SXMElections.com

Green Light For New Government, But Pm Gumbs Disagrees: “Even The Governor Can Make A Mistake”

St. Maarten – Governor Drs. Eugene Holiday has given the green light to the National Alliance-led coalition to form a new government. There will therefore be no elections on December 8, as would have been the case if the governor had ratified the national decree the cabinet sent to his office to dissolve the parliament and to call new elections.

Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs “absolutely disagrees” with the decision and his cabinet does not intend to make its positions available Read more

Holiday: ‘No basis not to form new govt. based on new majority’

HARBOUR VIEW--A new Government can be formed in St. Maarten based on the new majority in Parliament.

This is the position of Governor Eugene Holiday, conveyed in a press release on Monday, after having concluded his consultations with parties on the recent political developments.

Holiday said that, having reviewed the correspondence received and following completion of the consultations regarding the current political developments, he had informed parties that “there is no basis not to form a new Government based on the new majority in Parliament.”

Holiday said members of the Gumbs cabinet had not yet made their positions available Read more

Gumbs vows not to resign

PHILIPSBURG--Feeling strengthened by the opinion of constitutional law expert Professor Arjen van Rijn and convinced that the St. Maarten Constitution must be upheld, St. Maarten Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs has decided not to resign, and neither will the rest of the Council of Ministers.

“As Prime Minister I have the responsibility to protect the Constitution and to carry it out the way it was written Read more

William to meet Governor today

PHILIPSBURG--National Alliance (NA) leader Member of Parliament (MP) William Marlin will be meeting with Governor Eugene Holiday today, Monday, on the formation of the new majority coalition in Parliament.

  The meeting is on request of Governor Holiday Read more

Sarah confirms she will assume Chairmanship of Parliament

PHILIPSBURG--Democratic Party (DP) leader Member of Parliament (MP) Sarah Wescot-Williams confirmed on Friday that she will be assuming the position of the new Chairperson of Parliament.

DP forms part of the new eight-seat-majority coalition in Parliament Read more

Dp Leader Outlines Reasons That Destroyed Their Confidence In The Council Of Ministers

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The council of ministers experienced a motion of no confidence against them this Wednesday during a meeting of Parliament.

The motion was initially supported by the opposition National Alliance and the DP factions in parliament however it turned out that the motion was supported by additional members who were thought to be supporters of the current coalition government Read more

>PHILIPSBURG: --- Information reaching SMN News states that the eight members of parliament who voted a motion of no confidence against the current Gumbs cabinet already have candidates that will fill the Ministries.
SMN News learnt that Leader of the National Alliance William Marlin will become the next Prime Minister of St Read more

St. Maarten Government Falls Again: Fifth Cabinet In Five Years In The Making

UP-leader Theo Heyliger (left) and MP Silvio Matser on 10-10-14 when they were still political allies. Now the political marriage is over: “I cannot take the internal abuse anymore,” Matser said yesterday Read more

Parliament Demands That Ag Guus Schram Resigns

Attorney-General Guus Schram on an occasion when he was in St. Maarten. File photo Today / Hilbert Haar

St. Maarten – The parliament unanimously supported a motion that asks Attorney-General Guus Schram to resign and that urges the government to demand that the attorney-general of St. Maarten lives and works here. This newspaper asked the AG whether it is still possible for him to do his work on the island. “It is not up to the prosecutor’s office to react to this motion,” was the reaction.

The opposition National Alliance and Democratic Party had requested the meeting of parliament to discuss remarks Schram made on September 11 during the installation of Judge Sander van Rijen Read more

Parliament Goes All Out Against Attorney-General Schram “His Remarks Are As Bad As The Crimes He Fights”

MP William Marlin: “The AG insults everybody in St. Maarten.” Photo Today / Leo Brown

St. Maarten – Parliament unanimously make minced meat of the remarks Attorney-General Guus Schram made on September 11 during the installation of Judge Sander van Rijen and demanded his resignation (see related story on our front page).

“I do not want to get into a debate with the attorney-general,” National Alliance faction leader William Marlin said Read more

MPs pass unanimous motion calling for Schram’s resignation

PHILIPSBURG--Members of Parliament (MPs) from across party lines on Wednesday voted unanimously in favour of a motion calling for the resignation of Attorney General (AG) Guus Schram over his “insulting, degrading and unacceptable” statements made during the swearing in of judge Sander van Rijen on September 11.

The motion tabled by National Alliance (NA) Leader MP William Marlin states that the remarks by Schram that the underworld and legitimate society in St Read more

New majority in Parliament to focus on ‘needs of residents’

~ Portfolios divided, NA gets PM ~

HARBOUR VIEW--The new eight-seat-majority coalition in Parliament formed on Wednesday plans to focus on the needs of residents and is prepared to make safety and security “a top priority” and to give the people of St. Maarten “an open Government that gives account on all levels.”

