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PHILIPSBURG:--- Once a year, the District Governor (DG) of Rotary District 7020 makes an official visit to each club in the district, between July 1st and December 31st. The purpose of the visit is to allow the DG to communicate directly with all Rotarians in our District. He is there to listen to the club leadership and gain a better understanding of their club, to provide helpful and friendly advice to club officers as requested and to answer questions about Rotary International and the District Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- On Monday, February 12, at the Government Administration Building, Minister of Finance Michael Ferrier was presented a copy of the book “Fiscale Wetgeving (Tax law) 2018" by the Managing Director of PricewaterhouseCoopers Paul van Vliet, Associate Partner. The Minister is thankful to PricewaterhouseCoopers and will dis Read more

POND ISLAND:---  Destination Sint Maarten/St. Martin is once again profiled in a major U.S. media publication, the USA Today. On Monday, February 12, in its Travel Section under the title, “Best beaches in the Caribbean, 2018 edition,” there were 51 photos featuring the aforementioned in the Region, and destination St. Maarten/St. Martin was mentioned in the number two spot pointing out that the island’s 37 beaches are back in business.
The feature written by Melanie Reffes as a special to USA Today starts out, “Even if you’ve been there and done that, chilling on a Caribbean beach never gets old.
“Whether you like snorkeling, swimming and sunbathing, people-watching on party beaches or the sand-less-traveled, our island-by-island guide can help you find the best sandy swaths under the sun.”
Acting Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transportation & Telecommunications (Ministry TEATT) Cornelius de Weever said on Monday that once again this is positive promotion for the destination after the hurricanes of September 2017.
Minister De Weever was quoted in the publication as saying: “A fan of the beach closest to the city, minister of tourism Cornelius de Weever gives a thumbs-up to Great Bay Beach where the ‘boardwalk bars host spirited happy hours, there’s a lot of shopping in adjacent Philipsburg and as the pier is at the end, it’s perfect for cruise shippers looking to spend an afternoon on the sand.’”
“Keeping travelers and the travel and tourism trade informed on how we are progressing is very important for the destination Read more

Alianza Progresista Del Caribe Condena Atropello De Holanda Contra El Gobierno De St Eustatius

La Alianza Progresista del Caribe (CPA), una asociación formada durante una reunión de COPPPAL en St Maarten, en mayo de 2017, con organizaciones miembros de los restantes países no autónomos en general, a nivel mundial y regional, con un énfasis particular en las islas de las antiguas Antillas Holandesas.

Entre nuestros miembros en crecimiento figuran Puerto Rico, San Andrés, Providenciales y las Islas Vírgenes de los Estados Unidos, B.V.I., los territorios de ultramar franceses y holandeses.

El CPA ha seguido con consternación e incredulidad el trato dispensado por el gobierno holandés al pueblo de las antiguas Antillas Neerlandesas, especialmente las islas BES de Bonaire y San Eustaquio Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- The St. Maarten Tzu Chi Foundation and its volunteers on Sunday began the process to repair the home of a local resident which was severely damaged by hurricane Irma, which battered the island in September last year.

The damaged home is located on Bush Road and it represents the first housing project to be executed by Tzu Chi Foundation following the devastating hurricane.

The project is being executed in collaboration with Key to Freedom Foundation and its Director Elvision Adamus Read more

William: Draft Law Short Term Contracts Watered Down To Primarily Benefit Businesses

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — Former Prime Minister William Marlin says the draft national ordinance to amend the civil code to stem the abuse of short term labor contracts has been watered down to such an extent that the original intention of the law is no longer visible.

The current draft on the table, he adds, primarily benefits businesses and seems to make a mockery of the system Read more

William Calls For Extension Of Time For Voters To Collect Voting Cards In Districts

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — Former Prime Minister and number 23 candidate on the National Alliance slate, William Marlin is calling on authorities to extend the period within which voters can pick up their voting cards from polling substations within the various districts.

He also urges authorities to, in extending the time, also seriously consider opening the polling substations after hours as well as on weekends to better accommodate persons who work late and those available only on the weekend.

Voters in some districts were given just five days, 5th of February to 9th of February (9am to 5pm), to collect their voting cards at locations in the various districts Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- Former Prime Minister and number 23 candidate on the National Alliance slate, William Marlin is calling on authorities to extend the period within which voters can pick up their voting cards from polling substations within the various districts.

He also urges authorities to, in extending the time, also seriously consider opening the polling substations after hours as well as on weekends to better accommodate persons who work late and those available only on the weekend.

Voters in some districts were given just five days, 5th of February to 9th of February (9 am to 5 pm), to collect their voting cards at locations in the various districts Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- Former Prime Minister William Marlin says the draft national ordinance to amend the civil code to stem the abuse of short-term labor contracts has been watered down to such an extent that the original intention of the law is no longer visible.

