmac.

Captain Brouwer was given a water salute by the airport fire department after his final landing, witnessed by president of WINAIR's board Mr Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister Plenipotentiary Hon. Josianne Fleming-Artsen recently met with the resident Ambassador from Panama Willys Delvalle at the Sint Maarten House in The Hague, the Netherlands.

"We had a very fruitful discussion about both of our countries and how we can explore further developing relations in various areas, one of them being from an economic perspective.

"Sint Maarten as a country needs to develop and expand relations with Latin American countries. We can learn a lot from Panama Read more

style="text-align: center;">Nice talk, passed some motions and many questions during the 2015 budget debate like all previous budget debates and then the entire government including parliament go into an induced coma. What has become with the motion that was passed just before the 2014 election to do a study on the minimum wage? Our elected officials act as if they have accomplished so much for the people after they handle the budgets year after year. Yet, unemployment especially amongst the youth remains at an all-time high with fewer of our people becoming business owners and crime becoming the order of the day.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The entire nation was glued to their TV and to their radios listening to the 2014 budget debate Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- After holding the Government of St. Maarten on a line for a while, Dutch Minister Plasterk has "come clean", to use a local expression.
I am of the opinion that nothing that St. Maarten has done with respect to tackling integrity issues has made any difference for Minister Plasterk and his colleagues in the Dutch cabinet as far as imposing a measure of higher supervision on St. Maarten. That's what an article 51 measure is.
It is a measure that Minister Plasterk has been fencing with for a long time and actually used the Government of St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs Claret Connor on Tuesday reiterated government's position to establish timeshare consumer protection and meet the goal of bringing credibility to St. Maarten's Timeshare product.

He said government understands, full well, the messages it is receiving from timeshare members. "We know that they are immensely frustrated because they feel vulnerable as a result of many questionable actions by multiple timeshare resorts and management companies which are at times against timeshare owner's interest Read more

Former Pm, Mp Wescot-Williams Disagrees With Minister Plasterk On Integrity Approach

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - After holding the government of St. Maarten on a line for a while, Dutch Minister Plasterk has "come clean", to use a local expression.

I am of the opinion that nothing that St. Maarten has done with respect to tackling integrity issues has made any difference for Minister Plasterk and his colleagues in the Dutch cabinet as far as imposing a measure of higher supervision on St. Maarten. That's what an article 51 measure is.

It is a measure that Minister Plasterk has been fencing with for a long time and actually used the government of St Read more

Soualiga Corporate Toastmasters Club Host Mature Carnival Queen Contestants

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The Soualiga Corporate Toastmasters Club hosted the contestants of the Miss Mature Carnival Queen Pageant in one of its meetings last week under the theme "Life is Like a Pageant".

The session focused on prepared speeches, impromptu speaking and questioning which is similar to the question and answer segment of the pageant itself.

The St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) thanked the Toastmasters for hosting the contestants who described the Read more

Editorial - Cost-effective

Friday's meeting of the Central Committee of Parliament on the non-payment of bills by Social and Health Insurance Fund SZV and government particularly to St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) ended soon after it started. Members agreed that a full picture of the situation in health care could not be gathered from the two ministers present alone and it was considered necessary to hear both SZV and SMMC as well.

Part of the concern that led to the National Alliance's request for such a meeting had also been addressed during the preceding debate on the 2015 budget Read more

Unlocking clean energy potential the Caribbean

WASHINGTON D.C.--Energy security is at the top of the agenda for Caribbean leaders and it has been for some time.

With an average cost of electricity four times higher than in rich nations such as the United States, high energy cost is not only a daily hardship for Caribbean people, but also one of the key bottlenecks for unleashing economic growth and prosperity in the region.

While the recent drop in oil prices is releasing some of the pressure, it also represents an opportunity to look into strategies for increasing energy security in the region Read more

Multidisciplinary controls to check businesses for compliance with laws

PHILIPSBURG--The Immigration and Border Protection Service has announced via a press release that the Multidisciplinary Control Team has developed plans to intensify controls at places of business.

The Multidisciplinary Control Team consists of members of the Inspection and Control departments of Government such as Immigration and Border Protection Services, Labour and Health Inspectorate, SZV department Control and Levies, Inspectorate of VROMI, Economic Control Department and the Fire Department.

