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New Council Of Ministers Grants Half Days To Civil Servants

PHILIPSBURG – The newly sworn in Council of Ministers held their first meeting at the Government Building on Thursday morning, December 22.

Attending the meeting were: Prime Minister William Marlin; Minister of Finance Richard Gibson; Minister of Public Health, Social Development, and Labor Affairs Emil Lee; Minister of Education, Culture, Youth, and Sports Silveria Jacobs, and Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure Christophe Emmanuel.

In its first meeting, the Council of Ministers took the decision, amongst others, to grant all civil servants “half day off” on December 23, and 30 where the service permits Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- The newly sworn in Council of Ministers held their first meeting at the Government Building on Thursday morning December 22nd. Attending the meeting were Prime Minister William Marlin, Minister of Finance Richard Gibson, Minister of Public Health Social Development and Labor Affairs Emil Lee, Minister of Education Culture Youth & Sports Silveria Jacobs and Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure Christophe Emmanuel.

In its first meeting, the Council of Ministers took the decision amongst others, to grant all Civil Servants “half day off” on December 23rd and 30th where the service permits Read more

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Exclusive: Sls Threatens Uszv And Government That They Will Not Be Accepting Uszv Cards For Civil Servants Due To Outstanding Debts Amounting To Naf.139, 000.00.

USZV and Government have until January 15th to settle the debt or face litigation.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The St. Maarten Laboratory Services (SLS) has dispatched a letter through its legal representatives to the Minister of VSA Emil Lee, and Director of USZV Glen Carty which was also copied to the Prime Minister of St. Maarten William Marlin and Minister of Finance Richard Gibson (Country St Read more

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PHILIPSBURG: --- During the first live press briefing on Wednesday Prime Minister William Marlin informed the people of St. Maarten that the screening process for the Ministry of TEATT is not yet completed but hopefully that process will be completed shortly. Marlin said that in the meantime, the Minister of Justice Raphael Boasman will be responsible for that Ministry until the new Minister takes office.
However, Minister Boasman has left the island shortly after the swearing in ceremony for the Netherlands for a period of two weeks, therefore, the Prime Minister will be responsible for the Ministry of General Affairs, Justice and TEATT until Minister Boasman returns.
The Prime Minister also introduced the new council of ministers, namely Minister of Finance Richard Gibson, returning Minister of VSA who was not present  at the opening of the weekly press briefing Emil Lee, Minister of Education, Minister of Justice Raphael Boasman, and Minister of VROMI Christopher Emmanuel and Minister of EYS Silveria Jacobs.
Marlin said that he hopes that the coalition partners will give this government a full four-year mandate which would give the island some stability.
Marlin outlined some of the things the government has been doing, and of the things they have high on their agenda are affordable housing and he plans to support the Minister of VROMI with whatever plans the SMHDF and the Ministry come up with to provide more affordable home.
Another priority for the government is the country’s infrastructure which is affecting the visitors of the island and residents Read more

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Lengthy Budget Debate Ended On Friday With Upp Members Voting Against For The 2017 Budget.

7 motions also passed.

PHILIPSBURG:--- After nine days of budget debate 10 Members of Parliament, those forming the current coalition NA, USP and DP MP’s voted in favor of the 2017 budget, while three of the UPP MP’s voted against Read more

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HARBOUR VIEW:--- On December 16th, 2016, His Excellency the Governor of Sint Maarten, drs. E.B. Holiday, received the final report, including the Governing Program 2016 – 2020, Stability For Prosperity from formateur William Marlin.
The formateur has accepted the commission to form a new government supported by a majority in Parliament comprised of the NA-fraction, the USP-fraction, and the DP-fraction Read more

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Lee Disappointed In Court Verdict

PHILIPSBURG--Health Minister Emil Lee on Sunday expressed disappointment in last Friday’s court verdict issued based on a lawsuit filed by VAMED against Social Health Insurances SZV regarding the construction of a new general hospital for St. Maarten.

