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Parliament adopts Constitution Day

PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten officially has ditched Kingdom Day, December 15, as an official holiday and replaced with it Constitution Day, which is to be observed annually on the second Monday in October, starting this year.

Parliament unanimously adopted the law on Thursday to make the day official and strike Kingdom Day from the calendar. The establishment of this newest holiday comes ahead of the fifth anniversary of St. Maarten’s attainment of country-within-the-Dutch-Kingdom status and the coming into force of the St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Members of Parliament from the National Alliance Faction and Democratic Party dispatched a letter to the Chairman of Parliament requesting an urgent meeting to debate the statements made by Attorney General of St. Maarten Guus Schram on September 11th 2015.
The le Read more

MPs get calls from inmates

PHILIPSBURG--Justice Minister Dennis Richardson has been asked by Members of Parliament (MPs) to look into why they are receiving mobile phone calls from prisoners housed inside of Pointe Blanche House of Detention.

United St. Maarten Party (USP) leader Frans Richardson was the first to raise the issue in Parliament with the minister on Wednesday Read more

Urgent Plenary Session about Landfill scheduled for Friday with Minister of VROMI.

>PHILIPSBURG:----  An urgent Plenary Session of the House of Parliament that was scheduled for September 9 will take place on September 18.

Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI) Hon. Claret Connor will be present for the public sitting of the House.

The public Plenary Session is set for Friday, at 10.30am in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelmina Straat #1 in Philipsburg.

The agenda point is the dumpsite (landfill) in Philipsburg and the plans for a waste to energy system for the country’s garbage problems.

This urgent plenary session of the House was initially requested by the National Alliance (NA) faction Members of Parliament (MPs) Hon Read more

Parties Upset About Delay Landfill Meeting

St. Maarten – Opposition parties National Alliance and Democratic Party are upset about the postponement of a meeting they had requested about the landfill. “We do not take the postponement lightly,” the parties said in a press statement last night.

The meeting was initially moved to last Wednesday – beyond the four day term between a request and a meeting being held – due to the absence of Vromi-Minister Marcel Gumbs, the closing and opening of parliament and the swearing in of new ministers.

“All valid reasons for us to agree to Wednesday Read more

Opposition Wants Meeting About Zebec Deal

St. Maarten – Opposition parties National Alliance and Democratic Party have “wasted no time” to request a meeting of parliament about the settlement between the Harbor Group of Companies and developer Zebec, the parties said in a press statement last night.

“The government-owned harbor company and its representatives have in the recent past labeled the action by Zebec as “wholly without merit,” the opposition parties point out Read more

Mp Emmanuel Puts Retail Prices On The Agenda; Le Grand Marché Reacts

National Alliance MP Christophe Emmanuel shows products from Le Grand Marché (left) and French-side competitor Super U. Photo Today / Hilbert Haar

Game on: Carrefour ready for the battle with Super U

St. Maarten – National Alliance MP Christophe Emmanuel brought the price differences between supermarkets on the Dutch and the French side into focus at a press conference in the parliament building yesterday morning, but Anil Sabnani, managing director of Le Grand Marché is not buying his story Read more

Urgent Plenary Session About Landfill Scheduled For Friday With Minister Of Vromi

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – An urgent Plenary Session of theHouse of Parliament that was scheduled for September 9 will take place on September 18.

Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI) Hon. Claret Connor will be present for the public sitting of the House.

The public Plenary Session is set for Friday, at 10.30am in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelmina Straat #1 in Philipsburg.

The agenda point is the dumpsite (landfill) in Philipsburg and the plans for a waste to energy system for the country’s garbage problems.

This urgent plenary session of the House was initially requested by the National Alliance (NA) faction Members of Parliament (MPs) Hon Read more

MPs want Constitution Day on 2nd Monday in October

PHILIPSBURG--Members of Parliament (MPs) want Constitution Day to be observed annually on the second Monday of October instead of the actual day – October 10 – when the St. Maarten Constitution came into force.

The proposal to make October 10 a holiday and to have it replace Kingdom Day, December 15, by amending a number of laws, including the labour ordinance, was tabled by Education and Culture Minister Rita Bourne-Gumbs in a meeting of the Central Committee of Parliament on Tuesday afternoon.

The minister is slated to be back in Parliament for a vote on the law changes Thursday Read more

Minister: Further action against NIPA board if ultimatum not met Wednesday

PHILIPSBURG--Minster of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Rita Bourne-Gumbs warned on Monday that "further action" will be taken against the board of National Institute for Professional Advancement (NIPA) if an "ultimatum" given is not met in a meeting set for tomorrow, Wednesday.

The minister did not divulge the details of the ultimatum to which she referred. She told Members of Parliament (MPs) during an urgent public plenary session of Parliament on Monday that she did not want to give certain details before meeting with the board.

She painted a grim picture of the situation at NIPA in her response to several questions and concerns MPs raised in the meeting Read more

Richardson to Schram: Prove underworld claims or ‘shut up’

PHILIPSBURG--Justice Minister Dennis Richardson minced no words when he publicly called on Attorney-General Guus Schram to prove his claims about the mixing of the so-called underworld with civil society.

Richardson said in Monday's plenary session of Parliament that Schram should prove his claims or "shut the hell up."

Richardson was reacting to comments made by the Attorney-General on Friday at the swearing-in of a new judge for the Court of First Instance. Schram said, "The Friendly Island has lost its innocence."

He said another threat existed in St Read more

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