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Mp Johan Leonard About The Cause Of Ship Jumping: Our Party Leaders Blatantly Disrespect Their Members

MP Heyliger is still smiling after the severe criticism from his fellow-faction member Johan Leonard (left). Photo Today / Milton Pieters

St. Maarten – The attitude of party leaders is the main reason for ship jumping, United People’s party MP Johan Leonard said yesterday morning in an unexpected sharp attack on UP-leader Theo Heyliger Read more

Winners And Losers: Who Will Survive The Polls In February?

St. Maarten / By Hilbert Haar – February 9, 2016 is crunch day for politicians and those who aspire to become one. The parliamentary elections – for some mysterious reason perceived by some as ‘snap elections’, whatever that may be – will give voters the opportunity to speak their mind about the constitutional drama that concluded on Wednesday when the ministers of the Marcel Gumbs cabinet tendered their resignation and Governor Drs Read more

Extraordinary Meeting Of Parliament Called

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - A majority of 8 in parliament has convened a public meeting of parliament for Thursday, October 15, 2015 at 6 pm.

This invitation has been sent to all members of parliament with the appointment of a chairperson and vice chairpersons being the main agenda point.

In an elucidation to the invitation, the members constituting the majority outline the reasons for this extraordinary meeting, going from the premise of the "majority-rule".

While the Rules of Order of Parliament provide for a change in chairmanship at any time, no further procedures are in place in the event the sitting presidium members take on a hostile attitude and refuse to accommodate the change-over.

This could make a lame duck of the parliament.

Below is the motivation as provided.

Ref: urgent meeting of Parliament on Thursday, October 15, 2015 at 18.00 hours.

Agenda point: Appointment of a chairperson, a first deputy chairperson and a second deputy chairperson.

Motivation:

On September 30, 2015, a majority in Parliament informed   H Read more

St. Maarten Government Falls Again: Fifth Cabinet In Five Years In The Making

UP-leader Theo Heyliger (left) and MP Silvio Matser on 10-10-14 when they were still political allies. Now the political marriage is over: “I cannot take the internal abuse anymore,” Matser said yesterday Read more

Parliament Goes All Out Against Attorney-General Schram “His Remarks Are As Bad As The Crimes He Fights”

MP William Marlin: “The AG insults everybody in St. Maarten.” Photo Today / Leo Brown

St. Maarten – Parliament unanimously make minced meat of the remarks Attorney-General Guus Schram made on September 11 during the installation of Judge Sander van Rijen and demanded his resignation (see related story on our front page).

“I do not want to get into a debate with the attorney-general,” National Alliance faction leader William Marlin said Read more

St. Maarten Government Falls – Three Coalition Members Defect

Picture: St. Maarten Parliament

NEWSFLASH!! St. Maarten– The Gumbs government fell shortly after 12.30 p.m. today (Wednesday, September 30, 2015) after the parliament passed a motion of no-confidence submitted by Democratic Party MP Sarah Wescot-Williams with an 8-7 vote Read more

Garbage Meeting Fizzles: Many Questions, No Answers And No Solutions

St. Maarten – At the end of a long meeting, finally there were some fireworks when opposition MP asked Vromi-Minister Claret Connor to answer one question: “Is there a contract with a company to build the waste-to-energy plant and how does this jive with your visit to a project in Miami?”

Minister Connor, who had just said that he would be able to inform the parliament on Monday when he would be able to answer the more than one hundred questions MPs had asked, did not bite Read more

Minister Richardson Criticizes Attorney-General Schram: “Justify Your Claims Or Shut The Hell Up”

Justice Minister Richardson is tired of accusations about corruption. Photo Today / Milton Pieters

St. Maarten – “My position has changed: it is put up or shut up. Justify your claims or shut the hell up. This has to stop,” Justice Minister Dennis Richardson said yesterday afternoon in parliament about the statements Attorney-General Guus Schram made last Friday about the interconnection between the underworld and the legitimate part of St. Maarten’s society.

“There are numerous indications showing that the underworld and the legitimate society in St 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

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

Lake urges stakeholders to work out waste-to-energy plant project

PHILIPSBURG--United People’s (UP) party Member of Parliament (MP) Maurice Lake has issued a public call to all stakeholders involved in the stagnated waste-to-energy plant to get to work.

His call comes after Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs said last week that getting the project moving had encountered some difficulties Read more

UP MP Lake would like to see stakeholders for Waste to Energy Plant Project getting together to move project forward

>PHILIPSBURG:---- United People’s (UP) Party Member of Parliament (MP) Maurice Lake sent a letter to the Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs, and also publicly made a statement on July 13th, 2015 requesting an update on the Solid Waste Ordinance and the progress of the long awaited Waste to Energy Plant to address the ‘growing garbage mountain.’

“As the former Minister of VROMI, my ministry and the Steering Committee was very much involved with the final stage the bidding process which was won by a company to build the plant Read more

Up Mp Lake Would Like To See Stakeholders For Waste To Energy Plant Project Getting Together To Move Project Forward

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – United People’s (UP) Party Member of Parliament (MP) Maurice Lake sent a letter to the Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs, and also publicly made a statement on July 13th, 2015 requesting an update on the Solid Waste Ordinance and the progress of the long awaited Waste to Energy Plant to address the â€˜growing garbage mountain.’

“As the former Minister of VROMI, my ministry and the Steering Committee was very much involved with the final stage the bidding process which was won by a company to build the plant Read more

Tamara: Increase Chamber fee to fund surveillance camera system

PHILIPSBURG--Partial funding for the long-overdue camera surveillance system starting in Philipsburg and branching out to the rest of the country can be raised easily through a nominal fee increase for all St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce and Industry (COCI) registrants, United People’s (UP) party Member of Parliament (MP) Tamara Leonard proposed in a letter to Parliament dated July 28 in light of the daring daylight robberies in Philipsburg.

