SXMElections.com

Safe New Year's Message 2015 Stronger Together

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten — The Board of St. Maarten/St. Martin Alliance For Equality (SAFE SXM) would like to extend best wishes to everyone as the community continues into the start of 2015.

The organization said that it only looked forward to more events and better things in this upcoming year. While the organization is still a very young one (launched in December 2013), a lot has been achieved in the past 12+ months.

Local, regional and international partnerships have been fostered and contact has been made with a number of relevant entities on the island Read more

International Recognition For Protected Areas And Species

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Nature conservation in the Dutch Caribbean just took a giant leap toward a more sustainable future with international recognition of three more or our protected areas and six more species, including our most important reef building corals.

The Saba National Marine Park, the Man O' War Shoal Marine Park on St. Maarten and the St. Eustatius National Marine Park are now officially recognized as protected areas under the Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW).

The SPAW protocol came into force in 2000 and is part of the Cartegena Convention Read more

‘Look in the mirror,’ PM tells crowd at National Prayer Day

PHILIPSBURG--A few hundred people gathered on Clem Labega Square late Sunday afternoon to celebrate the National Day of Prayer.

The event was organised by the St. Martin Ministerial Foundation, the St. Maarten Council of Churches, the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and the Ministry of Education and Culture.

The service started with a word of welcome by Monique Rey, who said St. Maarten was a nation under God. She welcomed the dignitaries, who included Governor Eugene Holiday, Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs, Minister of Finance Martin Hassink, Jean-David Richards of the Collectivité of French St Read more

Parliaments demand more cooperation in health care

THE HAGUE--More cooperation in the area of quality health care and inspection, less waste through the joint purchase of medication, reducing cost by clustering specialist care and the reduction of medical referrals.

These are the main objectives that the Parliaments of Aruba, Curaçao, St. Maarten and the Netherlands would like to see worked out at the Kingdom Health Care Conference which will be held in Aruba early June 2015.

The four Parliaments sent a joint letter to the Ministers of Public Health of Aruba, Curaçao, St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Besides devoting most of his time on extremely pressing matters such as budget 2015, Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Hon. Marcel Gumbs has still been scheduling time to meet with departments under the General Affairs Ministry for which he is responsible.
The Prime Minister is taking his "stability, civility, tranquility, prosperity" message to the public servants as well, stressing that service is what they provide and it should be practiced with the utmost professionalism Read more

Best interests of Sint Maarten was top priority for MP Marlin-Romeo at Inter-parliamentary Kingdom Consultation.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The Inter-parliamentary Kingdom Consultation (IPKO) ended successfully after five days of intense open discussions, Independent Member of Parliament (MP) Hon. Leona Marlin-Romeo said on Sunday in a press release.

"St. Maarten can be assured that her best interests were placed as priority from the delegation that was present Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister of St. Maarten Hon. Marcel Gumbs on Sunday welcomed Prime Minister of Curacao Hon. Ivar Asjes to St. Maarten for his official working visit. Prime Minister Gumbs met Prime Minister Asjes as he arrived at the Princess Juliana International Airport.

PM Asjes official working visit to St. Maarten is from from January 11 to 13 where he will be discussing issues of mutual interests Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Independent Member of Parliament (MP) Leona Marlin-Romeo on Sunday, January 11th, 2015 spoke about the tragic events that took place in Paris, France starting with the Charlie Hebdo attack last Wednesday.

More than one million people have taken part in a unity march in Paris on Sunday, January 11th in connection with 17 people who were killed over a three day period.

"It is imperative that our people stand in solidarity with French Saint Martin, not only as our historical neighbour but as an island where most indigenous St Read more

Minister Connor: Concerns of timeshare Industry has government’s attention.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Tourism Claret Connor on Wednesday assured timeshare owners in general that their grievances and complaints of lack of protection have not fallen on deaf ears and their continued contribution to the economy is very important to destination St. Maarten. The Minister sympathized with disgruntled former Caravanserai owners and used the opportunity to set in motion serious discussions about protecting the vital timeshare industry.

