SXMElections.com

GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication, Mellissa Arrindell-Doncher, joined her colleague Ministers in her first Council of Ministers meeting on Tuesday, April 4.

The meeting was adjourned for the Ministers to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Minister Arrindell-Doncher and resumed after.

At the onset, Minister co-signed her first national decree which contained the so-called ‘vervangingsregeling’, which regulates which minister replaces another minister when he / she is unable to execute his / her responsibilities; this can, for example, be related to illness, travel on behalf of government, or vacation.

With a complete Council of Ministers consisting of seven ministers, the replacement overview is now as follows:
Prime Minister / Minister of General Affairs, Mr Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

Com Meets With Full Complement Of Ministers Last Tuesday

GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication, Mellissa Arrindell-Doncher, joined her colleague Ministers in her first Council of Ministers meeting on Tuesday, April 4.

The meeting was adjourned for the Ministers to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Minister Arrindell-Doncher and resumed after.

At the onset, Minister co-signed her first national decree which contained the so-called ‘vervangingsregeling’, which regulates which minister replaces another minister when he / she is unable to execute his / her responsibilities; this can, for example, be related to illness, travel on behalf of government, or vacation.

With a complete Council of Ministers consisting of seven ministers, the replacement overview is now as follows:

Prime Minister / Minister of General Affairs, Mr Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

Mps Zoom In On Gag Order Placed On Inspectorate

PHILIPSBURG--Why Minister of Public Health Emil Lee would place a gag order on the Inspectorate of Health, a body that should function independently for the Ministry, was a cause for concern and inquiry from Members of Parliament in Thursday’s urgent plenary session of Parliament dealing with development of the new hospital, the current state of affairs at St Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

Mp’S Fires More Questions To Minister Of Vsa On Gag Order Through An Mb To Inspectorate.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of VSA Emil Lee provided some answers to the questions that was posed to him last week in the public meeting of parliament regarding health care on St. Maarten.
The Minister told parliament that he was not a signatory to the agreement signed between SZV and SMMC and therefore he could not provide parliament with that document Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

Mps Question Lee About New Hospital

PHILIPSBURG--Whether everything related to the development has been done strictly by the book and the ability of Social and Health Insurance SZV to shoulder the projects, were among the queries made by Members of Parliament (MPs) in Friday’s urgent Parliament meeting with Public Health Minister Emil Lee. The meeting is tentatively slated to Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

Mp Meyers Fires Several Questions To Minister Of Vsa On Vamed Agreement And Working Conditions At Smmc

Leonard wants to know what Minister did to Inspectorate for releasing information to SMN News.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament Franklin Meyers fired a number of questions to Minister of VSA Emil Lee on Friday morning during a meeting of parliament.
MP Meyers said since last year February 2016 he requested information from the Minister and again earlier in February 2017 he resubmitted those questions but only few days ago after the meeting was requested by the UPP members that he received some of the answers from the Minister Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

Urgent Session Of Parliament About Current State Of Affairs

PHILIPSBURG – The House of Parliament will sit in an urgent plenary public session on Friday, March 31.

The Minister Public Health, Social Development and of Labor Emil Lee will be present. The urgent plenary public meeting, which was requested by Members of Parliament (MP) Franklin A. Meyers, Tamara E. Leonard, Siddharth M. Bijlani, Theodore E Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

Home Repair Program Finally Operational

PHILIPSBURG – “I am so happy to see this program finally become operational. It has been heartbreaking to have people come to my office looking for assistance to make their homes habitable and not have a mechanism in place to help our elderly in desperate need of assistance. With this program, we have allocated some limited resources to help elderly and disabled that need some minor repairs to their homes to make their homes decent and livable,” stated Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labour Emil Lee.

“I would like to commend the Department of Community Development, Family and Humanitarian Affairs (CFDHA) for making this initiative possible Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

SMMC staff living and working in fear, Minister claims not to know about the gag-order.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) has issued a gag order to its staff on February 3rd instructing them that they are not to speak to the inspectors of the Inspectorate of IVSA. All questions from the Inspectorate regarding patients and employees must be sent to management for legal advice.
SMMC sent the gag order to all medical specialists, ER doctors, midwives and supervisors working at SMMC Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

Vamed And Szv Working On Agreement, Officials Tightlipped On The Agreed Amount Of Monies Vamed Will Receive To Drop Court Proceedings.

