SXMElections.com

Pm Gumbs Tasked With Completing His Cabinet

St. Maarten – The mandate for United People’s party leader Theo Heyliger as formateur ended shortly after he submitted his final report to Governor Drs. Eugène Holiday on December 17. Heyliger presented a cabinet of five ministers and stated in his one-page report that he had elected “to pursue the appointment of the remaining ministers as soon as possible.”

However, Heyliger’s role as formateur ended when the five ministers were sworn in, the press secretariat of Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs confirms.

In his New Year’s message, Heyliger emphasized that he would like to see a complete 7-member cabinet in place within the first sixty days of 2015 – setting a deadline at March 1.

“The task of nominating remaining ministers falls with Prime Minister Gumbs,” the press secretariat confirmed Read more

Today’S Predictions For The New Year: Still No Waste-To-Energy Plant, No Plastic Bag-Ban, No New Hospital

St. Maarten / By Hilbert Haar – “It seems almost too easy: predict what will and what will not happen in St. Maarten in any given year.” that was the first sentence of the article we published exactly a year ago about our predictions for the New Year – and it is still true. Our headline read “Emilio Wilson estate purchase but no waste-to-energy plant.” Needless to say, both predictions were on the mark.

The Today newspaper made its first predictions in 2010, when we looked ahead at 2011 Read more

Up-Leader Theo Heyliger: Budget, Economy And Education Are Priorities

St. Maarten – Financial management, education and the economy are three of the priorities United People’s party leader MP Theo Heyliger mentions in his New Year’s address. “Along with my coalition partners I will be working diligently with the government for a more productive, competitive and robust economy,” Heyliger stated Read more

>My Fellow Citizens,

Once again another year has come to end and a new year has begun. Over the past year of 2014, it was not without the many challenges, which we had faced. As the people of St. Maarten; we have experienced a lot of setbacks and by speaking out on those issues that had affected us the most; it didn't yield any sort of positive results or outcomes.
The cost of living, here on the island continues to rise with no limit in sight. Those, who are in authority has repeatedly shown no type of effort or indication towards the citizens that any plans would be set in motion for a relief in the coming new year Read more

New Year 2015 Message From The Leader Of The Ospp: Lenny F. Priest

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - My Fellow Citizens, Once again another year has come to end and a new year has begun. Over the past year of 2014, it was not without the many challenges, which we had faced.

As the people of St. Maarten; we have experienced a lot of setbacks and by speaking out on those issues that had affected us the most; it didn’t yield any sort of positive results or outcomes.

   The cost of living, here on the island continues to rise with no limit in sight Read more

Person of the Year

French-side entrepreneur perseveres in difficult times

MARIGOT--For many people Marigot always had the potential to be the more attractive capital of the island and still has, to paraphrase a Kia commercial, "the power to surprise."

After all what could be more enticing to the vacationer than a little corner of France tucked away in the Caribbean, a sea front town with quaint streets, outdoor cafés, markets, shopping, the classic French boulangeries, fine restaurants , the ambiance, the savoir faire? Blend all of this with Caribbean culture and it should be a recipe for success.

The French-side enjoyed its heyday in the 80s and 90s with an up-market clientele, and Americans got a "good bang for their buck" against the franc Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- As the yearly challenge comes around to select the person of year, this year was not as challenging as it was in the past years, simply because the candidate that was selected made the headlines both locally and internationally more than any other person on St. Maarten. While being in politics for half of his life, during the entire time he was in opposition for a mere 18 months.
That person is none other than Theodore Heyliger who had over 18 years to make this sunshine city really shine Read more

Tranquillity, stability and civility

Dear Editor,

The new government is hardly in place and already I find myself having to comment on the behaviour of our political leaders during Parliament meetings. Let me say that I cannot say A said so and so when everyone knows that B said it. On Saturday, December 20, 2014, I read in the paper how the newly sworn in Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs said the country needs tranquillity, stability, civility and prosperity Read more

MPs to get answers about housing foundation in Jan.

PHILIPSBURG--Members of Parliament (MPs) will have to wait until mid-January for answers about the suspension of St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF) Director Henry Lynch and two other members of the management team. Prime Minister/Ad Interim Housing Minister Marcel Gumbs said he required time to gather the facts about the investigation ordered by the foundation's supervisory board and the other actions leading to the suspensions.

Gumbs, who had only been in office for a mere 72 hours, was before Parliament on Monday in an urgent plenary session requested by opposition MPs Sarah Wescot-Williams (Democratic Party), Frans Richardson (United St 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

MPs will propose review of Dutch nationality rescinding

PHILIPSBURG--The rescinding of the Dutch nationality of a number of people in the Dutch Caribbean due to administrative errors, and the subsequent statelessness of those persons as well as their children and in some instances grandchildren, is an issue Members of Parliament (MPs) want on the table for the Inter-Parliamentary Affairs Contact Meeting IPOK in Aruba January 6-9.

Parliament's Permanent Committee for Inter-Parliamentary Affairs and Kingdom Relations met in Parliament House on Thursday afternoon to review the draft agenda and preparations for the meeting of members of the Parliaments of the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao and St Read more

>HARBOUR VIEW:--- His Excellency the Governor of Sint Maarten, drs. E.B. Holiday, received the final report of formateur Theodore Heyliger. The formateur has accepted the commission to form a new government that has a majority in Parliament and that consists of Ministers who are committed to the promotion of the wellbeing of Sint Maarten and dedicated to jointly execute the UP/I-2 Governing Accord, agreed upon by the coalition partners United People's Party, independent Member of Parliament Van Hugh C Read more

Governor Receives Final Formation Report Theodore Heyliger

HARBOUR VIEW, Sint Maarten – On December 17, 2014, His Excellency the Governor of Sint Maarten, drs. E.B. Holiday, received the final report of formateur Theodore Heyliger.

