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Rotary Sunset Donates School Benches To Mgdw

Philipsburg, St. Maarten With a high rise in COVID-19 cases on the island and in effort to promote physical distancing in schools, the students at Marie Genevieve de Weever Primary School are proud recipients of twenty new school benches. The Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset donated the school benches earlier this month in a brief ceremony held at the school.

The hard-working volunteers dedicated two weekends to complete and paint the benches. The school benches were constructed by Canizus Design NV, while over twenty Rotarians and prospective members primed the benches and painted them blue, which is the schools official color Read more

Mp Buncamper Questions Prime Minister Regarding Ser Board.

PHILISPBURG, Sint Maarten – United St. Maarten Party (USP) Member of Parliament Claudius Toontje Buncamper on Friday fired off a number of questions to Prime Minister,SilveriaJacobs regarding governments failure to appoint new board members to the board of the Social Economic Council (SER). The MP questioned the reason why the new

board members have not yet been appointed and when does government expect to do so Read more

Coci Has Positive Meeting With Pjiae Airport On The Involvement Of Local Companies In Rebuilding Process

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten Representatives of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (COCI) Board and Executive Management met with Princess Juliana International Airport Operating Company N.V. (PJIAE) management team regarding the involvement of local companies during the rebuilding process of the airport.

COCI and PJIAE have a good understanding and awareness of the local business landscape, and therefore the inclusion of local partners in the rebuilding is essential during these challenging economic times for the country.

The COCI board made a request in 2018 and again in 2019 for government-owned companies to consider including local contractors wherever possible in the rebuilding efforts after the damages caused by hurricanes Irma and Marina in September 2017.

COCI took part in the Sint Maarten Reconstruction Information Session that took place in The Hague, the Netherlands in September 2018.  The Information Session was organized by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (NEA) of the Government of the Netherlands and the Netherlands in Business. 

The objective of that trip to the Netherlands was to get the message across that Sint Maarten is open for business; that the Sint Maarten business community must benefit from the rebuilding of the country via the multi-million dollar Dutch-provided fund managed by the World Bank; and to build a strong bridge between the private sector of Sint Maarten and that of the Netherlands due to the opportunities which are endless when we look at the knowledge exchange capabilities.

When PJIAE noted the request of the COCI for structured involvement of local contractors in our islands rebuilding process and government owned companies, PJIAE was the first to approach COCI to initiate this process and get the ball rolling, PJIAE said in an invited comment.

The Airport Terminal Reconstruction Project is an essential renovation project for the PJIAE which was severely damaged by the 2017 hurricanes.  The reconstruction of the airport terminal which was completed in 2006, also includes further major upgrades with fully automated border control, extra escalators at all gates that would improve passenger experience, upgraded check-in counters, a relocation of car rental booths, and additional retail / food and beverage spaces offering local products.   

During the meeting, the Airport representatives explained the process that was to be launched for the reconstruction of the damages caused by hurricanes Irma and Maria.  The chamber would like to point out that PJIAE as a Government owned company is going the extra length to promote and encourage local contractors to take part and register their company to be eligible for possible joint ventures or subcontracting with larger or main contractors, the COCI Supervisory Board said on Tuesday.

It is very important to have local companies participate, not only for the economic value of keeping the capital on island, but also the knowledge of maintenance of the airport infrastructure, since the airport will need to be maintained continuously in order to meet international standards on both safety and quality. 

I hope all stakeholders understand the importance of this, and of course that it becomes a successful reality.  PJIAE is pleased to collaborate with COCI on this endeavor, the PJIAE Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Brian Mingo, said on Tuesday.

COCI has created a special registration online portal where the local interested companies are requested to register their company Read more

Heyliger Extends Congratulations To St. Eustatius Says: Free And Fair Elections Allow Democracy To Reign.

PHILIPSBURG, – Sint Maarten – Democracy at work, were the words, Member of Parliament, the Honorable Grisha Heyliger-Marten used to describe her sentiments after hearing the results of the Island Council elections on St. Eustatius yesterday October 21, 2020.

