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>PHILIPSBURG:--- Director of the St. Maarten Development Fund Keith Franca on Wednesday officially introduced the government organization to Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs. Franca briefed the Prime Minister on the accomplishments and activities of the fund in 2014 as well as presented the 2015 plans. Franca also met with Minister of Education, C Read more

Mp Lake Calls For Public Awareness Campaign About Government Structure Of Country

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – United People's (UP) Party Member of Parliament (MP) Hon. Maurice Lake, is calling on Government to set up a public awareness campaign for the seven ministries of the government system that is responsible for running the country, as well as the role of parliament and the governor.

MP Lake added that the public has to be educated and aware of their rights, responsibilities and obligations, and that this would go long way in strengthening governance and democracy.

The seven ministries are: Ministry of General Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications, Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour, Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Development, Environment and Infrastructure and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports.

"I think it is very important that the community is aware of the respective responsibilities of each ministry Read more

Prime Minister Gets Insight Into Government Organization

PHILIPSURG, St. Maarten - Director of the St. Maarten Development Fund Keith Franca on Wednesday officially introduced the government organization to Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs.

Franca briefed the Prime Minister on the accomplishments and activities of the fund in 2014 as well as presented the 2015 plans.

Franca also met with Read more

The Shta Welcomes Anenda Zaandam As New Executive Director

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA), the largest private business representative on the island, welcomes Ms. Anenda Zaandam as its new Executive Director.

The appointment of Ms. Zaandam follows the resignation of Ms. Karen Hana whose her hard work and grand efforts, during her time with the association, were greatly appreciated.

Anenda Zaandam, Certified Hospitality Educator of the American Hotel & Lodging Association Educational Institute, will be bringing her extensive knowledge of the Hospitality & Service Industry to the SHTA.

Ms Read more

Govt losing head tax on inter-island vessels

PHILIPSBURG--Government is losing an estimated US $600,000 annually from non-collection of the US $6 head tax from inter-island vessels. This figure was shared in Parliament on Tuesday, by United St. Maarten (US) Party Member of Parliament (MP) Frans Richardson. He gathered that figure from the industry.

Vessels operating especially ferry services to the neighbouring islands are getting away "scot-free" from making the payment of US $6 a person, because government does not have any collection mechanism in place to monitor and collect the fee.

This collection, in particular for Simpson Bay Lagoon where most of the traffic originates, should be carried out by Simpson Bay Lagoon Authority Corporation (SLAC), an entity of St Read more

Parliament establishes an ad hoc Integrity Committee

PHILIPSBURG--With integrity continuing to be the buzz word in St. Maarten, Parliament established its ad hoc committee on integrity Tuesday, but not without much discussion on the membership.

The establishment of the committee was recommended by Democratic Party (DP) leader Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams in a written proposal in January Read more

Parliament wants restart of Curaçao friars abuse probe

THE HAGUE--The Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament wants State Secretary of Safety and Justice Fred Teeven to persuade the Curaçao Government to reinitiate the investigation into the sexual and physical abuse of children by the Friars of Tilburg in Soto, Curaçao in the 1960s.

The move by the Second Chamber comes after various regional media in the Netherlands reported last Saturday that the investigating committee under the guidance of attorney-at-law and former Judge Ronald Koeijers wasn't active and in fact only existed on paper.

According to the regional newspapers, which published the story of the press agency de Persdienst, the committee has not followed-up on reports filed by several persons who said they were abused by a handful of friars at San Fernando, a boarding school in Soto for young orphans and children from broken families.

The newspapers, among others Brabants Dagblad and de Gelderlander, told the story of "Johnny," a 62-year-old Curaçao man whose real name was not disclosed Read more

Kingdom Conference to be moved to June

THE HAGUE--The 2015 Kingdom Conference in Curaçao has been moved from April 8 to June 16, Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk informed the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament on Tuesday.

Plasterk explained in his letter that he received word from Curaçao Prime Minister Ivar Asjes on February 2 that the Kingdom Conference could not go ahead on April 8 as planned due to "unforeseen circumstances." Asjes also sent a similar letter to his colleagues Mike Eman of Aruba and Marcel Gumbs of St Read more

Govt envisages lowering workers pay on sick days

PHILIPSBURG--Government is considering amending the current policy to lower compensation paid to workers on their sick days as a means of combating absenteeism.

