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International Day Of The Elderly Message

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Below is Minister Cornelius de Weever's Message for International Day of the Elderly.

Today, Wednesday October 1 marks the International Day of the Elderly. On this day we celebrate, remember and recognize the role of our elders within our community. "Leaving No One Behind: Promoting a Society for All" is the theme used internationally to commemorate this day.

In recognition of the important issues facing our elders, the Department of Social Development at the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development, and Labor (VSA) in collaboration with Social and Health Insurance (SZV) as well as General Pension Funds (APS) will be hosting the first Symposium on Ageing next week Wednesday October 8th Read more

St. Maarten Hosts Stakeholder Forum For The 10Th European Development Fund Small And Medium Enterprise (Sme)

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The Government of St. Maarten in collaboration with the COSME Project Management Unit, PMU, will be hosting the 2nd Stakeholder Forum for the 10th European Development Fund Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Regional Programme from October 2nd – 3rd, 2014 at the Divi Little Bay Beach Resort.

The event kicks off with a welcome cocktail party for the attending delegates of the twelve (12) Caribbean territories and invited guests at the Holland House Beach Hotel on October 1st, 2014.

The COSME Programme funded by the European Union, EU, with 15 million EURO's, has three specific objectives namely, (1) strengthening the capacity of the Governments of the Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories, (OCTs) to service the business sector, (2) improving the capacity of Business Service Organizations (BSOs) to engage in public-/private policy and administrative reform dialogue with Governments and provide services to their constituency of SMEs and (3) promoting stronger collaboration, trade and investment relations among the EU, CARIFORUM and the Caribbean OCTs.

Upon completion of the program, it is expected that there will be improvement of policies and the legislative and administrative framework for SMEs to establish and conduct business in the Caribbean OCTs, improved capacity of business support organizations to deliver the necessary services to their members and engage in dialogue with Government and improved competitiveness of SMEs participating in the programme and improved collaboration, trade and investment relations amongthe EU, CARIFORUM and the Caribbean OCTs.

The Stakeholder's Forum will offer a platform for the participating stakeholders to discuss the proposals presented by the OCTs to the Project Management Unit over the course of the past months and the translation of these in a framework of activities.

In attendance to welcome all delegates from the various OCTs will be the Prime Minister of Sint Maarten, Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams as well as the BVI Financial Secretary and Deputy Regional Authorizing Officer of the 10th EDF, Mr Read more

Speech Of Sxm Managing Director, Regina Labega At The Opening Ceremony Of The Safety And Security Conference And Exhibition, Westin Resort And Spa, Sept. 30, 2014

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Ladies and Gentlemen. Good morning.

"The sky is the limit only for those who aren't afraid to fly..." Thus said Captain Shekhar Gupta of AeroSoftCorp. He certainly was not referring to any of you here today, because I would like to believe that you are not afraid to fly.

You will also recall this other famous saying by an anonymous author: "To most people, the sky is the limit (but) to those who love aviation, the sky is home." I know it is your love for aviation that has brought you here today, so welcome home.

Welcome to our Safety and Security Conference and Exhibition, which we are holding this year as part of the ongoing celebrations of the 70th anniversary of SXM Airport Read more

Mobile Health Services Bus Has Arrived

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - "We are proud to announce that St. Maarten's Mobile Health Services Bus has arrived bringing us one step closer to a healthier St. Maarten through increased access to health care services.

Preventative care is highly important for managing the health of the people of St. Maarten.

Many of the top risk factors leading to various illnesses and premature deaths are preventable through early detection and informed healthy lifestyle choices.

The bus will be used to increase awareness on the need routine check-ups for all the people residing on St Read more

Pm Wescot-Williams At Opening Of Computer Courses For The Elderly; "I Am A Firm Believer That As Long As One Is Able To One Should Continuously Learn And Develop"

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams attended the opening of the Computer Literacy Courses at the University of St. Maarten on Wednesday.

The PM, accompanied by Minister of Education Patricia Lourens, congratulated the participants and stated that she very much looked forward to expanding these courses more in the future; "I feel excited being here and I want to commend all involved, including the University of St Read more

Reaction To Pwc Integrity Report: Dutch Want Criminal Investigation (Into The Government Of St. Maarten)

THE HAGUE – Justice has to initiate a large-scale criminal investigation into the “utterly corrupt” government of Sint Maarten. “The Second Chamber demands this, now that the controversial politician Theo Heyliger is grabbing the absolute power on the island,” the Telegraaf reported yesterday.

A majority of VVD, Socialist Party, CDA and PVV wants action according to the newspaper, after it appears from an investigation by consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers that the complete government apparatus is rife with cronyism Read more

Parliament Takes Vorst Estate Purchase Out Of 2014 Budget

St. Maarten – The Parliament approved a motion to take a $5.5 million provision for the purchase of the Vorst Estate out of an amendment to the 2014 budget with 7 votes to 6. This blocks the purchase of the land, for which Vromi-Minister Maurice Lake signed an agreement in February of this year, but it does not absolve the country of liability towards the Vorst-family, because the Court in First Instance has already ruled that the purchase-agreement Lake signed is a valid one.