She said, Part of self-determination is the ability of a people to participate in free and fair elections where their elected officials can serve without fear of attack from forces within our external forces Read more

Public Outreach Campaign Offers Information Disclosure On Airport Terminal Reconstruction Project

ABVO-SXM Union, WICSU PSU Union and Total Cleaning Company updated.

Simpson Bay, St. Maarten (Tuesday September 8, 2020) The Airport is prepared to embark on a 107-million-dollar renovation development despite setbacks due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. The trailblazers of the Project Management Unit (PMU) of the Princess Juliana International Airport Operating Company N.V. (PJIAE) proclaimed during a virtual Public Outreach Campaign with the media, that the preliminary works for the Airport Terminal Reconstruction Project is planned to kick off with the start of the Phase 2 Mold Remediation, Surface Decontamination, Dismantling and Removal process in September 2020 Read more

Established Project Group To Move Forward With The Function Books Process

Philipsburg The Project Group Function Books Ministry of Justice, established by Ministerial Decree, held its kick-off meeting on Friday, September 4th, 2020, at the Government Administration Building, with all its members and support staff in attendance. The Project Group is tasked with the finalization and legislative ratification of the function books of the Ministry of Justice and the placement of the personnel in the functions thereafter. The Project Group is comprised of a Steering Committee and a Workgroup with representatives from the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of General Affairs, and the Ministry of Finance.

Each function book comprises of three parts; firstly, the functions and their job descriptions, secondly, the valuation and assignment of scales to the functions based on the weight of the function using the FuwaSXM framework, and third, the formation plan noting FTEs (Full-Time Equivalents) per function Read more

Growing Up Safe Sint Maarten Magazine Launched

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten The e-version of the first issue of Growing Up Safe St. Maarten has been launched
online. The magazine is geared primarily towards informing and connecting professionals working in the field of Child Protection, but also contains interesting information for the wider community and touches upon topics such as domestic violence and teaching during COVID-19.

The magazine is the first initiative of the recently established Child Protection Working Group (CPWG) with the support from UNICEF Netherlands and the Augeo Foundation Read more

Pfp Concerned About Plan B And Economic Recovery

PHILIPSBURG Party for Progress Members of Parliament Melissa Gumbs and Raeyhon Peterson issued a press release on Thursday, expressing their concern over responses received to questions sent to the Prime Minister, particularly those related to Governments much-discussed plan B.

The faction noted that they had submitted questions to the Prime Minister regarding the ongoing discussion with the Kingdom Government over support for the country, the economic recovery plan (which was requested by Parliament on July 8th and what was in Governments plan B.

Clarity on the economy, it seems, will not be available for several more weeks, according to the responses received to the factions questions Read more

The St. Maarten Police Department Bid Farewell To Dutch Police

Philipsburg The St. Maarten Police Department (KPSM) bid farewell to the Dutch Police officers and support staff.Post-Hurricane Irma in 2017, the Netherlands and other countries within the kingdom, provided extra manpower to secure the safety and security of the island. At the end of the direct assistance, it was agreed between St. Maarten and the Netherlands that the Dutch police’s support would remain for an extended period, allowing KPSM to implement their recovery plan.

With the support of the Dutch Police officers and support staff, KPSM was able to implement new policing strategies and crisis management structures to keep St Read more

Night Life Industry Develop Newcovid Protocol, Will Present To Govt.

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – About 30 representatives of the bar, restaurant, casino and night life industry met on Monday to discuss implementing stricter COVID-19 measures and formalising an association for legally established industry members.

The bar, nightlife, restaurant and casino industry had come under scrutiny after an unsubstantiated recent viral message claimed that a cluster of COVID-19 infected persons was identified at a local club.
Images of filled-to-capicity entertainment venues also surfaced online resulting in increased public scrutiny.
While acknowledging that some in their industry can and should do better, the business owners stressed that most establishments have COVID-19 measures in place and is willing to do more to protect their patrons and the general public.

