SXMElections.com

Trinidad declines to pay Jamaica’s ‘bill’ for returning Muslim leader Abu Bakr

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad--The Trinidad and Tobago government says it will not pay the US $36,000 used to hire a private jet to bring the leader of the radical Jamaat al Mulsimeen group, Yasin Abu Bakr, back to the island from Jamaica where he had been denied entry.

National Security Minister Gary Griffith, speaking at the end of the weekly Cabinet meeting on Thursday, said that Port of Spain had denied a request from Jamaica for payment of the fees.

"I was very clear that Trinidad and Tobago will not bear the costs of that private flight," Griffith, said, adding that the cost of the flight was US $36,000.

The Passport Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) in Jamaica in a statement said Bakr "was refused leave to land under Section 4(1)h of the Immigration Restriction [Commonwealth Citizens – Ed.] Act."

The section states, "The following Commonwealth citizens (not being persons deemed to belong to the Island as defined by sub section (2) of section 2) are prohibited immigrants .. Read more

Man succumbs when truck drives off road in St. Peters

~ Two injured, teacher seriously ~

ST. PETERS--A man whose name was given as Claude Nourant succumbed to injuries received when a truck in which he was a passenger toppled off the road over Sentry Hill in St. Peters and landed front first on Coco Plum Road below around 4:00pm on Saturday.

The driver of the vehicle, teacher Frank Dellamore, and another passenger were injured in the accident. Reports indicate that the truck's brakes suddenly stopped working and the driver was unable to stop the truck which went through a wall, into a yard and fell onto the road below front first.

Nourant was said to have been in the open tray in the back of the truck when the accident occurred Read more

Second Chamber backs St. Maarten instruction

~ A very necessary move, says majority ~

THE HAGUE--The liberal democratic VVD party, the Labour Party PvdA and Socialist Party (SP) representing a majority in the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament fully support the decision of the Kingdom Council of Ministers last week Friday to order a more thorough screening of St. Maarten's candidate ministers.

The instruction that the Kingdom government gave to St. Maarten Governor Eugene Holiday to hold off on the signing of the appointment of the members of the new Council of Ministers until an additional integrity screening has been completed with the assistance of Dutch experts, was "highly necessary," said Members of the Second Chamber André Bosman (VVD) and Ronald van Raak (PvdA).

Member of the Second Chamber Roelof van Laar said that during the handling of the draft 2015 Kingdom Relations budget on October 1, he already called for an in-depth investigation of the indications of vote-buying in St Read more

Efforts To Increase Tax Compliance Fail

Audit Chamber report Optimizing Tax Revenue

St. Maarten – All efforts to increase tax compliance and tax revenue during the past three years have failed. This appears from the performance audit Optimizing Tax Revenue the General Audit Chamber published last week.

The Finance Minister in the first Wescot-Williams cabinet, Hiro Shigemoto, stated in the 2011 budget “that improvement of the functioning of the organization for assessment and collection together with the introduction of a simplified system should lead, in the coming years, to an additional 20 million guilders in tax revenue Read more

Editorial - Sooner rather than later

That just about anything is possible in local politics was proven again over these last few days, as DP leader Sarah Wescot-Williams and US Party number two candidate Leona Marlin-Romeo signed up for the incoming UP/De Weever coalition Read more

Van Raak to seek clarity on St. Maarten developments

THE HAGUE--Appalled by the latest political developments in St. Maarten, Member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament Ronald van Raak of the Socialist Party (SP) will be seeking a statement from the Dutch government that "St. Maarten is about to get a government that possibly has been bought."

Van Raak announced on Friday that he plans to ask Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk for a written explanation during Wednesday's procedural meeting of the Second Chamber's Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations Read more

Editorial - Handle with care

The governing accord of the incoming UP/De Weever coalition announced in Wednesday's paper specifically mentions "finalising and implementing the changes in the Civil Code that regulate short-term labour contracts and finalising the process related to execution of Article 10 of the "Uitvoeringsbesluit arbeid vreemdelingen" as approved by the Council of Ministers on August 12, 2014 (the "Counterpart Policy")."

That's not really surprising, as the main reason current Labour Minister Cornelius de Weever gave for deciding to take his DP seat and form an alliance with UP was that the envisioned NA/DP/US Party government would not include the counterpart requirement in its programme Read more

Local politics and Ebola

Dear Editor,

I have been watching with interest at the present situation in Africa involving the Ebola virus, and the fact that it was carried to the United States via a simple plane trip. Medical personnel in Spain are protesting that they do have the physical apparatus to contain the virus now that a nurse has fallen victim while treating a patient who returned from Africa.

The authorities in the US have called for calm and maintain that they have the wherewithal to prevent a serious epidemic Read more

Two Vehicles Turn Over Wednesday Night, Drivers Escape Without Injuries

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Seemingly it was another busy night for the St. Maarten police force Wednesday and not so much of a good night for MP the Honorable Roy Marlin.

The MP who was driving his jeep into Pointe Blanch late Wednesday evening, in the vicinity of the entrance to the St. Maarten Harbor Facility, had an accident after he tried to avoid hitting a white Ford Explorer that was driving in-front of him at the time.

According to the MP, the white jeep suddenly stopped at which point he initiated an evasive maneuver to avoid hitting the jeep.