Given the multidisciplinary nature of the controls, various issues will be examined such as adhering to the labour regulations, illegal employees, work safety measures, fire safety measures, adherence to the building code, adherence to the social and health insurance regulations, and business and operational licence regulations.

The Multidisciplinary Control Team will also gear their controls toward identifying cases of human trafficking.

A team of 10 to 35 officers, depending on the size of the case, will be in charge of carrying out these inspections at various times.

Businesses and employers will be fined in case of violations Read more

Chamber to become ‘integrity champion’

PHILIPSBURG--The government wants to deal with integrity issues urgently and with "full reliability," and wants to do so in establishing an Integrity Chamber which is to provide advice on integrity issues, policy and possible integrity violations within government.

The Integrity Chamber, called the "Champion of Public Integrity," is to be put at a distance from government and is to obtain far-reaching authority, Prime Minister and Minister of General Affairs Marcel Gumbs stated in the introduction to the draft National Ordinance on the Establishment of the Integrity Chamber, which was sent to the Advisory Council.

The Integrity Chamber is to consist of a chairman and two members to be appointed for a period of three years Read more

St. Maarten baffled by Dutch position on Integrity Chamber

~Dennis calls latest move 'comical,' 'sad'~

PHILIPSBURG--"Outrageous," "comical" and "sad" were some of the words used by Justice Minister Dennis Richardson to describe the position of the Dutch Government on St. Maarten's move to establish an Integrity Chamber to investigate possible integrity breaches and advise government on integrity.

Richardson and Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs addressed the issue at a press conference on Sunday as the officials seemed baffled by the position of the Dutch on the matter.

The press conference was held on the heels of the move by The Kingdom Government decision to start the process for a so-called General Measure of the Kingdom Government to establish an Integrity Chamber in St Read more

Hanson sends condolences to family of Alain Tochou

MARIGOT--President of the Collectivité Aline Hanson has extended her condolences to the family and friends of the late Alain Tochou whose funeral took place Friday.

Tochou (83) passed away during the night of Monday and Tuesday morning last week.

"It is with great sadness that I learned of the death of Alain Tochou," she said in a statement Read more

style="text-align: center;">Foundation INFOBIZZ has scheduled a series of activities for entrepreneurs

GREAT BAY:--- On March 4, 2014, POWER HOUR: Networking for Movers & Shakers is back. This networking event for entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial professionals, has affected close to 400 entrepreneurial minds since its inception in November 2013. Created to inspire and empower entrepreneurs, POWER HOUR now includes vendors that can display or sell their products at the event.
On March 4, 2015, INFOBIZZ, host of the POWER HOUR, expects at least 100 entrepreneurial minds present and is aiming for no more than 20 vendors Read more

No Waste-To-Energy Plant In Cay Bay

St. Maarten – The government is not aware of any plans for the construction of a waste-to-energy plant in Cay Bay, acting Vromi-Minister Marcel Gumbs said yesterday in parliament. He added that there are no plans for Gebe to invest in such a plant either.

“Negotiations with the selected company (for the construction of a waste-to-energy plant on Pond Island – ed.) are still ongoing and there are no plans for a plant in Cay Bay,” Gumbs said.

The minister said that Gebe buys its fuel from SOL and that this company has a storage facility for a two-week supply.  Gebe calculates the average cost of the two monthly orders and then calculates the fuel clause in the first week of the following month.

Gumbs said that Gebe had lowered its tariffs with 5 cent per Kwh for households and 1 cent per Kwh for companies after it no longer had to subsidize the utility companies in Saba and Statia Read more

St. Maarten Timeshare Association Smta Calls For Summit To “Correct” Timeshare Ordinance

St. Maarten —The SMTA yesterday called for an immediate summit to be convened with the current Parliamentary initiator of the law–MP Leroy de Weever–, the Ministers of TEAT and Justice, the Council of Advice, the Ombudsman, Legal Affairs and the SMTA in order to make a plan to get this (timeshare) legislation corrected and if necessary, translated properly to Dutch, and passed in the shortest time possible.

The SMTA’s call comes on the heels of recent developments surrounding the Timeshare ordinance Read more