Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
MPs defer talk on double taxation
PHILIPSBURG--Members of Parliament (MPs) have deferred discussions about the new tax treaty between St. Maarten and the Netherlands until they can hear from Finance Minister Martin Hassink.
The treaty, said to be in conformity with internationally accepted regulations, was on the agenda of Tuesday's Central Committee sitting in Parliament House. However, independent MP Cornelius de Weever said he had questions about the treaty, especially the effects of it on St Read more
Minister Richardson answers MPs on Harbour/Zebec settlement
PHILIPSBURG--Deputy Prime Minister Dennis Richardson provided answers on Tuesday to questions Members of Parliament (MPs) had asked about the Harbour’s settlement with Zebec Development in a first round of questions during an emergency meeting the day before.
Richardson first tackled the reasoning for both the court case and the settlement, then went on to more individual questions asked.
Case/settlement
The core issue is that Zebec intended to develop the Dutch Village on long-lease land of the Harbour Read more
MPs question Dennis on Zebec settlement at Port
~ Sarah’s call for more speaker’s time voted down ~
PHILIPSBURG--Members of Parliament (MPs) fired off numerous questions seeking clarity on the Harbour’s settlement with Zebec Development during an emergency meeting on Monday.
The meeting was adjourned after the first round of questions to give Deputy Prime Minister Dennis Richardson a chance to obtain answers. The meeting will continue at 2:00pm today, Tuesday.
A proposal by Democratic Party (DP) MP Sarah Wescot-Williams at the start of the meeting for the speaking time to be increased to 30 minutes in the first round and 20 minutes in the second round was voted down with eight MPs voting against the proposal and six voting for it.
The vote was called after United People’s (UP) party MP Franklin Meyers said he opposed Wescot-Williams’ proposal Read more
Richardson to Schram: Prove underworld claims or ‘shut up’
PHILIPSBURG--Justice Minister Dennis Richardson minced no words when he publicly called on Attorney-General Guus Schram to prove his claims about the mixing of the so-called underworld with civil society.
Richardson said in Monday's plenary session of Parliament that Schram should prove his claims or "shut the hell up."
Richardson was reacting to comments made by the Attorney-General on Friday at the swearing-in of a new judge for the Court of First Instance. Schram said, "The Friendly Island has lost its innocence."
He said another threat existed in St Read more
Achievements and lack thereof highlighted as MPs close year
PHILIPSBURG--The achievements or lack thereof in the first Parliamentary year of the second Parliament came into focus as Members of Parliament (MPs) closed off the 2014-2015 legislative year in Parliament House on Monday. The 2015-2016 year opens today, Tuesday, with much pomp and ceremony.
The call to work together was issued by fraction leaders representing the coalition partners while the two opposition fraction leaders MP William Marlin (National Alliance) and Sarah Wescot-Williams (Democratic Party) were straightforward with their criticism about lack of action by the United People’s (UP) party-led coalition.
Destiny impaired
UP fraction leader MP Franklin Meyers laid the blame for the country’s stagnated growth and development in the past year at the door of The Hague saying that government and Parliament have spent the past year battling instructions and financial constraints due to financial supervision Read more
Kingdom Committee supportive of law to digitize court process
PHILIPSBURG--The draft Kingdom law to allow the digitization of court processes has the support of the Parliament’s Permanent Committee for Inter-Parliamentary Affairs and Kingdom Relations. The draft law was before the committee on Tuesday and after getting the nod of approval was forwarded to the Central Committee of Parliament for further handling.
Committee Chairwoman Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams (Democratic Party) explained that the law amends several other Kingdom laws to allow for the digitization in the courts across the Kingdom Read more