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Urgent Parliament session on education today 3:00pm

PHILIPSBURG--Parliament meets in an urgent public plenary session today, Monday, at 3:00pm in Parliament House on the request of National Alliance (NA).

 The public session will address the pending and urgent challenges experienced by students and staff of the National Institute for Professional Advancement (NIPA), a status update and the action plan of government as pertains to students who have been placed (or not placed) in Secondary Public Schools, and have to date not started school as yet.

 Also on the agenda is complaints of students in the Netherlands and other countries who have not yet received their study financing funds and the status of Study Financing Ordinance.

 The meeting was requested by NA Members of Parliament Silveria Jacobs, William Marlin, and George Pantophlet via letter on September 10.

 The parliamentary session will be live on St Read more

Minister of Education could not make full discloser to Parliament on NIPA saga due to meeting she has scheduled with NIPA board.

style="text-align: center;">Ministry is at its last straw --- Wednesday meeting Government will give NIPA Board ultimatum, situation gotten worst.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Education Rita Bourne Gumbs told Members of Parliament on Monday afternoon that her hands are tied while her lips have to remain sealed until Wednesday since she has a meeting scheduled with the board members of NIPA. The National Alliance Faction of Parliament called the Minister of Education to Parliament in an urgent meeting to get further information on what is happening at NIPA.
Minister Bourne Gumbs told Parliament that it is not ethical for her to divulge information to the public prior to sharing the Ministry’s decision on how they intend to move forward with NIPA Read more

Prime minister’s travel plans halt meeting about Zebec settlement

PHILIPSBURG--The “urgent” meeting of Parliament requested by opposition parties – National Alliance (NA) and Democratic Party (DP) about the out-of-court settlement reached by St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies and developer Zebec has stalled before it could get started.

The meeting cannot be held this week, an official Parliament meeting week, because of an already packed Parliament schedule and due to the travel of Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs from Wednesday, September 16, until Sunday, September 27, 2015.

DP leader Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams is not amused that yet another urgently requested meeting of Parliament has not been scheduled by Parliament Chairman Dr Read more

Sabnani: Carrefour products more cost-effective and available in LGM

PHILIPSBURG--It is “unfortunate” that National Alliance Member of Parliament (MP) Christophe Emmanuel opted to compare a national brand like Frisian Flag with Super U milk, a private label, instead of with a comparable product such as private label Carrefour milk, said Le Grand Marché (LGM) Managing Director Anil Sabnani as he countered Emmanuel’s claims that LGM’s prices are higher than those of French-side-based Super U.

Sabnani told The Daily Herald on Friday that Emmanuel “did not make a correct comparison Read more

Emmanuel calls out Dutch-side supermarkets on ‘price gouging’

~ Tags Super U prices as cheaper ~

PHILIPSBURG--The vastly cheaper prices for groceries at French-side supermarket Super U compared to large Dutch-side chain Le Grand Marché (LGM) has National Alliance Member of Parliament Christophe Emmanuel crying foul.

The MP, who said he was disgusted with price-gouging by supermarkets on the Dutch side, went on a price-comparison mission Thursday, buying comparative or same items at both supermarkets Read more

NA, DP request meeting on harbour settlement

PHILIPSBURG--Opposition National Alliance (NA) and Democratic Party (DP) have requested an urgent meeting of Parliament about the out-of-court settlement for an undisclosed amount made by St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies and Zebec, the company that was contracted to develop th Read more

Opposition parties, NA and DP have wasted no time in requesting a meeting of Parliament on the topic of the settlement between the Harbor Group of Companies and Zebec.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The opposition factions in parliament namely the National Alliance and the Democratic party wasted no time in trying to obtain informain on the St. Maarten Harbor Group of Companies and Zebec settlement. In the letter requesting the urgent meeting, the two parties have outlined the reasons for their request as follows:

"The government-owned Harbor Company and its representatives have in the recent past labeled the court action by Zebec against aforementioned company as “wholly without merit” and the claims by the Zebec company as “blatant misrepresentation of facts” Read more

Achievements and lack thereof highlighted as MPs close year

PHILIPSBURG--The achievements or lack thereof in the first Parliamentary year of the second Parliament came into focus as Members of Parliament (MPs) closed off the 2014-2015 legislative year in Parliament House on Monday. The 2015-2016 year opens today, Tuesday, with much pomp and ceremony.

The call to work together was issued by fraction leaders representing the coalition partners while the two opposition fraction leaders MP William Marlin (National Alliance) and Sarah Wescot-Williams (Democratic Party) were straightforward with their criticism about lack of action by the United People’s (UP) party-led coalition.

