Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
Mps Pepper Ministers With Questions In Budget Debate
Independent MP Leona Marlin-Romeo (standing) speaks in the budget debate on Monday.
PHILIPSBURG--The 2016 draft budget was tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Richard Gibson on Monday morning in Parliament House. Members of Parliament (MPs), who had up to 90 minutes to speak, peppered the Council of Ministers with a barrage of questions spanning from the budget and Government policies to general topics of interest.
The seven Ministers, who all made presentations about the working of their Ministries on Monday, will be back in Parliament today, Tuesday, starting at 2:00pm to deliver answers to the questions from MPs Read more
MPs get calls from inmates
PHILIPSBURG--Justice Minister Dennis Richardson has been asked by Members of Parliament (MPs) to look into why they are receiving mobile phone calls from prisoners housed inside of Pointe Blanche House of Detention.
United St. Maarten Party (USP) leader Frans Richardson was the first to raise the issue in Parliament with the minister on Wednesday Read more
Achievements and lack thereof highlighted as MPs close year
PHILIPSBURG--The achievements or lack thereof in the first Parliamentary year of the second Parliament came into focus as Members of Parliament (MPs) closed off the 2014-2015 legislative year in Parliament House on Monday. The 2015-2016 year opens today, Tuesday, with much pomp and ceremony.
The call to work together was issued by fraction leaders representing the coalition partners while the two opposition fraction leaders MP William Marlin (National Alliance) and Sarah Wescot-Williams (Democratic Party) were straightforward with their criticism about lack of action by the United People’s (UP) party-led coalition.
Destiny impaired
UP fraction leader MP Franklin Meyers laid the blame for the country’s stagnated growth and development in the past year at the door of The Hague saying that government and Parliament have spent the past year battling instructions and financial constraints due to financial supervision Read more
Lake urges stakeholders to work out waste-to-energy plant project
PHILIPSBURG--United People’s (UP) party Member of Parliament (MP) Maurice Lake has issued a public call to all stakeholders involved in the stagnated waste-to-energy plant to get to work.
His call comes after Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs said last week that getting the project moving had encountered some difficulties Read more
Tamara: Increase Chamber fee to fund surveillance camera system
PHILIPSBURG--Partial funding for the long-overdue camera surveillance system starting in Philipsburg and branching out to the rest of the country can be raised easily through a nominal fee increase for all St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce and Industry (COCI) registrants, United People’s (UP) party Member of Parliament (MP) Tamara Leonard proposed in a letter to Parliament dated July 28 in light of the daring daylight robberies in Philipsburg.
The letter, directed to Chairman of Parliament’s Justice Committee MP Johan Leonard, said Tamara envisioned a collaboration of the Chamber of Commerce, police, St Read more
Minister shares viewpoint, MPs to get GEBE answers Monday
PHILIPSBURG--Parliament’s plenary session on developments at utilities company GEBE, focusing on the ongoing dispute between the Supervisory Board and Chief Operations Officer (COO) and Managing Director Romelio Maduro about his position at the company, was adjourned to Monday afternoon, after Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI Marcel Gumbs gave some perspective on Friday, but needed more documentation to answer questions posed by Members of Parliament (MPs).
The meeting was adjourned after Gumbs, as shareholder representative for the Government-owned company, gave a summarised overview of developments on the current dispute and questions were posed by National Alliance MPs William Marlin, Silveria Jacobs and Christophe Emmanuel Read more
Patrol to Eradicate Paedophilia urges MPs to make law changes
PHILIPSBURG--Change the laws to impose harsher punishment for paedophiles and institute a sex offenders registry were among the calls the group Patrol to Eradicate Paedophilia (PEP) made to the Petitions Committee of Parliament on Thursday.
PEP's request for laws to be changed now heads to the Permanent Committee for Justice. Committee Chairman Member of Parliament (MP) Johan Leonard said he would call the Justice Minister to the committee after Parliament's July recess.
PEP representative Peggy Ann Dros-Richardson urged MPs to have Government boost its assistance to the Mental Health Foundation, to help the foundation increase awareness about paedophilia and have the required treatment for the mental disorder Read more
Parliament committees to look into French/Dutch joint issues
Representatives of the French side Territorial Council with Members of Parliament in Parliament House on Tuesday.
