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Emil Lee: “Cuba Will Be An Interesting And Competitive Factor”

GREATBAY—St. Maarten’s tourism product, as well as that of the other Caribbean islands, may be negatively impacted by the new Cuban/American relationship, according to former director of the St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association and current president of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, Emil Lee.

The CHTA president noted that after being closed off to US residents for tourism and business for the last fifty years, Cuba will now be “a competitive and interesting” factor Read more

The Road To The Gumbs I Cabinet: “Peddling Seats To The Highest Bidder”

St. Maarten / By Hilbert Haar – When Governor Drs. Eugene Holiday administers the oath of office to the five ministers of the Gumbs I cabinet this afternoon, it marks the end of a tedious process that started during the night after the parliamentary elections on August 29. How did we get where we are today? A review.

To avoid any misunderstandings, the governor also administers the oath to the minister plenipotentiary today – but that is not a ‘real’ minister – it is the representative of St Read more

Lloyd Richardson Elected Chairman Of Parliament

St. Maarten – Parliament elected Dr. Lloyd Richardson of the faction of the United People’s party yesterday morning as the successor of Sarah Wescot-Williams as its chairman Read more

Princess Heights Wins Leading Hotel Award

St. Maarten – For second year in a row, Princess Heights Luxury Boutique Hotel has been named “the Leading Hotel in St. Maarten”, by the World Travel Awards (WTA) in its 2014 Caribbean & North America Gala Ceremony 2014, at the CuisinArt Golf Resort & Spa in Anguilla.

Heralded by The Wall Street Journal as the “Oscar’s of the travel industry,” the WTA has developed into the most prestigious and comprehensive awards program in travel and tourism, and is known worldwide as the hallmark of industry excellence that recognizes the commitment to excellence that hospitality businesses worldwide have demonstrated in the last twelve months.

“This latest award, combined with our fourth straight year TripAdvisor certificate of excellence, proves once again that only through hard work, consistency and real commitment to customer service, we can ensure that our guests enjoy lavish accommodations with world class personalized service Read more

Johan Leonard Squeezes Past Buncamper-Molanus Into Parliament

“Mister 7-UP” sends rival home

St. Maarten – Maria Buncamper-Molanus will not become a member of the new Parliament after all. After the Central Voting Bureau had scrutinized yesterday all the ballots the twenty polling stations had deemed invalid, it found two valid votes that went to Johan Leonard Read more

Lively Political Debate On Laser 101: Connor (Up) Estimates Gray Economy To Be 50 Percent

St. Maarten – “The government has a debt of 500 million guilders to the Netherlands, and 200 million to creditors. The 2015 budget is expected to be around 465 million. Unemployment is 11.5 percent. It is your first day in office. What will you do?”

This is how moderator Glen Carty started the political debate on radio station Laser 101 on Saturday evening with participants Emil Lee (number 4-candidate Democratic Party), George Pantophlet (number 2-candidate National Alliance), Claret Connor (number 10-candidate United People’s Party) and Harlec Doran (number 6-candidate United Sint Maarten Party).

The lively debate outshone earlier debates on AVS and the political mixer at the St Read more

Former Ministers Fail To Submit Financial Declarations

PM unaware of blank filing by former Justice Minister Duncan St. Maarten – Not all ministers that left office after the fall of the second Wescot-Williams cabinet have filed a declaration of their assets and financial affairs, Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams said at yesterday’s Council of Ministers press briefing. The General Audit Chamber stated in a report about institutional integrity in May that ministers who leave office have to submit a declaration “truthfully affirming which business interests and assets he, his spouse or partner and his children possess.” This rule is based on the National Ordinance Promotion Integrity of Ministers. The declaration has to include secondary functions and ancillary activities plus the compensation they receive for these activities Read more

Dp “Walking The Integrity Walk” Lee Pushes For Full Public Disclosure

St. Maarten - On the initiative of Emil Lee, candidate #4 on the Democratic Party (DP) list, the Open Government Partnership agreement has been endorsed by the DP and all candidates on its current slate for the upcoming elections, Lee declared in a press release yesterday. “Open and transparent government is not solely a state that St Read more