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Parliament approves 2011 annual accounts

PHILIPSBURG--Parliament unanimously approved the 2011 Annual Accounts of Government on Thursday. The approval comes three years after the period the accounts cover and well past the deadline stipulated by law.

The late tabling of the accounts was due to a severe backlog in the Finance Ministry; that backlog has since been cleared by current Finance Minister Martin Hassink who was at the plenary session of Parliament.

Hassink told the Members of Parliament (MPs) the backlog in the annual accounts is now a thing of the past Read more

Sarah questions reason for counterpart policy meeting

PHILIPSBURG--“Will we be discussing the relevant law, and if so, with what objective? Is the meeting only informative? Then what is new?” These were some of the queries raised by Democratic Party leader Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams in a letter to Parliament about the meeting of Parliament’s Permanent Committee for Public Health, Social Development and Labour on the pending counterpart today, Friday.

She asked what was expected of the committee, as it relates to the agenda point Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---  St. Maarten needs airlift. The island cannot be dependent upon North American traffic anymore..." This is according to Olivier Arrindell, Chairman of AVA Airways.
Recently Mr. Arrindell and The President of AVA Airways Mr. Giovanni Atalita presented AVA Airways plans to the Ministry of Transportation, Civil Aviation and Economic Development, "One of our main objectives is to learn from the past and to propose a bold new direction for commercial aviation in St. Maarten Read more

Philipsburg- Windward Islands Bank employees received their USM specialized certificate “Towards an Associate of Arts Degree in Business Management for St. Maarten Professionals”.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The University of St. Martin (USM) collaborated with the Windward Islands Bank Ltd. (WIB) to offer its Middle Management employees a set of academic courses with the objective to update their skills in Business Administration, and offer them the opportunity to gain a USM's Associate of Arts degree.
The program for the WIB employees, which consisted of the components, Business and Marketing, Business Communication, Management and Human Resource Management, Accounting and Finance, was held at the training facility of the bank Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot Williams has dispatched a letter to the chairman of Parliament regarding what she termed as the mis-use of Parliament by members of the Council of Ministers. MP Wescot Williams reffered specially to the meeting that is called for Friday. Below is the letter sent to the Chair of Parliament. The MP also sent a second letter to the chairman of Parliament requesting information and clarity on the TEATT meeting that was held last week and adjourned Read more

The Yacht Club Isle de Sol Conducts ISPS Security training at NIPA

>PHILIPSBURG:--- On Friday February 27, 2015 in accordance with the International Ship and Port Security (ISPS) Code, The Yacht Club Isle de Sol, an IGY MARINAS Destination, provided their contract Security staff of INSEMA Group NV with a scheduled ISPS Code training. The training was facilitated by local Recognized Security Support Organization (RSSO) OSSEM Solutions NV at the National Institute for Professional Advancement (NIPA) in Cay Hill Read more

Wib Middle Management Employees Move Closer To Obtaining Associate Of Arts Degree At Usm

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Windward Islands Bank employees received their USM specialized certificate "Towards an Associate of Arts Degree in Business Management for St. Maarten Professionals".

The University of St. Martin (USM) collaborated with the Windward Islands Bank Ltd. (WIB) to offer its Middle Management employees a set of academic courses with the objective to update their skills in Business Administration, and offer them the opportunity to gain a USM's Associate of Arts degree.

The program for the WIB employees, which consisted of the components, Business and Marketing, Business Communication, Management and Human Resource Management, Accounting and Finance, was held at the training facility of the bank.

The USM instructors of the Hospitality and Business Divisions, Dr Read more

Upgrade Dutch Quarter Delayed, Not Forgotten

European subsidy-millions remain available until December 5

St. Maarten – What happened to the European funds St. Maarten supposedly received for the upgrading of Dutch Quarter? Former Vromi-Minister William Marlin announced at a “simply yet significant signing ceremony” on the De Weever property on June 25, 2012 that the 10th European Development Fund (EDF) had committed €4.75 million ($6.1 million) to the project and the government put up an additional 1,73 million ($2.25 million) Read more

Freedom Salsa Delivered To 18 Primary Schools

St. Maarten – The book delivering festivities at the Sint Maarten primary schools has come to an end. Between January and the first week of March the Beyond Writing Foundation has visited eighteen primary schools to present and delivered boxes containing 25 copies of the book Freedom Salsa.

