Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
Editorial - Fair chance
There can be little doubt that the conclusions of the "Integrity Inquiry into the functioning of the Government of St. Maarten" first reported on in Saturday's paper are reason for concern. To a certain extent the general reaction coming from the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament in The Hague (see today's related story) is therefore understandable.
On the other hand, outgoing Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams and Justice Minister Dennis Richardson had a point in their official reaction on the report to Dutch Prime Minister and Kingdom Council of Ministers chairperson Mark Rutte: The relatively young country lacks means to deal effectively with integrity breaches and really could use more help from the Netherlands in that sense.
One concrete example is that almost a year of discussions on requests for assistance to strengthen the National Detectives and Prosecutor's Office so they can better tackle corruption and fraud have not yet led to tangible results Read more
Sarah: Counterpart policy was ‘moot point,’ unclear why Cornelius de Weever defected
~ He has not resigned from DP ~
PHILIPSBURG--Democratic Party (DP) leader Sarah Wescot-Williams says the counterpart policy was a "moot point" and could not be the reason DP Member of Parliament (MP)-elect Cornelius de Weever had pulled his support from the slate on which he was elected to help United People's (UP) party form a one-seat Parliamentary majority.
Wescot-Williams told reporters at a press conference at Holland House Beach Hotel on Sunday that the policy never had been an issue, as De Weever's proposal in the Council of Ministers on August 12 to establish a counterpart policy had been approved.
De Weever indicated at the time that the policy would be introduced as a pilot programme in collaboration with social partners and said there were some businesses that were willing to work with him on the initiative Read more
Second Chamber calls for intervention in St. Maarten
THE HAGUE--The Dutch media reported on Monday that there is majority support in the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament for intervention through a large criminal investigation of "St. Maarten's corrupt government." Dutch politicians are especially worried now that the United People's (UP) party of Theo Heyliger is about to take power.
Two major Dutch newspapers, De Telegraaf and Trouw, reported on Monday morning on PricewaterhouseCoopers' (PwC's) Integrity Inquiry report on St Read more
Editorial - Wait and see
Governor Eugene Holiday's decision to appoint two "informateurs" – Joe Richardson and Marcel Gumbs – (see Saturday paper) is interesting. He obviously had to do something when it became clear that "formateur" William Marlin (NA) no longer could deliver a majority in Parliament after DP's MP-elect Cornelius de Weever signed an agreement with the seven UP fraction members-elect and thus torpedoed the envisioned NA/DP/UP Party coalition.
The governor, based on the document presented to him by UP leader Theo Heyliger, could have named the latter "formateur" instead, but stopped short of doing so Read more
St. Maarten requires Dutch support to improve integrity
By Suzanne Koelega
THE HAGUE/PHILIPSBURG--Assistance from the Netherlands to enhance integrity in the St. Maarten Government and to carry out the integrity programme is necessary. Philipsburg is pressing on the Dutch Government to give its cooperation to strengthen the National Detectives Department, the Prosecutor's Office and the Tax Department.
Incumbent St. Maarten Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams and Justice Minister Dennis Richardson sent a letter to that extent to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Thursday Read more
De Weever breaks silence on reasons for abandoning DP
~ Counterpart policy at centre of decision ~
PHILIPSBURG--Democratic Party (DP) Member of Parliament (MP)-elect Cornelius de Weever broke his silence Friday on his reasons for pulling his support from the slate on which he was elected to help the United People's (UP) party form a one-seat Parliamentary majority.
De Weever said in a press release that the counterpart policy was "a principle" on which he "was not willing to compromise," as it sought to protect the interests of "our nationals [who – Ed.] want to return home only to be told they do not have enough experience and are even sometimes told they have too much experience and the company cannot afford to pay them; all this while companies still want foreign work permits for the same position."
De Weever said that with all "the rumours and innuendo circulating," he wanted to inform the populace formally on the "reasoning" behind his decision.
He said he had informed DP party leader Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams that he would be taking up his seat in Parliament instead of serving as Minister.