In response to questions on this subject from Democratic Party (DP) Member of Parliament (MP) Sarah Wescot-Williams during the public plenary session of Parliament on the 2015 budget, Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs said the point of departure is that employees would get only a percentage of their salary paid to them when on sick leave.

"This can range from, for example, 90 per cent as of the second or third day of being sick, to for example 70 or 80 per cent after having been sick for a longer period," Gumbs said Read more

French-side sewage leak contaminating Dutch side

PHILIPSBURG--A "significant" amount of sewage run-off from a large French side public septic tank has been flowing into Oyster Pond and contaminating waters on the Dutch side at "an alarming rate" since last week, reported Nature Foundation on Tuesday. Up to fifty litres or more per day of raw sewage is estimated to be flowing into Oyster Pond.

The sewage flow was documented by the foundation. Water quality tests were conducted to directly determine the composition of the effluent entering Oyster Pond Read more

‘Bada Bing’ trial kicks off today

PHILIPSBURG--The court hearings in the so-called "Orca" or "Bada Bing" case will be kicking off in the Court of First Instance today, Wednesday, at 9:00am. The case involves a number of alleged illegal practices in and concerning Bada Bing nightclub in Simpson Bay.

In the trial, former Member of Parliament Patrick Illidge (49) will be facing charges of accepting bribes from Bada Bing and Lunteren N.V Read more

Slavery commemoration not in immediate danger

THE HAGUE--Funding for the annual commemoration of the Dutch slavery past in Amsterdam on July 1 is safe, at least for the next four years, said Minister of Education, Culture and Science Jet Bussemaker on Tuesday, denying media reports that the subsidy would end as per 2016.

Chairman of the National Institute for the Dutch Slavery Past and its Legacy NiNsee Franc Weerwind said in an article of the newspaper het Parool on Monday that the commemoration was on shaky grounds for 2016 and beyond because the Dutch Government planned to terminate the 50,000-euro annual subsidy after 2015.

Weerwind criticised the reported move by the Dutch Government Read more

Sex Health!

~ A debate is coming up ~

For the last six years, Tamica Joseph, also known as Lady Q for her popular radio show Positive Choice, has been a personality at SOS Radio. She touches on various subjects with her listeners and panellists, but the segment concerning relationships has in recent months evolved into a more sexual focus. This has inspired Tamica to create an entertaining event that is mainly a sex debate. Tamica said part of the reason for creating the event is because "radio is limited in what you can say." Panellists for this night will consist of a set of locals and also a set of experts on the subject Read more

Connor tight-lipped on TelEm talks with prospective partners

PHILIPSBURG--The Government of St. Maarten is mum on discussions the TelEm Group is having with prospective partners, declining to even provide information on who the company is currently engaged in discussions with.

Based on recent reports received by this newspaper regarding the possible conclusion of the talks with Digicel, the Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication TEATT Claret Connor was asked about the status of the talks via the Press Secretariat.

The Secretariat responded indicating that the discussions between TelEm and prospective partners "are strictly governed by confidentiality agreements Read more

Mayotte Delegation on visit to Collectivité

MARIGOT--A delegation of high-ranking technicians from the island of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean has been on a three-day visit to St. Martin to discuss issues common to both territories as well as issues related to Europe, Ultra Peripheral Regions RUP and to exchange information.

The delegation comprised Jacques Toto, Secretary-General in charge of General and Human Resources, Assistant Cabinet Director for European Affairs Dayane Saïd Mohamed, and Chargé de Mission RUP and European Affairs, Adrachi Velou.

President of the Conseil Général was not able to make the trip due to other commitments.

The delegation arrived Saturday from Guadeloupe where they attended the 20th conference of RUP territories Read more

Government could save 75 per cent on paper cost

PHILIPSBURG--Government can cut paper cost by up to 75 per cent if it opts to utilise digital forms and online services. This was the estimate given to Parliament recently by General Affairs Minister/Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs in response to enquiries from independent Member of Parliament Leona Marlin-Romeo.