He said though government knows and appreciates the industry and its players, legislation must reflect protection measures for the industry Read more

>How blessed we are! For the 10th consecutive year, we are enjoying the freedom and leadership committed to conjointly observing a National Day of Prayer. I am proud to have been part of the Executive Council that in 2005 instituted this day and I thank the different denominations for upholding the tradition unwaveringly.
This we do, respecting the constitutionally enshrined right of freedom of religion of all, but also respecting the premise and preamble of the same constitution, our unified belief in the Almighty.

I truly believe that a government should have its ears to the ground and respect the individual freedoms of all, but ultimately it should be the norms and values that the majority of us hold dear that should set the tone.
The National Day of Prayer in addition to its religious connotation, is also an opportunity for reflection and for resolution.
Consciously, this day is held at the beginning of the year, giving ourselves another opportunity for resolve and recovery, and the will to stay the course.
Neither as a member of Parliament nor as a citizen, it is to me to judge any-one else, but rather to provide guidance and to stand up for the values we hold dear as a community Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister Plenipotentiary Hon. Josianne Fleming-Artsen was received on Friday by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Monsieur Laurent Roger Pic, at the Embassy of the French Republic on the Anna Paulownastraat in The Hague, the Netherlands.

Minister Fleming-Artsen expressed to Monsieur Laurent Roger Pic her condolences to the families of the victims, the people and Government of France on behalf of the people and Government of Sint Maarten.

The aforementioned was in connection with the criminal acts that started at the offices of the French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday, January 7th, where 12 victims lost their lives Read more

Independent Mp Leona Marlin-Romeo Expresses Solidarity With French Saint Martin And The Republic

Independent MP Leona Marlin-Romeo Expresses Solidarity with French Saint Martin and the Republic

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – Independent Member of Parliament (MP) Leona Marlin-Romeo on Sunday, January 11th, 2015 spoke about the tragic events that took place in Paris, France starting with the Charlie Hebdo attack last Wednesday.

More than one million people have taken part in a unity march in Paris on Sunday, January 11th in connection with 17 people who were killed over a three day period.

"It is imperative that our people stand in solidarity with French Saint Martin, not only as our historical neighbour but as an island where most indigenous St Read more

Best Interests Of Sint Maarten Was Top Priority For Mp Marlin-Romeo At Inter-Parliamentary Kingdom Consultation

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The Inter-parliamentary Kingdom Consultation (IPKO) ended successfully after five days of intense open discussions, Independent Member of Parliament (MP) Hon. Leona Marlin-Romeo said on Sunday in a press release.

"St. Maarten can be assured that her best interests were placed as priority from the delegation that was present.

Our people can look forward to the following developments that derived from ongoing discussions in previous IPKO meetings, repayment of school tuitions to DUO in the US currency; scholarship funding for studies in the region; cooperation with other islands in Energy related issues; participation in the upcoming Health Care Congress; and the possibility for an Inter-island Ferry Transportation system," MP Hon Read more

Minister Connor Continues Familiarization Of His Departments

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic & Telecommunication Claret Connor on Friday last continued his familiarization round with the departments under his Ministry.

He met with all department heads at Divi Little Bay Resort to get an update on all developments and ongoing projects.

Read more

Minister Fleming-Artsen Signs A Book Of Condolence At French Embassy In The Hague

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – Minister Plenipotentiary Hon. Josianne Fleming-Artsen was received on Friday by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Monsieur Laurent Roger Pic, at the Embassy of the French Republic on the Anna Paulownastraat in The Hague, the Netherlands.

Minister Fleming-Artsen expressed to Monsieur Laurent Roger Pic

her condolences to the families of the victims, the people and Government of France on behalf of the people and Government of Sint Maarten.

The aforementioned was in connection with the criminal acts that started at the offices of the French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday, January 7th, where 12 victims lost their lives.

France saw another two days of violence thereafter where five more people lost their lives bringing it to a total of 17 victims.

Minister Fleming-Artsen was accompanied by her Director of the Cabinet Perry Geerlings.