"In this regard, I believe an explanation is warranted to the people of St Read more
De Weever prefers serving as MP, no longer wants to stay a minister
PHILIPSBURG--Incumbent Health Minister Cornelius de Weever has informed Democratic Party (DP) leader Sarah Wescot-Williams that he wants to serve as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the new government and no longer will be continuing as Minister of Health, Labour and Social Affairs as was originally the case.
De Weever was elected to Parliament on the DP slate in the August 29 election Read more
Holiday starts new consultations after end of ‘Marlin’ formation
PHILIPSBURG--Governor Eugene Holiday started new formation talks on Thursday after United People's (UP) party leader Theodore Heyliger submitted a signed "coalition agreement" for the governing period 2014-2018.
The agreement was signed by UP's seven elected Members of Parliament (MPs) and Democratic Party (DP) MP-elect Cornelius de Weever.
Holiday said in a press release that in view of these developments, National Alliance (NA) leader William Marlin had informed him that the majority in Parliament necessary for the formation of the planned NA/DP/US Party coalition government no longer existed Read more
New coalition said imminent
PHILIPSBURG--Widespread but unconfirmed reports on Wednesday indicated that a new coalition government with a one-seat majority is in the making between the United People's (UP) party with its seven seats and Democratic Party (DP) candidate and incumbent Health Minister Cornelius de Weever.
It could not be ascertained whether De Weever has severed ties with DP, as up to early yesterday Wescot-Williams said she had not been informed of such, although he had indicated that he no longer wanted a ministerial post and would retain his parliamentary seat (see related story).
According to reports, De Weever has agreed to form a coalition with UP Read more
Audi and Caribbean Auto break ground for $500,000 showroom
COLE BAY--Audi Latin America and Caribbean Auto broke ground for the construction of a US $500,000 new Audi dealership in St. Maarten on Thursday.
The dealership will be located at 153 Union Road Cole Bay, near Caribbean Auto. The centre will be Audi's St. Maarten/St. Martin dealership in the Caribbean region and will help strengthen its relationship with current and future four-ring customers.
"It's wonderful having a global company like Audi bring its quality-engineered vehicles to the island Read more
Editorial - Better now than later
It seems the formation of a new government might not go as smoothly as expected after all. Although “formateur†William Marlin (NA) presented Governor Eugene Holiday with his report and the incoming NA/DP/US coalition’s governing programme yesterday, DP leader Sarah Wescot-Williams confirmed that her party’s number two vote-getter Cornelius de Weever had indicated meanwhile that he preferred to occupy his seat in Parliament rather than remain Minister of Labour, Health and Social Affairs as intended.
This creates a problem, because DP quickly will have to choose another nominee to become one of its two cabinet members, while the names of all seven candidate ministers already had been submitted Read more
Pastor Smith urges incoming coalition govt, ‘make it work’
~ Governing programme finalised ~
CAY HILL--The incoming coalition partners have completed the governing programme and will be presenting it to formateur William Marlin today, Wednesday. Marlin is expected to report to Governor Eugene Holiday on the formation of the new government on the deadline today.
St. Maarten United Ministerial Foundation (SMUMF) President Pastor Wycliffe Smith, who met with the coalition leaders and their representatives as they finalised the document at Bearing Point yesterday, urged the coalition to "make it work."
He said a coalition of three was much more challenging than a coalition of two, noting that in this case the margin was thin as there was just a one-seat majority Read more
‘Champions of Peace’ march through town
PHILIPSBURG--A rally dubbed "Champions of Peace" was held on the afternoon of September 19. Participants marched through the streets of Philipsburg and held a small presentation at Clem Labega Square, which served as the beginning and ending point.
Students of various schools participated in the rally. Still dressed in uniform, they formed small groups holding banners for the march.
Offering kind words and touching on the significance of acting as "champions of peace," Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams addressed the crowd briefly, as did Jorien Wuite on behalf of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Affairs and Marcellia Henry on behalf of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
Addressing the crowd, Henry shared a poem called "I dream of a world of peace" by a Nepalese high school student before sharing a reflection on whether peace is really possible or an ideal concept Read more
TelEm, Digicel sign financial information-sharing contract
POND ISLAND--St. Maarten Telephone Group of Companies TelEm and regional telecom company Digicel are said to have signed an agreement to share financial information and pursue further talks. The agreement is said to be a precursor to possible merger talks between the two companies.
