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Collective Food Program St. Maarten Update

PHILIPSBURG, Sint MaartenThe Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor, Omar Ottley would like to reiterate to the public that theCollective Food Assistance Program coordinated by the St. Maarten Development Fund(SMDF)isstillopen and actively accepting new registrations.

Persons who were previously beneficiaries of the Red Cross version of the program received a WhatsApp or SMS text message to re-register their households under the new program being coordinated by SMDF and implemented by K1 Britannia, Freegan Food Foundation, and COME Center. Persons who were receiving assistance from any of the three organizations are also able and encouraged to re-register.

If you are having difficulty re-registering your household; appointments can be made to visit the Help Desks in Dutch Quarter or Cole Bay by sending a WhatsApp message to 721-554-3219.

Persons interested in registering for the first time can visit foodprogram.sx or send a WhatsApp message to 721-554-3219 for further assistance.

The Whatsapp number services the languages of English, Spanish and Creole.

The post Collective Food Program – St Read more

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~ Political talks begin with USP, and incoming UP MP.~

PHILIPSBURG:--- The Council of Ministers officially suspended the Managing Director of the Princess Juliana International Holding Company Dexter Doncher. Doncher was informed of the suspension by letter late Wednesday night after the Council of Ministers held an emergency meeting and voted. Dexter Doncher was given a warning letter two days prior to the three months suspension.

The Council of Ministers wanted to fire Doncher who followed the instructions of the government to officially dismiss the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Princess Juliana International Airport, Brian Mingo on April 7th Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:---Independent MP Christophe Emmanuel said that it is his opinion that the board of SMMC outright lied to the Minister of VSA Omar Ottley when it stated that the Australian national it brought in to run SMMC was here on an evaluation only. The board knew full well what its intentions were until the plan got exposed, the MP said.
MP Emmanuel highlighted last week that the board was going to appoint Grant Muddle, an Australian, as Director of the St Read more

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~ Questions entire vacancy timeline ~

PHILIPSBURG:--- Independent Member of Parliament Christophe Emmanuel on Tuesday revealed that the newly appointed Australian Director of the St. Maarten Medical Center Dr. Grant Muddle had what he called a messy history at his previous hospital tenure and called for the reversal of the decision to appoint him post-haste.

If this is the same person, reverse the decision not only on those grounds but for the simple fact that this nonsense of appointing people from half way across the world over our own qualified people must stop, MP Emmanuel said Read more

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Mp Emmanuel: Pm Betrays St. Maarteners Once Again

~ Says Alliance clearly not for its voters ~

Independent Member of Parliament Christophe Emmanuel on Friday said it is unbelievable that the Prime Minister of St. Maarten, an educator by profession, would openly label government as an equal opportunity employer when discussing qualified St. Maarteners getting first preference over non-St. Maarteners with employment. This is the ultimate betrayal of our people and everyone who voted for the National Alliance and who anticipated being prioritized by that party, the MP said.

The MP was reacting to Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs explanation about what is happening at the Fire Department with the hiring of a Dutchman as Head of Repression Read more

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~ Says Alliance clearly not for its voters ~

PHILIPSBURG;--- Independent Member of Parliament Christophe Emmanuel on Friday said it is unbelievable that the Prime Minister of St. Maarten, an educator by profession, would openly label government as an equal opportunity employer when discussing qualified St. Maarteners getting first preference over non-St. Maarteners with employment. This is the ultimate betrayal of our people and everyone who voted for the National Alliance and who anticipated being prioritized by that party, the MP said.
The MP was reacting to Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs explanation about what is happening at the Fire Department with the hiring of a Dutchman as Head of Repression Read more

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Samuel Must Explain Public Education Appointment, Says Mp Emmanuel

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – Independent Member of Parliament Christophe Emmanuel on Tuesday called on Minister of EducationRodolphSamuel to explain his reason behind relievingthe local acting Secretary General of the Department of Public Educationof her position and replacing herwith a non-St. Maartennational in government service.

The MP stressed that he has nothing against the person appointed and does not want his concerns misconstrued as anti-immigrant, but called the situation yet another example of this government treating St Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- Independent Member of Parliament Christophe Emmanuel on Tuesday called on Minister of Education Rodolph Samuel to explain his reason behind relieving the local acting Secretary-General of the Department of Public Education of her position and replacing her with a non-St. Maarten national in government service.
The MP stressed that he has nothing against the person appointed and does not want his concerns misconstrued as anti-immigrant, but called the situation yet another example of this government treating St Read more

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Sint Maarten And The Netherlands Meet Over Liquidity Support

Philipsburg, Sint Maarten On Monday, March 29, 2021, Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs and her support staff were invited to a meeting arranged by the Dutch representatives office with State Secretary Knops. The meeting was amicable, however, State Secretary Knops still needed more reassurance from the Parliament of Sint Maarten concerning support for the trajectory of the Kingdom Consensus Law COHO and the country package agreements finalized in December 2020.

