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Council Of Ministers Gives Status Update, Pm Addresses Constitutional Issue

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The Council of Ministers of St. Maarten held a press conference Wednesday morning in which they outlined the various plans which they had for implementation as well as a status report of ongoing matters.

VROMI

Minister of VROMI the Honorable Claret Conner stated on Wednesday that the street repair program is now in progress. The Minister stated that more extensive work will be done next year when the season is over. He also stated that most of the work will be done at night.

ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

Minister Ernest Sams who is responsible for Economic Affairs gave an outline Wednesday of the islands Economic Development plan Read more

“Principles And Values” Directed Maurice Lake’S Decision

Ex-Vromi Minister Maurice Lake.

St. Maarten – In a statement that runs almost 2,000 words, now independent MP Maurice Lake has defended himself against accusations by United People’s party leader Theo Heyliger that “power, position and ministry and others have manipulated him to break the government for self-interest.”

Lake says that he has known Heyliger for 25 years as a friend and for 15 years as his advisor.

“I have three Master’s Degrees and work hard for my family for everything I got in life and never asked Theo Heyliger for nothing in life Read more

Budget 250,000 Guilders For St. Maarten Day Celebrations

The St. Maarten Day committee at the A.C Legislative hall. Photo Today / Andrew Dick

St. Maarten – The committee in charge of organizing the November 11 St. Maarten Day celebrations has been working for the past months to organize and execute a well thought out program starting November 8. Minister of Culture Rita Bourne-Gumbs says this year the focus is on the people being proud of the heritage the island has to offer. “The community needs to be reminded of the rich culture the island has and we hope to depict this at this year’s festivities,” said the minister.

The highlight of the day will be a cultural parade consisting of 30 groups according to committee member Urmain Dormoy Read more

Island Gems Donates To No Kidding With Our Kids

Island Gems members Asha Stevens and Jody Rosen with a foundation representative and some children who benefit from the afterschool program. Photo contributed

St. Maarten – Island Gems Charity Foundation recently paid for the installation of gas lines and connectors for the No Kidding with Our Kids Foundation’s afterschool activities program in Retreat Estate.  The connectors and lines were necessary for the foundation to hook up its stove to cook warm meals for children who attend the program every day Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---- SOTIC is an opportunity for Ministries of Tourism and private sector to interact, dialogue and exchange ideas and experiences. According to CHTA President Emil Lee, as a strategic partner of the CTO, CHTA believes it is important that private sector and public sector work together and support each others events. A key part of developing any partnership relationship is to build an understanding of each others challenges and aspirations Read more

Minister Plenipotentiary Fleming-Artsen Receives Courtesy Call From Macedonia Ambassador

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – Sint Maarten Minister Plenipotentiary Josianne Fleming-Artsen, recently received a courtesy call from Ambassador of the Republic of Macedonia, Igor Popov.

“The Ambassador appeared interested in the functioning of country Sint Maarten as an autonomous entity within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, considering that Holland appears to be an important trade partner of Macedonia representing an annual mutual trade volume of about €800 million.

“Ambassador Popov is seeking to enhance and benefit from this economic opportunity with the Netherlands by extending its commercial relationship with the other members of the Kingdom of The Netherlands, namely the Dutch Caribbean partners Read more

Emil Lee Attends Sotic In Curacao

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Emil Lee, CHTA President and Curacao Minster of Economic Development and Tourism Stanley Palm meet at the CTO SOTIC or State of the industry conference.SOTIC is an opportunity for Ministries of Tourism and private sector to interact, dialogue and exchange ideas and experiences.  According to CHTA President Emil Lee, as a strategic partner of the CTO, CHTA believes it is important that private sector and public sector work together and support each others events Read more

Na Leader Questions Interpretation Of The Constitution By Council Of Ministers

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - National Alliance Leader MP the Honorable William Marlin took a critical look Sunday on the latest release form the Cabinet of the Governor as well as similar situations of the past.

The press conference of the “majority of 8” and which was held Sunday afternoon at the Parliament building was called for by the DP leader MP the honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams Read more

Mp Heyliger Raises Eyebrow At New Lake And Marlin Relationship

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Leader of the UP Party, MP the Honorable Theo Heyliger Monday broke his silence on the latest political developments plaguing the island and those before that also led to governmental turmoil.