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Exclusive: Judge Slams Uszv, Kmpg, Minister Of Vsa And Smmc With The New Hospital Bidding Procedure --- Uszv Ordered Not To Proceed, $1M Violation Up To A Maximum Of $25M.

The government will have to compensate INSO if they lose completely.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The Court of First Instance in its ruling on Friday, November 25th in the injunction filed by VAMED against USZV, slammed USZV, KMPG SMMC and the Minister of VSA Emil Lee with the way the bidding procedure was conducted for the construction of the New Hospital Read more

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Ambulance Dept. Personnel In Training 

PHILIPSBURG – Ambulance Department personnel of the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labor are participating in a week-long session in Advanced Life Support (ALS) training that started on November 21, and will run through November 25, in collaboration with the medical staff of the Dutch Marines and Fire Department.

“Facilitating this training for the Ambulance Department will ultimately benefit the entire population of St. Maarten in pre-hospital ambulance care Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- Rumors are circulating on social media (Facebook) and throughout the community claiming that the current coalition agreement between the National Alliance (NA), the United St. Maarten People’s Party (USP) and the Democratic Party (DP) fell through and that talks are currently taking place between the United Peoples Party (UPP), United St Read more

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Lack Of Unity Apparent On St. Martin’S Day.

MARIGOT/PHILIPSBURG:----The annual St. Maarten/St. Martin day celebration was this year blighted by a marked lack of unity as the absence of members of the St. Maarten Executive Council was apparent at the usually joint commemoration activity on November 11th.

A decision was taken by the afore mentioned Executive Council not to attend the celebratory activities which were held this year on the French St. Martin. Both sides of the island alternate the hosting of activities to observe St Read more

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Minister Lee And Stakeholders Attend Conference On National Health Financing Initiatives

PHILIPSBURG – Minister of Public Health, Social Development & Labor Emil Lee, and representatives from the Ministry recently attended the 11th annual Caribbean conference on National Health Financing Initiatives, which took place in Bonaire.

In addition to representatives of the Ministry of VSA, representatives from SZV and the SMMC were also present.

As St Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:---- Emil Lee, Minister of Public Health, Social Development & Labor and representatives from the Ministry recently attended the 11th Annual Caribbean conference on National Health Financing Initiatives which took place in Bonaire. In addition to representatives of the Ministry of VSA, representatives from SZV and the SMMC were also present.

As Sint Maarten embarks on plans for National Health Insurance, the Ministry attended the conference as an important part of the research process Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- The Board and Membership of the Democratic Party express their deep appreciation, gratitude, and pride in the exemplary performance of the Chairperson of Parliament, MP Sarah Wescot-Williams and the outgoing Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor, Mr Read more

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At Risks Population Group Pregnant Women Receiving Zikv Mosquito Bite Prevention Packages

GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – As part of the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour Affairs (Ministry VSA) National Mosquito Elimination Community Program Zika Virus disease (ZikV) “Beat ZikV,” the Collective Prevention Service (CPS), a department of the ministry, together with its partners American University of the Caribbean (AUC), and Social & Health Insurances SZV, several weeks ago embarked on a project in which a package, consisting of a bag, a mosquito bed net, mosquito repellant and information leaflets, has been distributed to a special group in the population, namely pregnant women.

The bag and the mosquito nets are sponsored by AUC, while the SZV added mosquito repellent to the package Read more

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Lee To Make ‘Deliberate Effort’ For Smooth Transition Of Ministry

PHILIPSBURG--Outgoing Minister Emil Lee plans to have a public hand over of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Affairs VSA so that the new minister can “hit the ground running.”

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Uzv Staff Getting Special Treatment With Medical Referrals, At Least One Patient Staying At Renaissance Resort In Curacao.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Management of USZV was caught with their pants down by SMN News when several patients alerted SMN News that a particular staff of USZV who went to Curacao for medical check-ups and at the same time spend the mid-term vacation with her minor child in Curacao was staying at the Renaissance Resort in Curacao where the daily rates are over $200.00 per day. Not only that the USZV staff is staying in a high-class hotel while on medical referral the woman also has her minor daughter staying with her.
SMN News contacted the Director of USZV Glen Carty who confirmed that the staff of USZV was indeed staying at the resort and the person went there for annual check-ups Read more

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Justice For The Maho Employees!

