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Jose Lake: St. Maarten Is Ready For Independence At Next Referendum

GREATBAY—St. Maarten is anticipated to take the leap to being an independent country within the next five years, president of the Independence for St. Martin Foundation Jose Lake said in a press conference yesterday.

“We have seen a great increase in the interest in independence and it’s a much larger group that is supporting independence. We are at a stage where it will become necessary within short for us to lobby the parliament to get them to move to a new referendum within another year or two,” Lake said Read more

Romney’S Draft Electoral Ordinance Prohibits Going Independent

St. Maarten – Political analyst Julio Romney presented on Wednesday evening his proposal for electoral reform in the form of a draft electoral reconciliation ordinance. The draft contains two key differences with the current system. One is the way seats are distributed among the parties that contest the elections; the other is a ban for Members of Parliament to declare themselves independent.

Romney supports the D’Hondt system for seat distribution. In this system, the numbers of votes won by each party are divided by a series of increasing denominators – from 1 until as high as necessary to arrive at a result.

Using this method, the results of the 2014 elections would have been exactly the same in terms of seat distribution Read more

Illidge to sit for bribery, loses right to be elected

PHILIPSBURG--Former independent Member of Parliament (MP)Patrick Illidge (49) was sentenced Friday to eighteen months in prison, six of which were suspended, on two years' probation for bribery. The Judge also revoked Illidge's right to be elected and imposed a ban from holding public office for five years.

During the hearings in this case, which took place February 11-13, the Prosecutor's Office had requested 30 months, 10 of which were to be suspended.

Illidge and Bada Bing brothel owner Jaap van den Heuvel were the main suspects in the so-called Orca investigations Read more

Bada Bing owner guilty of bribery, tax evasion, trafficking of women

PHILIPSBURG--The Court of First Instance convicted Bada Bing owner Jaap van den Heuvel (49) Friday to 42 months, twelve of which were suspended, on two years' probation. He was found guilty of bribery of former independent Member of Parliament Patrick Illidge, and of money-laundering, tax evasion, trafficking of women and forgery of a commercial lease agreement.

Van den Heuvel was not present to hear the Court's decision in his case, as he is currently residing in the Netherlands.

Third suspect in the so-called Orca investigations, Bada Bing manager Krijn van der Brug (41) was sentenced to nine months suspended on two years' probation and 240 hours of community service for involvement in the trafficking of women.

Van den Heuvel's company Lunteren NV was ordered to pay NAf Read more

DP MP sends Letter to Chairman of Parliament on the Dredging of Simpson Bay Lagoon

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot Williams dispatched a letter to the chairman of Parliament requesting information on the halting and illegal dredging of the Simpson Bay Lagoon. Wescot Williams commended the Nature Foundation for their swift actions which resulted in the halt. Excerps from the letter sent to the Chairman of Parliament Dr Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- During the celebrations of Rotary's 110th Anniversary, the Rotary Club of Sint Maarten-Mid Isle welcomed Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs as an Honorary Member.
Honorary membership in Rotary Clubs are recognized to individuals for their unusual contributions to Rotary and society. PM Gumbs for many years have attended the clu Read more

>PHILIPSBURG--- Former Member of Parliament Patrick Illidge did not get good news on Friday morning when the Court of First Instance rendered its verdict in the bribery charges.  The former Member of Parliament was acquitted on the illegal posssesson charges however Illidge was condemned to 18 months imprisonment, six of which are suspended Read more

American University Tax Deal: Minister Authorized To Lift Confidentiality-Rule

St. Maarten – Repeated attempts by National Alliance MP Christopher Emmanuel to get information about the tax-deal with the former owners of the American University in Cupecoy have so far stranded on Finance Minister Maarten Hassink’s refusal to make information about individual tax payers public, citing confidentiality Read more

Telecommunication Union Accuses Telem Of Hiring Illegals:  Calls For Resignation Of The Board

St. Maarten – A vote of no confidence in the board of TelEm and the resignation of Raphael Boasman as the head of that board because of a conflict of interest, were among issues cited by the St. Maarten Telecommunication Union during a press conference yesterday.

The union called the press conference to air some of their grievances in the court of public opinion after having received no satisfaction from management and board of TelEm to their issues, chief among which is the employment of a Surinamese company to perform paid employment that the union feels can and should be done by local contractors Read more

Mp Wescot-Williams Keeps Focus On Healthy Lifestyle

St. Maarten -The U2 Can Move organization has planned a walkathon for Saturday, March 7th     towards their goal of a healthy life style for all. Former Prime Minister and Democratic Party MP Sarah Wescot-Williams, who has been one of the driving forces behind this project from its onset, yesterday reiterated her continued support for the different activities that are geared towards a healthy lifestyle for all.

