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Former MP arrested for threats, firearms found

PHILIPSBURG--Former Member of Parliament Romain Laville was arrested on Thursday morning, following allegations made against him in two unrelated cases.

The first case concerns gun threats made against Isidore York, better known as steel pan musician Mighty Dow, in an argument over local artistes not having been paid the same rate as foreign artistes during an event Read more

NA calls for a ‘unified approach’ from Govt.

PHILIPSBURG--The United People’s (UP)-led coalition has failed to show exactly what it is ready for, as its election campaign “We Ready” stated, said National Alliance (NA) Members of Parliament on Wednesday. They called on the governing coalition to present a “unified approach,” to table its long-overdue governing programme and appoint the two missing ministers.

NA leader MP William Marlin said at a press conference in Parliament House on Wednesday that UP members had proven only they were ready to take care of themselves and “to cut more deals and use the infrastructure” for their own personal enterprises.

In his estimation, UP is not ready “to bring much needed changes” to the country’s infrastructure and to tackle social ills Read more

Edward Dest gets symbolic sentence

PHILIPSBURG--More than four years after criminal complaints were filed against him in his capacity as former Tourist Bureau Interim Director and Head of Marketing, Edward Dest was found guilty by the court on Wednesday of embezzlement in his capacity as civil servant. However, the court imposed only a largely symbolic sentence of one day suspended, with one day's probation.

The judge found it proven that Dest had misappropriated funds belonging to the St. Maarten Tourist Office in New York NTO for promoting tourism to St Read more

style="text-align: center;">People are fed up and wants to know what the UPP was Ready to do.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The four members of parliament from the National Alliance faction told reporters during a press briefing on Wednesday that they would like to know what the United Peoples Party was ready for when they campaigned in 2014 Parliamentary elections and won seven of the 15 parliamentary seats Read more

MPs urged to work with govt on law formulation

PHILIPSBURG--Parliament does not follow instructions on the procedure to write laws, Advisory Council Vice Chairwoman Mavis Brooks-Salmon said in a meeting of Parliament's Central Committee at which only eight of the fifteen Members of Parliament (MPs) were present on Tuesday morning.

The Advisory Council, a body outlined in the Constitution as a necessary organ of governance, has in the past told Parliament to "work with government's Legal Department" when crafting initiative laws. The Legal Department has the necessary expertise to assist with the proper way to formulate and present laws, though the department may be understaffed.

Brooks-Salmon pointed out to MPs that the Advisory Council "does not correct" draft legislation, but is capable of giving legislators guidance on where to seek pertinent information in the research and drafting process.

In response to "burning" questions from National Alliance (NA) MP Christophe Emmanuel about whether or not the five-member Council of Ministers was legal as the Constitution states the country should have seven ministers, Brooks-Salmon said while the Advisory Council will further look into the matter, it should be noted that the Constitution does not state the ministers should be seven different persons.

In the current situation, two ministers of the Marcel Gumbs Cabinet hold dual portfolios Read more

St. Maarten advised to object to Sanction Law

PHILIPSBURG--Parliament's Permanent Committee for Kingdom Affairs and Inter-Parliamentary Relations has been advised by legal expert Ralph Richardson to object to the draft kingdom law regulating sanctions imposed by the European Union.

Richardson gave his advice in a meeting of the committee in Parliament House on Monday morning. He said if St. Maarten agrees to the kingdom law, the country "will no longer have the possibility to say anything about sanctions imposed."

St. Maarten will just have to take over EU sanctions with "no freedom of choice." He used the example of a sanction being imposed on a country with which St Read more

Plenary Session of Parliament scheduled for Tuesday about the St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The House of Parliament will meet in a public plenary session on March 24. This session is the continuation of the initial session that was held on December 22, 2014. On March 11, the meeting was called, but due to a lack of a quorum,, it could not continue and is now being reconvened.

The plenary session is set for Tuesday at 2.00pm in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelmina Straat #1 in Philipsburg.