The new majority comprises former United People’s (UP) party Members of Parliament (MPs) Silvio Matser and Maurice Lake; National Alliance (NA) MPs William Marlin, Silveria Jacobs, Christophe Emmanuel and George Pantophlet; Democratic Party (DP) MP Sarah Wescot-Williams; and United St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- All the Members of Parliament including those from the coalition government supported a motion presented by the National Alliance and Democratic Party on Monday to demand that Attorney General Guus Schram tender his resignation and also repudiate the statements he made on September 11th 2015 at the swearing in ceremony of a judge on St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The eight members of Parliament who voted on a motion of no-confidence against the Gumbs cabinet on Wednesday did not waste any time on forming a new government.
According to information reaching SMN News as soon as the motion was passed in Parliament, two letters were dispatched to the Governor of St. Maarten, one informing him of the motion of no confidence along with a copy of the motion and another informing the Governor of St. Maarten that there is already a majority in Parliament that are ready to form a new government.
The source said the new government will consist of four Members of Parliament from the National Alliance, one from the Democratic Party, the USP and two Independent Members namely Silvio Matser and Maurice Lake.
SMN News further learnt that at least two MPs from the National Alliance faction will leave their seats in Parliament to go over to the executive branch Read more

St. Maarten Government Falls – Three Coalition Members Defect

Picture: St. Maarten Parliament

NEWSFLASH!! St. Maarten– The Gumbs government fell shortly after 12.30 p.m. today (Wednesday, September 30, 2015) after the parliament passed a motion of no-confidence submitted by Democratic Party MP Sarah Wescot-Williams with an 8-7 vote Read more

NIPA board refuses to sign agreement with ministry

~ MP tells minster to fire board ~

PHILIPSBURG--The Advanced Vocational Education (AVE) board of National Institute of Professional Advancement (NIPA) has refused to sign an agreement with the Education Ministry geared at improving the institute.

The board also has refused to adhere to a seven-point plan of action to improve things at the institute, Education Minister Rita Bourne-Gumbs told Members of Parliament (MPs) during the continuation of a parliamentary session on NIPA and other issues on Tuesday Read more

MPs meet about Schram’s comments on Wednesday

PHILIPSBURG--Members of Parliament (MPs) are set to give their views in a plenary session of Parliament on Wednesday on the comments made by Attorney-General Guus Schram at the installation of a new judge on September 11.

Justice Minister Dennis Richardson has been invited to the session in Parliament House slated to start at 10:00am.

Richardson already has called on Schram to produce evidence of his claims of a serious mixing of the underworld and civil society.

This urgent public meeting was requested by Democratic Party MP Sarah Wescot-Williams and National Alliance MPs William Marlin, Silveria Jacobs, and Christophe Emmanuel.

The parliamentary session will be aired live on St Read more

Mp Marlin Wants To Talk About Dress Code

St. Maarten – There are zero journalist here. They are boycotting this meeting of parliament,” National Alliance faction leader William Marlin said yesterday afternoon during the debate about the deal the harbor made with developer Zebec Read more

Mp Marlin Wants To Talk About Dress Code

St. Maarten – There are zero journalist here. They are boycotting this meeting of parliament,” National Alliance faction leader William Marlin said yesterday afternoon during the debate about the deal the harbor made with developer Zebec Read more

Meeting About Zebec-Deal Continues: Opposition Questions Deal, Coalition Praises Harbor

St. Maarten – Parliament will have to wait until this afternoon for answers to the questions it posed yesterday in a public meeting about the settlement between the Harbor Group of Companies and real estate developer Zebec over the failed Harbor Village project.

As Today reported on Monday, September 14, social insurance agency SZV borrowed the harbor $10 million on a short 3-month loan to settle the dispute with Zebec.

Yesterday’s meeting did not bring anything new to light Read more

Meeting About Zebec-Deal Continues: Opposition Questions Deal, Coalition Praises Harbor

St. Maarten – Parliament will have to wait until this afternoon for answers to the questions it posed yesterday in a public meeting about the settlement between the Harbor Group of Companies and real estate developer Zebec over the failed Harbor Village project.

As Today reported on Monday, September 14, social insurance agency SZV borrowed the harbor $10 million on a short 3-month loan to settle the dispute with Zebec.

Yesterday’s meeting did not bring anything new to light Read more

Mp Silveria Jacobs Embarrassed By Ministers’ Crude Language

St. Maarten – National Alliance MP Silveria Jacobs admonished Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs and Vice Prime Minister Dennis Richardson yesterday for the language they have used in public fora Read more

NA: Marlin’s waste-to-energy plan called for zero investment

PHILIPSBURG--The still-pending waste-to-energy (WTE) plant would have cost taxpayers “a total of zero investment” under the plan left behind by National Alliance (NA) leader Member of Parliament William Marlin after his tenure as Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI in 2012-2013, said the NA board in a press statement on Wednesday.

The terms of reference were designed so that the WTE supplier would be granted a concession for 20-25 years and utilities company GEBE would buy the energy produced by the WTE plant, said the board as they chided United People’s (UP) party Member of Parliament Theo Heyliger for saying in Parliament recently that projects require investment.

“So you see, MP Heyliger, you are not correct Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- During the tenure of former Minister William Marlin of the National Alliance, the Waste to Energy Plant would have cost the people of St. Maarten a total of ZERO investment. The terms of reference was designed as such that the WTE supplier would be granted a concession for 20 to 25 years where GEBE would buy the Energy generated by the WTE plant Read more