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Trinidad health authorities say Nigerian has malaria, not Ebola

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad--The Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Health said that a Nigerian national was suffering with malaria fever and not Ebola, after he was admitted to the Port of Spain General Hospital on Friday.

In a statement, the Ministry said that it "wished to advise that there is no suspected case of Ebola in Trinidad and Tobago at this time."

It said that on Friday, the Nigerian student was "seen at the Accident and Emergency Department of the St Read more

MPs meet today about Housing Foundation

PHILIPSBURG--The St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation supervisory board's request made to Government Accounting Bureau SOAB to carry out a forensic investigation into the foundation's operations will be one of the issues Members of Parliament (MPs) will discuss today, Monday, in an urgent plenary session of Parliament in the House of Parliament starting at 10:00am.

The meeting is open to the public.

New Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs, who is ad interim Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI, has been requested by Parliament to be present for the meeting.

MPs also will discuss with Gumbs former VROMI Minister Maurice Lake's request to SOAB to halt the investigation and the board's decision to suspend three members of the management team, including foundation director Henry Lynch.

This urgent plenary session was requested by National Alliance MPs William Marlin and Christophe Emmanuel, Democratic Party MP Sarah Wescot-Williams, and United St Read more

Second Pointe Blanche water tank completed

PHILIPSBURG--Utilities Company GEBE will soon have more storage capacity, thanks to the completion of the second water tank in Pointe Blanche.

The utilities company is expected to put the second tank in operation soon. The first tank is already in operation. Both tanks will serve as reservoirs for the water produced by seawater reverse osmosis plant built in the "Yellow Building" at the Harbour Cargo premises.

The tanks are connected to GEBE's water distribution system and supply drinking water to the community Read more

Urgent Plenary Session of Parliament scheduled for Monday about Housing Foundation.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- A plenary session of the House of Parliament is scheduled for December 22nd regarding the St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF).
The plenary session is set for Monday at 10:00am in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelmina Straat #1 in Philipsburg.
The agenda is concerning the request made to the Governments Accounting Bureau SOAB to carry out a forensic investigation in to the operations of the SMHDF; the decision of the board of the SMHDF to suspend several members of the management team and the request of the former Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (VROMI) Hon Read more

>OYSTER BAY:--- At a ceremony on Friday, three sites on St. Maarten were awarded the Blue Flag eco-label, which is bestowed annually on beaches and marinas throughout the world that meet strict environmental and safety criteria. Oyster Bay Beach Resort, Divi Little Bay Beach Resort, and Yacht Club Isle de Sol were commended for their high standards and voluntary efforts towards environmental sustainability.
Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC), which organized the event, is the National Operator for the Blue Flag Program on St Read more

Nagico Sponsors Police Brochures

St. Maarten – Nagico sponsored 10,000 brochures to the Community Police Officers of St. Maarten on Thursday morning, to assist with their crime prevention efforts.

CEO of Nagico Insurances Dwayne Elgin made the presentation to representatives of the police force; community police officers; inspectors Steven Carty and Arcella Leonard Read more

Emil Lee: “Cuba Will Be An Interesting And Competitive Factor”

GREATBAY—St. Maarten’s tourism product, as well as that of the other Caribbean islands, may be negatively impacted by the new Cuban/American relationship, according to former director of the St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association and current president of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, Emil Lee.

The CHTA president noted that after being closed off to US residents for tourism and business for the last fifty years, Cuba will now be “a competitive and interesting” factor Read more

The Road To The Gumbs I Cabinet: “Peddling Seats To The Highest Bidder”

St. Maarten / By Hilbert Haar – When Governor Drs. Eugene Holiday administers the oath of office to the five ministers of the Gumbs I cabinet this afternoon, it marks the end of a tedious process that started during the night after the parliamentary elections on August 29. How did we get where we are today? A review.