The agenda point is the request to the Governments Accountants Bureau SOAB to carry out a forensic investigation into the operations of the St Read more

Lake debunks talk about breaking UP

PHILIPSBURG--"Untrue and baseless" is how United People's (UP) party Member of Parliament (MP) Maurice Lake described rampant "rumours" in the community about him being "involved in a plot to throw down government and send home the Cabinet of Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs."

Since Friday, there has been persistent talk that spun into blogs about Lake breaking with this party over differences Read more

Parliament approves 2011 annual accounts

PHILIPSBURG--Parliament unanimously approved the 2011 Annual Accounts of Government on Thursday. The approval comes three years after the period the accounts cover and well past the deadline stipulated by law.

The late tabling of the accounts was due to a severe backlog in the Finance Ministry; that backlog has since been cleared by current Finance Minister Martin Hassink who was at the plenary session of Parliament.

Hassink told the Members of Parliament (MPs) the backlog in the annual accounts is now a thing of the past Read more

No quorum stalls housing meeting

PHILIPSBURG--The discussion in Parliament about developments at St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF) was stalled on Wednesday after insufficient Members of Parliament signed in for the meeting with ad interim Housing Minister Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs. The meeting will be reconvened at a later date.

Six of the seven United People's (UP) party MPs were not present for the meeting.

Only seven of the 15 MPs serving in the legislature signed in for the meeting Read more

UP Faction and Coalition Partners Boycott Continuation Meeting on SMHDF

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The public meeting called by the Parliament of St. Maarten to further discuss the develepments at the St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF)and SOAB saw a boycott from all members of the United Peoples Party faction including their coalition partners. Member of Parliament Cornelius de Weever was seen in the House of Parliament before the 10h on Wednesday morning but disappeared when the meeting was about to start while MP Frans Richardson informed the chair of Parliament that he would be late for the meeting Read more

Country still short two ministers, 2014-2018 governing programme

PHILIPSBURG--It's been almost three months since the current Marcel Gumbs Cabinet has taken office and it is still two ministers short of the usual complement of seven. March 19 will mark three months since the cabinet was sworn-in by Governor Eugene Holiday.

To date, there has neither been word from the UP/De Weever/Marlin-Romeo coalition regarding the nomination of the two additional ministers nor about the completion of the Governing Programme for the coalition for 2014-2018.

The current Council of Ministers only numbering five is not in any way illegal as the Constitution states the country can have "up to a maximum of seven ministers."

De-facto government leader United People's (UP) leader Member of Parliament Theo Heyliger had said in his New Year's address that he "would like to see a complete seven-member cabinet in place within 60 days or less as of the beginning of the New Year."

He also stated in that same address, "I am very confident in the team of ministers who have been appointed so far to carry out the people's business."

Ministers are needed for the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development, and Labour VSA and the Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI.

Prime Minister/General Affairs Minister Marcel Gumbs serves as ad-interim VROMI minister while Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Rita Bourne-Gumbs is

ad- interim VSA minister.

It is speculated that potential candidates are shying away from the ministerial nominations, because of the somewhat invasive checks into the lives of minister candidates, their family and friends.

One person close to the issue said, some people do not want even their name to be mentioned as a potential candidate Read more

Plenary Session Of Parliament Scheduled For Wednesday About The St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – The House of Parliament will meet in a public plenary session on March 11. This session is the continuation of the initial session that was held on December 22, 2014 which is now being reconvened.

The Acting Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI) Hon. Marcel Gumbs, will be present for the public plenary session of the House of Parliament.

The plenary session is set for Wednesday at 10.00am in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelmina Straat #1 in Philipsburg.

The agenda point is the request to the Governments Accountants Bureau SOAB to carry out a forensic investigation into the operations of the St Read more

Major seafront project ready to go ‘full steam’

POINTE BLANCHE--St. Maarten Quarter, a major mixed-use waterfront development project by Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL) is ready to commence and "go full steam" once approval is given by the Council of Ministers. The project has been in the making for eight years and its presentation to Government seems to have been well received.

