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Central Committee Meeting requested by DP and NA Factions about Port St. Maarten.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The Central Committee of Parliament will meet in public session on February 10 at the request of the Democratic Party (DP) and National Alliance (NA) factions.
The Minister of Finance Hon. Martin Hassink and Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications Hon Read more

Central Committee Meeting Requested By Dp And Na Factions About Port St. Maarten

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – The Central Committee of Parliament will meet in public session on February 10 at the request of the Democratic Party (DP) and National Alliance (NA) factions.

The Minister of Finance Hon. Martin Hassink and Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications Hon Read more

DP, CPA, OSPP still to submit donation list

~ Candidates urged to submit info by Feb. 13 ~

PHILIPSBURG--The Democratic Party (DP), Concordia Political Alliance (CPA) and One St. Maarten People Party (OSPP) have not yet submitted their donation registers for the August 29, 2014 Parliament Election to the Electoral Council Read more

D66, PvdA opposed on St Maarten intervention

THE HAGUE--The Dutch Labour Party PvdA and the democratic party D66 have contradicting views when it comes to the proposed intervention by the Kingdom Council of Ministers to tackle integrity violations in St. Maarten.

The PvdA is of the opinion that intervention by the Kingdom Government in the case of St. Maarten is merited because the country has offered insufficient redress to effectively deal with integrity violations in government.

PvdA Member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament Roelof van Laar made this clear during a public debate in The Hague on Thursday evening, organised by the Committee Kingdom Relations and the Kingdom Youth Parliament.

Member of the Second Chamber Wassila Hachchi of D66 condemned the extreme measure of the Kingdom Council of Ministers to start the procedure to impose a General Measure of the Kingdom Government ("Algemene Maatregel van Rijksbestuur AMvRB") to establish an Integrity Chamber for St Read more

Mp Sarah Wescot-Williams: “This Is A Slap In The Face Of St.Maarten”

St. Maarten – “Nothing Sint Maarten has done with respect to tackling integrity issues has made any difference for Minister Plasterk and his colleagues in the Dutch cabinet,” Democratic Party MP Sarah Wescot-Williams states in a press release, adding that an article-51 measure amounts to imposing higher supervision.

Wescot-Williams notes that Kingdom Relations Minister Plasterk “has been fencing with the measure for a long time” thereby “making it appear as if St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Mr. Emil Lee, who ran number 4 on the DP list in the August 2014 election, has been appointed by the Democratic Party as Parliamentary faction advisor for socio-economic matters in general and tourism in particular.

During the campaign, Emil was a strong advocate for open government and integrity 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

Mp Marlin-Romeo: “Cut Salaries Of Mps And Ministers By 5 Percent”

St. Maarten – Independent Member of Parliament Leona Marlin-Romeo made a good impression in her first address during Tuesday’s budget-debate. To the point and sticking to budget-related issues, the rookie MP fired a torrent of succulent remarks, mostly geared towards areas where she considers budget cuts still possible – and she did not need one-and-a-half hour to get her points across Read more

Parliament adopts ‘skeleton budget’

PHILIPSBURG--Parliament passed the 2015 budget with an 11-4 vote on Thursday night with just two days to spare before the deadline set by the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT.

The budget had to be established in December 2014. Government asked CFT for more time and was given the deadline of January 31.

Voting for the budget were the 10 Members of Parliament supporting the coalition and former coalition member MP Sarah Wescot-Williams (Democratic Party (DP)) Read more

Gov’t instructed to raise fee on money transfers

PHILIPSBURG--Increase or create an international transfer fee to be levied on money transfer services such as MoneyGram and Western Union was an instruction from Parliament to Finance Minister Martin Hassink. The motion was adopted by Members of Parliament (MPs) in the Plenary Session of Parliament dealing with the 2015 budget on Thursday evening.

Thirteen MPs voted for the motion.

MP Sarah Wescot-Williams (Democratic Party) voted against the motion, saying she could not support the piecemeal approach to changing the tax system Read more

SMTA calls for summit, decisive action on Timeshare Ordinance

SIMPSON BAY--"The time for decisive action is now," says St. Maarten Timeshare Association (SMTA) chairman Marcel Javois in relation to the Advisory Council's remarks on the Timeshare Ordinance brought to SMTA's attention recently. The SMTA is calling for a summit on the matter to discuss the best way forward.

