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Editorial - Risk of delay

That the Kingdom Council of Ministers took the first step for a general measure of governance to impose an Integrity Chamber on St. Maarten should not come as a complete surprise, taking into account recent statements in this newspaper by Justice Minister Dennis Richardson on the issue. An attempt had been made by Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs to smooth things over a bit during the subsequent visit of Kingdom Relations Minister Ronald Plasterk to the island, but apparently this "bad cop, good cop" routine did not lead to a compromise.

According to Plasterk, the intended general measure does not require the consent of the country in question Read more

Plasterk says no desire to steer integrity politically

THE HAGUE--The Kingdom Council of Ministers does not feel the need to steer the integrity issue in St. Maarten politically. It merely wants to prevent the safeguarding of integrity from becoming politically susceptible, said Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk on Friday.

The Kingdom Government decided on Friday to start the process for a so-called General Measure of the Kingdom Government ("Algemene Maatregel van Rijksbestuur" AMvRB) to establish an Integrity Chamber in St Read more

West Indian Village launched

DUTCH QUARTER--The West Indian Village, welcomed as a positive cultural and family-friendly development, was inaugurated on the evening of Friday, January 30, amongst dignitaries, community members and other supporters in the heart of Dutch Quarter.

Owner Henry Lynch was praised for his vision, passion and tenacity in initiating the project and carrying it through to fruition in various speeches by dignitaries, friends and colleagues.

The Village features eight white-framed, brightly coloured wooden structures all serving local and regional food, a sheltered airy space with benches and leisure amenities, and an outdoor playground.

It was created, the small restaurants in particular, to showcase and enjoy local culture, as well as the various nationalities represented in Dutch Quarter Read more

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The Hague assumes power over St. Maarten integrity chamber

THE HAGUE--St. Maarten will not have a free hand to set up its own Integrity Chamber to investigate the handling of conflicts of interest and abuse of power by government officials. Independent supervision of proper governance will be instituted through the Kingdom Government.

The Kingdom Council of Ministers decided on Friday to start the procedure to impose a General Measure of the Kingdom Government to safeguard integrity in St. Maarten through an independent Integrity Chamber with the authority to investigate possible cases of integrity violations.

Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk confirmed this to the media after Friday's meeting of the Kingdom Council of Ministers, which was also attended by the Ministers Plenipotentiary of Aruba, Curaçao and St Read more

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Editorial - Not too much

Judging by his statements in Parliament, the cabinet headed by Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs will be diligent about tackling misspending within the public sector. In answering questions during the 2015 budget debate on, for example, the use by officials of credit cards, cell phones and rental cars, he did not hide his disapproval of the apparently excessive cost involved, nor his intention to do something about it.

That must have sounded like music to the ears of many who have grown wary of watching obvious waste of taxpayers' hard-earned money year after year, while essential collective needs cannot be addressed properly due to lack of funds Read more

Gov’t instructed to raise fee on money transfers

PHILIPSBURG--Increase or create an international transfer fee to be levied on money transfer services such as MoneyGram and Western Union was an instruction from Parliament to Finance Minister Martin Hassink. The motion was adopted by Members of Parliament (MPs) in the Plenary Session of Parliament dealing with the 2015 budget on Thursday evening.

Thirteen MPs voted for the motion.

MP Sarah Wescot-Williams (Democratic Party) voted against the motion, saying she could not support the piecemeal approach to changing the tax system Read more

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Gov’t paid NAf. 1.31 million mobile phone bill to TelEm

~ Budget debate continues today ~

PHILIPSBURG--Government spent NAf. 1,131,844.78 last year in mobile telephone bills for civil servants. That amount covers 206 mobile phones from St. Maarten Telephone Group of Companies TelEm allotted to civil servants in "key positions," including emergency posts at the Fire and Ambulance Departments, police, health inspectors and policy advisors.

The Ministry of General Affairs has 50 government-allocated mobile phones; Ministry of Justice 25 mobile phones; Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports 17; Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication 35 mobile phones; Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure 42 mobile phones; Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour 26 mobile phones; and Ministry of Finance 9 mobile phones.