Time is of the essence, as RCCL and its partners must have approval to finalise funding commitments. RCCL and the St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies (SHGC) want to announce the project at the global Seatrade Cruise Shipping Conference in Miami in the week of March 17, amongst international industry players and travel and trade media.

RCCL Vice President of Commercial Development John Tercek and his partners presented a full project overview, including its history, vision and impacts, to the Ministers and Parliament's Permanent Committee for Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (TEATT) on Thursday.

Main presenter Tercek was joined by consortium members Adam Petrillo of leading construction management company Hill International; Craig Baptiste and Ralph Ledee of Platinum Harbor, both local partners; SHGC Chief Executive Officer Mark Mingo; and two harbour officials.

Tercek said he was happy to be able to deliver the presentation to the officials in an "appropriate and transparent way," and some Members of Parliament noted the same.

Feedback seemed positive with the exception of MP Franklin Meyers' comments that Dutch contracting companies "make hundreds of millions" in St Read more

Committee Puts Three Questions To Council Of State: Do Kingdom Instructions Violate Our Autonomy?

St. Maarten – On the day of the extended deadline, the permanent parliamentary committee for Kingdom Affairs and Inter-parliamentary Relations formulated three questions about the procedures around instructions by the Kingdom Council of Ministers to the governor. The questions will be added to those already formulated by the Dutch Second Chamber and sent for advice to the Council of State.

The instructions the governors of Aruba (about its 2014 budget) and of St. Maarten (about integrity-investigations and about the establishment of the Integrity Chamber) are still a hot topic in the autonomous Caribbean countries of the kingdom.

The questions the Second Chamber members have formulated are, in the opinion of the committee-members in St Read more

Sarah calls for discussion on companies’ annual accounts

PHILIPSBURG--Democratic Party (DP) leader Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams has called for the examination of the annual accounts of all government-owned companies in a meeting of Parliament's Permanent Committee for Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication.

This urgent meeting request has been communicated to committee chairman MP Frans Richardson (United St Read more

MPs call for clarity on taxi, bus permits

PHILIPSBURG--Government is called on to make the register of bus, taxi and tour-bus permits public and to give an explanation of the current moratorium on issuance of permits for those types of businesses by two Members of Parliament (MPs).

Independent MP Leona Marlin-Romeo said in a press statement issued late Monday night she "wants clarity" on the moratorium Read more

style="text-align: center;">Says Government knows who the owners of companies are that are doing business with Government Owned Companies.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Leader of the Democratic Party and Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot Williams and the party advisor Emil Lee expressed concerns on the attitude displayed by some Government Owned Companies Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Independent Member of Parliament (MP) Leona Marlin-Romeo said a request was sent on Monday February 23rd 2015 to the Chairman of the Committee Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport & Telecommuncation Member of Parliament Frans Richardson for a meeting to be held on the current Moratorium Policy on Bus, Taxi, and Tour Permits.

"Clarity is being sought on this matter because despite having a moratorium policy, exceptions were made in the past and permits were still awarded based on the discretion of the minister.

"It is in this aspect that this faction is seeking changes in the process and encouraging the current minister to review the current Moratorium Policy on Bus, Taxi, and Tour Permits Read more

Independent Mp Leona Marlin-Romeo Wants Clarity On Moratorium Policy On Bus, Taxi, And Tour Permits

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – Independent Member of Parliament (MP) Leona Marlin-Romeo said a request was sent on Monday February 23rd 2015 to the Chairman of the Committee Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport & Telecommuncation Member of Parliament Frans Richardson for a meeting to be held on the current Moratorium Policy on Bus, Taxi, and Tour Permits.

"Clarity is being sought on this matter because despite having a moratorium policy, exceptions were made in the past and permits were still awarded based on the discretion of the minister.

"It is in this aspect that this faction is seeking changes in the process and encouraging the current minister to review the current Moratorium Policy on Bus, Taxi, and Tour Permits.

Suggestion will be made in the requested committee meeting," Independent MP Hon Read more