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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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Parliament adopts ‘skeleton budget’

PHILIPSBURG--Parliament passed the 2015 budget with an 11-4 vote on Thursday night with just two days to spare before the deadline set by the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT.

The budget had to be established in December 2014. Government asked CFT for more time and was given the deadline of January 31.

Voting for the budget were the 10 Members of Parliament supporting the coalition and former coalition member MP Sarah Wescot-Williams (Democratic Party (DP)) Read more

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More on the Counterpart Policy

Dear Editor,

According to information received, MP Cornelius de Weever and the acting Labour Minister seem to want to push the Counterpart Law to a ridiculous extreme in time for the policy introduction in the third quarter of this year, as announced in the media on Saturday, January 24.

As I understand it, effective October 1, the Counterpart Law may also be applied to requests for Employment Permits, as required by the numerous Houses of Pleasure on the island Read more

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SHTA: Having counterpart in PM’s cabinet ‘completely misses the point’

PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) has lashed back at statements made by Member of Parliament (MP) Cornelius de Weever on the counterpart programme saying that having a counterpart in a Prime Minister's cabinet "completely misses the point."

De Weever said last week that the counterpart law had been applied in one case and had been used in the staff bureaus of the former Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.

However, SHTA says this misses the point Read more

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Response De Weever re Counterpart Policy

Dear Editor,

I read MP De Weever's press release re The Counter Part Policy in the papers and on-line news media of January 22, and while I am the furthest thing from being a literary scholar, I believe there was a line from Macbeth by Shakespeare that is applicable here, and goes like this: "... a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing!".

The MP's explanation of his efforts and intentions related to the Counterpart Policy are basically thus summed up. Not only does the "tale" fail to include useful information about the policy (or law, as he suggests it is), but the MP's story also makes clear to me, that he for one is a politician who believes that if he spews enough venom, makes enough noise and bends enough truth, he can misdirect the attention of the public from his own professional failings.

Nationalistic rhetoric and shouts of "saving our people" while scoffing and demonization what he calls "special interests" and businesses, may be all well and good in MP De Weever's world of politics Read more

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Lake wants to raise fees on remittances

PHILIPSBURG--Increase the one-per-cent foreign exchange levy to five per cent for remittances to bring in more government revenues, suggested United People’s (UP) party Member of Parliament Maurice Lake in the Central Committee meeting of Parliament on Thursday.

“Everybody must pay their fair share, and this is one way to tap into this sector, where hundreds of thousands, if not millions, leave the country annually for other islands or countries,” Lake said in the meeting dealing with the draft 2015 budget Read more

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William agrees with CFT’s lower budget assessment

PHILIPSBURG--National Alliance (NA) leader Member of Parliament (MP) William Marlin says his party agrees with the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT estimate of the draft budget. CFT has tagged the budget at NAf Read more

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Best ‘worried’ about situation at SMMC

PHILIPSBURG--Inspector General Dr. Earl Best says he is "worried" about the situation at St. Maarten Medical Center and believes that government and stakeholders should get together to address the issues facing the medical facility sooner rather than later.

SMMC General Director Kees Klarenbeek last week pointed to the dire financial straits affecting SMMC that potentially threaten the future health of the institution if not remedied soon. Klarenbeek had said SMMC was operating in the red, with its accounts some NAf Read more

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De Weever weighs in on counterpart policy

PHILIPSBURG--Independent Member of Parliament Cornelius de Weever on Wednesday weighed in on the "Counterpart Legislation," which the St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) has warned the government against implementing.

De Weever, who noted that the policy is actually a law, said in a press release that "the ministry" had applied the law in one case Read more

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Frans joins UP-led coalition, gets Justice Ministry portfolio

PHILIPSBURG--The United People's (UP)-led coalition again has the support of ten Members of Parliament (MPs) as of Monday morning when United St. Maarten (US) party leader MP Frans Richardson signed on to the coalition.

Richardson signed on with the "100 per cent support" of his party's board Read more

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MPs emphasise need for information from govt

PHILIPSBURG--Parliament wants timely information from government when such is requested, especially on matters being handled in the Inter-Parliamentary Kingdom Consultation IPKO. This need was highlighted by United St. Maarten Party Member of Parliament (MP) Frans Richardson on Friday.

His recommendation was supported by other MPs in the debriefing meeting of Parliament's Permanent Committee on Inter-Parliamentary Affairs and Kingdom Relations held in Parliament House Read more

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NA call for MP Matser’s ‘immediate’ resignation

PHILIPSBURG--The "immediate resignation" of United People's (UP) party Member of Parliament (MP) Silvio Matser has been called for by the National Alliance (NA) Board.

The call, issued Tuesday, comes a week after the Court of First Instance sentenced the first-term MP to 24 months, 18 of which were suspended, on three years' probation and 240 hours of community service, for tax evasion Read more

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MP: SMMC should complete study to justify tariff increase

PHILIPSBURG--Independent Member of Parliament (MP) Cornelius de Weever said on Thursday that St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) should finalise the tariff study, which he said would justify any increase of tariffs at the medical institution.

De Weever, the former Health Minister, said SMMC only recently participated in a tariff study. A tariff study is currently being carried out by ACSION with SMMC. De Weever claimed that the study is being delayed, because SMMC "is not providing the financial information in a timely manner."

He made the statements in reaction to comments made by St Read more

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SMMC in dire financial straits, books in the red

~ Low tariffs, unpaid bills smothering hospital ~

CAY HILL--St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) is experiencing dire financial straits, which potentially threatens the future health of the institution if not remedied soon.

SMMC General Director Kees Klarenbeek told The Daily Herald in an exclusive interview on Thursday that the institution is currently operating in the red, with its accounts some NAf Read more

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Editorial - Not if, but how

Mention of the counterpart policy in Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs’ New Year’s speech has led to several reactions. The idea for such a mandatory regulation when employing expatriates has been contested from the start, because of the feared detrimental effect on the local business community.

Then again, that the policy would be part of the incoming cabinet’s plans was to be expected, especially as now-independent (former DP) parliamentarian Cornelius de Weever had cited the intention to leave such out of a governing programme for the originally envisioned NA/US/DP combination as his main reason to “jump ship” and support a UP-led coalition instead Read more

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Ferrier wants PM to explain how counterpart policy will be applied

~ 'It will stifle economic growth' ~

PHILIPSBURG--Businessman Michael Ferrier is looking forward to an explanation from Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs on how the counterpart policy will be applied in St Read more

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