Prime Minister/General Affair Minister Marcel Gumbs told Parliament Wednesday that government intends to establish a new policy on the issuance and regulation of mobile phones for civil servants to curb the high bill.

Independent MP Leona Marlin-Romeo had called on government in the Plenary Session of Parliament on the draft 2015 budget on Tuesday to seek more ways to cut back on waste and bad spending in the administration Read more

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Gumbs wants healthy debate on pension age increase

PHILIPSBURG--Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs said he looked forward to a "healthy debate" on the increase of the pension age from sixty to 62 when it reached Parliament.

He told Members of Parliament (MPs) during the debate on the draft 2014 budget on Wednesday that the ordinance for the pension age increase by two years, was making its way through the necessary channels before it can be tabled in Parliament Read more

Westin reportedly blocking public access to Dawn Beach

A quiet Dawn Beach in front of The Westin St. Maarten Dawn Beach Resort and Spa.

DAWN BEACH--Two very specific complaints against The Westin St. Maarten Dawn Beach Resort and Spa concerning the alleged blocking of public access to Dawn Beach in front of and near the resort have been received by The Daily Herald within just three days recently.

The accounts have been backed up by multiple stakeholders who have heard of or experienced similar situations. Resort management could not be reached for comment on Monday or Tuesday.

Both accounts describe harassment by overly confrontational security guards who are confining beachgoers to a smaller area than before Read more

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Govt submits integrity plan to Parliament

PHILIPSBURG--Government submitted a plan of approach to Parliament on Monday for the implementation of recommendations from the three integrity reports.

Parliament instructed government in a unanimously passed motion on October 22, 2014, to come up with a plan to address the General Audit Chamber Report, the Wit-Samson Report and the PricewaterhouseCoopers Report on integrity in government.

The Council of Ministers approved a draft ordinance to establish an Integrity Chamber for St Read more

State to intensify efforts to reduce crime in 2015

MARIGOT--Prefet Philippe Chopin delivered the traditional New Year's address at a large gathering in the Prefecture on Wednesday evening covering a range of topics that included youth, unemployment, crime and delinquency, cooperation and finances.

Dutch-side Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs and Governor Eugene Holiday were in attendance.

It was not unexpected that the Prefet would begin with crime and delinquency, prefacing his address with an homage to the 17 persons who died in the terrible events of January 7 and 8 in Paris.

Noting a drop in general delinquency in St Read more

Budget heads to plenary session of Parliament

PHILIPSBURG--The Central Committee meeting of Parliament on the 2015 budget wrapped up late Friday night after a marathon session that started at 10:00am. The budget will now head to a plenary session of Parliament for final handling and voting. The meeting originally started on Thursday morning and was suspended on that night after Members of Parliament posed questions to the Council of Ministers.

The plenary session of Parliament is slated for next week.

Government needs to meet the deadline of January 31 for the establishment of the budget Read more

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Some 1,075 addresses registered in country

PHILIPSBURG--The country has a total of 1,075 street addresses registered at the Civil Registry, Department of Statistics STAT and the Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI. However, only 713 addresses match in all three databases.

The difference of the 362 street addresses is being investigated, Prime Minister/General Affairs Minister Marcel Gumbs told Parliament in the continuation of the Central Committee meeting on the draft 2015 budget on Friday Read more

Hassink delivers another ‘skeleton budget’ to MPs

PHILIPSBURG--Finance Minister Martin Hassink again has presented what he calls "a skeleton budget" to Parliament. The draft 2015 budget, now under discussion in the Central Committee of Parliament, stands at NAf. 445 million, some NAf. 19 million off the amount projected by the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT.

Hassink told Parliament Thursday morning that CFT wanted government to "compensate" the previous years' accumulated budget deficits Read more

‘Integrity Chamber must be free of political influence’

THE HAGUE--Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk wants to be sure that the independent position of the Integrity Chamber is entirely safeguarded. In his opinion, the current version of St. Maarten's national ordinance to establish the Integrity Chamber doesn't completely secure its independent position, because the ultimate responsibility lies with the St. Maarten Parliament.

"I fear that the independence is not entirely secured if it is anchored in a national ordinance, because the Parliament of St Read more

Gumbs: No long-lease granted to Rainforest

PHILIPSBURG--No long-lease has been granted to Rainforest Adventures for Plantation Industry and Golden Rock (commonly called Emilio Wilson Estate). This was confirmed by Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs via the Press Secretariat.