It is unclear at this point what will happen with the partnering talks TelEm already had underway with United Telecommunication Services (UTS).
St. Maarten is entitled to between 12 and 25 per cent of UTS' operation as a result of the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles Read more
MPs concerned about TelEm-Digicel accord
PHILIPSBURG--Members of Parliament (MPs) have expressed concern about the signing of a financial information sharing contract between the St. Maarten Telephone Group of Companies TelEm and regional telecom company Digicel.
Democratic Party (DP), National Alliance (NA) and Independent MPs Frans Richardson and Patrick Illidge expressed concerns during a meeting of the Central Committee of Parliament on Friday, to handle amendments to the 2014 budget.
Neither United People's (UP) party MPs nor independent MP Dr Read more
Editorial - Solid enough
The names mentioned in today's paper as the reported candidates for the various positions of the incoming NA/DP/US-party coalition inspire confidence. The screening process will have to determine whether they all qualify in the end, but for now the apparent nominees certainly sound adequate.
It was already clear that NA leader William Marlin would be the next Prime Minister in charge of General Affairs, while the party's number three candidate and top vote-getter Silveria Jacobs had been a "shoo-in" to again become Minister of Education, Culture and Sports.
Whom NA would make its Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Development and the Environment VROMI was not known, but Rodolphe Samuel with his experience as President of Parliament certainly had been among the frontrunners for the job on the party's election list Read more
Prime minister tenders resignation of Cabinet
HARBOUR VIEW--Prime Minister Wescot-Williams has tendered the resignation of the entire Wescot-Williams III Cabinet to Governor Eugene Holiday. The governor, according to a statement from his Cabinet, has informed the prime minister that he will consider her request.
The governor also reiterated his call to the ministers and the minister plenipotentiary in The Hague to continue their duties in the interest of St 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
Editorial - It can’t hurt
The motion passed during yesterday's Parliament meeting to close the legislative year (see related story) may have surprised some. After all, the new cabinet being formed won't start until October 10, so the incoming NA/DP/US coalition just has to wait its turn.
Having said that, it's not the first time such action has been taken to prevent outgoing public administrators from making decisions that could commit the country financially or legally and hamper the next government Read more
‘Janchi’ re-elected, in spite of tie with Buncamper-Molanus
PHILIPSBURG--Incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) Johan "Janchi" Leonard (United People's (UP) party) can be considered the big winner after the validation of the votes from the August 29 Parliamentary Elections by the Central Voting Bureau on Wednesday. Leonard was short two votes to be re-elected to Parliament. He received those votes when the bureau reviewed ballots deemed invalid by the polling station on election night.
Leonard (UP #7) is an MP-elect for UP, in spite of the tie with former Minister Maria Buncamper-Molanus (UP #21), because of his placement on the party's list of candidates Read more
Editorial - Time will tell
It appears a new government is indeed on the horizon, now that three parties with a combined eight of the 15 seats in Parliament have reached agreement on the division of ministerial portfolios and other positions (see related story). The candidates for such are yet to be announced, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what some of the names involved might be.
NA is likely to nominate its political leader William Marlin as the new Prime Minister, while the party's number two candidate and top vote-getter Silveria Jacobs, having already served as Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports, is favoured to take up that post again Read more
Holiday starts consultation on formation of new gov’t today
HARBOUR VIEW--Governor Eugene Holiday will start consultations for the formation of a new government as of today, Monday, September 1. The consultations will be held with Vice Chairperson of the Advisory Council; Ombudsman Nilda Arduin-Lynch; outgoing President of Parliament Gracita Arrindell and the leaders of the four political parties that obtained seats in the elections: United People’s (UP) party leader Theo Heyliger, National Alliance (NA) leader William Marlin; Democratic Party (DP) leader Sarah Wescot-Williams and United St Read more
Editorial - Top 10
The individual votes-count of Friday's election that only became fully available late Saturday afternoon makes for some interesting reading (see related story). For one thing, UP leader Theo Heyliger confirmed he is by far the most popular politician in St Read more