The date for the walkathon has been chosen to coincide with International Women’s Day–  being commemorated under the theme Make it happen– which is annually celebrated on March 8th.

“Cognizant of the constraints many women face, especially where physical activity is concerned, I warmly endorse activities, business-sponsored or otherwise that offer women the opportunity to stay fit Read more

Major seafront project ready to go ‘full steam’

POINTE BLANCHE--St. Maarten Quarter, a major mixed-use waterfront development project by Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL) is ready to commence and "go full steam" once approval is given by the Council of Ministers. The project has been in the making for eight years and its presentation to Government seems to have been well received.

Time is of the essence, as RCCL and its partners must have approval to finalise funding commitments. RCCL and the St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies (SHGC) want to announce the project at the global Seatrade Cruise Shipping Conference in Miami in the week of March 17, amongst international industry players and travel and trade media.

RCCL Vice President of Commercial Development John Tercek and his partners presented a full project overview, including its history, vision and impacts, to the Ministers and Parliament's Permanent Committee for Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (TEATT) on Thursday.

Main presenter Tercek was joined by consortium members Adam Petrillo of leading construction management company Hill International; Craig Baptiste and Ralph Ledee of Platinum Harbor, both local partners; SHGC Chief Executive Officer Mark Mingo; and two harbour officials.

Tercek said he was happy to be able to deliver the presentation to the officials in an "appropriate and transparent way," and some Members of Parliament noted the same.

Feedback seemed positive with the exception of MP Franklin Meyers' comments that Dutch contracting companies "make hundreds of millions" in St Read more

Independence referendum possible in less than 4 years

PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten could possibly see a referendum on independence before the current Parliamentary term ends in 2018. At least this is the hope of staunch independence advocates such as activists Jose Lake Jr., Leo Friday Sr., Elton Jones and Drs. Rhoda Arrindell.

This hope was expressed by representatives of Independence for St Read more

Second Chamber wants debate on islands’ Electoral College

THE HAGUE--It seems that Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk will be left little choice but to introduce a special Electoral College for the Caribbean Netherlands to safeguard the voting rights of both Dutch and foreign nationals in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba.

The Permanent Committee for Home Affairs of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament decided during a procedural meeting on Thursday, that it wants a general debate with Minister Plasterk to discuss this matter on short term.

Committee Member Wassila Hachchi of the Democratic Party D66 urged to have this debate within the shortest possible time, so the Second Chamber can proceed to handle the law proposal to establish an Electoral College, through which Dutch citizens in the Caribbean Netherlands would (indirectly) vote for the First Chamber, or the Senate Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- St. Maarten is now the Regional Authorising Officer (RAO) for the 11th EDF Regional Program. The announcement was made at the Annual Overseas Countries and Territories Association (OCTA) Ministerial Conference and the 13th Annual OCTA/EU Forum from February 25 to 27 in Tortola. Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs signed the ratification document formalising this status.
This is the result of a nomination proposed by Montserrat in 2014 and ratified by the remaining 11 Caribbean OCTs in a vote by consensus Read more

Prime Minister Gumbs - Octa

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - St. Maarten is now the Regional Authorising Officer (RAO) for the 11th EDF Regional Program.

The announcement was made at the Annual Overseas Countries and Territories Association (OCTA) Ministerial Conference and the 13th Annual OCTA/EU Forum from February 25 to 27 in Tortola.

Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs signed the ratification document formalising this status.

This is the result of a nomination proposed by Montserrat in 2014 and ratified by the remaining 11 Caribbean OCTs in a vote by consensus.

In this function St Read more

Digicel talks fruitless, TelEm talking to another company

PHILIPSBURG--The TelEm Group is currently engaged in partnership talks with a new prospective partner as talks with Digicel bore no fruit.

Asked about the talks during a press conference on Wednesday, St. Maarten Communications Union (SMCU) President Ludson Evers said he could not go into details of the discussions, but noted that the company is talking to another prospective partner as the talks with Digicel have been completed and had been fruitless.

He declined to give the name of the prospective partner and also declined to go into any details when asked Read more

SMCU accuses TelEm of using illegal Surinamese for Fibre to Home project

~ TelEm says help sought for pilot ~

PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten Communications Union (SMCU) has accused the TelEm Group of hiring eight undocumented Surinamese workers for a major Fibre to Home project, while there are competent locals including former TelEm technicians who can do the job.

TelEm however, said that the Surinamese workers were being used for the pilot fibre to home project and has assured that TelEm fully supports the use of local contractors and that the actual project will be open for bidding.