In that context, the business owners agreed to develop a new protocol and implement additional measures which they will also present officially to Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs and Minister of Health Richard Panneflek and hope to secure their support on such Read more

St. Maarten Academy Psve Achieves 89% Pass Rate School Leaving Exercises Held On July 2, 2020

GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten – St. Maarten Academy PSVE hosted its school leaving exercises on Thursday July 2, on the schools campus, with the theme SOAR-The World Awaits You, with 58 students, or 89% of the Form 4 students meeting the graduation criteria. This year, given the COVID-19 realities, the school modified its graduation program, hosting five independent school leaving programs to minimize face-to-face engagement as students were conferred with their school leaving plaques and grades lists, while creating memories of their last official day at school Read more

Van DamS Plan To Take Over Prison Is Unlawful Knops Gets It Right For Once- Mp Heyliger-Marten

PHILIPSBURGFaction Leader for the United People’s UP Party in Parliament on St. Maarten Grisha Heyliger-Marten says Dutch MP Chris van Dam’s motion to intervene and run the St. Maarten prison at the islands expense is precisely the type of unlawful interference with budgetary processes by the Committee for Financial Supervision (Cft), that has prevented the local Government from structurally addressing urgent local matters.

On June 22, Van Dam submitted a motion to the Dutch Second Chamber requesting that the Dutch Government, at the expense of the Government and people of St Read more

Council Of Ministers Commends Unity Among Unions

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten The Government of St. Maarten has been informed of a series of manifestations that have been ongoing this week. Permission for these manifestations was requested and they have been granted. The government was also informed concerning the willingness of union members to partake
in these meetings and manifestations. During the past two days, Prime Minister Jacobs responded to two emails received in relation to the manifestations, including requesting a meeting to follow up and clarify any pending questions.

Prime Minister Jacobs commends the unity being displayed by the workers across the board Read more

Pfp Submits Old, And New, Questions To Doran

SINT MAARTEN (PHILIPSBURG) On June 16, 2020, Party for Progress (PFP) Members of Parliament (MP) Melissa Gumbs and Raeyhon Peterson have submitted questions to the Honorable Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (VROMI) Egbert C Read more

Heyliger-Marten Repeats Demand For Decolonization Following Ipko

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten Whether the recently held IPKO Meeting with the Kingdom Partners will yield fruit is too early to say but departing Members from The Netherlands are now sure that Member of Parliament and Faction Leader for the United Peoples Party Grisha Heyliger-Martens mission to right the wrongs of the Kingdom Charter are only just beginning.

On Sunday Heyliger-Marten issued a statement in which she confirmed that partners within the Kingdom had, and continue to have unresolved disputes since the inception of the Kingdom Charter (het Statuut) in 1955.
Since then, Holland has been using its size and power to impose its will on its Caribbean partners within the Kingdom Read more

POND ISLAND, Sint Maarten – Dear SMCU,
I fail to understand why the correspondence sent to you on Monday June 1st, 2020 is considered disrespectful.

The company simply forwarded a proposal for cost-cutting measures and explained why this is required. We were clear and transparent in our communication as to why we need to proceed in this manner and also as to what costs we need to cut/are looking at cutting, in an attempt to safeguard the company and all the employees. No disrespect was meant, we are merely looking for a way in which we can cooperate to achieve what we must.

In that respect, the fact that the Unions president went to the media and made several untrue and unfounded accusations about management mismanaging the company, does not contribute to such a cooperation between parties Read more

Open Letter To Minister Irion

Dear Honorable Minister Ardwell Irion,

We are a group of concerned teachers who have taken note of the proposed cuts by the government. While everyone would love for our finances to be stable, we acknowledge the limitations of our coffers.

Therefore, it is reasonable to accept our current salaries as we move forward and half of our vacation pay for 2020 and 2021 Read more

Second Chamber Fully Supports Loan Conditions

THE HAGUE – The Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament is in full support of setting conditions to the financial assistance for Aruba, Curaao and St. Maarten, it became clear during a plenary debate on Wednesday. Above all, Dutch funding should help the large group of needy persons on the islands and certainly not benefit the small group of the rich elite.

