Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
~ A waste of time and focus on country ~
PHILIPSBURG:--- Leader of the United St. Maarten (US) party MP Frans Richardson on Thursday asked the people of St. Maarten to remember who manipulated the country into the chaos and instability that it is currently in, with a DP/UP/Brownbill coalition unable to form a government Read more
Response To Usp
The Democratic Party has been one of the longest serving parties in the history of St. Maarten.  We have had our ups and downs, but we have been there for the people of St. Maarten, now more than ever before. Our main goal was and continues to be, “how can we make our island a better place for the people of St. Maarten”.
To hear a political party, who welcomed the leader of the Democratic Party as the chairlady in one breathe and denounce her in the next, say some of the most unprofessional things is a shame to say the least.  This berating article from the USP board comes as no surprise, because the same lowdown type of message was previously shared in the NA/USP/DP coalition WhatsApp chat.
Yes, the “testicular fortitude†message from the hand of a TEATT cabinet staffer, singling out 2 leaders of the coalition and calling the other (female) leader “spineless†Read more
The Democratic Party has been one of the longest-serving parties in the history of St. Maarten. We have had our ups and downs, but we have been there for the people of St. Maarten, now more than ever before. Our main goal was and continues to be, "how can we make our island a better place for the people of St. Maarten".To hear a political party, who welcomed the leader of the Democratic Party as the chairlady in one breathe and denounce her in the next, say some of the most unprofessional things is a shame to say the least Read more
PHILIPSBURG:--- Leader of the United St. Maarten (US) party MP Frans Richardson on Sunday said that anyone rejoicing over the unprecedented moves by the Dutch government to oust Prime Minister William Marlin is condoning a dangerous, self-defeating precedent that will be used again against St Read more
PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament Frans Richardson on Friday lauded the management of GEBE for the diligent work currently being executed and for their professionalism under pressure-filled circumstances following hurricanes Irma and Maria. The MP also praised GEBE’s personnel for going above and beyond in putting St. Maarten I position for a quicker recovery.
Richardson said the government and people of St Read more
PHILIPSBURG:--- Leader of the United St. Maarten (US) party MP Frans Richardson on Friday said that his party will not utilize the customary roadside billboards in the run-up to the January Parliamentary elections.
Richardson said that he believes the work put in by the USP in 9 months in office and the clear message that the party will have for the people of St Read more
PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister William Marlin tendered the resignation of his cabinet to Governor Eugene Holiday on Thursday afternoon following the motion of no confidence against himself and the other ministers.Marlin also presented a draft National Decree to the Governor to dissolve Parliament. Once signed, the Parliament of Sint Maarten will be dissolved on January 31, 2018 Read more
~ Lee makes position available ~
PHILIPSBURG:--- The new majority of the Parliament of St. Maarten voted in favor on a motion of non-confidence against six Ministers, namely Prime Minister William Marlin, Ministers Silveria Jacobs, Rafael Boasman, Christopher Emmanuel, Mellissa Arrindell-Doncher and Richard Gibson Sr., while no motion was brought against DP appointed Minister Emil Lee who it was said made his position available.The now opposition voted against the motion of non-confidence brought against the six Ministers Read more
Frans Urges Public Not To Fall For The Pretentious Games Of The Dp
~ Says DP manipulated young MP ~
PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — The leader of the United St. Maarten (US) party is imploring the people of St. Maarten not to fall for the “pretentious saintly act†being put on display by the leader of the Democratic Party MP Sarah Wescot-Williams Read more
PHILIPSBURG:--- The leader of the United St. Maarten (US) party is imploring the people of St. Maarten not to fall for the “pretentious saintly act†being put on display by the leader of the Democratic Party MP Sarah Wescot-Williams Read more
PHILIPSBURG:--- Leader of the United St. Maarten (US) party MP Frans Richardson on Wednesday said the Minister of VSA Emil Lee should be held fully accountable for his failure to properly organize the relief effort following hurricane Irma.Richardson said he cannot understand how the media have not attached accountability where it should go instead of letting Lee throw civil servants from his Ministry under the bus as the failures Read more
PHILIPSBURG:--- The board of the United St. Maarten (US) party said it is very disappointed in MP Chanel Brownbill for the decision he took despite having stood by him through everything and involved him in even more. Brownbill ran on the slate of the US party in the last Parliamentary Elections.The board explained that all effort was made to surround MP Brownbill, a new MP, with the assistance and guidance he needs to be successful in Parliament Read more
~ Ship jumping places instability on country, talks should be held for National Government ~
PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister William Marlin said on Wednesday that the Democratic Party was in discussions with other political parties months ago because the DP was hell-bent on breaking the government through ship jumping Read more
Frans: Shta Should Guard Its Tone In Addressing Its Government Partner
~ Govt. will not be irresponsible in talks with Dutch ~
PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — Leader of the United St. Maarten (US) party MP Frans Richardson believes the St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) should guard its tone and refrain from levying insults towards Parliament and the government of St. Maarten. Richardson’s US party holds the political responsibility for the Ministry of Tourism and Economic Affairs and that of Justice.