SMCU President Ludson Evers told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday that the company failed to put the project on bid to give locals a fair chance despite promises from TelEm official Helma Etnel that this would be done.

The union wants Government, Parliament, Immigration Department, the Labour Inspectorate and Labour Department to intervene in the matter Read more

Former tourism marketing head facing suspended prison sentence

~ Prosecutor: LaBega not off the hook ~

PHILIPSBURG--More than four years after criminal complaints were filed against him in his capacity as Head of Marketing of the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau Edward Dest finally had his day in court on Wednesday. He is facing charges of embezzlement in his capacity as civil servant.

Prosecutor Nanouk Lemmers found it proven that Dest had embezzled funds belonging to the St. Maarten Tourist Office in New York for promoting tourism to St. Maarten in North America and instead had used the money to pay for airfare, hotel rooms, daily allowances, the Tourist Bureau's Christmas dinner and Boardwalk Mas 2010 expenditures.

For these crimes, which allegedly were committed between June 1, 2009, and August 23, 2010, the Prosecutor requested a suspended sentence of two months, with two years' probation Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister responsible for Aviation Affairs Claret Connor and the Department of Civil Aviation and Shipping and Maritime would like to advise the public against the use of remote piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) in Sint Maarten, particularly in the area near Simpson Bay. This advisory comes in the wake of these aircraft systems being operated off vessels in the Simpson bay lagoon and in the Simpson Bay area adjacent to Runway 28.
These aircraft systems pose a danger to landing and departing aircrafts at the airport and should not be operated in the area or anywhere on Sint Maarten without the express approval from the Department Read more

style="text-align: center;">Calls on Raphael Boasman to vacate his seat as Chairman of the Supervisory Board since he is operating in Conflict of Interest.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The St. Maarten Communication Union (SMCU) headed by Ludson Evers along with his other board members told reporters at a press conference held on Wednesday that he would like for the Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs (Shareholder representative of TELEM) and other entities they contacted to deal with an illegal situation that TELEM another government owned company has engaged in Read more

Smcu Says Local Contractors Being Side-Lined

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Local fiber optic contractors on the island are being sidelined, while Surinamese are brought in to execute work that could have been done locally.

One such person being sidelined is Alberto Arrindell, a former employee of the TelEm Group who is also an expert in the area of fiber optic cable.

While the Surinamese, who are said not to be in the possession of work permits have been awarded a contract to do the work, local qualified persons are being left out.

This was disclosed at a press conference held by the St Read more

Committee Puts Three Questions To Council Of State: Do Kingdom Instructions Violate Our Autonomy?

St. Maarten – On the day of the extended deadline, the permanent parliamentary committee for Kingdom Affairs and Inter-parliamentary Relations formulated three questions about the procedures around instructions by the Kingdom Council of Ministers to the governor. The questions will be added to those already formulated by the Dutch Second Chamber and sent for advice to the Council of State.

The instructions the governors of Aruba (about its 2014 budget) and of St. Maarten (about integrity-investigations and about the establishment of the Integrity Chamber) are still a hot topic in the autonomous Caribbean countries of the kingdom.

The questions the Second Chamber members have formulated are, in the opinion of the committee-members in St Read more

Editorial - Reassuring

That Arke will be flying to Princess Juliana International Airport SXM twice weekly from Schiphol in Amsterdam starting next winter (see related story) is obviously good news. After all, attracting more visitors from the Netherlands, but also the rest of Europe so far has proved a challenge for St. Maarten.

That is certainly the case compared to the ABC-islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao), which have been very successful in this regard. As a matter of fact, the alternative Arke provided to Royal Dutch airline KLM over there especially concerning fares no doubt played a big role in that development.

To be sure, St Read more

Netanyahu draws clear rebuke from Obama over Iran speech

WASHINGTON--Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the United States on Tuesday that it was negotiating a bad deal with Iran that could spark a "nuclear nightmare," drawing a rebuke from President Barack Obama and exposing a deepening U.S.-Israeli rift.

They delivered dueling messages within hours of each other. Netanyahu made his case against Obama's Iran diplomacy in a speech to Congress that aligned himself with the president's Republican foes. Obama responded in the Oval Office, declaring in a frustrated tone that Netanyahu offered "nothing new."

In its response, the Iranian government denounced Netanyahu's 39-minute speech as "boring and repetitive," the state news agency IRNA said.

In an appearance boycotted by dozens of Obama's fellow Democrats, Netanyahu said Iran's leadership was "as radical as ever" and could not be trusted and the deal being worked out by the United States and other world powers would not block Iran's way to a bomb "but paves its way to a bomb."

"It will all but guarantee that Iran will get those nuclear weapons, lots of them," the Israeli leader said Read more