The meeting to handle the budget amendment has a long history Read more

Social Media Abuzz With Messages Of Congrats For Telcell Breakthrough Winners

St. Maarten –Judges announced the 2014 TelCell Breakthrough Talent Search winners in true Hollywood style at Saturday’s show at Maho. The winners and runners-up in the four categories were: New Generation Status won the Instruments segment with Brandon Potmis as the runner up; Vocals went to Arias-4 with Sinatra Bauld as runner up; winner in the rap category was Serenity Martinus with Rumari Rogers as the runner up and in the dance category the winner was Tristan Defoe with Deveny Elferink as runner up.

“The winners will now begin a one year dream program in which they will be granted celebrity status, assisting TelCell and the TelEm Group in various promotions, while further honing their own artistic talents Read more

Prime Minister Wescot-Williams Highlights The Importance Of Safety, Security, Efficiency And Growth For The Future Of St. Maarten's Airport

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams in her opening address at the Princess Juliana International Airport Safety and Security Conference highlighted the importance of safety and security for the economic stability on the island;

"As you as representatives from the aviation industry have travelled to our shores to attend the Safety and Security Conference at the beautiful Westin Resort it is important for us to realize the importance of safety, security, efficiency and growth for the further development of the ports on our island.

"In recent decades airport safety and security has been one of the most important areas not only to airport administrators and security experts but also especially to the general public.

Oftentimes while traveling or preparing to travel we are confronted by the disquieting perception that air travel is inherently risky and that these risks are often dictated by the international political climate and instances that have plagued the airline industry recently Read more

Editorial - Fair chance

There can be little doubt that the conclusions of the "Integrity Inquiry into the functioning of the Government of St. Maarten" first reported on in Saturday's paper are reason for concern. To a certain extent the general reaction coming from the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament in The Hague (see today's related story) is therefore understandable.

On the other hand, outgoing Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams and Justice Minister Dennis Richardson had a point in their official reaction on the report to Dutch Prime Minister and Kingdom Council of Ministers chairperson Mark Rutte: The relatively young country lacks means to deal effectively with integrity breaches and really could use more help from the Netherlands in that sense.

One concrete example is that almost a year of discussions on requests for assistance to strengthen the National Detectives and Prosecutor's Office so they can better tackle corruption and fraud have not yet led to tangible results Read more

Holier than thou

Dear Editor,

The country is abuzz about yet another attempt to form a government after the first parliamentary election since the elimination of the failed Netherlands Antilles. It would appear that the Red, White and Blue effort turned out to be dead on arrival and people are left to speculate as to what exactly transpired. As is more often than not the case, the rumour mongering is again rife about money and promises of pies in the sky.

It would seem that whenever the green party has an opportunity to form the government, the haters come out with one fantasy or another Read more

Israel's Netanyahu: Iran poses greater threat than Islamic State

UNITED NATIONS-- Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday tried to shift the spotlight away from the Islamic State militant group and back to Iran, warning the United Nations that a nuclear-armed Tehran would pose a far greater threat than "militant Islamists on pickup trucks."

Islamic State's seizure of large swaths of Syria and Iraq and its killings of civilians and soldiers have dominated discussions during five days of speeches at the United Nations General Assembly podium and on the sidelines.

But Netanyahu described Iran, Islamic State and the militant group Hamas that controls the Gaza Strip as part of a single team, comparing them all to Germany's Nazis, who killed six million Jews in World War Two.

"The Nazis believed in a master race, the militant Islamists believe in a master faith," Netanyahu said in his speech at the annual gathering of the 193-nation assembly in New York Read more

Syria backs global fight against Islamic State, minister tells U.N.

UNITED NATIONS-- Syria stands with a worldwide effort to combat Islamic State, Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said on Monday, in a statement to the United Nations that appeared to give tacit approval of U.S. and Arab air strikes in Syria targeting the militants.

Moualem told the United Nations General Assembly that military action to tackle Islamic State, al Qaeda's Syrian wing Nusra Front, and other extremist groups should coincide with cutting off their flow of funds, weapons, fighters and training.

"It is due time to pool all our efforts against this terrorism, since imminent danger is surrounding everyone and no country is immune to it," Moualem told the annual gathering of world leaders, though he cautioned that any military action must abide by international law and respect a country's sovereignty.

The United States forewarned Syria's U.N Read more

Sarah: Counterpart policy was ‘moot point,’ unclear why Cornelius de Weever defected

~ He has not resigned from DP ~

PHILIPSBURG--Democratic Party (DP) leader Sarah Wescot-Williams says the counterpart policy was a "moot point" and could not be the reason DP Member of Parliament (MP)-elect Cornelius de Weever had pulled his support from the slate on which he was elected to help United People's (UP) party form a one-seat Parliamentary majority.

Wescot-Williams told reporters at a press conference at Holland House Beach Hotel on Sunday that the policy never had been an issue, as De Weever's proposal in the Council of Ministers on August 12 to establish a counterpart policy had been approved.