The festivity was organized by school representatives together with the project manager of BWF, Ingrid Holaman.  Each school put another accent to the program Read more

Mp Tamara Leonard Calls On Women To Make It Happen

St. Maarten – United People’s party MP Tamara Leonard says the theme of International Women’s Day “Make It Happen” is a call to women on St. Maarten and all over the world to make more happen in their communities and a call to all women to strive for even more Read more

Large Field For Soca Rumble

St. Maarten – The Soca Rumble “Battle of the Best” on April 25 will feature 24 soloists and three groups or bands that will be competing in Power Soca and Groovy Soca. The winner of each section takes home $10,000.

The deadline for participants to submit their music via email is Friday. “We are trying to raise the level of Soca music. St. Maarten by now should be included in the conversation of great Soca music in the Caribbean. We have some talented artists. We ho Read more

Editorial - Lost opportunity

Once again Parliament was unable to meet due to the lack of a quorum (see related story). It regarded a plenary session to discuss ongoing issues at St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF), for which Prime Minister and interim Housing Minister Marcel Gumbs had been present along with several officials.

It was thus a waste of valuable time for them, the seven legislators who were in attendance and all those wanting to follow the proceedings either in person or via electronic media Read more

Cuba gives its ‘unconditional support’ to Venezuela against United States

HAVANA, Cuba--Cuba offered its "unconditional support" to Venezuela on March 10, after US President Barack Obama authorised new sanctions against senior officials of the South American oil producer, Havana's closest ally.

An official statement published in the island's state-run media called Obama's executive order implementing the sanctions "arbitrary and aggressive."

"Cuba again reiterates its unconditional support and that of our people for the Bolivarian Revolution, the legitimate government of President Nicolas Maduro, and the heroic brotherly people of Venezuela," the statement said.

The Cuban reaction marked its first public confrontation with the United States since the two countries began discussions in December on fully restoring diplomatic relations.

In Caracas, meanwhile, President Nicolas Maduro, who recalled his envoy to Washington, denounced the US action as "the most aggressive, unjust and harmful blow against Venezuela."

In activating the sanctions, Obama called the situation in Venezuela "an extraordinary threat to the national security" of the United States.

The sanctions targeted Venezuelan officials who the US said were linked to human rights abuses, including a crackdown on anti-government protests last year that left 43 people dead.

"No one has the right to intervene in the internal affairs of a sovereign state or to declare, without foundation, someone a threat to national security," Cuba said.

It said the US measures were "in reprisal for the measures adopted [by Venezuela – Ed.] in defence of its sovereignty in the face of meddling acts by the governmental authorities and Congress of the United States."

Cuban leader Fidel Castro congratulated Maduro on his "brilliant and brave" stance against the US in a letter also published Tuesday by the Cuban press.

"Your words will go down in history as proof that humanity can and must know the truth," Castro wrote Read more

No quorum stalls housing meeting

PHILIPSBURG--The discussion in Parliament about developments at St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF) was stalled on Wednesday after insufficient Members of Parliament signed in for the meeting with ad interim Housing Minister Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs. The meeting will be reconvened at a later date.

Six of the seven United People's (UP) party MPs were not present for the meeting.

Only seven of the 15 MPs serving in the legislature signed in for the meeting Read more

Police to issue fines on the spot during carnival

~Fail to pay; get locked up~

PHILIPSBURG--Police will be sending a firm message to troublemakers and law breakers during the carnival period.

The police will be issuing fines on-the-spot for a number of offenses during the carnival season, Chief Public Prosecutor Ton Maan told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday.

The intention is to let the public know that causing trouble or committing certain offenses will hurt you in your pocket. "We are doing this to let people know that misbehaving will cost them money," Maan said Read more

Lynch dismissal letter cites brothel expenditures with SMHDF money

PHILIPSBURG--Former managing director Henry Lynch's violation of the St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation's (SMHDF's) entertainment allowance by more than NAf. 35,000 for the year 2014 included numerous brothel visits.

The full redundancy letter to Henry Lynch, served to him by SMHDF attorney Jairo Bloem on February 4, has come to light via an anonymous source, resulting in the emergence of more details about his actions used to justify the foundation's dissolving of his service agreement.