To avoid any misunderstandings, the governor also administers the oath to the minister plenipotentiary today – but that is not a ‘real’ minister – it is the representative of St Read more

New Book To Be Launched On St. Maarten By Julio Romney

St. Maarten —A new book–St. Maarten: Our Constituent State Constitutional Framework– will be launched shortly by political analyst and science researcher Julio Romney.  Romney, who attended several schools in his early years on St. Maarten, went on to study in Canada where he pursued a double major in economics and political science at the University of Winnipeg.

The content of the publication includes the constitutional framework and elaborates on the Charter of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Constitution of St Read more

Chamber Of Commerce Elections

St. Maarten —Thirteen persons have been nominated for the three vacancies that exist on the board of the Chamber of Commerce and industry and votes will be cast today to decide the new board members. The election process will begin at 8:00am.

The nomination period ended Tuesday. “For the large business sector, five (5) persons postulated themselves, and for the small business sector, eight (8) persons postulated themselves. For the large business sector, there is one (1) vacancy, and for the small business sector, there are two (2) vacancies on its board of directors,” a press release from the chamber states.

The Election Committee consisted of Franklin Brison, Cleophas Richardson, Myrna Lynch, and Charles Benders Read more

Urgent Plenary Session Of Parliament Scheduled For Monday About Housing Foundation

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – A plenary session of the House of Parliament is scheduled for December 22nd regarding the St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF).

The plenary session is set for Monday at 10.00am in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelmina Straat #1 in Philipsburg.

The agenda is concerning the request made to the Governments Accounting Bureau SOAB to carry out a forensic investigation in to the operations of the SMHDF; the decision of the board of the SMHDF to suspend several members of the management team and the request of the former Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (VROMI) Hon Read more

EPIC Eco-Labels

~ Creating corporate responsibility ~

By Laura Bijnsdorp

Yesterday, three locations were awarded the FEE Blue Flag Eco Label for another year through Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC); Divi Little Bay, Oyster Bay and Isle de Sol Marina.

The Blue Flag is a voluntary eco-label awarded to more than 4,000 beaches and marinas in 48 countries across Europe, South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada and the Caribbean. The label works towards sustainable development of beaches and marinas through strict criteria dealing with Water Quality, Environmental Education and Information, Environmental Management, and Safety and Other Services.

The Blue Flag Programme is owned and run by the non-government, non-profit organization the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) Read more

Editorial - Hit the ground running

After all the political turmoil over the last few months the installation of the Gumbs cabinet can be seen as a welcome Christmas present. Of course, it regards a smaller-than-usual Council of Ministers due to screening issues, but at least this ends the undesirable situation of having a caretaker government in office since September, of which two members also became parliamentarians in the meantime.

The two remaining cabinet members will be added later, but there is no reason to believe the current five plus the plenipotentiary minister in The Hague won't be able to do a good job Read more

Majority adopts Urban Code at Council meeting

MARIGOT--The majority party adopted the new Urban Code at the year’s last Territorial Council meeting on Thursday despite the Opposition voicing several concerns before abstaining on the vote. The Code will now come into effect on March 1, 2015.

The vote followed the public meeting and presentation on December 4 with the specialist and editor of the Code, Philippe Baffert. On December 5 technicians correlated the Urban Code project with the Plan Local Urbanisme (PLU) and on December 9 the urbanism commission harmonised further aspects of the Code.

Since April 2012 St Read more

New Marcel Gumbs Cabinet takes office

~ Governor issues challenge to unify people ~

PHILIPSBURG--"The greatest little country in the world" as St. Maarten has been described by its new Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs, finally has a new Council of Ministers. Gumbs, a veteran politician, and the five other ministers were sworn in on Friday afternoon by Governor Eugene Holiday at his office.

The swearing-in ceremony was followed by the first meeting of the Council of Ministers with the governor in A.C Read more

Samenwerkende Fondsen gives mini-grants to 4 organisations

PHILIPSBURG--Four non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have received small grants, up to NAf. 5,000, for special, social projects from Samenwerkende Fondsen.