Prime Minister Jacobs stated, During the meeting, State Secretary Knops agreed that the Government of Sint Maarten has lived up to the agreements Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- On Monday, March 29, 2021, Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs and her support staff were invited to a meeting arranged by the Dutch representatives office with State Secretary Knops. The meeting was amicable, however, State Secretary Knops still needed more reassurance from the Parliament of Sint Maarten concerning support for the trajectory of the Kingdom Consensus Law COHO and the country package agreements finalized in December 2020 Read more

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Sint Maarten And The Netherlands Meet Over Liquidity Support

Philipsburg On Monday, March 29, 2021, Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs and her support staff were invited to a meeting arranged by the Dutch representatives office with State Secretary Knops. The meeting was amicable, however, State Secretary Knops still needed more reassurance from the Parliament of Sint Maarten concerning support for the trajectory of the Kingdom Consensus Law COHO and the country package agreements finalized in December 2020.

Prime Minister Jacobs stated, During the meeting, State Secretary Knops agreed that the Government of Sint Maarten has lived up to the agreements Read more

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Letter To The Editor: LetS Talk

No Coho like Coho. Let me explain what I mean. There is some kind of entity that might be established, but the Coho will not be that entity. The new entity will and must have the input of the countries Curacao, Aruba and St. Maarten (CAS) because the Coho does not. And it must not as it now does, infringe on National, Kingdom and International Laws.

The State Secretary should not have the final authority when it comes to the process or execution of the packages in other words he should not be placed as judge, jury and executioner Read more

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Parliament Follows Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs Decolonization Initiative While Adopting Dutch Jurists Claims Of Racism In The Caribbean

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — In September of 2015, former Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs became one of the first St. Maarteners to question the Netherlands regarding the United Nations’ doubts as to whether the Kingdom Charter had decolonized the islands of the former Netherlands Antilles.

He went on to profess that the United Nations had serious doubts regarding the sincerity of The Netherlands to decolonize the former Netherlands Antilles Read more

Mp Buncamper Applauds Minister Of Justice For Officially Bringing Back The Border Protection Under The Ibps

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – “Let me publicly congratulate you (The Minister of Justice) for getting the process of the IBPS (Immigration and Border Protection Service) in its final stages.

is how MP Buncamper started his speech on the floor of parliament in Wednesdays meeting with the Minister of Justice, Anna Richardson.

I know that some people may be disappointed with the change but we must execute the law based on the LIOL (National Order of Governments structure) Buncamper stated.

The MP went on to say that This department has its work cut out for it as the immigration issue is a serious one and we must deal with it humanly, but yet firmly.

The UNICEF report, that addresses the abuse of persons bringing their families to St Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- Let me publicly congratulate you (The Minister of Justice) for getting the process of the IBPS (Immigration and Border Protection Service) in its final stages.
is how MP Buncamper started his speech on the floor of parliament in Wednesdays meeting with the Minister of Justice, Anna Richardson.
I know that some people may be disappointed with the change but we must execute the law based on the LIOL (National Order of Governments structure) Buncamper stated Read more

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Member Of Parliament (Mp) Claudius Toontje Buncamper Expressed His Disappointment With The Dearth Of Answers Provided By The Minister Of Teatt

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – Member of Parliament (MP) ClaudiusToontje Buncamper, faction leader of the United St. Maarten Party (USP) in parliament, expressed his disappointmentwith thedearth ofanswers provided by the minister of TEATTduring WednesdaysCentral Committee meetingof parliament,to his questions posedduringthe adjourned meeting of Monday, February 15th.The lack of response to the questions asked was justified by the ministerand the airports managementas due to confidentiality,which frustrateda number ofMembers of Parliament, including MP Buncamper.

Wednesdays meeting did not yield the long awaited information regarding the airports terminal reconstruction project and the operational projections for 2021. Instead,many of the questions posed remained unanswered or were answered in a wishy-washy manner. The meeting was subsequently adjourned until a later date when the minister and the airport management will return to parliament to provide the answers to the questions posed by the members of parliament.

MP Buncamper questions the role of the State of the Netherlands in regards to the management of the airport. On January 31 the Director for Kingdom Relations/Countries on behalf of the State of the Netherlands, State Secretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations, sent a letter to the airports CEO, Brian Mingo, stating: I write to you to express our intention to continue the cooperation between PJIAH, PJIAE, Schiphol and the State of the Netherlands Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament (MP) Claudius Toontje Buncamper, faction leader of the United St. Maarten Party (USP) in parliament, expressed his disappointment with the dearth of answers provided by the minister of TEATT during Wednesdays Central Committee meeting of parliament, to his questions posed during the adjourned meeting of Monday, February 15th. The lack of response to the questions asked was justified by the minister and the airports management as due to confidentiality, which frustrated a number of Members of Parliament, including MP Buncamper.
Wednesdays meeting did not yield the long-awaited information regarding the airports terminal reconstruction project and the operational projections for 2021 Read more

Pjiae And Minister Of Teatt Provided Vague Answers To Parliament.