PHILIPSBURG--A meeting between the French side Territorial Council and Members of Parliament (MPs) in Parliament House on Tuesday resulted in various topics discussed being sent to Parliament’s permanent committees for further deliberation and solution seeking.
Among the topics discussed was pensioners living on the French side, but who have contributed to the Dutch side’s General Pension Fund by working on the southern side of the island accessing their benefits Read more
Govt. back to drawing board with Integrity Chamber Law
PHILIPSBURG--Parliament has sent Government back to the drawing board with the controversial draft National Ordinance on the establishment of an Integrity Chamber for the country.
Parliament sending Government back to make changes was not unexpected, as the majority of MPs had voiced their discontent with the draft when it was tabled in the Central Committee of Parliament about two months ago.
The reworking of parts of the law means the deadline of June 30 for Parliament to handle the law as stated in a recent protocol with the Dutch Government will not be met Read more
St. Maarten Parliament annoyed over protocol
THE HAGUE--The days of St. Maarten’s Justice Minister Dennis Richardson may very well be numbered now that he has signed a protocol with the Dutch Government to establish an independent Integrity Chamber for St. Maarten and to strengthen the island’s law enforcement sector. Members of the St. Maarten Parliament are not accepting that Parliament is being sidetracked in the protocol.
The protocol Minister Richardson and Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk signed on Saturday states that the St Read more
88 kids under court mandated protection
PHILIPSBURG--There are 88 minor children under court-mandated protection as of this month, according to the Court of Guardianship.
Of those 88 children, 34 are still living at home with their parents, but will receive regular protection checkups. Seven children are with foster families and 47 are in foster homes operated by a number of foundations.
Court of Guardianship head Richelda Emmanuel told Parliament’s Justice Committee on Tuesday afternoon that Government was responsible only for the upkeep of children under court-mandated protection.
Children placed in foster homes by parents or guardians are not covered and their upkeep remains the responsibility of their parent or legal guardian as outlined in the Civil Code of the country Read more
Halley land saga heard by Petitions Committee
~ 'Something wrong,' way forward to be determined ~
PHILIPSBURG--Marlon Halley, supported in particular by community spokesperson Yvette Halley, had the transfer of land rights plaguing him heard by Members of Parliament on Thursday during a Petitions Committee meeting at Parliament House.
The meeting was the result of a petition submitted March 4 that called for Parliament to thoroughly investigate "fishy business" surrounding the land deal that entailed government taking ownership of the land where Marlon Halley has operated a business for some 28 years, and long-leasing it to developers without his knowing 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
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
Parliament adopts ‘skeleton budget’
PHILIPSBURG--Parliament passed the 2015 budget with an 11-4 vote on Thursday night with just two days to spare before the deadline set by the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT.
The budget had to be established in December 2014. Government asked CFT for more time and was given the deadline of January 31.
Voting for the budget were the 10 Members of Parliament supporting the coalition and former coalition member MP Sarah Wescot-Williams (Democratic Party (DP)) Read more
MPs to get answers about housing foundation in Jan.
PHILIPSBURG--Members of Parliament (MPs) will have to wait until mid-January for answers about the suspension of St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF) Director Henry Lynch and two other members of the management team. Prime Minister/Ad Interim Housing Minister Marcel Gumbs said he required time to gather the facts about the investigation ordered by the foundation's supervisory board and the other actions leading to the suspensions.
Gumbs, who had only been in office for a mere 72 hours, was before Parliament on Monday in an urgent plenary session requested by opposition MPs Sarah Wescot-Williams (Democratic Party), Frans Richardson (United St Read more
Editorial - For the future
It will be interesting to see whether a Central Committee meeting called for Tuesday (see related article) leads to anything tangible. Three Members of Parliament (MPs) of the incoming UP/De Weever/Marlin-Romeo coalition want to discuss “discrepancies†surrounding the August 29 election.
Of course, objections were handled already during the customary post-election session of the Main Voting Bureau, when votes listed as invalid were re-examined and, where applicable, added to the tallies of the respective politicians Read more
No quorum stalls meeting on Intellectual Property Bureau
PHILIPSBURG--Only six Members of Parliament (MPs) were signed in for the plenary session of Parliament to formalise the Intellectual Property Bureau on Wednesday afternoon, two short of the quorum of eight MPs needed for the meeting to start.