The reduction in paper usage will amount to between NAf Read more

LOL stands behind its statement.

style="text-align: center;">Calls for resignation of SOG board

PHILIPSBURG:--- Laugh out Loud would like to respond to the character assassination by SOG, the board of the festival village. In November of 2014 the board representatives headed by Fabiana Arnell and the strictly business representative Julian Rollocks held a meeting with local promoters including Mr Read more

Editorial - Undesirable

The announcement by Justice Minister Dennis Richardson in today's paper that the "leaked" proposal to send 50 to 55 persons to St. Maarten to strengthen law enforcement was part of the original draft kingdom measure on the Integrity Chamber and has been off the table since, may be seen as good news. Also in light of the reaction from the police union NAPB to recent reports (see Friday edition), executing the plans as described most likely would have led to considerable unrest in the judicial sector.

The latter is always undesirable, but all the more in the middle of the high season, with thousands of visitors in need of protection continually on the island Read more

Connor reiterates position on timeshare protection

Dear Editor,

After having just returned home to Canada after a wonderful holiday at our Timeshare in Guana Bay, I am greatly distressed by the Caravanserai debacle! While one can sympathize with the bank for wanting to recover some funds after a bad investment, the fact remains that the bank should never have accepted investor-owned timeshare assets to support a management loan without investor-owner agreement!

While it is encouraging that Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs Read more

Nigerian opposition candidate urges calm after election postponement

ABUJA--Nigerian opposition presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari called for calm in the country and cautioned against any violence following the election postponement, which he said was engineered by the ruling People's Democratic Party.
  Foreign powers are closely following events in Africa's biggest economy and have voiced concerns there could be a repetition of violence that followed 2011 elections when 800 people died and that a delay would stoke unrest in opposition strongholds.
  The poll will pit incumbent Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP against former military ruler Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in what is likely to be the most hotly contested election since the end of military rule in 1999 Read more

MPs to hear from Connor about harbour issues Tues

PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies and its operations will take centre stage at a Central Committee meeting of Parliament with Tourism and Economic Affairs Minister Claret Connor and Finance Minister Martin Hassink on Tuesday, February 10. The meeting, requested by the National Alliance (NA) and Democratic Party (DP) on February 10, starts at Parliament at 2:00pm in Parliament House.

The agenda for the meeting covers issues related to the harbour group, the past and future impacts of the company on the country, cruise passenger head tax, Dock Marteen (Deher) marina project; causeway Turn over Tax payment, cranes, dividend and payment for the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association Conference (FCCA).

Members of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams (DP), Silveria Jacobs and George Pantophlet (NA) requested answers to be provided orally in the meeting by the ministers on the "outcome between the harbour and Bobby's Marina" and if government had given the harbour the exclusive right of development for the area that the company claims in its case against the Deher's development.

Also, the MPs want to know when Parliament will receive the harbour's 2013 financial report, whether government promised to contribute to the FCCA conference and what did government actually contribute Read more

Housing board snubs Parliament

PHILIPSBURG--The Supervisory Board of St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF) "declined" an invitation to meet with Members of Parliament (MPs) today, Monday, about recent developments at the foundation, says Democratic Party (DP) leader MP Sarah Wescot-Williams.

The invitation for the closed-door session was extended based on discussions in a closed- door session last week with foundation's management team members, who are on suspension due to alleged irregularities Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- As stakeholders, government included, desperately seek ways to mitigate the effects of the Caravanserai timeshare debacle, all eyes are on some type of protection for the consumers, those who bought timeshare from developers and property owners.
Clearly what we have now in terms of legislation does not sufficiently offer this protection, otherwise we would not be in the situation we are in today.
This latest fiasco from the timeshare buyers' perspective, continues to gnaw away at the image we desperately try to maintain and build on as a country Read more

Central Committee Meeting requested by DP and NA Factions about Port St. Maarten.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The Central Committee of Parliament will meet in public session on February 10 at the request of the Democratic Party (DP) and National Alliance (NA) factions.
The Minister of Finance Hon. Martin Hassink and Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications Hon Read more