   The letter, directed to Chairman of Parliament’s Justice Committee MP Johan Leonard, said Tamara envisioned a collaboration of the Chamber of Commerce, police, St Read more

Parliament Meet On Health Care Wednesday

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The Central Committee of Parliament met in public session on Wednesday.

Members of Parliament received a presentation on the National Ordinance on Public Health Care.

The presentation was made by a team from the department of Health headed by Drs. Fenna Arnell.

However members of Parliament had several questions as well as expressed areas of concern within health care. MP the Honorable Leona Romeo-Marlin was particularly concerned about the spread of infectious diseases.

DP leader the honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams in her remarks spoke about the complexities of the ordinance and its importance.

She also noted that the execution and monitoring of the legislation has been placed on a lower level in some cases, even below the legislation itself.

MP the Honorable Janchie Leonard also had various questions particularly in the area of control and enforcement.

As a former Police Officer the MP stated that this forms an integral part of the overall execution of the ordinance Read more

Only 6 Of 22 Motions Since 2012 Yielded Results: Motions Carry The Day – But Only In Parliament

St. Maarten – The motions Members of Parliament submit during the annual budget debate seldom yield results. This newspaper examined 28 motions a host of parliamentarians tabled since 2012. With 22 of them successive government did absolutely nothing. Six of them yielded (some) results.

When governments fail to execute motions, parliament never retaliates. In the Netherlands, a cabinet that refuses or neglects to execute a motion that is carried by a majority in parliament, could lead to a cabinet crisis Read more

Minister shares viewpoint, MPs to get GEBE answers Monday

PHILIPSBURG--Parliament’s plenary session on developments at utilities company GEBE, focusing on the ongoing dispute between the Supervisory Board and Chief Operations Officer (COO) and Managing Director Romelio Maduro about his position at the company, was adjourned to Monday afternoon, after Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI Marcel Gumbs gave some perspective on Friday, but needed more documentation to answer questions posed by Members of Parliament (MPs).

The meeting was adjourned after Gumbs, as shareholder representative for the Government-owned company, gave a summarised overview of developments on the current dispute and questions were posed by National Alliance MPs William Marlin, Silveria Jacobs and Christophe Emmanuel Read more

Patrol to Eradicate Paedophilia urges MPs to make law changes

PHILIPSBURG--Change the laws to impose harsher punishment for paedophiles and institute a sex offenders registry were among the calls the group Patrol to Eradicate Paedophilia (PEP) made to the Petitions Committee of Parliament on Thursday.

PEP's request for laws to be changed now heads to the Permanent Committee for Justice. Committee Chairman Member of Parliament (MP) Johan Leonard said he would call the Justice Minister to the committee after Parliament's July recess.

PEP representative Peggy Ann Dros-Richardson urged MPs to have Government boost its assistance to the Mental Health Foundation, to help the foundation increase awareness about paedophilia and have the required treatment for the mental disorder Read more

Parliament committees to look into French/Dutch joint issues

Representatives of the French side Territorial Council with Members of Parliament in Parliament House on Tuesday.

PHILIPSBURG--A meeting between the French side Territorial Council and Members of Parliament (MPs) in Parliament House on Tuesday resulted in various topics discussed being sent to Parliament’s permanent committees for further deliberation and solution seeking.

Among the topics discussed was pensioners living on the French side, but who have contributed to the Dutch side’s General Pension Fund by working on the southern side of the island accessing their benefits Read more

Govt. back to drawing board with Integrity Chamber Law

PHILIPSBURG--Parliament has sent Government back to the drawing board with the controversial draft National Ordinance on the establishment of an Integrity Chamber for the country.

Parliament sending Government back to make changes was not unexpected, as the majority of MPs had voiced their discontent with the draft when it was tabled in the Central Committee of Parliament about two months ago.

The reworking of parts of the law means the deadline of June 30 for Parliament to handle the law as stated in a recent protocol with the Dutch Government will not be met Read more

St. Maarten Parliament annoyed over protocol

THE HAGUE--The days of St. Maarten’s Justice Minister Dennis Richardson may very well be numbered now that he has signed a protocol with the Dutch Government to establish an independent Integrity Chamber for St. Maarten and to strengthen the island’s law enforcement sector. Members of the St. Maarten Parliament are not accepting that Parliament is being sidetracked in the protocol.

The protocol Minister Richardson and Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk signed on Saturday states that the St Read more

88 kids under court mandated protection

PHILIPSBURG--There are 88 minor children under court-mandated protection as of this month, according to the Court of Guardianship.

Of those 88 children, 34 are still living at home with their parents, but will receive regular protection checkups. Seven children are with foster families and 47 are in foster homes operated by a number of foundations.

Court of Guardianship head Richelda Emmanuel told Parliament’s Justice Committee on Tuesday afternoon that Government was responsible only for the upkeep of children under court-mandated protection.

Children placed in foster homes by parents or guardians are not covered and their upkeep remains the responsibility of their parent or legal guardian as outlined in the Civil Code of the country Read more

Chief Prosecutor Ton Maan: “The Word Class Justice Has Hurt Us A Lot”

Chief Prosecutor Ton Maan: “We have indicated to the Minister of Justice that the prostitution policy violates international treaties.” Photo Today / Hilbert Haar

St. Maarten – “The word class justice has hurt us a lot and the effect is that you are almost going to have reverse class justice whereby you are inclined to prosecute dignitaries sooner than criminal citizens, if only to prove that you are not practicing class justice. That is not good either,” Chief Prosecutor Ton Maan says Read more