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Biodiversity Institute planned for Réserve Naturelle in 2017

MARIGOT--A 1.5 million-euro Institute of Biodiversity is one of the exciting future projects Réserve Naturelle is engaged in as part of the development contract between Collectivité and State, it was disclosed at a press conference hosted by Réserve Naturelle on Thursday in Anse Marcel.

Feasibility studies are close to completion for the project and State representative Romain Perreau confirmed that 1.5 million euros has been set aside for its creation. The Institute, however, is not expected to be inaugurated before 2017.

Réserve Naturelle Director Nicolas Maslach said the institute will combine elements of research institute, environmental awareness and eco-tourism while its objective will be to improve the knowledge of ecosystems in St Read more

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

SHTA - Remains Opposed to Counterpart Program.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA), the largest private business representative on the island, SHTA has taken notice of the remarks made, with respect to the implementation of the Counterpart Policy (CPP), by the honorable Members of Parliament Cornelius de Weever and Maurice Lake (in support of CPP) as well as the published opinion of the leader of the OSPP Mr Read more

Opening Day 23rd annual SMSEF Interscholastic soccer tournament.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- On Saturday, January 24th, the 23rd annual edition of the St. Maarten Soccer Educational Foundation (SMSEF) Interscholastic Soccer Tournament, sponsored by the TelEm Group of Companies, commenced at the Johan Cruijff Court in Belvedere.
The highly anticipated tournament by the primary school youths was officially opened by the Honorable Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Affairs, Mrs. Rita Bourne-Gumbs, during a short opening ceremony after the first games had already been played earlier that morning Read more

It’s time to pay back, in politics there is nothing call a free lunch.

style="text-align: center;">Two faced or screw faced politicians. Do what you want now and the people will forget after seven days. Now we know why so many people say that all the politicians are alike. Horse trading started after the election in 2010 but has continued even more after 2014 election. There are ship jumpers, church jumpers and now we have party jumpers seeking betterment for themselves. We must establish a Credibility Chamber for most of our politicians to regain some type of credibility before the next election Read more

It's Time To Pay Back, In Politics There Is Nothing Call A Free Lunch

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – It has been rumored for some time that the US party was planning to support the UP led coalition but I had to read it to actually believe it.

Now we can understand why during the election so many voters stick their hands out and say give me something for my vote now. Because after the election the horse trading will continue and all the elected officials are thinking about what and how much they can get for their seat.

It is never about improving the quality of life of the people Read more

Mp Emmanuel Keynote Speaker At Plp Annual Party Convention On Statia Next Month

ORANJESTAD, St. Eustatius - The Progressive Labour Party on Sunday evening announced in a press release that the Party will be holding its Annual Party Convention on Thursday February 5th, 2015 under the theme: "PLP THE VOICE WE DESERVE".

The Keynote speaker for this event will be freshman member of Parliament of St. Maarten the Honourable Christopher Emmanuel of the National Alliance.

During the convention the PLP list of Candidates that will contest the March 18th, Island Council Election on St Read more

Shta - Remains Opposed To Counterpart Program

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA), the largest private business representative on the island, SHTA has taken notice of the remarks made, with respect to the implementation of the Counterpart Policy (CPP), by the honorable Members of Parliament Cornelius de Weever and Maurice Lake (in support of CPP) as well as the published opinion of the leader of the OSPP Mr Read more

Court Bypasses Departure-Policy Argument, But: Attorney Knoppel Wins Case Against Justice Ministry

St. Maarten – The Ministry of Justice had no reason to fire attorney Ellen Knoppel in 2014, the Court in First Instance ruled yesterday. On Friday the court ruled in summary proceedings that the previous Minister of Justice, Roland Duncan, had granted the attorney a permanent labor contract under the so-called departure policy, which made the contract invalid Read more

Independent Mp Cornelius De Weever Defends Counterpart Policy

St. Maarten —Criticism leveled at the Governments Counterpart policy has resulted in Independent Member of Parliament Cornelius de Weever coming to the defense and making it clear that “the counterpart legislation is a law and not just a policy.”

MP De Weever explained that the ministry used the law in one case. “The company took us to court and government lost because according to the judge we did not have a policy on how the law would be used so the labor policy department wrote the counterpart policy in consultation with the Social Economic Council and the Tripartite Committee Read more

Lenny Priest On Appointment Of Ministers: Up Has No Confidence In Its Own Candidates

St. Maarten —A vote of no confidence in almost its entire slate of candidates in the 2014 elections has unwittingly been expressed by the United People party, according to leader of the One St. Maarten People Party Lenny Priest, who explained that this is his conclusion after noting that out of the 23 candidates on the UP list only one has been appointed as a minister in the new UP lead cabinet.

“Each party that contested the 2014 election was allowed to carry 23 persons on the list Read more

New Vromi Minister To Meet Gebe Soon

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The decrease in the cost of fuel use to generate electricity should be passed on immediately to the people of St. Maarten, echoed Prime Minister with the responsibility for General Affairs, the Honorable Marcel Gumbs.

However, Mr. Gumbs, who was at the time responding to a question put to the Council of Min Read more

Editorial - Collective responsibility

With all the current talk about a so-called counterpart policy, Friday's report that the St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) will be holding discussions with University of St. Martin (USM) and other educational institutions should not go unnoticed. Exploring synergies between the local tourism industry and education on the island certainly seems a worthwhile endeavour, as UP fraction member Maurice Lake also noted during yesterday's second round of questions on the 2015 budget in the Central Committee of Parliament.