In Photo: Sint Maarten's Minister Plenipotentiary Hon Read more

Editorial - A better way

The skirmish between a security guard and client at the Receiver's Office (see Friday paper), although an isolated incident, could be indicative of the kind of stress and frustration caused by long lines at the government agency. The story did not mention whether the man in question had come to pay his road tax, but considerable waiting times for such were reported both at the main location on Pond Island and the Public Service Centre at the Simpson Bay Market, despite the drawing of numbers for a turn system used there.

While some may want to blame management and/or the employees, it's realistically quite a challenge to process 31,028 motorists in just two months in addition to the usual monthly tax and other payments Read more

T. S. Eliot: The Rhyming Possum

By Montague Kobbé

http://mtmkobbe.blogspot.com

Some 50 years ago this past Sunday, January 4, one of the most influential literary figures of the XX century passed away. His name was Thomas Stearns, though he would be universally known and acclaimed by his initials followed by his surname: T. S. Eliot. By the time he dimmed out his physical existence at the age of 76 in his home in Kensington, London, Eliot had composed some of the most emblematic poems of the century, including The Love Song of J Read more

A long weekend in…Guyana Part 2!

By Fiona Van Kampen

Having unexpectedly been given a chance to spend a long weekend in Guyana, I was lucky enough to come across Roraima, a travel company whose CEO invited me to stay in one of the company's two hotels. After an amazing jungle trip, organised by Roraima (see Part 1), I decided to have an early night at Roraima Residence Inn, the pleasant boutique hotel where I stayed during the trip.

Before going to bed, though, I spoke to Roraima's travel agents, who were working at the company's on-site agency Read more

ESPN to broadcast NAGICO Super 50

CUL DE SAC--ESPN and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) have signed a four-year deal to broadcast the NAGICO Super50.

The deal takes effect from this year when the NAGICO Super50 bowls off in Trinidad and Tobago on January 15.

NAGICO, with headquarters on St Read more

Parliaments agree on dispute arrangement

~ Consensus reigns at IPKO ~

THE HAGUE/ORANJESTAD--The Parliaments of Aruba, Curaçao, St. Maarten and the Netherlands closed off a very successful Inter-Parliamentary Consultation of the Kingdom IPKO in Aruba on Friday.

Consensus was reached on several topics, including establishing of a dispute arrangement "geschillenregeling" for the Kingdom, the broadening of the request for advice of the Council of State on applying of Regulation of the Governor by the Kingdom Council of Ministers, use of Dutch study financing in the Caribbean region and repayment of study debts in local currencies of Dutch Caribbean countries.

All delegation leaders were highly positive about the level of talks in Aruba this week and the willingness to cooperate and to find solutions for pressing matters in the Kingdom Read more

Sarah: January 7 ‘dark day for all’

PHILIPSBURG--January seven was “a dark day for all of us,” said Democratic Party (DP) Leader Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams in a condolence message to the family of the victims of the tragic shooting at the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, the French Republic and all of Europe impacted by the events on Wednesday.

“In a very special way, we empathize with our French St Read more

Lloyd condemns attacks on democracy, free expression

PHILIPSBURG/ARUBA--"The event in the French Republic hits very close to our hearts as part of our island, the northern half is part of France," said Parliament Chairman Member of Parliament (MP) Dr. Lloyd Richardson in a condolence message to the government and people of France, after the tragic attack in Paris on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on January 7.

"The fundamental right of the freedom of expression is at stake Read more

PM Gumbs pushes to have Ms. Lalie’s statue repaired.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister the Honorable Marcel Gumbs has made sure that one of St. Maarten's national figures and a local heroine is remembered with respect. The statue of Lalie Duzanson on the Dutch Quarter/Belvedere round about was damaged during the passing of Hurricane Gonzalo and has ever since been leaning backwards.

Prime Minister Gumbs recently got in contact with sculptor Michael Maghiro with a simple yet deliberately strong message: Ms Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- President Hon. Dr. Lloyd Richardson on behalf of the people and the Members of the Parliament of Sint Maarten, expresses deepest sympathy to the Republic of France, its people and Government during these trying times.

"The event in the French Republic hits very close to our hearts as part of our island, the Northern half is part of France Read more