The formateur has accepted the commission to form a new government that has a majority in Parliament and that consists of Ministers who are committed to the promotion of the wellbeing of Sint Maarten and dedicated to jointly execute the UP/I-2 Governing Accord, agreed upon by the coalition partners United People's Party, independent Member of Parliament Van Hugh C Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- A board member of the St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF) Elston Fos was attacked in his yard by a lone gunman late Friday night. SMN News understands that Fos who lives in the Belvedere area escaped unharmed because the weapon the gunman tried to fire at him jammed. It should be noted that Fos is the board member of the SMHDF along with another board member who suspended Henry Lynch on Friday morning for financial discrepancies.
Chief Commissioner of Police Peter de Witte confirmed that the SMHDF board member was attacked by a lone gunman but the weapon malfunctioned Read more

Lloyd Richardson Elected Chairman Of Parliament

St. Maarten – Parliament elected Dr. Lloyd Richardson of the faction of the United People’s party yesterday morning as the successor of Sarah Wescot-Williams as its chairman Read more

Former Minister To Court In January: Buncamper-Molanus Charged With Membership Criminal Organization

St. Maarten – Tax fraud, forgery and participation in a criminal organization; these are the charges the Public Prosecutor’s Office has brought against Former Minister of Public Health, Social Affairs and Labor Maria Buncamper-Molanus. She has been summoned to appear in court for a pro forma hearing on Wednesday, January 7 of next year.

The charge for membership of a criminal organization suggests that there are more suspects, but a press release from the prosecutor’s office on Friday did not elaborate on this possibility Read more

Mp Dr. Lloyd Richardson Voted In As President Of Parliament

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Members of Parliament in a Central Committee meeting on Monday morning, Member of Parliament of the United People's Party, the Honorable Lloyd Richardson was voted to the position as President of Parliament.

He is now replacing leader of the Democratic Party, Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot Williams who resigned from the post on Thursday November 13th.

During the voting on Monday, Dr Read more

USM honours faculty and staff at 25th anniversary celebration

~ Special award for Danny's parents, Smith ~

PHILIPSBURG--University of St. Martin (USM) honoured a long list of staffers and faculty for their efforts in moulding students over the years during its 25th anniversary celebrations on Friday evening.

A special award was presented to Vice President of USM Foundation and the institution's first Director Pastor Wycliffe Smith, as well as to the parents of Treasurer of USM Foundation Danny Ramchandani, for allowing their only son to come to St Read more

style="text-align: center;">UPP candidates fuming because they got no Ministerial Positions

PHILIPSBURG:--- Leader of the United Peoples Party (UPP) and formateur Theodore Heyliger has shuffled the deck of cards again as he tries to form the next government Read more

The St. Maarten Parliamentary Election Of August 29, 2014 Julio R. Romney

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The parliamentary election in St. Maarten on 29th of August marked a turbulent beginning to the new constituent state's political history.

The substantial loss of electorate support for the more seasoned (political) party leaders to second tier/ number two party members, the failure of only but two contesting candidates to receive the necessary electoral quota to secure a seat in parliament outright.

The eleventh hour of the appointed formateur to realize the formation of a prospective coalition government, with the subsequent appointment of two informateurs to facilitate a renewed attempt to garner political parties that are willing to come together and form a new prospective coalition government are but a few of the unanticipated consequences of the election.

Added to these and more startling was the Royal Decree issued (October 21, 2014) by the de facto Head of State i.e., the Kingdom Government/ the Kingdom Council of Ministers instructing the Governor of St Read more

André Bosman Fails To React – De Weever Takes Legal Action

St. Maarten – Member of Parliament Cornelius de Weever will take legal action against VVD-MP André Bosman who did not react to a summons to retract “erroneous, slanderous and defaming statements” before the deadline of last Monday at 5 p.m. On September 30, four different newspapers quoted Bosman as saying, “Heyliger simply paid De Weever.”

The remark refers to De Weever’s decision to withdraw his support for a coalition of the National Alliance and the United St Read more

Sarah questions reason for voting discrepancies meeting

PHILIPSBURG--Democratic Party (DP) Member of Parliament (MP) Sarah Wescot-Williams wants an elaboration on the request for a Central Committee meeting on election day "discrepancies" as called for by MPs Leona Marlin-Romeo (independent), Tamara Leonard (United People's party) and Cornelius de Weever (DP) Read more

Parliament to discuss election discrepancies

PHILIPSBURG--Reported discrepancies and issues at polling stations on Election Day, August 29, will be discussed when Members of Parliament (MPs) who were elected on that day meet in a public Central Committee session with the Central Voting Bureau and Civil Registry in Parliament House on Tuesday starting at 2:00pm.

MPs Leona Marlin-Romeo (independent), Tamara Leonard (United People's party) and Cornelius de Weever (Democratic Party) requested the meeting.

In their request letter, the MPs said there had been discrepancies at the Pointe Blanche House of Detention polling station, use of foreign identification for voting, discrepancies in ballot counting at specific polling stations, discrepancies in privacy during the supporting of the candidate lists and discrepancies in the information given to political parties about placement of campaign material.

Points to be brought forward in the meeting are changes in the Electoral Law, increased number of polling stations in 2014 compared to 2010 and implementation of electronic voting, among others.

The parliamentary session is open to the public and will be carried live on St Read more

Heyliger says impasse looms

THE HAGUE--St. Maarten’s United People’s Party (UP) Leader Theo Heyliger said in an interview with the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad on Wednesday that an impasse was imminent in the conflict with the Netherlands about the extra screening of the candidate prime minister and ministers Read more