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Port St. Maarten Welcomes Dutch Navy’S Largest Vessel Hnlms Karel Doorman

PORT ST. MAARTEN – A number of officials namely Prime Minister William Marlin, the Vice President of Parliament Rodolphe Samuel, Minister of Tourism & Economic Affairs Mellissa Doncher-Arrindell, Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment, and Infrastructure Management (Ministry VROMI) Christopher Emmanuel, Member of Parliament Theodore Heyliger, along with Port St Read more

Mp Heyliger: Questions Lack Of A Minister Of Tourism And Economy

PHILIPSBURG – The United People’s Party Leader the Honorable Member of Parliament Theo Heyliger is very concerned that the country still does not have a Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications, and is wondering why the present NA/USP/DP coalition is so quiet.

“It’s remarkable how silent this coalition is today in regards to their lack of having a Minister, to complete the present Council of Ministers.  The most important portfolio in Government, as tourism drives our economy remains unfilled for several months, and it seems that we are on a rudderless ship as the economy nosedives without any direction being provided, “said MP Heyliger.

“The UP Party was subjected to endless comments and persons good characters were dragged through the rumour mill when we were going through the formation of a government Read more

Up Requests Urgent Meetings On New Hospital, Public Health And Prison

PHILIPSBURG – The United People’s (UP) Party Board announced on Wednesday, March 29, that the party’s parliamentary faction has called for two meetings of Parliament.

The UP faction has requested an urgent meeting via the President of Parliament to have the Minister of Public Health be present to provide information related to developments surrounding the proposed new General Hospital, the current state of affairs at the St Read more

Up Board And Leader Congratulates Team Gibbs On Election Win 

PHILIPSBURG – The United People’s (UP) Party Board and Leader the Honorable Member of Parliament (MP) Theodore Heyliger, extends their congratulations to Mr. Daniel Gibbs and the entire Team Gibbs on their election victory on Sunday.

“The people have clearly spoken and we extend our congratulations to everyone that expressed their opinion by voting during this second round last Sunday,” the UP Board and Leadership expressed.

“Cooperation between both sides is vital especially in the areas of tourism and economy.  Much can be accomplished by working closer together Read more

Parliament’S Right To Question Government

One of Parliament’s roles is to supervise the functioning of government. And one of its tools to carry out this supervisory function is the right to ask questions as laid down in article 62 of the Constitution.

This entails parliamentarians submitting their queries in writing to the government via the President of Parliament. Article 63 of the Constitution mentions that a Member of Parliament may also invite the ministers to provide information. Article 62 of the Rules of Order of Parliament states that this invitation will be considered by the President of Parliament, if it is supported by at least one other member of parliament Read more

Heyliger: Govt. Must Ensure Execution Of Gebe Concession Terms

PHILIPSBURG – Government only uses utilities company GEBE as a cash cow to deal with its own budget woes; in doing this, Government has depleted the company of millions of dollars which could have been spent in buying new efficient engines and updating the country’s electrical and water infrastructure or at the least giving the consumers a reduction in tariff, says United People’s (UP) party leader Member of Parliament (MP) Theo Heyliger.

“It is completely unacceptable for the country, its people and businesses, to continuously be left in the dark from constant power outages,” said Heyliger on Sunday.

“GEBE has obligations set out in its concession of 2010 to the people of our country Read more

Let Us Not Blame The Dutch

The appointment of Quartermaster Hans Leijtens, last week, came as a shock to our politicians. The Honorable Prime Minister said he was flabbergasted. The Honorable President of Parliament called the appointment provocative and Member of Parliament, Theo Heyliger, described it as vindictive.

And of course, the Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk, gets the blame Read more

Reporting Human Rights And Civil Rights In St. Martin And The Caribbean

by Fabian A. Badejo

(Panel discussion organized by the Conscious Lyrics Foundation, on occasion of the 30th anniversary Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture, Jubilee Library, St. Maarten, Friday, January 13, 2017.)

I wish to start by thanking Conscious Lyrics Foundation for the honor to participate in this panel discussion 30 years after I gave the first MLK Jr. lecture at the Mairie under the auspices of SMECO.

At the time, the evil regime of apartheid was still in full force and Mandela was still behind bars and considered a terrorist by the US and other western powers Read more