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Marlin and NA are ‘outraged’ at Govt. handling of GEBE meeting

PHILIPSBURG--National Alliance (NA) fraction leader Member of Parliament (MP) William Marlin says on behalf of NA that he is "outraged at the manner in which the Government is handling the request for a meeting" on utilities company GEBE.

His comments come on the same day that a plenary session of Parliament about the ongoing dispute between the GEBE Supervisory Board and Chief Operations Officer (COO) and Managing Director Romelio Maduro about his position at the company was supposed to take place, but instead was "postponed until further notice" to allow Prime Minister/Acting Infrastructure Minister Marcel Gumbs to gather all relevant information/documents requested.

"We had requested an urgent meeting ever since May 10," Marlin told The Daily Herald Read more

Editorial - In the middle

The same-day postponement of Monday’s continuation “until further notice” of a plenary session in Parliament on developments at NV GEBE did not come as a complete surprise. During the original meeting last week Friday interim Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI Marcel Gumbs in his capacity of shareholder representative indicated the need for more documentation to answer the questions posed.

Apparently the latter could not be gathered over the weekend, hence the delay Read more

Parliamentary Meeting On Gebe Postponed Indefinitely

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The plenary session which was scheduled for Monday afternoon regarding developments at NV GEBE has been postponed until further notice.

The meeting was at the request of Members of Parliament of the National Alliance, namely Read more

Rogers: ‘Uncomfortable truths’ are hurting VKS

~ Seven honoured for unbroken service ~

PHILIPSBURG--Commander of the Voluntary Corps St. Maarten VKS Major Antonio Rogers on Saturday made a firm call for persons who have personal agendas and those who pretend that the organisation is "upside down," to "resign and seek affliction elsewhere."

He made the remarks during the VKS' 18 anniversary celebrations on Saturday.

"We have uncomfortable truths that are hurting the VKS," Rogers said.

"It is time to place meaningful balms on these wounds which have occurred over the last years and are still present Read more

Dr. Gonsalves: Reparations needed to fix Caribbean underdevelopment

POND ISLAND--Caribbean Countries should get reparations from former and in some cases, present colonial masters to repair the under-development they face today, said Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, on the topic of reparations.

Dr. Gonsalves was the keynote speaker at the Emancipation Day Lecture hosted by Independence for St. Martin Foundation on Saturday night at University of St. Martin (USM). St. Maarten will mark Emancipation Day on Wednesday, July 1 Read more

Prime Minister Gumbs Congratulates Vks On 18Th Anniversary

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – Prime Minister Hon. Marcel Gumbs on the 18th anniversary of the Voluntary Corps of St. Maarten (VKS) which was observed on Saturday, June 27 in front of the Government Administration Building.

Prime Minister Gumbs thanked the VKS for their assistance and services to the Sint Maarten community.

Those who serve in the VKS do soon a voluntary basis Read more

18Th Anniversary Of Vks Celebrated Over The Weekend

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The Voluntary Corps of St. Maarten (VKS) celebrated their 18th anniversary over the weekend.

As part of the activities in observation of the milestone, the organization held a ceremony in front of the Government Administration Building on Saturday afternoon.

On hand for the occasion was among others, Prime Minister with the responsibility for the VKS, the Honorable Marcel Gumbs, who congratulated members of the VKS on the anniversary.

Soon after the ceremony, members of the organization led by Commander Tony Rogers march to the Catholic Church on Front Street for an evening of worship.

The day climaxed in the evening with a cocktail reception at the Festival Village.

Meanwhile speaking to our news department, chairman of the board of the VKS, Franklin Richardson spoke of some of the many challenges that the Paramilitary faces.

According to him, while the organization assists in any way possible, there is a need to do a lot more.

Mr Read more

Parliament Takes On Gebe Affair Monday, Meeting Continuation From Last Week

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - During a meeting of the House of Parliament on Friday dealing with the debacle between the Chief Operations Officer (COO) of GEBE and the supervisory board, Prime Minister with the responsibility for General Affairs, the Honorable Marcel Gumbs provided some information to Members of Parliament.

The meeting, Read more

Former Caricom Chairman Speaks On St. Maarten At The Invitation Of Independence For St. Maarten Foundation

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - In observation of Emancipation Day on July 1st, the Independence for St. Maarten Foundation held a lecture on repatriation.

The event, which was held at the University of St. Martin on Saturday night, was well attended, as many persons crowded the room.

The keynote speaker was the former chairman of CARICOM and leader of the Unity Labour Party Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Right Honorable Dr. Ralph Gonsalves.

Dr. Gonsalves is also the chairman of CARICOM Reparation's Commission at the United Nations.

We are going to hear from Dr. Gonsalves as well via PodCast Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---Seven members of the Voluntary Korps (VKS) were awarded on Saturday afternoon for the time they took every weekend to train as officers of the VKS. The seven members were selected over a period of seven and half years of training.
The ceremony held in front of the Government administration building started off with the marching of the various troops including the officers of the Royal Anguilla Police Force, the Police Territorial, KPSM, prison guards and others. As the march and line up completed the ceremony commenced and was cut short due to inclement weather Read more

Proposal to appoint Rent Committee members by Country Decree approved

PHILIPSBURG--A proposal to appoint members of St. Maarten Rent Committee retroactively by Country Decree (Landsbesluit) has been approved by Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI Marcel Gumbs and the decree was forwarded to Governor Eugene Holiday for signing on June 22, according to VROMI Secretary-General Louis Brown, who answered questions posed by The Daily Herald about the topic.