~MPs demanded that their questions be answered, MP Ottley asked the PJIAE Management to take the podium to provide real answers. ~

PHILIPSBURG: --- Members of Parliament described the 48 pages of answers to questions posed to the Minister of TEATT Ludmilla de Weever provided to them on Wednesday regarding the reconstruction of the PJIAE terminal and operational projections for 2021 as vague and unacceptable.
Member of Parliament Christopher Emmanuel lamented that most of his questions were not answered while the Minister said the answers to the questions are confidential Read more

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~PWR Agency hosts a new signature event on February 25 to equip islandpreneurs to dominate online.~

 PHILIPSBURG:--- Produce Wealth Revolution (PWR) Agency aims to inspire and equip entrepreneurs with the skills to build thriving businesses through creating dynamic events and programs. Last year, due to the pandemic, the PWR Agency hosted more than 25 online programs reaching over 7500 persons around the world, with an average of 30% viewing from St. Maarten. Two of the most notable successes of 2020 were Islandpreneur Live, which had 650 registrants from 35 countries, and iFOUNDED Joint Pitch Competition, which gave two grand prize winners, from Curaao and St Read more

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LokayS Statue Is Restored And Is Standing Tall Again

Cay Hill, Sint Maarten – When hurricane Irma made landfall on the island on September 6th in 2017, the devastation was not only limited to the islands infrastructure, but rather, the category five storm ravaged almost everything in its path.

As a result, some of the islands statues namely, Lokay at the Roundabout in Cay Hill, the Peridot Foundation Domestic Violence Statue located at the Roundabout on the Bush Road and the Salt Pickers Statue on the Walter A. Nisbeth Rd were damaged during the hurricane.

With the assistance of Foundation Community Aid Sentry Hill in collaboration with Mag Tech BV, the TelEm Group and First Response, those statues include Lokay, have been restored Read more

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Telem Group Responds To Smcu.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Chief Executive Officer of TELEM Group of Companies Kendall Dupersoy penned a letter to the St. Maarten Communications Union (SMCU) after the employees of the company held a protest action on Wednesday. In his letter Dupersoy asked the SMCU if they enjoy playing the victim, he said whenever he talks to the union they consider it disrespectful.
The contents of the letter are below:

SMCU PRESENT

 February 17, 2021

  Kendall Dupersoy Executive Division Chief Executive Officer

Reference: CORP-006-2021

Description: Letter sent 12 February 2021 Ref Cost-Cutting Measures

 Dear SMCU,

 Do you enjoy playing the victim? Every letter is disrespectful, when I talk to you its disrespectful Read more

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Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs Responds Concerning Leaked Letter From World Bank

Philipsburg In response to the article published in The Daily Herald on February 9th, regarding a leaked letter from the World Bank Country Director for St. Maarten Tahseen Sayed concerning the state of affairs of the SXM Airport, Prime Minister Jacobs expressed disappointment in the lack of integrity of those who chose to leak an internal document. Prime Minister Jacobs further expressed that government, as the sole shareholder of the Princess Juliana International Airport Holding Company (PJIAH), which holds corporate governance in the highest regard, will ensure this matter is addressed in the Extra ordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers prior to sending a response to the author of the letter which was leaked to the press regarding their concerns Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- In response to the article published in The Daily Herald on February 9th, regarding a leaked letter from the World Bank Country Director for St. Maarten Tahseen Sayed concerning the state of affairs of the SXM Airport, Prime Minister Jacobs expressed disappointment in the lack of integrity of those who chose to leak an internal document Read more

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Wescot-Williams Makes Inquiries Into Pjia.

Philipsburg, St. Maarten Member of Parliament Sarah A. Wescot-Williams (UD) has made numerous inquiries into what she deems an unfortunate situation that played out during the latter part of 2020 between the airport holding board and the Managing Director of the Princess Juliana International Airport, Mr. Brian Mingo.

A letter from the airport holding board that supposedly was also copied to the Parliament of Sint Maarten, the MP stated in a recent statement,  has prompted her to ask questions to the Shareholder, in this case Prime Minister Jacobs and  Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT), de Weever about the allegations in the letter.

Wescot-Williams said that the matter is unfortunate and it is lamentable that a corporate matter such as this has played out in the public domain Read more

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