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SHTA poll: Businesses want anti-ship-jumping legislation

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PHILIPSBURG--The St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA), in light of the “current political dilemma,” invited its members to take a poll which showed that the largest single group of respondents wish both for new elections and for new legislation to prevent political “ship-jumping.” However, new legislation was the strongest sentiment expressed overall.

Responses quickly started coming in for the one-question survey sent out to members by e-mail on Tuesday and SHTA released the results on Thursday Read more

Do we serve democracy by not holding new elections?

Dear Editor,

Much has been said about the matter of a motion of no confidence in the members of the Gumbs I cabinet by the Parliament of St. Maarten. There has also been much said about that same cabinet's choice not to resign and call for new elections. The prevailing question is "Even if there is an election, what fundamental difference will it make, especially in the light of the fact that the laws relating to the exact process after such a motion of no confidence is passed have yet to be created, and the fact that there will still be no rules to prevent the ship jumping that has led to this point and preceded other changes in government?" This letter seeks to advance two arguments in favor of these new elections Read more

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New coalition says De Weever acted illegally, calls for urgent meeting

PHILIPSBURG--Second Vice-Chairman of Parliament Cornelius de Weever performed an “illegal act” when he chaired Tuesday’s plenary session of Parliament and closed it swiftly without giving Members of Parliament (MPs) the possibility to react, say representatives of the new coalition in Parliament.

After De Weever closed the session they submitted a request for an urgent meeting of Parliament to talk about his “illegal act” as well as “the consequences for the functioning of Parliament and for the representation of the people of St Read more

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Eight is more than seven

Dear Editor

I read the PM's “weighing in on the political turmoil” and would like to comment.

In 2013, the United People’s (UP) party wanted to come into government and (rightfully so) proclaimed eight parliamentary seats to be more than seven. The battle between proponents of Article 33-2 and Article 59 ensued. Article 59 was invoked by the National Alliance (NA) led Wescot II cabinet, but lost Read more

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Editorial - Deadlocked for now

Anybody expecting that the Parliament session on Tuesday to elect a new President and two Vice-Presidents might lead to some breakthrough in the current constitutional impasse between the new majority and the Gumbs cabinet was disappointed. Although both President Dr. Lloyd Richardson and First Vice-President Leona Marlin-Romeo had publicly made their positions available, they were not present and Second Vice-President Cornelius de Weever, part of the same former UP-led coalition, closed the proceedings as soon as they had begun, saying he needed legal clarification due to the Council of Ministers having passed a national decree to dissolve the legislature and hold snap elections.

The incoming NA/DP/UPS/Matser/Lake coalition did not appreciate this and called for an urgent new meeting about De Weever’s “illegal act” and its impact on the country’s democratic representation Read more

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Student launches two new recycling collection points

DAWN BEACH--In a cheerful unveiling ceremony, Bodine Beentjes, accompanied by Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI Claret Connor, celebrated the opening of two new recycling collection points on Saturday morning.

These will directly benefit residents of Dawn Beach Estates and Ocean View Terrace Read more

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MOU to bring second-chance tertiary education opportunity

PHILIPSBURG--An initiative by I Am SXM Foundation/Education For Us All that aims to bring education opportunities to the youth, in particular those who are hard workers but are disadvantaged through circumstance, achieved a milestone on Friday with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with University of St. Martin (USM).

The MOU was signed in the presence of Education Minister Rita Bourne-Gumbs, the initiative’s first applicant Angela Brown and a number of representatives of each party.

The aim is to address a gap between students who may well be top performers and access to higher education, in particular when lack of the Dutch nationality gets in the way Read more

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Parties disagree on course of action for Isla refinery

THE HAGUE--Curaçao’s Isla refinery makes people sick and is very bad for the environment. No disagreement on that during the handling of the draft 2016 Kingdom Relations budget earlier this week. However, parties in the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament differ in opinion on the follow-up action.

The Democratic Party D66, the Socialist Party (SP) and the ChristianUnion pressed for quick, decisive action, and on Thursday presented two joint motions for a sustainable solution for the refinery Read more

Major UN treaty comes into force, SIDS leaders say they ‘will not be left behind’

NEW YORK, USA--September 30, 2015, is etched in the history books of the United Nations (UN), observing the announcement of the entry into force of the SIDS DOCK Treaty, and the legal recognition of this historic intergovernmental sustainable energy and climate resilience organisation established by heads of state and government of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in 2009, in order to help finance climate change adaptation through the transformation of their countries to low carbon economies.

Against the background of the ceremony of the establishment of SIDS DOCK, and uppermost in the minds of the hundreds of people who packed the 500-seat Conference Room 4 of the UN’s North Lawn Building, was the terrible devastation in the Caribbean island of Dominica, caused by Tropical Storm Ericka in August 2015, which was also an historic and unprecedented hydro-meteorological event for Dominica and SIDS.

The obvious absence of the chair of the SIDS DOCK Steering Committee Prime Minister of Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit was noted in the opening remarks by Dr Read more

US, NATO signal willingness to slow Afghan drawdown

BRUSSELS--The United States and its NATO allies signalled a willingness on Thursday to consider slowing their withdrawal from Afghanistan, days after the Taliban's brief takeover of a provincial capital stoked concern about the strength of Afghan state forces.
  U.S. Defence Secretary Ash Carter said he asked allies for flexibility as Washington reviews a withdrawal timetable currently supposed to slash the nearly 10,000 U.S Read more

PVV’s call to sever ties leads to heated debate on Kingdom

THE HAGUE--Wednesday’s handling of the draft 2016 Kingdom Relations budget in the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament was the scene of a heated discussion on whether to sever the ties with the Dutch Caribbean countries or not.

At the centre of the discussion was Member of Parliament (MP) Sietse Fritsma of the Party for Freedom PVV who repeated his earlier calls to get rid of the United Nations (UN) regulation that former mother countries cannot unilaterally decide to get rid of a former colony Read more

Conference on driving OCT innovation starts

DAWN BEACH--A three-day conference focused on brainstorming and finding solutions towards diversifying economies with innovation, part of an EU-funded project called "Territorial Strategies for Innovation," kicked off on Tuesday morning with a full audience of private and public stakeholders, as well as a host of international attendees from the European Union's (EU) Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs).

The solutions will be geared towards boosting sustainable development and regional/global competitiveness, spearheaded by OCT Association (OCTA) based in Brussels, Belgium Read more

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Late delay as Pacific trade talks near landmark deal

ATLANTA--A dozen Pacific nations closed in on a sweeping free-trade pact on Sunday in Atlanta but failed to finalize terms on the fifth day of round-the-clock talks, dashing hopes raised by an earlier breakthrough on protections for new biotech drugs.
  U.S. officials, who are hosting the meeting, delayed a planned joint news conference until early Monday. That pushed a resolution of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks beyond the deadline set by Japan's economy minister Akira Amari Read more

We can’t leave people on islands in the hands of big criminals

Dear Editor,

It isn’t really a festive celebration, the anniversary of the new countries Curaçao and St. Maarten, which became autonomous countries within the Kingdom on October 10, 2010. Poverty has increased enormously, as well as the crime rate. The world of organised crime seems to have taken over the government by buying votes and bribing politicians. In a very short period, the governments of Curaçao and St. Maarten have fallen and nobody exactly knows why.

Last April, all political parties in the Dutch parliament voted in favour of a motion tabled by my VVD-colleague André Bosman and me calling for an investigation into the relationship between the criminal underworld and the legitimate society. That investigation mainly focuses on the relationship between politics and the (illegal) gambling industry where a lot of money is being laundered, possibly with involvement of Dutch companies Read more

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