.PHILIPSBURG:--- The Austria company VAMED that took SZV to court to block the construction of a new hospital on St. Maarten after they lost the bid that was awarded to INSO is now negotiating with SZV and the Minister of Health Emil Lee who told reporters earlier that the government of St. Maarten was seeking legal advice to take VAMED to court.
On Wednesday, Minister Lee admitted that negotiations are taking place with VAMED in order for SZV and government to move on with constructing the new hospital earlier rather than wasting time on court procedures.
When asked how much monies SZV will be paying out as a settlement to VAMED, Minister Lee and Director of SZV Glen Carty said they are not allowed to say how much of the pensioner's monies will be used to settle with VAMED since VAMED requested that they sign a non-discloser agreement.
It's strange that the Minister of Health would agree to not inform the people of St Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

Airport: --- Minister of Health Emil Lee returned to St. Maarten on Tuesday with the marketing director of Health City Cayman Islands Shomari Scot after USZV and Health City has reached a short-term agreement to treat a backlog of patients.
At the Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIEA) Prime Minister William Marlin and Minister of Finance Richard Gibson Sr also welcomed the Minister of Health and Scott to St Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

Landfill Management Top Priority For Government

PRESS RELEASE –The situation at the dump has the Government’s full attention, Minister of Health Emil Lee announced in a press release on Friday afternoon.

---

Candidates in this article:

PHILIPSBURG:--- - “I understand and share the community’s outrage and frustration with the frequent fires at the dump. Clearly, the situation is unacceptable and negatively affecting our children, our elderly, and the entire population of St. Maarten. Based on conversations with Minister Christophe Emmanuel, I believe that he and his Department are working diligently to provide a definitive and structural interim and long-term solution to waste management. The continuous burning of the Dump is a serious public health hazard, is a concern for the community and the entire Council of Ministers”, stated Minister Emil Lee.

The Department of Collective Prevention Services has made contact with PAHO or Pan American Health Organization (www.paho.org) for technical support on finalizing the short-term & long-term solution Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

Vsa Celebrates World Oral Health Day

PHILIPSBURG – Taking care of your oral health has a positive impact on your general health and well-being, helping you live a better quality of life into old age.

Oral health is much more than a nice smile. Oral disease can affect every aspect of your life, including your ability to perform basic functions. An unhealthy mouth, for example, if you have gum disease, can increase your risk of diabetes, heart disease, pancreatic cancers and pneumonia.

“Therefore, it is important for everyone to practice good oral hygiene,” stated Minister of Health Emil Lee in commemoration of World Oral Health Day.

During the Council of Ministers press briefing on Wednesday, March 22, Minister Lee encouraged the community to get involved Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

Minister Lee: We Are Taking Compliance Seriously

PHILIPSBURG – In Wednesday’s, March 15, Council of Ministers Press Briefing, Minister of Health, Labor, and Social Affairs Emil Lee elaborated on the controls his Ministry conducted on businesses on the Dutch side last Friday.

“We conducted a multi-disciplinary control. This was a multi-ministerial cooperation. The team that went out last Friday comprised of Inspectors from Labor, the Ministry of VSA, labor inspectors with the assistance of the Ministry of Finance, tax inspectors with the assistance of the Ministry of Justice, immigration officers as well as representatives from SVB,” Minister Lee stated.

This included cooperation with other departments like VROMI, which is in the process of helping to produce a detailed map of the Dutch, “so that we can literally map out a door to door campaign in terms of how we’re moving forward with compliance.”

Minister Lee clarified that contrary to statements in the media, that businesses had been closed, “I want to state for the record that we did not close any businesses Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

Multi-Ministerial Inspections Target Increased Compliance

PHILIPSBURG – Last Friday, March 10, a multi-disciplinary control was conducted by inspectors from the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labor (VSA) with the assistance of the Ministry of Finance’s Tax inspectors, Ministry of Justice’s Immigration officers, representatives from SZV as well as close cooperation with the representatives from the Ministry of VROMI.

