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Central Committee Meeting Of Parliament Regarding The Financial Status Of Winair

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten- The House of Parliament will sit in a Central Committee meeting on January 31, 2022.

This Central Committee meeting, which was adjourned on October 20, 2021, will be reconvened on Monday at 14.00 hrs. in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelminastraat #1 in Philipsburg. The Minister of General Affairs will be present. The agenda point is: The (financial) status of Windward Islands Airways (IS/1135/2019-2020 dated August 18, 2020 and IS/ 169/2020-2021 dated November 16, 2020) This meeting was requested by MP S.A Read more

Was The Meeting Held To Debate The Budget Illegal?

Member of Parliament George Pantophlet is asking the question as to why it is being said that passing the Budget without the approval of the Kingdom Council of Ministers is illegal. Pantophlet is not negating the fact that every Member of Parliament has to vote his/her conscience. “We all took an oath to do so. The meeting in which the Budget was discussed happened in accordance with article 34.2 of the rules of order which states: “As soon as the attendance list is signed by at least half plus one, the President opens the meeting Read more

Mp Emmanuel: Prime Minister Again Shows Why Her Government Cannot Be Trusted

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — Independent MP Christophe Emmanuel on Thursday said that the Prime Ministers statements that politics was being played with the airport dossier of airport COO Michel Hyman was a bad joke that re-enforces why Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs and her government cannot be trusted.

The PM he said, when caught in a lie or gross negligence of duty, continues to deflect, blame, lie and spin the issues Read more

Site Visit Marks The Start Of The Renovation Of The Belvedere Towers

BELVEDERE, Sint Maarten Major renovation work to severely damaged social housing in Belvedere has now begun, marked by todays informal site visit by several key stakeholders.

In total, exactly 64 apartment units in the six residential towers of Sint Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF) will be fully renovated under this contract. This activity prioritized by the Government of Sint Maarten is part of the Emergency Recovery Project (ERP-1) of the Sint Maarten Trust Fund, which is financed by the Government of the Netherlands, managed by the World Bank, and implemented by the NRPB.

The units – locally known as The Towers – were damaged during the passage of the 2017 hurricanes Read more

Parliament Approves Budget, Government Elated To Move Towards Ratification

Philipsburg, Sint Maarten — The Parliament of St. Maarten approved the countrys National Budget for 2022, on Monday, January 24, with nine MPs for and four MPs against as government awaits the deviation approval by the Kingdom Council of Ministers (RMR). In her opening remarks to Parliament, during the start of the budget debate, Prime Minister Jacobs addressed the concerns of several Members of Parliament about the handling of the budget without having the deviation from article 25 granted by the RMR.

Prime Minister Jacobs stated, Government has a legal obligation to submit the budget to the Parliament Read more

Prime Minister Jacobs: Covid-19 Is Still With Us. St. Maarten Continues To Be Most Resilient

Philipsburg, Sint Maarten — The Prime Minister of St. Maarten Hon. Silveria E. Jacobs in her opening address in the House of Parliament on Wednesday related to the continuation of debating the draft 2022 national budget said COVID-19 is still with us.

I join with the Minister of VSA in commending all those who have helped us to continue to grapple with the rising active cases. I must say that the Minister and the Ministry of VSA, together with all their stakeholders are doing a wonderful job of ensuring that we as a community are doing what is needed Read more

Prime Minister Jacobs Profiles Trust Fund Financial Allocations

SINT MAARTEN, PHILIPSBURG The Prime Minister of Sint Maarten Hon. Silveria Jacobs in the House of Parliament on Wednesday provided information to Members of Parliament (MPs) during the parliamentary session that is handling the draft 2022 national budget about the Trust Fund portfolio which comprises ten (10) projects that are currently in implementation as well as three (3) projects under preparation.

The prime minister stated that the Government of Sint Maarten has strategically prioritized these projects geared at recovery, reconstruction and building resilience of the countrys institutions.