The poor man should not suffer. They need our help in this crisis situation. The broadest shoulders should carry the biggest weight, said Member of Parliament (MP) Nevin ztok of the green left party GroenLinks, who pointed out like many of her colleagues in the Second Chamber that the humanitarian urgency was high, and that a swift start of the reforms by the countries was needed to increase resilience and to realise growth.

In that sense, there was full support for the proposal of State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops to link the second tranche of liquidity support to Aruba, Curaao and St Read more

Pfp Questions Samuel Over Mpc Exam Class Letter

PHILISPBURG On 18 May 2020, the Party for Progress faction has submitted questions to the Minister of Education, Culture, Youth & Sports, the Honorable Drs. Rudolph Samuel, related to an open letter to the Minister by students of the Milton Peters Colleges HAVO 5 and VWO 6 exam classes.

The faction begins with questions specifically related to the students letter, inquiring if Minister Samuel had reviewed and read the open letter and what, if any, spot-assessments had been made at MPC and other schools that have been using e-learning as a solution to the physical closure of schools.

The letter caught us off-guard, PFP MP Raeyhon Peterson says Read more

Cost Cutting Measures Discussed With Unions Government Awaiting Further Feedback From Ccsu

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – On Wednesday, May 13th, the Council of Ministers met with the unions for a second time, to discuss the proposed cost-cutting measures for Government. Some of these suggestions directly influence Civil Servants, thus deeming it necessary to discuss these measures with the spokespersons of the Committee of Civil Servants Unions (CCSU). This was the second meeting held with the Unions to discuss cost-cutting measures. During the first meeting, Government made the following proposal: cut its own salary by another 5% which is a total 20% cut 10% off salaries over NA 8,000 Cut of vacation pay 2020 off salaries over NA 4000 Also included in the proposal is freezing or postponement of bonuses etc.

None of the proposed cost-cutting measures would apply to anyone making under NA 4.000, -, which the Minister of Finance stressed in his opening remarks during the press briefing earlier that Wednesday Read more

Prime Minister & Chair Of The Eoc Silveria Jacobs National Address On Covid-19 Developments May 11, 2020

National Address

People of St. Maartenhere and abroad, I hereby address you as Prime Minister and Chair of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), in anupdate for today, Monday,May11, 2020,as part of the process to keep the community of St. Maarten informed about the latest developments and the Governments COVID-19 containment, mitigation and response measures.

I would like to take this time, one day post Mother’s Day, to wish each and every mother, mother figure and a person who makes an impact on our youth. Know that you are appreciated every day and that I’m very happy we had the opportunity yesterday, to relax and be put in the sunshine and receive our due as mothers Read more

Solidarity Is A Two-Way Street, Says Mp Van Dam

THE HAGUE – Solidarity within the Kingdom of the Netherlands is a lovely principle, but it needs to be mutual and equally invested in by all partners, according to Member of the Second Camber of the Dutch Parliament Chris van Dam of the Christian Democratic Party CDA.

One of the most beautiful articles in our Charter is article 36 which states that the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaao and St Read more

Caribbean Covid 19 Update

ST. KITTS & NEVIS

St. Kitts and Nevis Government to Extend 24-Hour Curfew from 6:00am Saturday, April 18, 2020 at 6:00am to Saturday, April 25, 2020 at 6:00am

Basseterre, St. Kitts (April 16, 2020) There are currently 14 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Federation of St. Kitts & Nevis. A total of 239 persons have been tested, 14 of whom were confirmed positive with 188 persons confirmed negative, 37 test results pending and 0 deaths. 0 persons are quarantined in a government facility while 111 persons are currently being quarantined at home and 14 persons are in isolation Read more

Usm Holds First-Ever Virtual Town Hall Assembly

Pond Island —-With an attendance of 78 students and instructors, the University of St. Martin (USM) held its first ever virtual town hall assembly on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. The purpose of said event was to provide an opportunity for administration to receive feedback from the academic community on the temporary transition to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the electronic platform Zoom, popular among colleges and universities worldwide, participants were able to see each other, have their questions answered,express their appreciation for this alternative and share their concerns about the challenges to working and studying from home.

We can all feel proud of ourselves and what we have achieved until now, said USM President Dr Read more