Gumbs has "not signed anything for or granted anything" to Rainforest Adventures, according the statement issued on Wednesday morning Read more

Sarah: Gumbs twisted truth about screening

PHILIPSBURG--"I had nothing to do with the actual screening of the Gumbs Cabinet ministers, and the Prime Minister knows this full well," stated Democratic Party (DP) Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams in a statement Tuesday.

"After all, he was not only informateur, he himself was candidate minister Read more

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Pledges of cooperation to new Dutch Representative

PHILIPSBURG--New Representative of the Netherlands in Curaçao, Aruba and St. Maarten Henk Brons was welcomed with pledges of cooperation and communication during an informal brunch at Sheer Restaurant in Philipsburg on Tuesday morning.

Hosted by acting Dutch Representative in Philipsburg Gert Versluis, the gathering also served to bid farewell to Dutch Representative Gerard van der Wulp, who served the Dutch Government in this capacity during the past three years and six months. He is now going into retirement.

Many dignitaries and government officials sat in on the brunch Read more

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‘Common ground’ sought on integrity regulations

PHILIPSBURG--The Dutch and St. Maarten Governments will seek "common ground" on the implementation of measures to ensure integrity of public servants and politicians.

Technocrats on both sides of the ocean will have a video conference later this week to try to connect areas in the ordinance and the areas outlined in the kingdom regulation containing general measures related to integrity.

Following the work of the technocrats, officials of both governments will review the results with the hope of coming to a solid agreement.

"We will see how we can probably merge the two of them or fit the two of them Read more

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Editorial - Louder than words

It appears St. Maarten and the Dutch Government are heading for a showdown again, judging from statements by Justice Minister Dennis Richardson in today's paper. This time it regards what he called a "draconic" proposal for an Integrity Chamber.

The Hague apparently is not satisfied with the current local plans that call for one representative of the Netherlands in the three-member chamber as well as one in the Progress Committee that is to monitor the integrity improvement course. Instead, the intention is reportedly for Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to appoint the Integrity Chamber's chairperson and his cabinet a second member, leaving St Read more

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PM submits declarations of assets to Advisory Council

PHILIPSBURG--Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs has submitted to the Advisory Council his declarations and notifications of assets, holdings, secondary positions and interests, those of the other five new ministers and of ministers who served in the Wescot-Williams III Cabinet.

The submission is in accordance with the National Ordinance Promotion of the Integrity of Ministers.

The declarations were submitted on Friday, three days before the stipulated 30-day deadline for submission by new ministers and persons who have ceased to be ministers.

The submission to the Advisory Council followed a similar submission to the Electoral Council that was tied to the National Ordinance Registration and Finances of Political Parties Read more

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Camelia-Römer substitute for law review committee

WILLEMSTAD/PHILIPSBURG--Former Netherlands Antilles Prime Minister Suzy Camelia-Römer has been nominated as a substitute member for St. Maarten on the Committee for Evaluation of the Kingdom Laws. She will deputize for committee member Judge Jacob "Bob" Wit.

The office of Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs confirmed on Sunday evening that Camelia-Römer has been approached to substitute for Wit.

The committee will evaluate four consensus kingdom laws covering the police, the Prosecutor's Office, the Joint Court of Justice and the Council for Law Enforcement Read more

Gumbs: Screening of ministers under Wescot-Williams’ watch

PHILIPSBURG--Minister-candidates who are now ministers in the Gumbs Cabinet were screened during the tenure of now-former Prime Minister/General Affairs Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams, said Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs in response to questions posed by the same Wescot-Williams, now a Member of Parliament, about the screening and the involvement of the Dutch Secret Service in the process.

Wescot-Williams sent her questions about the screening to Gumbs on January 13 via Parliament Chairman Dr Read more

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Sarah still awaits answers about housing foundation

PHILIPSBURG--It has been a month and Democratic Party (DP) Member of Parliament (MP) Sarah Wescot-Williams is still waiting on answers from government, in particular Public Housing Minister Marcel Gumbs, to her questions about whether St Read more

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