Destiny impaired

UP fraction leader MP Franklin Meyers laid the blame for the country’s stagnated growth and development in the past year at the door of The Hague saying that government and Parliament have spent the past year battling instructions and financial constraints due to financial supervision Read more

Faction leaders outline their achievement and failures during parliamentary year 2014 -2015.

>PHILIPSBURG:---- Faction leader of the United Peoples Party Franklin Meyers in his remarks during the closing of parliamentary year 2014-2015 said that the moment the UPP and MP De Weever formed the coalition that formed the current government they got all sorts of pressure from the Dutch Government (Kingdom Partners) which includes an instruction Read more

style="text-align: center;">DP Faction plans to take back draft timeshare legislation and move forward with them in Parliament.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The leader of the Democratic Party and Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot Williams told reporters on Tuesday that she has several concerns with the current government, one being the status of the Waste to Management Plant Read more

Na Sends Condolences To Victims Of Ts And Stresses Preparedness

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The National Alliance family would like to extend condolences and words of encouragement and hope to the people and government of the Commonwealth of Dominica.

Natural disasters have an uncanny way of bringing communities, islands and countries together.

Though the destruction and devastation wreaked by TS Erika, still needs to be properly assessed, it is clear that much emergency aid will be needed in the coming weeks.

The photos and videos, testimonies of survival and tragedy are heart wrenching Read more

Only National Alliance Votes Against Ordinance: Parliament Establishes Integrity Chamber

St. Maarten – After everything was said and done yesterday, only the opposition faction of the National Alliance voted against the establishment of the Integrity Chamber. The United People’s party faction, having voiced serious opposition against the Dutch pressure on St. Maarten, withdrew all of the amendments it proposed to the law in June, and went along with a strategic proposal from opposition MP Sarah Wescot-Williams to accept the proposal the government put on the table Read more

Sxm Parliament Approves Integrity Chamber

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The Parliament of St. Maarten has given the green light for the establishment of an Integrity Chamber for St. Maarten.

The National Ordinance to establish the Integrity Chamber was approved by the majority of Parliament on Monday.

In the podcast below you will hear not only the vote, but the motivation of the vote by many members of Parliament noting that the opposition Read more

Dutch Government wants to impose instruction on St. Maarten when it comes to establishing an Integrity Chamber --- Kingdom Council of State now has to decide.

style="text-align: center;">Ten MPs voted in favor of draft law to establish Integrity Chamber --- DP Faction Leader spearheaded the drafting and finalizing of law

PHILIPSBURG:--- St. Maarten has to brace itself for a possible instruction in order to establish an integrity chamber on St. Maarten. Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson submitted the document to the Parliament of St. Maarten on Monday where the Dutch Government want Kingdom Council of State to grant them permission to impose a Kingdom measure on St Read more

Schools reopen today for new academic year

~Alliance, OSPP encourage students~

PHILIPSBURG--Thousands of students, teachers and school staffers will be returning to school today, Monday, for the start of the new 2015-2016 academic year.

The roads are expected to be busy. In a back-to-school message National Alliance (NA) Deputy Leader Silveria Jacobs urged students to make school their priority and to do their utmost to learn something new daily as well as build character and practice respect Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The National Alliance family extends best wishes for success to all students returning to school on Monday August 17 as well as to all those returning to school abroad to further their respective studies.
It is a great opportunity to be able to go to school, to make it your priority in life to learn something new daily as well as build character and practice respect. We urge all students to make good use of the opportunity for education, to ask pertinent questions, complete assignments on time, read as much as possible, do research, and prepare well for all tests.
Your success will be yours individually, your parents', your teachers', your schools' and St Read more

Na Back To School Message Of Hope

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The National Alliance family extends best wishes for success to all students returning to school on Monday August 17 as well as to all those returning to school abroad to further their respective studies.

It is a great opportunity to be able to go to school, to make it your priority in life to learn something new daily as well as build character and practice respect. 

We urge all students to make good use of the opportunity for education, to ask pertinent questions, complete assignments on time, read as much as possible, do research, and prepare well for all tests.

Your success will be yours individually, your parents',  your teachers', your schools' and St Read more

NA and DP Requested that second agenda point be added to Monday's Public Meeting.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The Democratic Party Faction and National Alliance submitted a request to the chairman of Parliament requesting that he place a second agenda point be placed on Monday's meeting. In a joint press release issued by both factions states the following they submitted a  request was made today (Friday) by the opposition factions NA and DP Read more

DP and NA say meeting on crime should not have been closed door

~ Concerned about financing for proposals ~

PHILIPSBURG--National Alliance (NA) and the Democratic Party (DP) said in a joint statement on Tuesday that the information shared during Monday’s urgent meeting of the Central Committee of Parliament on crime did not warrant a closed-door session.

