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Cadastre still to be moved to VROMI

PHILIPSBURG--The Cadastre (Kadaster in Dutch) and Mortgage Registry still legally falls under the Ministry of Finance, while the practical responsibility is that of the Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI.

A report submitted by Ombudsman Nilda Arduin about the operations of the Cadastre was before Parliament in a Central Committee meeting on Friday. However, after Members of Parliament asked questions, President of Parliament Gracita Arrindell suspended the meeting until further notice to give VROMI Minister Maurice Lake time to get the go ahead from the Council of Ministers to discuss the Cadastre and its work Read more

Scotiabank winner of two Caravanserai injunctions

PHILIPSBURG--The Court of First Instance ruled in favour of Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank) in two summary proceedings concerning the Caravanserai property in Beacon Hill on Friday.

The bank won the injunction filed by International Financial Planning Services (IFPS) to halt the auction of two plots in the resort, as it claimed ownership of the part of the property where Dunes Casino is located.

IFPS had requested the Court to exclude the sale of these properties from the auction until the Court has made a decision in the proceedings on the merits.

Scotiabank also emerged victorious in the summary proceedings it had filed against Kildare Properties Ltd Read more

Minister Lake says his ministry ready to accept responsibility for Kadaster Organization.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI) Hon. Maurice Lake says at the moment his ministry does not have any legal responsibility over the Land Surveyor & Registry Office known as Kadaster, but he is ready to take over once given the mandate by the Council of Ministers to do so.

"From a legal perspective, I have been advised that the Kadaster falls under the responsibility of the Ministry of Finance Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Social Affairs Cornelius de Weever had huge green eraser which he said certain politicians have to use to erase their past mistakes. The Minister was referring to the press release sent by the Minister of VROMI Maurice Lake who stated that he provided shelter for the victims of the St Read more

Minister Lake Says Public Housing Needs To Be Restructured By Holding Those Accountable For Lack Of Action

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (Ministry of VROMI) Hon. Maurice Lake, says the current functioning of the St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF) leaves a lot to be desired and needs to be restructured.

"I have been able for the past 12 months to meet with the board and management of SMHDF, but there hasn't been any change coming for the tenants Read more

Social Affairs Minister Not Pleased With Vromi Minister

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Minister in charge of Health, Social Affairs and Labor, the Honorable Cornelius de Weever has lashed out at Minister with the responsibility for VROMI; the Honorable Maurice Lake for what he says was meddling with matters pertaining to his ministry.

Minister de Weever who was at the time speaking at the weekly Council of Ministers press briefing on Wednesday, also providing an update to the media regarding the recent fire in St Read more

Editorial - Co-responsible

Saturday morning's fire that left several people homeless has drawn attention once again to especially wooden dwellings built close together and the hazard this creates. On this occasion it regarded the St. Peters district near Marigot Hill Road, but similarly devastating blazes with comparable consequences already have occurred several times in recent years at, for example, Over the Bank near the Vineyard Building and in the Cay Bay area.

Minister of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure Maurice Lake is rightly concerned about this situation and after the October 2013 fire in Cole Bay put a team together to make recommendations for improvement Read more

Duty officer: Fire Department was dispatched immediately

~ Call 919 for faster fire response ~

PHILIPSBURG--"Call 919 in case of a fire, not 911," is an important message from the Fire Department.

Although 911 may also be utilised, calls are taken by a controller. When people dial 919, the calls are answered by fire officers who are on duty 24/7 and have specific training and knowledge that a non-Fire Department controller does not have.

Calling 919 enables the fire officer to ask specific questions that will help determine whether the fire is a threat to life or property, or whether it is caused, for example, by someone burning garbage.

In the case of the house fire in St Read more

ST. PETERS:---  Minister of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI) Hon. Maurice Lake sprang into action on Saturday after learning about the fire that gutted four homes leaving seven victims homeless. Minister Lake organized his team from Ministry VROMI to arrange temporary housing for the seven fire victims. "St Read more

Brave local men fight a fire, dwellings destroyed

ST. PETERS--A number of dwellings on Apricot Road, just around the corner from Marigot Hill Road, were destroyed by a fire Saturday morning. People were awakened by flames around 7:30am. A group of local young men immediately started to fight the fire. They ensured all dwellings were evacuated, gas bottles were removed from the scene and a tied-up dog was released. They collected water hoses from people's gardens, with which they attacked the flames. A number of fire officers who were on their way home from work diverted to assist, despite not wearing any safety equipment and having just finished a night shift of duty Read more

Minister Lake Assists In Securing Temporary Shelter For Fire Victims. Commends Boys On The Block For Heroic Action

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – Minister of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI) Hon. Maurice Lake sprang into action on Saturday after learning about the fire that gutted four homes leaving seven victims homeless. Minister Lake organized his team from Ministry VROMI to arrange temporary housing for the seven fire victims. "St. Peters is my hometown Read more