"The SMTA has taken keen note of the recent comments and statements surrounding the Timeshare Ordinance. We believe that it is now time for urgent action, with this matter having been on the table for over 18 years," Javois was quoted as saying in an SMTA press statement released January 28.

SMTA said it had "just learned that the Advisory Council is unhappy with the Timeshare Ordinance Civil Code amendments and the Timeshare Authority Ordinance that will assist government and consumers in regulating the timeshare industry being drafted in the English language.

"At the time the laws were drafted for Member of Parliament [MP – Ed.] Leroy de Weever, the initiator of the laws, then-Minister of Justice Roland Duncan, and the supervising expert of the legislation, Judge Professor Jan de Boer, believed that there was ample justification for the laws to be drafted in English as it is one of our two official languages.

"In April of last year, the SMTA met with Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson, who said that many timeshare concepts were so English-specific and given that Holland has only one small timeshare property, that English should be used, but the law should be as a separate national law rather than part of the Civil Code, which needs to be as uniform as possible throughout the Kingdom.

"We understand that the Advisory Council is also not satisfied with using that as a solution.

"Given the late hour and the urgency of the issue as a national priority now that two large timeshare properties are having serious trouble and government has no tools to help, the SMTA hereby calls for an immediate summit to be convened."

SMTA called for the summit to include players that might have input, including current parliamentary initiator of the law Democratic Party (DP) through its leader MP Sarah Wescot-Williams, Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Claret Connor, Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson, the Advisory Council, the Ombudsman, Department of Legal Affairs and the SMTA, "in order to make a plan to get this legislation corrected and, if necessary, translated accurately to Dutch, and passed in the shortest time possible."

As reported in Tuesday's edition of The Daily Herald, the hold-up in the processing of the draft initiative laws to regulate the timeshare sector has come down to a matter of language Read more

Leona: Stop first class travel for MPs and ministers, cut salaries

PHILIPSBURG--A five per cent salary cut and an end to all first class air travel for Members of Parliament (MPs) and ministers were proposed to Parliament by independent MP Leona Marlin-Romeo during the Plenary Session of Parliament dealing with the draft 2015 budget on Tuesday.

Marlin-Romeo, a member of the governing coalition, said if civil servants could do without the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) this year, MPs and ministers should be prepared to take a salary cut.

She intends to formalise her proposals in a motion slated for tabling today, Wednesday, when the plenary session continues in Parliament House at 2:00pm.

Then Democratic Party MP Roy Marlin lobbied for a similar salary cut just over a year ago, but it was withdrawn after he failed to persuade any of his coalition partners to sign on Read more

Advisory Council wants timeshare law in Dutch

PHILIPSBURG--The hold up in the processing of the draft initiative laws to regulate the timeshare sector has come down to a matter of language. The two draft laws are written in English, one of the official languages of the country, but the Advisory Council has requested the law to be re-submitted by the Democratic Party (DP), the initiator, in Dutch.

All of the country's laws are in Dutch and the judicial system, which executes the laws, is almost entirely in Dutch.

DP Leader Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams said at a press conference held in Parliament House on Monday, she intends to take up the law with Tourism and Economic Affairs Minister Claret Connor, when they meet on February 5 Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot Williams told reporters on Monday afternoon at a press conference that she is of the opinion that the deal with Rainforest Adventure to develop the Emilio Wilson Park is a done deal. "I believe this government has placed their stamp of approval on the project. This is my opinion because there is a lot not said when questions are being posed to Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs regarding this project, however, the people of St Read more

It’s time to pay back, in politics there is nothing call a free lunch.

style="text-align: center;">Two faced or screw faced politicians. Do what you want now and the people will forget after seven days. Now we know why so many people say that all the politicians are alike. Horse trading started after the election in 2010 but has continued even more after 2014 election. There are ship jumpers, church jumpers and now we have party jumpers seeking betterment for themselves. We must establish a Credibility Chamber for most of our politicians to regain some type of credibility before the next election Read more

It's Time To Pay Back, In Politics There Is Nothing Call A Free Lunch

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – It has been rumored for some time that the US party was planning to support the UP led coalition but I had to read it to actually believe it.