NA and DP said they had not immediately protested the calling of the meeting in a closed door session to give Government “the benefit of the doubt” as it pertains to the sensitivity of the information being shared and possible ramifications it might have on the outcome of the case.

The parties noted that the “information shared by the Council of Ministers, however, was not such that the public needed to be sheltered from the reality.”

The two parties said there had been repeated calls on Government for open communication with the public to put an end to speculation Read more

NA & DP Faction not satisfied with Central Committee meeting on Crime.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The Central Committee meeting of Parliament held on Monday was convened as a closed meeting by the Chair of Parliament to discuss with the Council of Ministers the rise in crime on the island culminating in the shooting and subsequent death of Officer Gamali Benjamin by alleged robbers of a jewelry store.
Faction members of the NA and DP did not immediately protest this in order to give Government the benefit of the doubt as it pertains to the sensitivity of the information being shared and possible ramifications it may have on the outcome of the case.
Information shared by the COM, however, was not such that the public needed to be sheltered from the reality.
Many MPs touched on preventative measures and made recommendations, especially in the area of regulations for scooters, measures for communities outside Philipsburg, parenting, labour situation, the economy and other societal ills plaguing the community.
We were quite concerned about the financing for many of the proposed changes, including hiring some 30 police officers needed to bring the force up to the minimum level of functioning.
We firmly believe that we are very late in reacting to violent crimes now, while we should have seen this coming 10/15 years ago.
A neglected society will surely breed ill will, lack of compassion, blatant disrespect and the types of behaviour we have come to accept as "normal".
Some questions asked were:
Do we really want change?
Are we going to demand transparency and accountability from our government owned companies and foundations?
Are we going to finally get answers as to how we plan to increase tax compliance now?
Are we going to be told yet again there is no money while our teachers, social workers, nurses and police continue to cry, and the "have nots" see it floating all around? Where will the money to fund these immediate changes come from? How can we better train and protect the officers? What kind of benefits exist for next of kin if an officer is maimed or killed in the line of duty.
There were repeated calls on government for open communication with the public to put an end to speculation Read more

NA, DP call on Government to rework Governing Programme

PHILIPSBURG--Opposition National Alliance (NA) and Democratic Party (DP) have called on Government to rework the “Ready to Work for You” Governing Programme of the United People’s (UP) party-led coalition into “an executable and accountable programme.”

Debating the Governing Programme in Parliament would “inevitably lead to much rhetoric, but little substance,” said the two parties Read more

The Up-Coalition Governing Program 2014-2018 Is Definitely Not A Program For The People Of St. Maarten, So Who Is The Government Really Working For?

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Opposition parties National Alliance and Democratic Party met recently to discuss the governing program presented to parliament by the current United People's Party-led coalition.

The first impressions of this program leave a lot to be desired and much more was expected, not only after the long wait, but especially after the many promises that were made by the United People's Party, leading up to and during the 2014 electoral campaign.

However, more disturbing than that is the fact that the program as presented provides no basis for a constructive discussion in Parliament about government's plans, its priorities, available and needed resources.

The people of St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- On behalf of the National Alliance family I taken the time to extend deepest sympathy and condolences to the family, colleagues, loved ones and friends of our brave fallen Officer Gamali Benjamin, who was tragically and mercilessly cut down in the prime of his life. Officer Benjamin epitomised the model of the respectable, humble, hardworking and respected officer of the law.
He executed his duty in protecting us and upholding the laws of the land with integrity, passion and compassion for his fellow man, woman and children; therefore Officer Benjamin stands tall in our hearts, minds and the Nation as a Hero.
The loss of such a great person will take a toll on especially his young family and the colleagues with whom he worked daily Read more

Na Extends Condolences

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - On behalf of the National Alliance family I taken the time to extend deepest sympathy and condolences to the family, colleagues, loved ones and friends of our brave fallen Officer Gamali Benjamin, who was tragically and mercilessly cut down in the prime of his life.

Officer Benjamin epitomised the model of the respectable, humble, hardworking and respected officer of the law.

He executed his duty in protecting us and upholding the laws of the land with integrity, passion and compassion for his fellow man, woman and children; therefore Officer Benjamin stands tall in our hearts, minds and the Nation as a Hero.

The loss of such a great person will take a toll on especially his young family and the colleagues with whom he worked daily Read more