Details left out of a press release by Bloem based on said letter include examples of wrongful behaviour and excuses that were found not to be credible Read more

The Government of Sint Maarten remains committed towards its vision for a “one-stop shop” concept for its products and services!

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The Department Head of the Public Service Center, Emilia Thomas recently returned from a working visit to the Netherlands, where she visited the public service centers in the Municipalities of the Hague, Zoetermeer and Stichtse Vecht. The purpose of the visit was to (re)-establish working rapport with said municipalities in view of Government's commitment to improve its efficiency and vision to further expand its services to the public by creating a "one-stop shop" operation. The visit to the Netherlands was co-coordinated by Mr Read more

UP Faction and Coalition Partners Boycott Continuation Meeting on SMHDF

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The public meeting called by the Parliament of St. Maarten to further discuss the develepments at the St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF)and SOAB saw a boycott from all members of the United Peoples Party faction including their coalition partners. Member of Parliament Cornelius de Weever was seen in the House of Parliament before the 10h on Wednesday morning but disappeared when the meeting was about to start while MP Frans Richardson informed the chair of Parliament that he would be late for the meeting Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The Supervisory Board of Directors (SBD) of Postal Services St. Maarten (PSS) recently had a meeting to discuss a number of matters concerning the ongoing progress of PSS.

Stuart Johnson currently the vice-chairman has been unanimously chosen by the entire SBD to become the second Chairman of the board since its October 2010 inception.

Johnson has been serving since August as Interim-chairman which was a decision taken by former Prime Minister and former Shareholder of PSS Sarah Wescot-Williams who informed the SBD that is was done due to Mr Hubert Pantophlet resigning as the then Chairman of the board.
Mr Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The Prosecutor's Office in conjunction with KPSM will implement a new and stricter policy for this carnival season which kicks off on Saturday.
Chief Prosecutor Ton Maan told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday that persons who misbehave and are arrested by police for crimes committed during the carnival season will have an opportunity to pay a fine immediately at the Police Station or they will be indicted and prosecuted on June 3rd 2015 if they chose not to pay the fines.
Maan said he hopes that the new and stricter policy will serve as a deterrent this carnival season Read more

Carnival Safety Tips 2015

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The Police Force of Sint Maarten is without any doubt doing its utmost, to protect you, your family and your property, in combating crime and criminals.

The Public Relation Office of the Sint Maarten Police Force is therefore offering the entire community, the following safety tips, to help them prepare against crime.
Remember the 3 A's of Crime Prevention;
1. Be Aware of your surroundings at all times.
2. Be Alert to suspicious people and vehicles.
3 Read more

The Government Of Sint Maarten Remains Committed Towards Its Vision For A "One-Stop Shop" Concept For Its Products And Services

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The Department Head of the Public Service Center, Emilia Thomas recently returned from a working visit to the Netherlands, where she visited the public service centers in the Municipalities of the Hague, Zoetermeer and Stichtse Vecht.

The purpose of the visit was to (re)-establish working rapport with said municipalities in view of Government's commitment to improve its efficiency and vision to further expand its services to the public by creating a "one-stop shop" operation.

The visit to the Netherlands was co-coordinated by Mr Read more

Editorial - No reason to doubt

Sometimes revelations raise more questions than they answer. A case in point was the announcement by Member of Parliament (MP) Franklin Meyers in Tuesday's edition that an investigation is underway at Social and Health Insurances SZV into the alleged selling of medical coverage cards.

The UP deputy fraction leader sought clarity on the reports during a parliamentary committee meeting with SZV and St Read more

2,000lb great white shark back in Bahamas waters

NASSAU, Bahamas--A great white shark weighing 2,000 pounds (908 kilos) returned on Friday to the waters of the northern Bahamas where a GPS device attached to the marine predator confirmed it had roamed before, the non-profit OCEARCH organisation said.

The ocean research group confirmed via a Twitter post that the nearly 14.5-foot (4.4-metre) female shark named Lydia has been tracked for just over two years.

Lydia has travelled some 34,500 miles (55,500 kilometres), since she was first tagged near Jacksonville, Florida, on March 3, 2013.

She carved her niche in history last year when her arrival in the UK made her the first great white shark on record to have crossed the Atlantic Ocean.

Referring to her record crossing, a National Geographic report states: "Researchers had suspected great whites could make such a journey, but none had previously been documented doing so.

"The shark now also holds the distinction of traveling the farthest of any known great white Read more