In 2018, the Government of the Netherlands committed an amount of US$554 million to the Trust Fund program, which was aimed at: The recovery and reconstruction of Sint Maarten following the devastation caused by the September 2017 Atlantic hurricanes; and

Strengthening the countrys resilience to future natural disasters.

The Government of the Netherlands had previously transferred US$515.35 million to the World Bank and in December 2021, the Netherlands transferred the final tranche of US$139 million.

As a summary of the Trust Fund projects, the prime minister informed the MPs as follows:

US$515.36 million has been transferred to the Trust Fund, this amounts to the total to be transferred figures. 10 projects are under implementation for US$311.3 million, of which US$146.3 million has been disbursed to date, and US$122.2 million spent.

For the overview of the Trust Fund program, the prime minister added:

That the Investment income to date is approximately US$13.7 million, which reflows to the Trust Fund for projects. At this moment the entire Trust Fund has been allocated to existing or future projects by the Steering Committee.

The final remaining finances of the Trust Fund have been allotted by the Steering Committee in July 2021 Read more

Government, Majority Of Mps Show Blatant Disregard For Sint Maarten Constitution, Says Pfp

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — The eight Members of Parliament (MPs) who voted against a proposal to suspend voting on the countrys 2022 budget until after the next Kingdom Council of Ministers meeting have shown their blatant disregard for the Sint Maarten Constitution. This is what Party for Progress (PFP) MPs Melissa Gumbs and Raeyhon Peterson had to say following Fridays public meeting of Parliament.

The proposal in question was brought forward by MP Gumbs on Friday afternoon during Parliaments handling of the countrys draft 2022 budget Read more

Prime Minister Jacobs Congratulates Prime Minister Mia Mottley On Victory At The Polls

Philipsburg, Sint Maarten — On behalf of the Government and the People of St. Maarten, the Honorable Prime Minister Silveria E. Jacobs extended congratulations to newly sworn-in Prime Minister of the Republic of Barbados, the Honorable Mia Mottley following the overwhelming results of the recently held elections.

In a letter sent to Prime Minister Mottley today, January 20, Prime Minister Jacobs stated, As a fellow female leader in the region, your exemplary form of leadership has become a beacon for many of us to follow Read more

Prime Minister Jacobs Addresses Concerns About Deviation From Article 25

SINT MAARTEN, PHILIPSBURG The Prime Minister of Sint Maarten Hon. Silveria Jacobs in the House of Parliament on Wednesday addressed the concerns of Members of Parliament (MPs) about the fact that the House is handling the draft 2022 national budget without having the deviation from article 25 granted by the Kingdom Council of Minister (RMR).

Government has a legal obligation to submit the budget Read more

A Realistic Decision

Member of Parliament George Pantophlet

Member of Parliament George Pantophlet disagrees with MP Sarah Wescot-Williams’ remarks in her article Stop the cat and mouse game Read more

Prime Minister Jacobs Sends Formal Congratulatory Message To Mark Rutte

SINT MAARTEN, PHILIPSBURG The Prime Minister of Sint Maarten Hon. Silveria Jacobs sent a formal congratulatory message to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte who was sworn in on Monday, January 10 along with members of his cabinet.

The new cabinet of the Dutch Government is the fourth to be led by Prime Minister and Minister of General Affairs Mark Rutte Read more

Sarah Objects To The Postponement Of Meeting With The Prime Minister To Update Parliament.

Expects the COHO Trajectory to Backfire Big Time.

Philipsburg, St. Maarten, Member of Parliament, Sarah A. Wescot-Williams expounded on her objection to the postponement of the Central Committee meeting on Thursday January 6th regarding the recent meeting of the Kingdom Council of Ministers. I objected to putting off the meeting, because I believe there is some explaining to be done by the Prime Minister regarding the meeting of the Kingdom Council of Ministers (KCOM) of December 17th last Read more