OSPP 2nd meeting cancelled due to centre’s unpaid electricity bill

ST. PETERS--It appears that lightning has struck twice for One St. Maarten People's Party (OSPP). The party had to cancel the second planned town hall meeting of its campaign for parliament on Friday night. The meeting was due to take place in Rupert I. Maynard Youth Committee Centre in St. Peters, but there was no electricity; a similar circumstance to what occurred on Thursday at the Salvation Army Headquarters in Cole Bay where the party was slated to hold its first town hall meeting. Party leader former Commissioner Lenny Priest was not pleased with having to cancel a second meeting. The electricity was off at the centre, because the foundation that runs it did not pay the electricity bill. The OSPP leader said it was "unacceptable" utilities company GEBE, owned 100 per cent by government, would disconnect a community centre "for one outstanding invoice or some other matter." He agreed that the foundation, like any other institution, must have its finances in order to avoid embarrassing situations, but pointed out that OSPP is aware of many large businesses that owe GEBE "huge amount of money and they are still connected." Priest had publicly asked Shareholder Representative for GEBE Minister Maurice Lake, who hails from St Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI) Hon. Maurice Lake met with members of the Progress Committee paid on Thursday afternoon in what turned out to be a farewell meeting as it was the last time that the committee would be meeting with the Ministry VROMI. The committee was put in place after Sint Maarten became an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands with the task of reporting on the plans of approach that are legally needed to ensure a proper functioning country status. The Committee has demonstrated its satisfaction with the work that has been done and has recommended that the Ministry puts in place some form of an external reporting committee or bureau, which can continue to monitor and report to the Minister to ensure that the good work that has been achieved through the cooperation and supervision by the Progress Committee doesn't decline. The Committee was moreover very pleased to have received the Project Plan Domain Affairs, which is a policy document pertaining to the granting of government land in long lease Read more

The Campaign Promises Of 2010: Second Hospital-Plan Is Already Four Years Old

St. Maarten – The campaign promises are flying far and wide again in the run-up to the August 29 elections. How did our political parties do in 2010? What did they promise and what became of it? Let’s begin with an obvious example: the claim by the United People’s party (UP) – “We ready for our new medical center.” On September 15, 2010, the final campaign meeting of the UP took place on the grounds of the still unfinished ring road. Gerrit Schotte, leader of Movementu Futuro Kòrsou who was to become the first Prime Minister of Curacao before he got entangled in a web of scandals, endorsed the UP and lit up the meeting with his presence. UP-leader Theo Heyliger made his entrée in a carnivalesque atmosphere, dancing to the podium while cameras flashed and supporters wanted pictures with him Read more

Franklin Meyers About His Billboards: “I Am Not In Breach Of Campaign Rules”

St. Maarten – “I am not in breach of any campaign rule,” United People’s party candidate Franklin Meyers told this newspaper yesterday in a reaction to our report that the police will ask the Ministry of Vromi to remove political billboards from roundabouts. Meyers, the number 3 on the UP-list and a former Commissioner of Public Health, said that he had not received any call about his campaign billboards Read more

Progress Committee Bids Farewell To Minister Lake And Ministry Vromi. Ministry Vromi A Good Example For Other Ministries

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – Minister of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI) Hon. Maurice Lake met with members of the Progress Committee paid on Thursday afternoon in what turned out to be a farewell meeting as it was the last time that the committee would be meeting with the Ministry VROMI. The committee was put in place after Sint Maarten became an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands with the task of reporting on the plans of approach that are legally needed to ensure a proper functioning country status. The Committee has demonstrated its satisfaction with the work that has been done and has recommended that the Ministry puts in place some form of an external reporting committee or bureau, which can continue to monitor and report to the Minister to ensure that the good work that has been achieved through the cooperation and supervision by the Progress Committee doesn't decline. The Committee was moreover very pleased to have received the Project Plan Domain Affairs, which is a policy document pertaining to the granting of government land in long lease. This policy was basically the last outstanding document needed to finalize the task of the Committee as it pertains to Ministry VROMI. Minister Lake was very satisfied with the achievements of the Ministry as he is the third Minister with whom the Progress Committee had discussions on the way forward and moreover the fact that under his watch the project was brought to its finalization. To quote the words of the Committee, "Ministry VROMI should be used as an example for other ministries on what can be achieved". Minister Lake thanked the members of the Committee for their assistance in bringing about positive change to Ministry VROMI and expresses the hope that other Ministries would use VROMI as an example of what is administratively needed to make Sint Maarten a proper functioning country within the Kingdom. In Photo: Minister Hon Read more

Attorney: “Minister Lake Wanted To Unwrap A Beautiful Present For Ifps” Corallo’S Ifps Wants To Stop Caravanserai Auction

St. Maarten – The Court in First Instance will rule in summary proceedings on Friday August 8 whether Scotiabank will be allowed to proceed with the public auction of the Caravanserai property in Beacon Hill. International Financial Planning Services (IFPS) – a company linked to BPlus Giocolegale and Atlantis World Group owner Francesco Corallo – wants the court to stop the auction, because it claims ownership of the part of the property where the Dunes Casino is located. The company got a little help from Vromi-Minister Maurice Lake, but the bank’s attorney contests his decision. IFPS bought the long lease on the contested property from Kildare Properties on March 29, 2011, for $1.5 million Read more