Attorney-at-Law Joeri Essed of law firm BZSE pointed out on Thursday an interesting quirk in the law whereby Rent Committee decisions since 10-10-10 could be deemed voidable because none of the committee members had been appointed by Country Decree 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

Skeletons at GEBE Prompted Prime Minister to ask for closed door session -- MPs voted for it to be public session.

>PHILIPSBURG: --- Members of the public and the media almost got shut out of the urgent meeting that was called by the National Alliance Faction to discuss the developments at GEBE when the shareholder representative Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs asked that the meeting be held in closed doors due to a court decision that will be forthcoming on July 9th 2015 Read more

Plenary Session Of Parliament To Reconvene On Monday Regarding Developments At Nv Gebe

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – The House of Parliament will meet in a public plenary session on June 29th.

The shareholder representative Acting Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure Hon. Marcel Gumbs will be present for the session.

The reconvened plenary session is set for Monday at 2.00pm in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelmina Straat #1 in Philipsburg Read more

CFT may call for ‘targeted instruction’ if no settlement

PHILIPSBURG--The Committee for Financial Supervision CFT “in all likelihood will ask for a targeted instruction” to be handed down by the Dutch Kingdom Council of Ministers if government does not settle its arrears with Social and Health Insurance SZV and the General Pension Fund APS.

Government has missed the May 30 deadline set by CFT to settle its arrears with SZV and APS. The targeted instruction will focus on dealing with the payment arrears amounting to some NAf Read more

GEBE and Maduro face off in court over suspension, contract renewal

PHILIPSBURG--The Supervisory Board of utility company GEBE N.V. and GEBE Chief Operations Officer (COO) and Managing Director Romelio Maduro squared off in the Court of First Instance on Thursday morning in an injunction concerning his suspension. The case is also aimed at the decision of Country St. Maarten as GEBE's shareholder to extend Maduro's contract by two years.

A delegation of GEBE's Supervisory Board, led by Chairman Rene Richardson and comparison attorney Zylena Bary, Veronica Webster-Jansen and Edwin Gumbs, was present during the hearing of the injunction in which GEBE was represented by attorney Jairo Bloem.

Maduro had lawyers Safira Ibrahim and Nerissa de la Rosa present to speak on his behalf.

GEBE wants to get Maduro's reappointment off the table and wants government to retract its decision Read more

Plenary Session of Parliament scheduled for Friday regarding developments at NV GEBE

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – The House of Parliament will meet in a public plenary session on June 26th.  The shareholder representative Acting Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure Hon. Marcel Gumbs will be present for the session.

  The plenary session is set for Friday at 1.00pm in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelmina Straat #1 in Philipsburg.

The agenda point is developments related to NV GEBE and the position of the Managing Board and the position of the Chief Operations Officer.

This plenary session was requested by the National Alliance (NA)in Parliament, namely Members of Parliament (MPs) Hon Read more

Prime Minister Gumbs chairs first EOC Meeting

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister Hon. Marcel Gumbs chaired his first Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Meeting last week Thursday.
Coordinators from the 10 Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) of the country’s disaster management system were present.
The two main agenda points was the Hurricane Exercise 2015 and preparedness for the Read more

Plenary Session of Parliament scheduled for Friday regarding developments at NV GEBE

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The House of Parliament will meet in a public plenary session on June 26th. The shareholder representative Acting Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure Hon. Marcel Gumbs will be present for the session.

The plenary session is set for Friday at 1.00pm in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelmina Straat #1 in Philipsburg.

The agenda point is developments related to NV GEBE and the position of the Managing Board and the position of the Chief Operations Officer.

This plenary session was requested by the National Alliance (NA)in Parliament, namely Members of Parliament (MPs) Hon Read more

Plenary Session Of Parliament Scheduled For Friday Regarding Developments At Nv Gebe

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – The House of Parliament will meet in a public plenary session on June 26th.

The shareholder representative Acting Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure Hon. Marcel Gumbs will be present for the session.

The plenary session is set for Friday at 1.00pm in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelmina Straat #1 in Philipsburg.

The agenda point is developments related to NV GEBE and the position of the Managing Board and the position of the Chief Operations Officer.

This plenary session was requested by the National Alliance (NA)in Parliament, namely Members of Parliament (MPs) Hon Read more

Prime Minister Gumbs Chairs First Eoc Meeting

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – Prime Minister Hon. Marcel Gumbs chaired his first Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Meeting last week Thursday.

Coordinators from the 10 Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) of the country's disaster management system were present.

The two main agenda points was the Hurricane Exercise 2015 and preparedness for the season.

The 10 ESFs are: GEBE/ESF-1, TelEm Group/ESF-2, Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment, and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI)/ESF-3, Fire Department/ESF-4, Police Department/ESF-5, Ministry of Public Health, Social Development & Labour/ESF-6 and 7, Department of Communication/ESF-8, Ministry of General Affairs/ESF-9, and Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (Ministry TEATT)/ESF-10.

The 2015 Atlantic Hurricane season has already seen two storms form namely Ana and Bill.

Prime Minister Gumbs, reminds the Sint Maarten community to be prepared for the season which commenced on June 1st.

The remaining storm names for the Atlantic season are Claudette, Danny, Erika, Fred, Grace, Henri, Ida, Joaquin, Kate, Larry, Mindy, Nicolas, Odette, Peter, Rose, Sam, Teresa, Victor, and Wanda.

The 2015 hurricane season officially runs through November 30.

In Photo: Seated at the head of the table is National Disaster Coordinator/Fire Chief Clive Richardson (left) and Prime Minister Hon Read more