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Editorial: Not Helpful (Vague Press Statement From Minister Lake)

Vromi-Minister Maurice Lake is apparently not aware of the finer details of the articles of incorporation that regulate the St. Maarten Housing Foundation. That leads to public statements that are at odds with reality – and nobody stands to benefit from that.

The foundation’s board should have five – not seven, as the minister claims in a press statement – members and as long as there is at least one member left, that board is legal.

Another point is of course that the board should take action without delay (meaning: immediately) once there are fewer than five board members Read more

Minister Cornelius De Weever Resigns From The Democratic Party

St. Maarten —Minister Cornelius de Weever yesterday officially severed ties with the Democratic Party by officially informing the leader of that party and care taker Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams that he is resigning from the party.

Minister De Weever ran on the DP’s ticket in the August 2014 elections but secretly formed a coalition with the UP party shortly after the elections while the DP had publicly announced that it has signed an agreement and was forming a coalition with the US and NA Read more

Letter From St. Maarten’S Council Of Ministers To Rutte And Plasterk: No Cooperation With Additional Screening

St. Maarten – The Council of Ministers will not cooperate with the instruction to Governor Holiday to subject candidate-ministers for the new cabinet to additional screening. In a letter, signed by outgoing Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams, the council makes this position clear to Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Kingdom Relations Minister Ronald Plasterk Read more

St. Maarten Parliament Is Convinced That Screening Process Is Working: Motion Will Ask Governor To Reject Kingdom Instruction

St. Maarten – The United People’s party announced that it would table a motion that asks Governor Holiday not to go along with the instruction from the Kingdom Council of Ministers to execute additional screening of candidate-ministers for the new government. However, parliament adjourned until Wednesday morning after the first round. UP-leader Theo Heyliger told this newspaper that he had not delivered his final report about the new cabinet yet, even though yesterday was the deadline for his task as formateur.

A one-man protest action by Etienne Toochie Meyers – a representative of the movement People United for True Democracy – preceded the first meeting of the new parliament yesterday afternoon Read more

Dutch Instruction Is A Direct Attack On The Country’S Autonomy (Screening Process Of Candidate Ministers)

St. Maarten / By Hilbert Haar – The anger, indignation and apparent frustration about the instruction the Kingdom Council of Ministers gave to Governor Drs. Eugène Holiday has left many seething – not only in St. Maarten, but also in Curacao and Aruba. According to a report in Antilliaans Dagblad, the country has two weeks to agree with the package of measures Kingdom Relations Minister Ronald Plasterk has in store – otherwise another instruction could follow.

United People’s party leader Theo Heyliger stated in a rather emotional reaction on Friday that the instruction is unconstitutional Read more

Efforts To Increase Tax Compliance Fail

Audit Chamber report Optimizing Tax Revenue

St. Maarten – All efforts to increase tax compliance and tax revenue during the past three years have failed. This appears from the performance audit Optimizing Tax Revenue the General Audit Chamber published last week.

The Finance Minister in the first Wescot-Williams cabinet, Hiro Shigemoto, stated in the 2011 budget “that improvement of the functioning of the organization for assessment and collection together with the introduction of a simplified system should lead, in the coming years, to an additional 20 million guilders in tax revenue Read more

Reaction To Pwc Integrity Report: Dutch Want Criminal Investigation (Into The Government Of St. Maarten)

THE HAGUE – Justice has to initiate a large-scale criminal investigation into the “utterly corrupt” government of Sint Maarten. “The Second Chamber demands this, now that the controversial politician Theo Heyliger is grabbing the absolute power on the island,” the Telegraaf reported yesterday.

A majority of VVD, Socialist Party, CDA and PVV wants action according to the newspaper, after it appears from an investigation by consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers that the complete government apparatus is rife with cronyism Read more

Statement Minister De Weever: “Let My Work Determine My Contribution To Our Country”

St. Maarten – A “political statement” of 867 words Minister of Public Health, Social Affairs and Labor Cornelius de Weever issued last night makes clear that the counterpart policy was the breaking point that drove him to the decision to take up a seat in Parliament instead of continuing as a minister. The statement does not contain a single reference to his support for the coalition with the United People’s party.

De Weever states that he told Democratic Party leader Sarah Wescot-Williams on Tuesday that he would take up his seat in Parliament Read more

Rumors Run Amok In Local Politics: Coalition May Fall Apart With De Weever’S Departure

Finance Minister Martin Hassink confers with National Alliance leader William Marlin while (from left) Frans Richardson and Romain Laville look on Read more

Up Party Inadmissible In Quest For Complete Voting Register

St. Maarten – The Court in First Instance declared the United People’s party and its president Sylvia Meyers-Olivacce inadmissible yesterday in a lawsuit that the party filed in an effort to obtain a full copy of the voters register.

The UP, represented by attorneys Peggy Ann Brandon and Brenda Brooks, filed the lawsuit against the Minister of General Affairs and the Government of St Read more

Integrity Report Presents Scathing Assessment – St. Maarten Parliament Under Fire

St. Maarten – Many within and outside of Parliament doubt whether the important task of this institution is currently executed adequately. That is the mildest remark in the integrity report of the Wit Committee about the functioning of St. Maarten’s Parliament. The report contains a scathing analysis of the way the fifteen parliamentarians do their job. Unnecessary trips abroad and absence from meetings are only a tip of the iceberg.

The Wit Committee notes that evaluating the Parliament is not a specific part of its task, but it adds that integrity in the public administration cannot be discussed in its entirety without involving the Parliament.

“The public debate about the functioning of Parliament is so critical that a serious evaluation in the Parliament would benefit the authority of this institution,” the report states Read more

Election Fraud Trial: Prosecution Wants To Revoke Voting Rights All Defendants

St. Maarten – The prosecution has demanded conditional prison sentences, community service and revoking the active voting rights of the four suspects in the 2010 election fraud case. From one suspect, UP-representative Roy H., the prosecution also wants to take away the passive voting rights. The court will pronounce its verdict in all cases four days before the August 29 elections, on Monday August 25.

There were four defendants in court yesterday morning for a session that would take all of five hours Read more

Attorney: “Minister Lake Wanted To Unwrap A Beautiful Present For Ifps” Corallo’S Ifps Wants To Stop Caravanserai Auction

St. Maarten – The Court in First Instance will rule in summary proceedings on Friday August 8 whether Scotiabank will be allowed to proceed with the public auction of the Caravanserai property in Beacon Hill. International Financial Planning Services (IFPS) – a company linked to BPlus Giocolegale and Atlantis World Group owner Francesco Corallo – wants the court to stop the auction, because it claims ownership of the part of the property where the Dunes Casino is located. The company got a little help from Vromi-Minister Maurice Lake, but the bank’s attorney contests his decision. IFPS bought the long lease on the contested property from Kildare Properties on March 29, 2011, for $1.5 million Read more