The complaint that too few jobs become available for inhabitants is nothing new and sparked the initiative to restrict the hiring of foreigners even further than is already the case, by requiring a local counterpart when a permit for such is granted Read more

For St. Maarten or not for St. Maarten

Dear Editor,

I believe that all of these people including myself who voice their opinion do it with a purpose. My purpose is for the betterment of life on St. Maarten. If life gets better it will be better for me also. Simple as that.

Over the years too many of us would say how it should not be and go to lengths to explain why it should not be. This is also the case with the counterpart issue. Laws are written because someone realizes that something is not going well and in that spirit is motivated to correct it and puts a law together with that intention.

Also someone gets an idea how to better an existing situation and again in that spirit writes a law which goes through the procedures and is finally approved and ratified Read more

Senior US diplomat ruffles Cuba by meeting dissidents

HAVANA--A senior U.S. diplomat in Cuba for negotiations on restoring long-frozen diplomatic relations met a group of dissidents on Friday, seeking to underline Washington's concern over human rights but irritating the island's communist government.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Roberta Jacobson, the highest-ranking U.S. government official to visit the island in nearly 40 years, held a breakfast meeting with the dissidents a day after talks with Cuban government officials Read more

State to intensify efforts to reduce crime in 2015

MARIGOT--Prefet Philippe Chopin delivered the traditional New Year's address at a large gathering in the Prefecture on Wednesday evening covering a range of topics that included youth, unemployment, crime and delinquency, cooperation and finances.

Dutch-side Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs and Governor Eugene Holiday were in attendance.

It was not unexpected that the Prefet would begin with crime and delinquency, prefacing his address with an homage to the 17 persons who died in the terrible events of January 7 and 8 in Paris.

Noting a drop in general delinquency in St Read more

Harbour debts stand at US $202.2 million

POINTE BLANCHE--St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies had some US $202,252,000 in debts as of December 2014. This is the total of the figures given to Parliament by Tourism and Economic Affairs Minister Claret Connor on Friday in response to questions from Members of Parliament posed in the first round of debate on the draft 2015 budget.

The harbour has a bond loan from the Central Bank of Curaçao and St Read more

Budget heads to plenary session of Parliament

PHILIPSBURG--The Central Committee meeting of Parliament on the 2015 budget wrapped up late Friday night after a marathon session that started at 10:00am. The budget will now head to a plenary session of Parliament for final handling and voting. The meeting originally started on Thursday morning and was suspended on that night after Members of Parliament posed questions to the Council of Ministers.

The plenary session of Parliament is slated for next week.

Government needs to meet the deadline of January 31 for the establishment of the budget Read more

Some 1,075 addresses registered in country

PHILIPSBURG--The country has a total of 1,075 street addresses registered at the Civil Registry, Department of Statistics STAT and the Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI. However, only 713 addresses match in all three databases.

The difference of the 362 street addresses is being investigated, Prime Minister/General Affairs Minister Marcel Gumbs told Parliament in the continuation of the Central Committee meeting on the draft 2015 budget on Friday Read more

2015 Draft Budget is not the budget for current Coalition Government --- "This is a matter of procedures to avoid instruction."

style="text-align: left;">PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament Franklin Meyers and the leader of the United Peoples Party (UPP) Theodore Heyliger made clear in their presentation to Parliament on Thursday that the draft 2015 budget is not a budget that would reflect the Governing Program of the current coalition government.
MP Meyers called on Members of Parliament to come together despite their political differences and secure St Read more

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

The Emilio Wilson Estate St. Maarten’s Heritage in peril

Dear Editor,

A number of people have called me over the past two days to express their frustration regarding the most recent turn of events in what some are now calling the Emilio Wilson Estate Saga.

The news as featured in the local media announcing that Rain Forest Adventures (RFA) has obtained or will soon obtain the long lease to Emilio Wilson Estate is of course extremely worrisome. The Honourable Prime Minister Gumbs' (a gentleman I hold in high regard) statement in the media yesterday that "no long-lease has been granted to Rain Forest Adventures" and that he has "not signed anything for or granted anything" does nothing to decrease my concerns Read more

Lynch’s attorney requests injunction against Bloem

PHILIPSBURG--According to a leaked legal document, St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF) Director Henry Lynch's Attorney Cindy Marica, in defence of her client, has requested an injunction on January 16 against SMHDF, St. Maarten Housing Finance Foundation (SMHFF) and attorney Jairo Bloem for undue/unjustified suspension, and unrightfully taking a bag and other personal possessions.

In the injunction request to the Court of First Instance, Bloem was also blasted for writing an explanatory press release on the case which Marica called "incorrect" and "unjust." The case has caused "enormous damage" to his reputation, she argued.

The request calls for a public apology and correction, and suggested a penalty of some US $1,000 daily in the case of non-compliance Read more

Silvio Matser files for appeal against tax-fraud conviction

PHILIPSBURG--United People's (UP) party Member of Parliament (MP) and local businessman Silvio Matser has filed for appeal against his tax-fraud conviction at the Court of First Instance.

Matser's lawyer, attorney-at-law Cor Merx, confirmed that his client had filed for appeal.

The Court on January 7, sentenced the first-term MP to 24 months, 18 of which were suspended, on three years' probation and 240 hours of community service Read more