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>PHILIPSBURG:--- Today our young island nation is in a constitutional crisis because of the different interpretations of articles #33 and #59 of our constitution. The Council of Ministers has requested the opinions of various Dutch constitutional experts from the Hague. Our governor has taken the high road and requested three judges to provide an advice on this political impasse in five working days. We don’t know if the eight majority in the parliament of St. Maarten has acquired advice from any legal minds locally or from the Hague.
What bothers me is that time after time our elected officials especially those supporting the Council of Ministers have ridiculed the same Dutch for meddling in our internal affairs Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---The 2015-2016 school year is just about to begin with our students reporting to classes today. After one month of vacation our students are all revered up to acquire some more knowledge as the saying goes only the prepared will inherit the future.
Recently, I had a conversation with a teacher and he stated that on an annual basis many students are not promoted; in some cases they don’t pass their final exams and often times they drop out of school after having repeated the same class more than once Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- While reading the government program 2014 -2018 the section dealing with the adoption of a school program did catch my attention. It was very vague and I was hoping to acquire some more information on this adopt a school program. Both MP’s Marlin-Romeo and Lake came out strong defending this program and while I believe there is nothing wrong with such a program but are they planning to make this mandatory that the business community must adopt these schools. In one scenario MP Marlin-Romeo is talking about the tax breaks that many companies are receiving and that one of the condition to receive such a break is that they must adopt one of the public schools Read more

>Pointe Blanche:---- The OSPP welcomes the news that an investigation is to take place at the St. Maarten Harbour Holding N.V. It is better late than never, says Lenny F. Priest. What kept them so long in initiating this investigation, in particular since there has been so much rumor circulating in St. Maarten for the last decade over wrong doings and corruption within the harbour group of companies? It has been said that the harbour has been used as the cash cow for in particular one of the leading politicians in St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG;----  Just recently in one of the dailies our Minister of Education, Mrs. Rita Bourne-Gumbs stated that she will be contacting the banking industry to lower the interest rates for teachers interested in purchasing a property. We support whole heartedly this idea but would ask the Minister to add police officers and nurses as these are also noble professions that are earning on a daily basis this type of savings.
In a letter dated July 12, 2015 we have made this known to the Minister and have also recommended that she consider amending the present transfer tax legislature by exempting first time property buyers within these professions from paying this tax Read more

style="text-align: center;">Is it really the signing of the Integrity protocol why Minister Richardson must go!
I can imagine all of those voters of last election holding their head and bawling with shame knowing that they put this government in place. Don’t blame the politicians, blame yourself. You knew that if you put the same leaders back in office you could not have expected different results than what we are getting today.

Philipsburg:--- Many persons have not being paying much attention to the back and forth discussion regarding the establishment of an Integrity Chamber, especially not those ordinary citizens who are unemployed and those others who can’t make ends meet because of the high cost of living Read more

OSPP IS REPEATING ITS’ CALL FOR AN URGENT OPERATIONAL AUDIT TO BE DONE AT THE HARBOUR GROUP OF COMPANIES.

>Pointe Blanche:--- We have been following with keen attention all the activities that have been taken place at the harbour group of companies over the last couple of years. In a media report some time ago the CFT stated that the Harbour Group of Companies refused to open its books for the government of St. Maarten, the shareholder of the company. Based on the 2013 financial statements acquired by one of the dailies many irregularities were mentioned in the article. Perhaps it is time for us to revisit that article again Read more

>GREATBAY:--- A full scale investigation into the harbour's relationship with Checkmate Security Services and the newly updated contract between the two entities is being called for by leader of the One St. Maarten People's Party Lenny Priest, who said that such an investigation must be conducted by the RST Detectives with the assistance of a leading Accounting firm that is not established in St. Maarten.

The OSPP leader has taken issue with reports of a US$2.2 million increase in a contract between the harbour and Checkmate Security services for the latter to provide security services at the harbour Read more

style="text-align: center;">Our youth are crying for help and all their pleas are falling on deaf ears. A major crime is committed and unfortunately some youths are involved and the entire nation is in uproar. We must do something for your young people. They are going astray. Then the blame game starts, from the parents to the teachers and eventually the government. But at the end of the day nothing is done to help our young people. The 2015 budget was passed recently, what youth programs were presented to the public.

Dutch Quarter – Every year we have hundreds of young people completing our secondary schools and cannot find employment Read more

style="text-align: center;">Nice talk, passed some motions and many questions during the 2015 budget debate like all previous budget debates and then the entire government including parliament go into an induced coma. What has become with the motion that was passed just before the 2014 election to do a study on the minimum wage? Our elected officials act as if they have accomplished so much for the people after they handle the budgets year after year. Yet, unemployment especially amongst the youth remains at an all-time high with fewer of our people becoming business owners and crime becoming the order of the day.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The entire nation was glued to their TV and to their radios listening to the 2014 budget debate Read more

SHTA - Remains Opposed to Counterpart Program.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA), the largest private business representative on the island, SHTA has taken notice of the remarks made, with respect to the implementation of the Counterpart Policy (CPP), by the honorable Members of Parliament Cornelius de Weever and Maurice Lake (in support of CPP) as well as the published opinion of the leader of the OSPP Mr 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

style="text-align: center;">For years many young people that go abroad to further their studies has indicated that they will not be returning to St. Maarten upon their completion of their studies. This has been a torn in my side for I could not understand why anybody upon receiving a scholarship from their government would even think about not returning to serve their country.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Every year our government provides an opportunity for many of our young people with scholarships to be able to further their studies locally or abroad Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The OSPP has taken note of the media report coming from NV GEBE and the government of St. Maarten regarding the dropping of the prices of crude oil. It is very unfortunate that NV GEBE is hell bend on not providing the people of St. Maarten with relief to their fuel clause. Some seven months after the crude oil prices on the international market have been plummeting NV GEBE releases a statement that in my opinion does not hold water Read more

>My Fellow Citizens,

Once again another year has come to end and a new year has begun. Over the past year of 2014, it was not without the many challenges, which we had faced. As the people of St. Maarten; we have experienced a lot of setbacks and by speaking out on those issues that had affected us the most; it didn't yield any sort of positive results or outcomes.
The cost of living, here on the island continues to rise with no limit in sight. Those, who are in authority has repeatedly shown no type of effort or indication towards the citizens that any plans would be set in motion for a relief in the coming new year Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- The leader of the UP, MP Theodore Heyliger succumb to the pressure of the Dutch government by first withdrawing his name as a candidate for Prime Minister of St. Maarten, a position that he stated during the campaign that he was ready and able to take on Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- The cost of living on St. Maarten is amongst one of the highest within the region and the cost of energy is one of the main proponents of that cost. A reduction of the cost of energy will result in food prices as well as many other prices on the island to drop, and thus providing the consumers a much needed relief. Every political party and all the candidates during the last campaign have promised the people some type of relief. Today, we have a golden opportunity to make good use on at least one of those promises and that should be by reducing the fuel clause on our energy bills Read more