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No Quorum For Integrity Meeting In Parliament Monday

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The Central Committee meeting of Parliament, which was scheduled to be held on Monday to discuss among other issues, the draft National Ordinance for the establishment of an Integrity Chamber, did not go ahead due to the lack of a quorum.

Seven members supporting the coalition government signed in for the meeting.

There were three MP's who were also off island namely MP's Meyers, Maurice Lake and Leona Marlin Read more

Editorial - Not helpful

The postponement of yet another Parliament meeting on Monday (see related story) raises doubts about the seriousness of elected representatives. After all, it concerned the very important issue of an Integrity Chamber over which St. Maarten is currently in a dispute with the Kingdom Council of Ministers.

Granted, it's first and foremost the task of the governing parties to ensure a quorum when these kinds of sessions – rather than on the initiative of legislators – are called at the request of government by the chairperson, who is obviously also part of that coalition Read more

Ten Seat Majority lacks Quorum for Central Committee Meeting.

style="text-align: center;">Three MPs Supporting Government Off island --- Opposition did not sign in.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The Central Committee meeting called on Monday to discuss the draft ordinance to establish the Integrity Chamber could not be held on Monday since three of the ten Members of Parliament supporting the government of St. Maarten were not present for the meeting.
Member of Parliament Franlin Meyers, MP Leona Marlin-Romeo and MP Maurice Lake sent in their notification of absence because they are all off island.
At the meeting on Monday were seven of the ten members majority, they were leader of the UPP MP Theodore Heyliger, MP Silvio Matser, MP Johan Janchi Leonard, MP Tamara Leonard, MP Cornelius de Weever and MP Lloyd Richardson.
Inside the chamber were the Members of Parliament sitting on the opposition benches who did not sign in to form the quorum Read more

Parliament Ad Hoc Integrity Committee meeting stalled

PHILIPSBURG--The second meeting of Parliament's Ad Hoc Committee for Integrity stalled on Thursday, when sufficient Members of Parliament (MPs) failed to show up for the session to have a quorum.

Ad Hoc Committee Chairman Member of Parliament (MP) Dr. Lloyd Richardson opened the meeting just to announce that three MPs were signed in and present in the General Assembly Hall of Parliament House Read more

MPs urged to work with govt on law formulation

PHILIPSBURG--Parliament does not follow instructions on the procedure to write laws, Advisory Council Vice Chairwoman Mavis Brooks-Salmon said in a meeting of Parliament's Central Committee at which only eight of the fifteen Members of Parliament (MPs) were present on Tuesday morning.

The Advisory Council, a body outlined in the Constitution as a necessary organ of governance, has in the past told Parliament to "work with government's Legal Department" when crafting initiative laws. The Legal Department has the necessary expertise to assist with the proper way to formulate and present laws, though the department may be understaffed.

Brooks-Salmon pointed out to MPs that the Advisory Council "does not correct" draft legislation, but is capable of giving legislators guidance on where to seek pertinent information in the research and drafting process.

In response to "burning" questions from National Alliance (NA) MP Christophe Emmanuel about whether or not the five-member Council of Ministers was legal as the Constitution states the country should have seven ministers, Brooks-Salmon said while the Advisory Council will further look into the matter, it should be noted that the Constitution does not state the ministers should be seven different persons.

In the current situation, two ministers of the Marcel Gumbs Cabinet hold dual portfolios Read more

St. Maarten advised to object to Sanction Law

PHILIPSBURG--Parliament's Permanent Committee for Kingdom Affairs and Inter-Parliamentary Relations has been advised by legal expert Ralph Richardson to object to the draft kingdom law regulating sanctions imposed by the European Union.

Richardson gave his advice in a meeting of the committee in Parliament House on Monday morning. He said if St. Maarten agrees to the kingdom law, the country "will no longer have the possibility to say anything about sanctions imposed."

St. Maarten will just have to take over EU sanctions with "no freedom of choice." He used the example of a sanction being imposed on a country with which St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---  The Parliament of Sint Maarten is now represented in the Standing Committee of Eurolat (European Union and the Parliament of Latin America - Parlatino), namely the Committee for Sustainable Development, the Environment, Energy Policy, Research, Innovation and Technology.

President of Parliament Hon. Dr. Lloyd Richardson, is currently in Panama attending the Directors meeting of Parlatino that started on Monday, and attended by the Vice Presidents of Parlatino where the parliamentary year plan of activities is compiled for the year (2014-2015).

President Richardson was invited to attend meetings of Eurolat, a meeting of representatives of parliaments from the European Union and Parlatino, which started on Tuesday and runs through Thursday.

A written request for the Parlatino floor sent on March 1, 2015, was given to Senator Angel Rodriquez, President of the Venezuelan Parliament, and Vice-President for Venezuela in Parlatino, to address the situation between Venezuela and the United States.

After a lengthy deliberation on the matter, an agreement on the resolution was sought from the member countries to, "reject the measures adopted by the government of United States, as being in flagrant contravention to the basic principles of international rights" etc.

The Dutch Caribbean countries with representatives at Parlatino namely, Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten, abstained from voting based on not having the legal authority to solely decide on matters of foreign affairs Read more

First Meeting Ad Hoc Committee Integrity: Code Of Conduct Suddenly A Priority For Parliamentarians

St. Maarten – Thirteen years after former Lt. governor Franklyn Richards proposed it for the first time to the Island Council, the ad hoc committee Integrity of parliament met yesterday and named establishing a Code of Conduct for parliament a priority.

“I believe it is a priority for parliament to have a Code of Conduct,” committee-chairman Cornelius de Weever said.

The committee’s meeting was off to what felt like a reluctant start – the objective of this first meeting being to set the perimeters for the committee’s activities and responsibilities Read more

Parliament approves 2011 annual accounts

PHILIPSBURG--Parliament unanimously approved the 2011 Annual Accounts of Government on Thursday. The approval comes three years after the period the accounts cover and well past the deadline stipulated by law.

The late tabling of the accounts was due to a severe backlog in the Finance Ministry; that backlog has since been cleared by current Finance Minister Martin Hassink who was at the plenary session of Parliament.

Hassink told the Members of Parliament (MPs) the backlog in the annual accounts is now a thing of the past Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot Williams has dispatched a letter to the chairman of Parliament regarding what she termed as the mis-use of Parliament by members of the Council of Ministers. MP Wescot Williams reffered specially to the meeting that is called for Friday. Below is the letter sent to the Chair of Parliament. The MP also sent a second letter to the chairman of Parliament requesting information and clarity on the TEATT meeting that was held last week and adjourned Read more

Editorial - Lost opportunity

Once again Parliament was unable to meet due to the lack of a quorum (see related story). It regarded a plenary session to discuss ongoing issues at St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF), for which Prime Minister and interim Housing Minister Marcel Gumbs had been present along with several officials.

It was thus a waste of valuable time for them, the seven legislators who were in attendance and all those wanting to follow the proceedings either in person or via electronic media Read more

No quorum stalls housing meeting

PHILIPSBURG--The discussion in Parliament about developments at St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF) was stalled on Wednesday after insufficient Members of Parliament signed in for the meeting with ad interim Housing Minister Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs. The meeting will be reconvened at a later date.

Six of the seven United People's (UP) party MPs were not present for the meeting.

Only seven of the 15 MPs serving in the legislature signed in for the meeting Read more

UP Faction and Coalition Partners Boycott Continuation Meeting on SMHDF

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The public meeting called by the Parliament of St. Maarten to further discuss the develepments at the St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF)and SOAB saw a boycott from all members of the United Peoples Party faction including their coalition partners. Member of Parliament Cornelius de Weever was seen in the House of Parliament before the 10h on Wednesday morning but disappeared when the meeting was about to start while MP Frans Richardson informed the chair of Parliament that he would be late for the meeting Read more

Parliament’s integrity needs to be assessed by ad hoc committee

PHILIPSBURG--"I think some type of assessment document should be proposed in the committee on areas that need to be assessed to form an assessment, because if Parliament has to assess itself we have to decide upon what we will be assessing ourselves." That statement from National Alliance (NA) deputy leader Member of Parliament (MP) Silveria Jacobs summed up Tuesday's meeting of Parliament's Ad Hoc Committee on Integrity.

The ad hoc committee, chaired by independent MP Cornelius de Weever, is set to meet again in two weeks, at which time committee members are expected to table a proposal on the way forward and give comments on the establishment of a Code of Conduct for Parliament.

De Weever submitted a proposal for a code of conduct he had formulated with elements of similar codes in place in the United Kingdom and Trinidad and Tobago Read more

DP MP sends Letter to Chairman of Parliament on the Dredging of Simpson Bay Lagoon

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot Williams dispatched a letter to the chairman of Parliament requesting information on the halting and illegal dredging of the Simpson Bay Lagoon. Wescot Williams commended the Nature Foundation for their swift actions which resulted in the halt. Excerps from the letter sent to the Chairman of Parliament Dr Read more

Committee Puts Three Questions To Council Of State: Do Kingdom Instructions Violate Our Autonomy?

St. Maarten – On the day of the extended deadline, the permanent parliamentary committee for Kingdom Affairs and Inter-parliamentary Relations formulated three questions about the procedures around instructions by the Kingdom Council of Ministers to the governor. The questions will be added to those already formulated by the Dutch Second Chamber and sent for advice to the Council of State.

The instructions the governors of Aruba (about its 2014 budget) and of St. Maarten (about integrity-investigations and about the establishment of the Integrity Chamber) are still a hot topic in the autonomous Caribbean countries of the kingdom.

The questions the Second Chamber members have formulated are, in the opinion of the committee-members in St Read more

Parliament’S Revamped Website Debut’S Today

St. Maarten – The House of Parliament’s website has been revamped.  The new site is back online in a new format as of today, March 2 at the same website address: www.sxmparliament.org.

The Presidium of Parliament was recently given a preview of the site prior to it going live online.  It was viewed by President of Parliament Dr. Lloyd Richardson, 1st Vice President Member of Parliament (MP) Leona Marlin-Romeo, 2nd Vice President of Parliament MP Cornelius de Weever, Secretary General Nancy Joubert, and Webmaster Alvin Prescod.

The Home Page features the meeting calendar allowing the general public to know which weeks are sittings of the House.  Additional information will be provided with time and agenda points once convocations of house sessions have been communicated to MPs.  The page also features a list of documents available for download; audio files; and Parliament TV allowing online viewers to follow House sessions in real-time.

There are also web links to other government entities of the country such as Government of St Read more

Emmanuel: Connor must provide Checkmate contracts within week

~ Wants Mingo, board to step down ~

PHILIPSBURG--National Alliance (NA) Member of Parliament (MP) Christopher Emmanuel has issued a firm call for the resignation of Shareholder Representative of the Harbour Claret Connor, if he fails to provide all documents related to the contracts the harbour has with Checkmate Security Services within one week.

He has also issued a call for the resignation of the board and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Harbour Mark Mingo over the controversial increase in Checkmate's contract.

Checkmate Security Services has been making headlines in recent days when news broke that the company is in line for a massive US $2.2 million increase in its contract at the Harbour Group of Companies this year Read more

Parliament’s Website Revamped

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The House of Parliament's website has been revamped. The new site is back online in a new format as of Monday, March 2 at the same website address: www.sxmparliament.org.

The Presidium of Parliament was recently given a preview of the site prior to it going live online. It was viewed by President of Parliament Hon. Dr. Lloyd Richardson, 1st Vice President Hon Read more

Parliament's Website Revamped

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – The House of Parliament's website has been revamped. The new site is back online in a new format as of Monday, March 2 at the same website address: www.sxmparliament.org.

The Presidium of Parliament was recently given a preview of the site prior to it going live online. It was viewed by President of Parliament Hon. Dr. Lloyd Richardson, 1st Vice President Hon Read more