Receiving the funds are Council of Cultural and Artistic Expressions (COCAAE) Drums, No Kidding with our Kids Foundation, St. Maarten Alliance for Equality (SAFE) and the Turning Point Foundation.

Urmay Dormoy of COCAAE said the funds give his drum group the "outlet" to do the job with his kids.

Merlyn Schaminee of No Kidding with Our Kids Foundation said the money will be used to replace the foundation's stove and fridge Read more

We need a reduction in the fuel clause now

Dear Editor,

Please allow me some space in your newspaper to share OSPP’s written request, on December 19, 2014, to President of Parliament Dr. Lloyd Richardson, that a meeting be called with NV GEBE to discuss a reduction of the fuel clause in our energy bills. The fact that a new government was sworn in Friday and a new minister will assume the responsibility of energy is no excuse to delay a reduction in the fuel clause.

The cost of living on St Read more

style="text-align: center;">Marcel Gumbs second Prime Minister since St. Maarten became a country

PHILIPSBURG:--- Five of the seven required Ministers were sworn in on Friday. Former Senator of the Netherlands Antilles Marcel Gumbs was sworn in as the second Prime Minister of Country St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- NAGICO Insurances through their NAGICO Lend a Hand project executed a massive Food Drive, in which 21 boxes of non-perishable food items were collected, packaged and donated to various members of the community.
The initiative which was spearheaded by the NAGICO Marketing Department and kicked off in September, with collection bins and baskets placed at all NAGICO locations throughout the island and individuals were encouraged to donate whatever non-perishable food item they could spare.
"We wanted this to be a hands-on project where our staff, management, agents and brokers came together to contribute to the community in a tangible way," Paul Dijkhoffz; Executive Marketing Manager of NAGICO said Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- The cost of living on St. Maarten is amongst one of the highest within the region and the cost of energy is one of the main proponents of that cost. A reduction of the cost of energy will result in food prices as well as many other prices on the island to drop, and thus providing the consumers a much needed relief. Every political party and all the candidates during the last campaign have promised the people some type of relief. Today, we have a golden opportunity to make good use on at least one of those promises and that should be by reducing the fuel clause on our energy bills Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Outgoing Minister of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI) Hon. Maurice Lake in one of his final activities on Friday prior to the swearing in of the new Council of Ministers, enjoyed Christmas lunch with senior citizens organized by Home Away from Home Foundation at the John Larmonie Center.

"The seniors are very close to my heart Read more

Outgoing Minister Lake Has Christmas Lunch With Senior Citizens Organized By Home Away From Home

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – Outgoing Minister of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI) Hon. Maurice Lake in one of his final activities on Friday prior to the swearing in of the new Council of Ministers, enjoyed Christmas lunch with senior citizens organized by Home Away from Home Foundation at the John Larmonie Center.

"The seniors are very close to my heart Read more

Nagico Food Drive Brings Christmas Cheer To St. Maarten

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - NAGICO Insurances through their NAGICO Lend a Hand project executed a massive Food Drive, in which 21 boxes of non-perishable food items were collected, packaged and donated to various members of the community.

The initiative which was spearheaded by the NAGICO Marketing Department and kicked off in September, with collection bins and baskets placed at all NAGICO locations throughout the island and individuals were encouraged to donate whatever non-perishable food item they could spare.

"We wanted this to be a hands-on project where our staff, management, agents and brokers came together to contribute to the community in a tangible way," Paul Dijkhoffz; Executive Marketing Manager of NAGICO said Read more

Statement From The Honorable Prime Minister Marcel F.A. Gumbs

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is with a great sense of pride and honor that I sit before you as Prime Minister of this greatest little country in the world. My entire life has been dedicated to service in one form or the other to St. Maarten. This latest chapter is just a continuation of that service. And now, it's time to work!

We hold no illusions of the task before us. St. Maarten is at a critical stage in its development and growth as a nation.

Our mission is clear: To ensure that St Read more