De Weever indicated at the time that the policy would be introduced as a pilot programme in collaboration with social partners and said there were some businesses that were willing to work with him on the initiative Read more

De Weever issues political statement

PHILIPSBURG--Democratic Party (DP) Member of Parliament (MP) elect Cornelius de Weever issued what he called a "political statement" on Monday in the wake of two press conferences Sunday in which his defecting from DP was raised.

De Weever said the old habit of blaming others needs to stop Read more

Vorst land purchase to be omitted from 2014 budget amendment

~ Roy's amendment to budget amendment passed ~

PHILIPSBURG--An amendment to remove the purchase of the Vorst Estate property from a budget amendment tabled by Finance Minister Martin Hassink was passed during a public plenary session of parliament on Monday.

It was the third time the meeting had been convened to handle this and other issues. The first two meetings were cancelled due to lack of quorum. The motion, which was tabled by Democratic Party (DP) Member of Parliament (MP) Roy Marlin, was passed by seven of MPs voting in favour of the amendment and six voting against it.

Supporting the motion were author Roy Marlin, National Alliance (NA) MPs William Marlin, Hyacinth Richardson, George Pantophlet and Louie Laveist and Independent MPs Frans Richardson and Romain Laville Read more

Second Chamber calls for intervention in St. Maarten

THE HAGUE--The Dutch media reported on Monday that there is majority support in the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament for intervention through a large criminal investigation of "St. Maarten's corrupt government." Dutch politicians are especially worried now that the United People's (UP) party of Theo Heyliger is about to take power.

Two major Dutch newspapers, De Telegraaf and Trouw, reported on Monday morning on PricewaterhouseCoopers' (PwC's) Integrity Inquiry report on St Read more

Amendment to budget approved, Vorst Property out of 2014 Budget.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The long awaited budget amendments to the 2014 budget were approved unanimously on Monday by the Members of Parliament that attended the meeting. However, Member of Parliament Roy Marlin submitted a motion to amend the budget amendments to remove the purchasing of the Vorst property. The motion submitted by MP Roy Marlin was accepted with seven votes in favor of the removal of the purchasing of the Vorst property while six members all from the UPP voted against the motion Read more

>POND ISLAND:--- It was a night to remember at the Theatre Royale, Maho, Saturday, where judges announced the 2014 TelCell Breakthrough Talent Search winners in true Hollywood style.
The winners and runners-up in the four categories were:

Instruments:
Winner: New Generation Status (GNS STM)
Runner up: Brandon Potmis

Vocals:
Winner: Arias -4
Runner up: Sinatra Bauld

Rap:
Winner: Serenity Martinus
Runner up: Rumari Rogers

Dance:
Winner: Tristan Defoe
Runner up: Deveny Elferink

The winners will now begin a one year dream program in which they will be granted celebrity status, assisting TelCell and the TelEm Group in various promotions, while further honing their own artistic talents.
They will also collaborate on a recording contract and will act as mentors and role models for St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI) Hon. Maurice Lake on Monday visited a road paving project in the residential district of St. Peters.

The secondary roads that are scheduled to be paved are Guavaberry, Marigot Hill and Sugar Apple Road.

"The work is progressing and local sub-contractors are involved in the work Read more

>GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- Tuesday September 23, 2014 saw the official handing over of the sports materials by USONA to the Minister of Education Culture Youth and Sports Hon. Patricia Lourens-Philip.
These materials have been a long time coming and they were purchased to facilitate the increased upgrading of Sports on Sint Maarten.
Minister Lourens-Philip stated the Government of Sin Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- In mid March 2014, Benjamin & Parker (www.b-parker.com), initiated onsite certification sessions for the online course "Efficiency Auditing", a new science to secure corporate workflow effectiveness and corporate financial waste, in association with PCMI under management of Mr. Robert Budike. The course had a particular characteristic as it emphasized the Colombian method of efficiency and risk management applications, after considering its thoroughness and security scrutiny safeguards to contain operation and financial high impact incidents Read more

Corrupt St. Maarten should be thoroughly investigated --- Dutch MPs.

>THE HAGUE, Netherlands:--- Justice must undertake a major criminal investigation into the thoroughly corrupt St. Maarten. That is what the Second Chamber demands now that Theo Heyliger has grabbed absolute power on the island.
A majority of the chamber members of the VVD, SP CDA and the PVV want action after it appears from a Price Waterhouse report, released this weekend, that the entire administration is steeped in cronyism Read more

Minister De Weever Already Knew In October 2013: “Executing Counterpart-Policy Is Detrimental For Economy”

St. Maarten / By Hilbert Haar – Executing the counter-part article of the executive order on foreign labor is detrimental for St. Maarten’s economy because the labor supply is strongly dependent on immigration. This is the conclusion from an advice the Social Economic Council (SER) already issued on October 22 of last year to the minister of Public Health, Social Affair and Labor, Cornelius de Weever Read more