The political leader who broke his silence on the Billy D Radio Program addressed many subjects, from the realities of being a Minister to trying to comply with the unrealistic demands of his members who have tasted power Read more

style="text-align: center;">Says crime spree is Minister’s indictment

PHILIPSBURG:--- Leader of the USP and Member of Parliament Frans Richardson on Monday called on Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson to resign immediately in the wake of unprecedented crime on St Read more

>ST. PETERS:---- I have stated time and time again that at some point "somebody has to make a stand somewhere," to raise the bar and stop making decisions in the best interest of politics and self. Instead we need to start MAKING firm decisions in the best interest of our people and St. Maarten.
This was a very challenging three weeks for me personally with my family as my rock, where I ask God for strength and wisdom and his guidance to move St. Maarten forward. What I have learnt within these weeks is if you kneel before God you can stand before any man and speak the truth Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Prior to the change of the Presidium of Parliament on October 15th, the House of Parliament had already decided several weeks before that President of Parliament Hon. Dr. Lloyd Richardson would represent the country at a celebration event marking the 200th anniversary of the Dutch Chamber of Parliament (First and Second Chambers) in The Hague, the Netherlands.

Richardson joined the other Presidents of Parliament from Aruba, Curacao and the Netherlands First and Second Chambers, in The Hague, the Netherlands for activities organized in connection with the First and Second Chambers of the Dutch Parliament that took place in the Ridderzaal at the Binnenhof.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands is 200 years old Read more

style="text-align: center;">Another success in the pursuit of the freedom and liberty of all women

PHILIPSBURG:--- All participants have hailed the 3rd Caribbean Women and Sexual Diversity Conference 2015, hosted by United and Strong Saint Lucia/CariFLAGS Eastern Caribben Hub and Womantra ,with support from the Women's Caucus of Trinidad and Tobago, as a success. The conference, held at the Kapok Hotel in Port of Spain, Trinidad, from October 5 to 11, 2015, saw over 50 lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LBT) persons, as well as straight allies, from the Caribbean and Latin America, from a variety of feminist, LBT and women's organizations in attendance.
Members of St Read more

Ilo To Launch Global Campaign To End Modern Slavery

GENEVA - The International Labour Organization (ILO) will launch a major new campaign to end modern slavery, in partnership with the International Organization of Employers (IOE) and International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC,) on Tuesday 20 October.

The50 for Freedom campaignaims to mobilize public support and influence at least 50 countries to ratify theILO’s Forced Labour Protocol by 2018.

The legally binding Protocol, adopted by ILO member states in 2014, includes measures for prevention, protection and compensation designed to eliminate contemporary forms of slavery.

The event on 20 October will bring together key players in the fight against forced labour to discuss how international standards, better data and strong, innovative policies can help free those in forced labour.

This will include participants from the UK Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the ITUC, ILO, NGO’s and civil society Read more

Sara Stone Appointed Assistant Country Coordinator For Globe And Stem Education

ST. EUSTATIUS – The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program, is an international science and education program that provides students and the public worldwide with the opportunity to participate in data collection and the scientific process, and contribute meaningfully to our understanding of the Earth system and global environment. 

The GLOBE program was initially announced by the United States Government on Earth Day in 1994 and launched worldwide on Earth Day 1995.

GLOBE Netherlands, has appointed Sara Stone as the Assistant Country Coordinator in collaboration with the United States Department of State and NASA Space Agency Read more

3Rd Caribbean Women And Sexual Diversity Conference Another Success In The Pursuit Of The Freedom And Liberty Of All Women

PHILIPSBURG -- All participants have hailed the 3rd Caribbean Women and Sexual Diversity Conference 2015, hosted by United and Strong Saint Lucia/CariFLAGS Eastern Caribben Hub and Womantra ,with support from the Women's Caucus of Trinidad and Tobago, as a success.

The conference, held at the Kapok Hotel in Port of Spain, Trinidad, from October 5 to 11, 2015, saw over 50 lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LBT) persons, as well as straight allies, from the Caribbean and Latin America, from a variety of feminist, LBT and women's organizations in attendance Read more

Workshop Focuses On Energy Efficiency

St. Maarten – Under the umbrella of the European Union funded COSME Program, the Department of Economy, Transportation and Telecommunication hosted an interactive workshop for small hotel property owners throughout the Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories last Thursday. It was one of many initiatives hosted under the COSME Program that seeks to strengthen the competitiveness of small and medium sized enterprises throughout the Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories.