He maneuvered to the left while slamming the brakes of his vehicle.

His wheels hit the rocks located on the opposite side of the rode causing his black Hyundai Santa Fe jeep to over turn.

The MP was checked out by Ambulance personnel who arrived on the scene of the jeep crash on Wednesday evening Read more

Casino licences for harbour, airport have Bosman worried

THE HAGUE--Plans to construct a casino at the airport and the harbour in St. Maarten have Member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament André Bosman of the liberal democratic VVD party very worried.

Bosman submitted written questions to Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk on Thursday in response to media reports stating that St. Maarten had expanded its casino policy in order to grant four additional casino licences. The Harbour Group of Companies and Princess Juliana International Airport SXM already have submitted applications for casino licences.

Bosman asked Plasterk how in "God's name it was possible" that permits were being granted while there is a moratorium on the issuing of casino and lottery permits Read more

Editorial - First things first

Reports received by The Daily Herald that a change was being made to the casino policy were confirmed by outgoing Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams during Wednesday's weekly press briefing (see related article). Answers to further inquiries from this newspaper also were provided last night by the cabinet chief of the responsible Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs Ted Richardson.

It's an interesting development especially because it regards gaming activities, always a sensitive subject Read more

PvdA suggests broad-based business Cabinet St. Maarten

THE HAGUE--A national unity government or a broadly carried business Cabinet serving the best interest of the St. Maarten people while at the same time allowing an in-depth criminal investigation into the vote-buying and the process of the recent Parliamentary elections – that is what Member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament Roelof van Laar of the Labour Party PvdA will be bringing forward during the handling of the draft 2015 budget of Kingdom Relations in the Second Chamber today, Wednesday.

Van Laar's suggestion is a more moderate solution to the integrity problems in the 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

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

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

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

St. Maarten requires Dutch support to improve integrity

By Suzanne Koelega

THE HAGUE/PHILIPSBURG--Assistance from the Netherlands to enhance integrity in the St. Maarten Government and to carry out the integrity programme is necessary. Philipsburg is pressing on the Dutch Government to give its cooperation to strengthen the National Detectives Department, the Prosecutor's Office and the Tax Department.

Incumbent St. Maarten Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams and Justice Minister Dennis Richardson sent a letter to that extent to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Thursday Read more

Statement Minister De Weever: “Let My Work Determine My Contribution To Our Country”

St. Maarten – A “political statement” of 867 words Minister of Public Health, Social Affairs and Labor Cornelius de Weever issued last night makes clear that the counterpart policy was the breaking point that drove him to the decision to take up a seat in Parliament instead of continuing as a minister. The statement does not contain a single reference to his support for the coalition with the United People’s party.

De Weever states that he told Democratic Party leader Sarah Wescot-Williams on Tuesday that he would take up his seat in Parliament Read more

De Weever breaks silence on reasons for abandoning DP

~ Counterpart policy at centre of decision ~

PHILIPSBURG--Democratic Party (DP) Member of Parliament (MP)-elect Cornelius de Weever broke his silence Friday on his reasons for pulling his support from the slate on which he was elected to help the United People's (UP) party form a one-seat Parliamentary majority.

De Weever said in a press release that the counterpart policy was "a principle" on which he "was not willing to compromise," as it sought to protect the interests of "our nationals [who – Ed.] want to return home only to be told they do not have enough experience and are even sometimes told they have too much experience and the company cannot afford to pay them; all this while companies still want foreign work permits for the same position."

De Weever said that with all "the rumours and innuendo circulating," he wanted to inform the populace formally on the "reasoning" behind his decision.

He said he had informed DP party leader Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams that he would be taking up his seat in Parliament instead of serving as Minister.

"In this regard, I believe an explanation is warranted to the people of St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- My fellow St. Maarteners, with all of the rumors and innuendo circulating, I want to inform you formally on a decision that I have made and some of the reasoning behind it. On Tuesday afternoon, I informed Honorable Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams that I will be taking up my seat in Parliament instead of serving as Minister and serve the people of St Read more

Political Statement Minister Cornelius De Weever

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - My fellow St. Maarteners, with all of the rumors and innuendo circulating, I want to inform you formally on a decision that I have made and some of the reasoning behind it.

On Tuesday afternoon, I informed Honorable Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams that I will be taking up my seat in Parliament instead of serving as Minister and serve the people of St Read more

Rumors Run Amok In Local Politics: Coalition May Fall Apart With De Weever’S Departure

Finance Minister Martin Hassink confers with National Alliance leader William Marlin while (from left) Frans Richardson and Romain Laville look on Read more

Editorial - Better now than later

It seems the formation of a new government might not go as smoothly as expected after all. Although “formateur” William Marlin (NA) presented Governor Eugene Holiday with his report and the incoming NA/DP/US coalition’s governing programme yesterday, DP leader Sarah Wescot-Williams confirmed that her party’s number two vote-getter Cornelius de Weever had indicated meanwhile that he preferred to occupy his seat in Parliament rather than remain Minister of Labour, Health and Social Affairs as intended.

This creates a problem, because DP quickly will have to choose another nominee to become one of its two cabinet members, while the names of all seven candidate ministers already had been submitted Read more