The meeting now will have to be reconvened by Chairwoman of Parliament MP Sarah Wescot-Williams within four days (four times 24 hours) as stipulated by Parliament's Rules of Order Read more
Frans, William see discussion on integrity report as waste of time
PHILIPSBURG--Discussions in a Central Committee meeting of Parliament about the integrity reports from the Wit-Samson Committee and PricewaterhouseCoopers PwC was deemed a waste of time at this transition period between governments by United St. Maarten Member of Parliament (MP) Frans Richardson and National Alliance (NA) MP William Marlin.
The reports were referred for handling in a Central Committee meeting in the final meeting of the 2013-2014 Parliamentary year on October 9.
The discussions with Deputy Prime Minister/Justice Minister Dennis Richardson on Wednesday centred mostly on whether the reports should be before Parliament now or be handled when the new Council of Ministers is in place Read more
Editorial - Interim compromise?
The current deadlock over the instruction by the Netherlands to Governor Eugene Holiday on the screening of candidate ministers will have to be broken sooner or later. The high tourism season is approaching fast and the 2015 budget must be approved on time to meet the needs of the population adequately.
Without agreeing to the measure, it might be useful to entertain a possible temporary compromise, pending a resolution of the current constitutional dispute. Seeking an opinion from the Council of State on the issue could well be part of such a scenario, because regardless of procedural limitations this esteemed body ought not reasonably to refrain from giving such if requested certainly by a majority of the kingdom partners, in this case with the help of Curaçao and Aruba.
In the meantime, the incoming UP/DP/Marlin-Romeo coalition that enjoys a two-thirds majority in Parliament would do well to at least consider appointing an interim cabinet of persons who are practically guaranteed to pass even the far-reaching integrity investigation now imposed by The Hague Read more
MPs close off fourth year of Parliament
PHILIPSBURG--The 2013-2014 parliamentary year closed on Monday with several Members of Parliament (MPs) taking the opportunity to give a farewell speech outlining their accomplishments, hopes for the new parliamentary year and for the incoming government.
Based on the Constitution, the parliamentary year must close before the second Tuesday in September – the official opening of the new parliamentary year. The opening will take place today, Tuesday, at Parliament House, with Governor Eugene Holiday delivering the traditional governor's speech containing government's plans for the coming year.
At Monday's session, outgoing independent MP Romain Laville said being an MP has been "one of the greatest experiences" he has had in life Read more
Motion passed to restrict outgoing ministers’ actions
PHILIPSBURG--A motion calling on Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams to inform individual ministers of the Wescot-Williams III Cabinet "to not make any long-term policy, financial and/or decisions of such a nature as granting lands in long lease, bus and taxi licences, concessions, hiring and placement of personnel in crucial functions" was adopted by a majority of Members of Parliament (MPs) in the closing meeting of the 2013-2014 parliamentary year on Monday.
The motion was presented by MP Roy Marlin (Democratic Party (DP)) and also signed by six other MPs.
The motion further called on the ministers to refrain from making any decision on the waste-to-energy concession or any other decision "that may obstruct or encumber the incoming government from functioning adequately during the next governing term."
The motion also requested the prime minister to inform the individual ministers who are shareholder's representatives of government-owned companies "to instruct management and boards of these companies to refrain from entering into long-term agreements and sign contracts that may negatively affect or bind these companies for a long term."
The motion was presented by MP Roy Marlin after he requested an addition to an agenda of the plenary session of Parliament Read more
Dennis updates MPs about tackling crime
PHILIPSBURG--Justice Minister Dennis Richardson gave Members of Parliament (MPs) updates on the Police's efforts to tackle crime in the community at a Central Committee meeting of Parliament on Monday. The meeting was scheduled to take place last week, but was postponed until yesterday, due to a lack of quorum.
Richardson said the country's crime levels are at a place where other countries in the immediate surrounding will be "jealous of." The police force has been tackling preventable crimes and have been making arrests and getting breaks in large cases Read more