The current draft on the table, he adds, primarily benefits businesses and seems to make a mockery of the system Read more

Frans Asks Gebe To Expedite Restoration To Parts Of Cay Bay.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament and leader of the United St. Maarten (US) party Frans Richardson is calling on GEBE to at least explain to residents of Cay Bay why they are still without electricity 6 months after the passing of hurricane Irma.

Richardson said while he fully compliments the staff and management of GEBE for the work they have done in restoring St Read more

CEO praises workers who kept services going during emergency.

Pond Island – TelEm Group management called its workers back to their main building on Pond Island, Monday, following last week’s emergency closure due to raging fires on the dumpsite nearby.

Many members of staff, especially Customer Service personnel, Technicians and engineers not affected by last week’s closure continued working throughout last week’s incident, however, the majority of TelEm Group workers, located in the main building were unable to continue their daily duties because of the closure.
“Technically we could have called staff back to work on Friday, but we wanted to be extra cautious that the air in the building was as clear and as safe as it could be for personnel coming back to work and also for customers visiting the building,” said TelEm Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr Read more

PHILIPSBURG – On Sunday morning February 11th Prime Minister Leona Romeo Marlin together with Minister of Finance Michael Ferrier, Minister of Justice Cornelius Deweever, and Minister of VROMI Miklos Giterson lead a delegation of technocrats to French St Read more

Work Together And Develop An Equal Kingdom

When your house is on fire you do not fight about who is to blame or how the fire may have started. Before you do anything else, you try to minimize the damage and then you try to extinguish the fire.

Burning houses. That seems the best way to describe the current situation on Sint Eustatius (Statia) and Sint Maarten: Caribbean parts of our Kingdom. The Statian government has been sent home by Secretary of State Knops. According to the Dutch government, this is due to an administrative culture best characterized as lawless and severe financial mismanagement Read more

Who Is Francelise Mauricia-Peterson Candidate #7 On Smcp

As a God-fearing woman, wife, mother of three, I decided to take up this challenge once again to run for parliament in the upcoming election on February 26, 2018.

My reason for doing so is the fact that through the years I have seen a lot of changes in Sint Maarten. Some good and some extremely bad that were not in the best interest of our people. Sint Maarten has become a country of many surprises, especially by those in whom we have put our trust, whereas you can wake up one morning and hear that the government has fallen.

You sit to listen to a parliamentary debate and suddenly votes of non-confidence are passing Read more

Exclusivo: Esposa De Funcionario Fallecido Dijo Que Negligencia De Smmc Provocó La Muerte A Destiempo De Su Marido.

Daris Monsanto: SMMC no cuenta con personal calificado para brindar atención de calidad, a sus pacientes  ~

REPÚBLICA DOMINICANA / PHILIPSBURG. – Daris Monsanto, la viuda del fallecido Jacques Monsanto decidió romper su silencio en la República Dominicana, donde falleció su esposo el martes en la noche. En declaraciones a SMN News, la señora Monsanto dijo que su esposo murió porque los médicos del Centro Médico St Read more

Cpa Condemns Dutch Overthrow Of Sint Eustatius Legitimate Elected Government.

St. Eustatius:--- The Caribbean Progressive Alliance (CPA), an association formed during a meeting of COPPPAL on St Maarten, in May 2017, with as members organizations from the remaining non-self-governing countries in general, globally and regionally, with a particular emphasis on the islands of the former Netherlands Antilles.
Counted among our growing members are Puerto Rico, San Andres, Providenciales and U.S Read more

Cba And Oranje School Can Re-Open Friday 

GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – Prime Minister Leona Romeo Marlin in an update regarding the Pond Island landfill fires on Thursday said based on assessments and discussions with the Minister of Education Jorien Wuite, the two remaining schools that were closed on Thursday can re-open onFriday.

The two schools are the Charlotte Brookson Academy (CBA) and the Oranje Primary School Read more

Prime Minister Leona Romeo Marlin & State Secretary Raymond Knops Visit Roof Repair Program Candidates

Philipsburg – On Thursday afternoon a delegation including Prime Minister Leona Romeo Marlin, Minister of VROMI Miklos Giterson and State Secretary Raymond Knops visited 2 of the 480 homes that have been selected for reconstruction in the Roof Repair Program that is being executed by the Government of Sint Maarten. “I am confident that we are heading in the right direction as the Government of Sint Maarten continues to develop programs that will assist and bring relief to persons in the community”, said Prime Minister Leona Romeo Marlin following meetings with State Secretary Knops. The objective of the tour was to have State Secretary Knops witness first hand the severity of the damages caused by Hurricane Irma Read more

Sint Maarten Ministry Of Finance Organized Round Table Conference Sustainable Financial Government

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — On Tuesday February 6, 2018, the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Sint Maarten organized a Round Table Conference “Sustainable Financial Government” with the Netherlands, the World Bank, the IMF and the Cft. The goal of this conference was to get all parties together and have an open dialogue on the way forward to a financial sustainable Sint Maarten and how progress can be achieved in bringing relief to the people of Sint Maarten in the short term.