Now we can understand why during the election so many voters stick their hands out and say give me something for my vote now. Because after the election the horse trading will continue and all the elected officials are thinking about what and how much they can get for their seat.

It is never about improving the quality of life of the people Read more

Independent Mp Cornelius De Weever Defends Counterpart Policy

St. Maarten —Criticism leveled at the Governments Counterpart policy has resulted in Independent Member of Parliament Cornelius de Weever coming to the defense and making it clear that “the counterpart legislation is a law and not just a policy.”

MP De Weever explained that the ministry used the law in one case. “The company took us to court and government lost because according to the judge we did not have a policy on how the law would be used so the labor policy department wrote the counterpart policy in consultation with the Social Economic Council and the Tripartite Committee Read more

Lynch’s attorney requests injunction against Bloem

PHILIPSBURG--According to a leaked legal document, St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF) Director Henry Lynch's Attorney Cindy Marica, in defence of her client, has requested an injunction on January 16 against SMHDF, St. Maarten Housing Finance Foundation (SMHFF) and attorney Jairo Bloem for undue/unjustified suspension, and unrightfully taking a bag and other personal possessions.

In the injunction request to the Court of First Instance, Bloem was also blasted for writing an explanatory press release on the case which Marica called "incorrect" and "unjust." The case has caused "enormous damage" to his reputation, she argued.

The request calls for a public apology and correction, and suggested a penalty of some US $1,000 daily in the case of non-compliance Read more

William agrees with CFT’s lower budget assessment

PHILIPSBURG--National Alliance (NA) leader Member of Parliament (MP) William Marlin says his party agrees with the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT estimate of the draft budget. CFT has tagged the budget at NAf Read more

Demand For Report About Bureau Telecommunication And Post: Btp-Statement Exasperates Mp Sarah Wescot-Williams

St. Maarten – Democratic Party MP Sarah Wescot-Williams has reacted rather exasperated at the press release the Bureau Telecommunication and Post (BTP) sent to the media just before the weekend. In the release, the BTP-board denies fraud-allegations and claims that the responsible minister (the now departed Ted Richardson) has failed to provide integrity-researchers with the appropriate information, even though this information is available.

“Events in rapid succession are demanding Parliament’s attention,” Wescot-Williams writes in a press release, “and government is called to respond with equal urgency.”

The DP-MP notes that the BTP has been created by law to execute a public task and that it is considered an independent organization Read more

De Weever weighs in on counterpart policy

PHILIPSBURG--Independent Member of Parliament Cornelius de Weever on Wednesday weighed in on the "Counterpart Legislation," which the St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) has warned the government against implementing.

De Weever, who noted that the policy is actually a law, said in a press release that "the ministry" had applied the law in one case Read more

Member of Parliament De Weever defends Counter Part Policy.

>GREAT BAY:--- Independent Member of Parliament Cornelius de Weever is defending the Counterpart Legislation, which is a law and not just a policy.
MP De Weever explained that the ministry used the law in one case. "The company took us to court and government lost because according to the judge we did not have a policy on how the law would be used so the labor policy department wrote the Counterpart policy in consultation with the Social Economic Council and the Tripartite Committee.
"One business owner of this tri-partite committee volunteered to have this Counterpart Policy applied in his company," said MP De Weever Read more

Member Of Parliament De Weever Defends Counter Part Policy

GREAT BAY, St. Martin - Independent Member of Parliament Cornelius de Weever is defending the Counterpart Legislation, which is a law and not just a policy.

MP De Weever explained that the ministry used the law in one case.

"The company took us to court and government lost because according to the judge we did not have a policy on how the law would be used so the labor policy department wrote the Counterpart policy in consultation with the Social Economic Council and the Tripartite Committee.

"One business owner of this tri-partite committee volunteered to have this Counterpart Policy applied in his company," said MP De Weever Read more