Philipsburg, Sint Maarten — On thursday Sept 29, 2016, the Court in First Instance rendered its judgment in the case filed by the employees of Resort of the World N.V. (Maho).

Zylena Bary who is the lawyer for the employees filed an injunction case, followed by another case to seek a court declaration that the procedure under which Maho, the new companies CMM and MHO, the WICSU/PSU and the Government (via the labor mediator Mr. R Read more

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Ministers Meet In New Building

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - On Thursday, September 19, the Council of Ministers convened their first Council of Ministers meeting since moving into the New Government Administration Building at Soualiga Road. The inauguration of the Building took place on Friday September 16. With the exception of Minister Irania Arrindell,  who is attending the FCCA Conference in Puerto Rico, all Ministers were present for this historic moment.

In picture clockwise: Prime Minister / Minister William Marlin; Minister Silveria Jacobs, Minister Emil Lee, Minister Richard Gibson Sr., Minister Edson Kirindongo, Minister Angel Meyers supported by the Secretary General of the Council of Ministers, Ms Read more

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Another Coalition Government For St. Maarten --- Stability Not Guaranteed With New Elections.

Alleged vote buying rampant on Monday.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The early elections called by the Governor St. Maarten, when it was requested by former Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs, did not change anything for St. Maarten, instead it opens the door for more instability. Another very unfortunate situation the election called on September 26th created was vote buying by at least one particular political party who also even refused to comply with the laws laid down by the Minister of Justice Read more

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The Grand Finale- Bigger And Better with an All-Star Panel.

Concordia:---- Recent guests on Fresh with the Y2X Crew, Jennifer Richardson da Silva of NA, May- Ling Chun of UP, Marinka Gumbs of DP, Angelina Williams of PPA, Anna Rabess-Richardson of USP, Mulrose Toulon of the St Read more

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Exclusive: Vamed Sends Letter To Minister Of Vsa To Be Transparent With Regards To The Bidding Process For New Hospital.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The law firm representing VAMED Engineering dispatched a letter on Friday morning to the Minister of VSA Emil Lee urging him to be open and transparent about the public procurement procedure regarding the New Hospital. The letter which was delivered to the Minister of September 23rd reads that the company is requesting the Minister of VSA to disclose information based on the public information act.
The letters state that so far despite numerous request both the Minister and USZV have not complied by providing the information they are asking for to render account for the decisions they have taken, which has forced VAMED to take their case to court.
The letter continues to state that they were involved in the evaluation of the bids and the bids were submitted to them Read more

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Szv Director Signs First Ever Performance Agreement 

PHILIPSBURG – Minister of Public Health, Labour and Social Development Emil Lee and SZV Director Glen Carty have signed the first ever Performance Agreement between a Minister and the Director since the founding of the Social & Health Insurances SZV after 10-10-10.

This performance agreement is a legal obligation and is directly tied to the operational budget of the SZV, which was submitted by Director Glen Carty by the yearly legal deadline, which was also a first for SZV.

Key elements of the performance agreement call for an enhanced digital medical referral process, benchmarked results for the safe investment of social funds that must have a measurable standard, medical care quality reviews, improved customer satisfaction and bi-annual reports on the terms in the agreement issued with input from the Supervisory Board.

This performance agreement is the result of months of work to establish a landmark document that can act as a model for future Ministers and Directors to follow Read more

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Szv Director Signs First Performance Agreement

PHILIPSBURG--Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labour Emil Lee and Social and Health Insurances SZV Director Glen Carty have signed the first-ever Performance Agreement between a minister and SZV director since the founding of the insurance service provider after October, 10, 2010.

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