As tourism remains the main economic industry throughout the region, organizers thought it appropriate to find ways to support small property owners via the COSME Program Read more

Colade-Investigation Targets Regina Labega And Badejo

St. Maarten – The office of the public prosecutor confirmed in a brief press release that on Thursday house searches were conducted by the National Detective agency on five locations. The press release labels “R.L., F.A.A.B. and E.F.” as suspects in the so-called Colade-investigation.

Behind the initials are airport director Regina Labega, author Fabian Badejo and Erica Fortuna, reportedly a business partner of his. Attorney Cor Merx said on Thursday that the home of Labega’s sister has been searched twice Read more

Toast On New Dive Site Pelikaan

St. Maarten – In June the Sint Maarten Nature Foundation received assistance from the Royal Dutch Navy in placing ten three-ton mooring blocks in waters both outside and inside of the Marine Park, creating mooring possibilities at ten new dive sites with the help of naval supply and disaster relief ship the Zr. Ms. Pelikaan.

With the support of the Cabinet of the Governor, the Royal Dutch Marine Detachment on Sint Maarten, the Royal Dutch Navy Command of the Dutch Caribbean based in Curacao, Windward Roads and the Sint Maarten Harbor Group of Companies the ten new operational moorings will protect both fragile coral from being damaged by anchors as well as increase tourism revenue through providing new dive sites for visitors to the island.

This project was the perfect example of one which was quite complex but in which many stakeholders from both the public and private sector cooperated in ensuring that our ocean environment is protected Read more

Governor’S Explosive 2013 Letter Supports Dissolution Parliament

Possible elections pushed back to February 2016

St. Maarten / By Hilbert Haar – Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs has sent an amended national decree to dissolve the parliament to Governor Drs. Eugène Holiday on Wednesday that would push elections back to February of next year. The amendment to the decree was necessary because the Electoral Council needs more time to give possible new parties the opportunity to register.

An explosive letter Governor Holiday wrote in May 2013 and to then Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams shows that, at that time, the governor supported the dissolution of parliament Read more

>Simpson Bay:--- An early Sunday morning shooting has left one person dead. The shooting took place shortly after 9am Sunday morning by Robbie’s Lottery located at La Palapa building in Simpson Bay. Persons on the scene said the victim that was shot dead seems to be an employee working for Robbie’s Lottery and he apparently got shot while trying to open the business place. However, that could not be confirmed by anyone. SMN News further learnt that the victim is of Latino decent.
SMN News contacted Police Spokesman Ricardo Henson for confirmation on the shooting, Henson who was on the scene of the shooting said “I am not giving you any information Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The eight Members of Parliament that now has the majority in Parliament told members of the media that the Governor of St. Maarten already made a clear decision on the current political situation. Leader of the National Alliance MP William Marlin said that the Governor Eugene Holiday clearly informed the Council of Ministers situation in 2013 is the same as the current situation because there is a majority in Parliament that are ready to form a government.
Marlin said the Governor told the Council of Ministers that the constitution of St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Today our young island nation is in a constitutional crisis because of the different interpretations of articles #33 and #59 of our constitution. The Council of Ministers has requested the opinions of various Dutch constitutional experts from the Hague. Our governor has taken the high road and requested three judges to provide an advice on this political impasse in five working days. We don’t know if the eight majority in the parliament of St. Maarten has acquired advice from any legal minds locally or from the Hague.
What bothers me is that time after time our elected officials especially those supporting the Council of Ministers have ridiculed the same Dutch for meddling in our internal affairs Read more

Eclac Predicts Economic Slowdown In Latin America And Caribbean In 2015

New York, New York – Launching the Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2015 in Santiago, Chile, the UN Economic Commission for the region, known by the acronym ECLAC, forecasts that South America will contract -0.4 per cent, Central America and Mexico will grow 2.8 per cent, and the Caribbean will expand just 1.7 per cent.

On a national level, the projections show, Panama will lead the regional expansion with a 6.0 per cent increase, followed by Antigua and Barbuda (5.4 per cent) and the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua (both with 4.8 per cent).

Mexico’s gross domestic product (GDP) will grow 2.4 per cent while Argentina’s will rise 0.7 per cent, the report showed, but Brazil will experience a contraction of -1.5 per cent while Venezuela will face an even greater decline of -5.5 per cent.
Upon presenting its most recent annual report, the regional organization called for vitalizing the investment process to resume growth and improve productivity in the region’s economies.

“Revitalizing growth in the short and long term requires boosting public and private investment at a complex time,” said Alicia Bárcena, ECLAC’s Executive Secretary Read more