At Wednesday’s, March 15, press briefing Minister of VSA Emil Lee commended the team who carried out the inspections last Friday for their hard work and enthusiasm throughout the day Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

Intensified Inspections Start, Businesses Closed

PHILIPSBURG--Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labour VSA Emil Lee kept to his word and started intensified inspections at several businesses on Friday with a team from the VSA Inspectorate.

---

Candidates in this article:

Minister Lee: We’Re Searching For The ‘Goldilocks Solution’

PHILIPSBURG – In Wednesday’s, March 8, Council of Ministers Weekly Press Briefing, Minister of Health, Social Affairs and Labour Emil Lee clarified a number of issues including the statement of the Minister of Finance regarding progress on a National Health Insurance (NHI).

“While certainly the process of having legislation approved by parliament is the culmination of the efforts, I think it’s important to recognize that a reform of our health care system or national health insurance is a complicated process, and we need time to work together with stakeholders to make sure that everybody’s concerns and feedback is incorporated Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

Lee: Businesses To Prepare For Intensified Inspections

PHILIPSBURG--Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labour VSA Emil Lee announced at Wednesday’s weekly Council of Ministers press briefing that the Inspectorate of VSA will begin with an intensified schedule for inspections.

---

Candidates in this article:

Parliament’S Right To Question Government

One of Parliament’s roles is to supervise the functioning of government. And one of its tools to carry out this supervisory function is the right to ask questions as laid down in article 62 of the Constitution.

This entails parliamentarians submitting their queries in writing to the government via the President of Parliament. Article 63 of the Constitution mentions that a Member of Parliament may also invite the ministers to provide information. Article 62 of the Rules of Order of Parliament states that this invitation will be considered by the President of Parliament, if it is supported by at least one other member of parliament Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

PHILIPSBURG:--- One of Parliament’s roles is to supervise the functioning of government. And one of its tools to carry out this supervisory function is the right to ask questions as laid down in article 62 of the Constitution. This entails parliamentarians submitting their queries in writing to the government via the President of Parliament. Article 63 of the Constitution mentions that a Member of Parliament may also invite the ministers to provide information. Article 62 of the Rules of Order of Parliament states that this invitation will be considered by the President of Parliament if it is supported by at least one other member of parliament Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

Wiclu Reps, Lee Discuss Range Of Issues At Meeting

PHILIPSBURG--Labour Day celebrations, being represented on the board of Social and Health Insurances SZV, International Labour Conference, changes to the civil code, improved compliance and concerns regarding businesses encountering financial difficulties were amongst the issues representatives of the Windward Islands Chamber of Labour Unions (WICLU) discussed when they met with Labour Minister Emil Lee recently Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

Vsa And Actuary Met Stakeholders On Nhi

 

PHILIPSBURG – Last week a number of meetings were conducted with the actuary, Willis Towers Watson, together with the Ministry of VSA.

The group met with a number of stakeholders such as business groups, senior citizens representatives, consumers and unions, to present a preliminary version of an economic model for National Health Insurance.

“The meetings were very open and positive. Many questions were posed and many assumptions were challenged. One of the main challenges is the collection and availability of data Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

Emmanuel Calls Businesses To Donate To Government

POND ISLAND--Businesses need to step up their responsibility and assist government by donating, said Infrastructure and Environment Minister Christophe Emmanuel. 

  The need for donations to get, for example, needed vehicles came up in the Council of Ministers Press Briefing on Wednesday. The minister said this ministry has been trying to tackle sewage issues around the country, but the bottleneck has been the lack of vehicles.

  Businesses have a responsibility, he said, adding, “I will be coming to you to ask for donations … it is time for you to contribute.”

  Also in the press conference, Emmanuel commended Police for hauling in contractors to clean up the spilled cement on Naked Boy Hill Read more

---

Candidates in this article: