Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
French, Dutch delegations on island for Quadri-partite talks
MARIGOT--High level delegations from France and The Netherlands have joined delegations from St. Martin and St. Maarten for the 2nd Quadri-partite Franco-Netherlands meeting held in the Préfecture on Monday.
This is the first time the meeting has been held in St. Martin. The first meeting took place in The Hague in January 21, 2014, and is held once a year.
A welcome reception and opening ceremony for the respective delegates and technicians were held Sunday evening in the Préfecture hosted by Préfet Philippe Chopin.
The heads of the four delegations are President of the Collectivité Aline Hanson, Prime Minister of St Read more
Civil servants who were not sworn in after October 10, 2010, have now done so during the past two weeks Read more
Civil Servants Take The Oath
PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Honorable Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs has stated that as part of the integrity process for the government structure of the country, one aspect would be that all civil servants should have taken the oath when they were employed.
Prime Minister Gumbs Inspects Fire Fighters
PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – On Friday, March 27, Prime Minister Hon. Marcel Gumbs and Fire Chief Clive Richardson reviewed the uniform troops of firefighters who stood outside Government Headquarters in Philipsburg.
The review of the uniformed officers was part of Firemen's Week that concluded on Saturday evening with the annual Firemen's Ball.
The fire services fall under the prerogative of the Ministry of General Affairs which is headed by Prime Minister Hon Read more
Fire Department parade to celebrate Firemen’s Week
PHILIPSBURG--The St. Maarten Fire Department held its annual parade on Friday as part of Firemen's Week. For the first time all Fire Departments of the island – the St. Maarten Fire Department, the Princess Juliana International Airport SXM Fire Department and the French St. Martin Sapeurs Pompiers – were represented in the annual parade.
They were joined by the Volunteer Corps St. Maarten VKS and the parade was closed off by St. Maarten Red Cross vehicle.
Firemen's Week started with a service at the Philipsburg Methodist Church on Sunday, followed by a number of sports activities during the rest of the week.
On Monday there was an indoor soccer tournament at L.B Read more
MPs discuss ordinance for Integrity Chamber on Mon
PHILIPSBURG--Members of Parliament (MP) will discuss the draft National Ordinance for the establishment of an Integrity Chamber in a public meeting of the Central Committee on Monday.
Minister of General Affairs Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs will be present at the session, which is set to start at 2:00pm.
Also on the agenda are the approval of the travel schedule for the Committee and Board of Directors’ meetings of the Latin American Parliament Parlatino for 2015 and approval of the composition of the delegation and provisions for General Assembly of Parlatino from May 15 to 16 Read more
Central Committee Meeting scheduled for Monday about Draft National Ordinance to Establish Integrity Chamber
The public Central Committee meeting is set for Monday at 2.00pm in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelmina Straat #1 in Philipsburg.
The three point agenda is: the draft National Ordinance for the establishment of a Integrity Chamber; second agenda point is approval of the travel schedule for the year 2015 in connection with Committee and Board of Directors meetings of the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino); and the third agenda point is approval of the composition of the delegation and provisions for General Assembly of Parlatino from May 15-16.Members of the public are invited to the House of Parliament to attend parliamentary deliberations.
The House of Parliament is located across from the Court House in Philipsburg.
The parliamentary session will be carried live on St Read more
Semeleer: Pegged currency system not broken, no need to fix with dollarization
PHILIPSBURG--“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.†This was the view of Aruba Central Bank President Jeanette Semeleer on discussions about the option of dollarization for St. Maarten. She was speaking at an Advisory Council symposium on the advantages and disadvantages of dollarization, held at University of St. Martin (USM) on Thursday evening.
Semeleer told the audience, which included public and private sector representatives: “Islands [Aruba, Curacao and St. Maarten] have done well under the pegged-currency regime†and dollarization is “not one-size-fit-all†option for countries.
A country, such as St Read more
PM Gumbs signs sewage connections agreement
PHILIPSBURG--Interim Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI, Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs signed an agreement with Eric van Putten of Designer's Choice on Thursday, for sewage connections to the homes and properties directly along the main road in Middle Region.
The agreement is valued at NAf Read more
NA calls for a ‘unified approach’ from Govt.
PHILIPSBURG--The United People’s (UP)-led coalition has failed to show exactly what it is ready for, as its election campaign “We Ready†stated, said National Alliance (NA) Members of Parliament on Wednesday. They called on the governing coalition to present a “unified approach,†to table its long-overdue governing programme and appoint the two missing ministers.
NA leader MP William Marlin said at a press conference in Parliament House on Wednesday that UP members had proven only they were ready to take care of themselves and “to cut more deals and use the infrastructure†for their own personal enterprises.
In his estimation, UP is not ready “to bring much needed changes†to the country’s infrastructure and to tackle social ills Read more
EXCLUSIVE: Rainforest Adventure got steal of a deal in Long Least at Emilio Wilson Estate.
PHILIPSBURG: --- Rainforest Adventures allegedly got what one could describe as a steal of a deal from the interim Minister of VROMI Marcel Gumbs and Leader of the United Peoples Party Theodore Heyliger.In an advice it is stated that Rainforest Adventures will get 375,000 square meters land in long lease at the Emilio Wilson Estate that the Government of St Read more
The agreement is valued at Naf Read more
Tzu Chi gives 60 foot massages, served 250 at Lion’s Fair
The massages were popular amongst attendees with people lining up to wait for a massage even before the fair officially began. For some, it was the first time they received a massage.
Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs was amongst those who enjoyed the massage Read more
Prime Minister Gumbs Signs For Middle Region Sewage Connections
PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Interim Minister of VROMI, Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs on Thursday signed the agreement with Mr. Eric van Putten of Designer's Choice N.V. for the sewage connections to the homes and properties directly along the main road in Middle Region.
Protocol For The Improvement Of The Hospital Signed
PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - After an intense tripartite meeting between the minister of Public Health, Mrs. Rita Bourne-Gumbs, Director of SMMC Mr. Kees Klarenbeek and ad interim Director of SZV Mr. Glen Carty last week Thursday March 19th at the Westin regarding the hospital care in St. Maarten, a protocol between the three parties was signed to bond their cooperation intentions.
Prime Minister Gumbs opened the official meeting to sign the protocol on Thursday, March 26, and thanked everybody for their presence.
With the signing of the protocol minister of VSA said she was looking forward to their future working relationship and their plan to work out a business plan for the improvement of the SMMC.
Mr Read more
PHILIPSBURG:--- The four members of parliament from the National Alliance faction told reporters during a press briefing on Wednesday that they would like to know what the United Peoples Party was ready for when they campaigned in 2014 Parliamentary elections and won seven of the 15 parliamentary seats Read more
Tzu Chi Gives 60 Foot Massages, Served 250 At Lion's Fair
PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - A total of 250 persons were served by Tzu Chi Foundation and some 60 received free Thai reflexology foot massages as well as back massages from the foundation at the Lion Rudy Hoeve Health and Wellness Fair last Saturday.
St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation
The continuation of the plenary session of Parliament on developments at St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation will now take place on April 7. After the meeting opened on Tuesday afternoon, National Alliance (NA) Member of Parliament William Marlin called for an adjournment to give ad interim housing minister Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs (second left) more time to gather necessary documents from the foundation requested by MPs since December 2014 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
Prime Minister given Two Weeks to gather Information on SMHDF.
PHILIPSBURG:--- There seems to be more in the mortar than in the pestle when it comes to the construction of the FBO section at the Princess Juliana International Airport. SMN News learnt that the Fixed Based Operations (FBO) project that have to be constructed at the Princess Juliana International Airport is creating more problems even though Taliesin Construction legally won the bid. According to information provided to SMN News some five companies were invited by PJIAE to submit their bids for the project Read more
Lions’ Health Fair reaches hundreds
PHILIPSBURG--Hundreds turned out for the annual Lion Rudy Hoeve Health and Wellness Fair at Festival Village on Saturday. The free event enabled and encouraged to public to familiarise themselves with different healthcare institutions and illnesses, and have free testing for ailments, including high blood pressure, diabetes, sickle cell disease and HIV/AIDS.
Attendees could see for themselves the newly-launched Collective Prevention Services (CPS) Mobile Health Services bus, which contains two spacious rooms for check-ups Read more