He said St Read more
PHILIPSBURG:--- Leader of the United St. Maarten (US) party MP Frans Richardson believes the St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) should guard its tone and refrain from levying insults towards Parliament and the government of St. Maarten. Richardson’s US party holds the political responsibility for the Ministry of Tourism and Economic Affairs and that of Justice.
It is important to evaluate our representatives in Parliament on an annual basis and not wait until election time. Therefore, SMCP is developing a parliamentary report card that will indicate how well or how poorly our MPs are doing in the following six areas: attendance, participation, representation, supervision, legislation, and interaction. In the first letter to the editor on this topic, we covered the reason for and the nature of the report card and presented an extensive description of the first benchmark attendance Read more
A Report Card For Members Of Parliament
At the end of every school year, students are evaluated and promoted or not promoted based on their performance during the year. Conversely, at the end of a parliamentary year, Members of Parliament are not evaluated yet they continue in parliament without anyone questioning their achievements, their performance or their competency to function as a parliamentarian.
I have observed that in several countries around the world, political and interest groups are developing report cards for parliamentarians Read more
PHILIPSBURG:--- At the end of every school year, students are evaluated and promoted or not promoted based on their performance during the year. Conversely, at the end of a parliamentary year, Members of Parliament are not evaluated yet they continue in Parliament without anyone questioning their achievements, their performance or their competency to function as a parliamentarian.
A Critical Look At Parliament’S Budget
Parliament needs to be transparent with its budget! During budget debates members of parliament pose numerous questions, some critical, many political, concerning government’s budgeting and spending, but no one raises questions about parliament’s budget and parliament’s spending. The reason for this is because parliament’s budget is camouflaged among the budgets of the High Councils of State. Furthermore, according to the Compatibility Ordinance and the Rules of Order of Parliament the budget of Parliament is drafted by the Secretariat of Parliament, approved by the Presidium and then sent to the Minister of Finance to be included in the national budget Read more
PHILIPSBURG:--- Parliament needs to be transparent with its budget! During budget debates, members of parliament pose numerous questions, some critical, many political, concerning government’s budgeting and spending, but no one raises questions about parliament’s budget and parliament’s spending. The reason for this is because parliament’s budget is camouflaged among the budgets of the High Councils of State. Furthermore, according to the Compatibility Ordinance and the Rules of Order of Parliament the budget of Parliament is drafted by the Secretariat of Parliament, approved by the Presidium and then sent to the Minister of Finance to be included in the national budget Read more
PHILIPSBURG:--- Are government and parliament waiting until the next election comes around or until the next ship jumper presents him or herself in parliament to start working on electoral reform again? Any electoral change involving the constitution requires the input and blessing from the Kingdom government which includes the governments of the Netherlands, Aruba, and Curacao. On the other hand, according to our constitution, amendments to election-related ordinances such the Election Ordinance, the National Ordinance Registration and Finances of Political Parties only require “a majority of at least two-thirds of the votes cast by the serving members†(art Read more
“I am proud to be a Guyanese but I chose St. Maarten as my homeâ€
PHILIPSBURG:--- About 1,500 persons witnessed the grand opening of Motorworld state of the art showroom which officially opened on Friday, May 26th, 2017 (On Guyana’s 51st Independence.â€)Among those that attend the grand and spectacular ceremony were dignitaries from both sides of the island, Prime Minister William Marlin, Governor Eugene Holiday, President of Parliament Sarah Wescot Williams President of the Collectivity of St Read more
If The Youth Are The Future, Then The Future Is Now, Dennisio Duzong Of Independence For St. Martin Foundation Tells Parliament
GREAT BAY, St. Martin (May 23, 2017)—“We often say that the youth are the future. Well, the future is now.†This statement by Dennisio Duzong, 27, of the Independence for St. Martin Foundation (ISMF) sums up one of the main reasons the foundation is requesting Parliament to convene a new constitutional referendum.
Making the case for ISMF in its presentation before the Central Committee of Parliament on Wednesday, May 17, 2017, Duzong received high praise from members of parliament one of whom said the future is in good hands.
“Unless we are willing to take full responsibility for ourselves and the choices we make, we have no control over our lives Read more
GREAT BAY:--- We often say that the youth are the future. Well, the future is now.†This statement by Dennisio Duzong, 27, of the Independence for St. Martin Foundation (ISMF) sums up one of the main reasons the foundation is requesting Parliament to convene a new constitutional referendum.Making the case for ISMF in its presentation before the Central Committee of Parliament on Wednesday, May 17, 2017, Duzong received high praise from members of parliament one of whom said the future is in good hands.“Unless we are willing to take full responsibility for ourselves and the choices we make, we have no control over our lives Read more