The main topics discussed was the issue of liquidity support to the government of Sint Maarten, the application of 550 million euro made available by the Netherlands, the benefits of using the professional services offered by the World Bank and the IMF, in collaboration with the Cft Read more

Minister Of Finance Michael Ferrier Opens The Round Table Conference

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — On Tuesday February 06, the Minister of Finance Michael Ferrier open the Round Table Conference between the Netherlands, the World Bank, the IMF, the Cft and Country Sint Maarten below you can read the speech of the Minister.

Good morning friends of Sint Maarten …. on behalf of my colleagues in the Leona Marlin Cabinet, I bid you good morning.

The topic is sustainable financial government.

In my immediate past life, I was a business owner and as such I know that transparency and insight on income and expenditure, as well as accurate and timely reporting of same are paramount for any business is to be successful Read more

Sint Maarten Christian Party Is The Only Party That Published Manifesto In Timely Manner

Philipsburg, Sint Maarten —  The Electoral Council would like to remind all political parties contesting the upcoming parliamentary elections that in accordance with the National Ordinance on Registration and Finances of Political Parties they are required to make their manifestos public in a timely manner.

In order for the public to make well-informed decision, the political program of a party should be published around the date of postulation. To date only one party, the Sint Maarten Christian Party, has presented their manifesto for the 2018 elections to the public.

According to the articles of association of the respective political parties the publication dates of their manifestos are:

–          US Party: latest February 1, 2018

–          NA: around January 5, 2018

–          SDM: latest January 5, 2018

–          SMCP: latest January 27, 2018 Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- Former Prime Minister William Marlin on Thursday attempted to clear the air on what he says are outright lies being planted in the community by members of the United Democrats to gain political mileage in the run-up to snap parliamentary elections.

Marlin made clear that his intention is to simply correct the lies being peddled by the party to gain sympathy from the electorate.

Members of the party have been using issues such as the container at the border, the 2017 St Read more

PHILIPSBURG:---  On Thursday afternoon a delegation including Prime Minister Leona Romeo Marlin, Minister of VROMI Miklos Giterson and State Secretary Raymond Knops visited 2 of the 480 homes that have been selected for reconstruction in the Roof Repair Program that is being executed by the Government of Sint Maarten.

"I am confident that we are heading in the right direction as the Government of Sint Maarten continues to develop programs that will assist and bring relief to persons in the community", said Prime Minister Leona Romeo Marlin following meetings with State Secretary Knops.

The objective of the tour was to have State Secretary Knops witness first hand the severity of the damages caused by Hurricane Irma Read more

GREAT BAY (DCOMM) – On Tuesday, February 6, 2018, the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Sint Maarten organized a Round Table Conference “Sustainable Financial Government,” with the Netherlands, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Committee for Financial Supervision of Curacao and Sint Maarten Cft.

The goal of this conference was to get all parties together and have an open dialogue on the way forward to a financial sustainable Sint Maarten and how progress can be achieved in bringing relief to the people of Sint Maarten in the short term.

The main topics discussed was the issue of liquidity support to the government of Sint Maarten, the application of 550 million euro made available by the Netherlands, the benefits of using the professional services offered by the World Bank and the IMF, in collaboration with the Cft.

Progress has been made in getting clarity with regards to the completion of the 2017 and 2018 budget process.

The Conference was attended by the Dutch Project Director General of Reconstruction for the Windward Islands, Hans Leijtens, Head of the Representation of the Netherlands in Philipsburg, Chris Johnson, representatives of the World Bank, IMF, Cft and the Government of Sint Maarten.

Representing Sint Maarten were the Minister of Finance, Michael Ferrier, with members of his Cabinet, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Finance, Arno Peels and support staff, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of General Affairs, Hensley Plantijn and civil servants from the Department of Foreign Relations.

The conference was moderated by former Minister of Justice and Chairman of the Workgroup National Recovery Plan, Dennis Richardson.

Now that there is a shared understanding of the way forward, one of the next steps is for Prime Minister Leona Romeo Marlin and the Minister of Finance Michael Ferrier to visit the Netherlands to continue these discussions and to strengthen the relationships between the two Kingdom partners.

Both the Dutch and Sint Maarten delegations are very pleased with the level of progress made in charting the way forward.

Minister Ferrier and Project Director General Leijtens thanked all participants for their contribution to the open dialogue and clear communication Read more