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Positive Foundation Continues Breast Cancer Awareness Activities

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – Positive Foundation and its partners continue their Breast Cancer Awareness activities with free clinical screenings at doctor's clinics and a number of special events throughout this month.

So far over 150 women have received free clinical breast examinations provided by the Family Medical Practice, St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) and Zamora Perez Clinic.

Dr. Grace Spencer will also offer free clinical screenings today at her clinic on Oleander Road #139, Saunders, from 9:00am to 12:00pm.

Free clinical screenings for women will be offered at Union Road Clinic on Union Road, Cole Bay, on Wednesday, October 15, from 10:00am to 4:00pm.

Simpson Bay Medical Clinic will offer free clinical screening on Friday, October 17, from 1:00pm to 3:00pm.

During the free clinical breast examination screening on Saturday, October 18 at the Dutch Quarter Medical Clinic, students from AUC will be providing instructions for breast self-examinations from 9 am - 1 pm.

Elektralyets Foundation in collaboration with Positive Foundation also present their annual Pink Phit Phabulous Walk-a-thon Read more

Dp Leader Elected President Of Parliament, Leona Romeo Marlin Elected Vice President Friday

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - On Friday afternoon the first meeting of the new Parliament of St. Maarten was convened.

The meeting was chaired by senior member of the highest legislative body, MP the Honorable Dr. Lloyd Richardson.

During the first meeting of the new parliament of St. Maarten Friday afternoon, DP leader the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams was elected as the President of Parliament whilst MP the Honorable Leona Romeo Marlin was elected as the Vice President of Parliament.

All of the new MPs pledged to carry out their work in Parliament, in the best interest of St Read more

Sarah, Leona join UP/De Weever to form broad-based government

PHILIPSBURG--Outgoing Prime Minister and Democratic Party (DP) leader Sarah Wescot-Williams and United St. Maarten Party Member of Parliament (MP)-elect Leona Marlin-Romeo have joined the United People's (UP) party/De Weever coalition to form a broad-based government for 2014-2018.

The two new coalition members signed on to the existing UP/De Weever governing accord as "addendum two and three" on Thursday, paving the way for a majority of 10 seats in Parliament.

The news of, in particular, Marlin-Romeo joining the coalition comes after much speculation about this possibility taking place even after she publicly had denied any such intentions Read more

>CAY HILL:--- The Open House at the St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) on Saturday, October 4, 2014 reached remarkable numbers specifically to the women public.
One of the key objectives in the Open House was to raise Breast Cancer Awareness. Attendees at the Open House included Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams, Minister of Health Mr Read more

Sarah And Leona Joins Up Coalition Government {Updated}

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - As the newly elected members of Parliament prepare to take the oath of office on Friday morning, political shifts continue to take place.

Sxmislandtime.com has learnt that the leader of the DP Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams has decided to join the UP party in coalition to govern the island for the next four years.

It is also expected that the DP leader will also get the support of her new coalition partners to become the next President of Parliament.

Also said to be joining the UP coalition is Leona Marlin of the US party.

At 9:50 Friday morning the MPs Elect will take the oath of office at the Cabinet of the Governor.

A press release attributed to the UP leader the Honorable Theo Heyliger early Friday morning states below that;

Formateur Hon Read more

Editorial - Handle with care

The governing accord of the incoming UP/De Weever coalition announced in Wednesday's paper specifically mentions "finalising and implementing the changes in the Civil Code that regulate short-term labour contracts and finalising the process related to execution of Article 10 of the "Uitvoeringsbesluit arbeid vreemdelingen" as approved by the Council of Ministers on August 12, 2014 (the "Counterpart Policy")."

That's not really surprising, as the main reason current Labour Minister Cornelius de Weever gave for deciding to take his DP seat and form an alliance with UP was that the envisioned NA/DP/US Party government would not include the counterpart requirement in its programme Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- On Sunday October 5th, 2014 The official opening ceremony was held at the Melford Hazel Sports Complex in Sucker Garden.

The day was filled with an all female event to showcase the talented and educated girls and ladies on the island.

The opening ceremony started off with a wonderful march around the building lead by an all female cast of the Generation New Status Drum Band with all 5 teams which are Bush Tea Remedy, Lava Girlz, Learning Unlimited, Lightning and Thunderz and referees and table officials of LBC.

The program then started with a beautiful opening prayer by apostle Ms Read more

Cruise Conference Opens At Port Facility “St. Maarten Earned These Passengers”     

St. Maarten – Michele Paige, President of the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association, opened the 21st Annual FCCA Cruise Conference and Trade show Opening Ceremony last night at the Port of St. Maarten, saying, “The event comes with a lot of hard work. It’s with your hard work that the FCCA exists.” This is the second time St. Maarten has played host to the FCCA event. Kevin Sheehan, President and CEO, Norwegian Cruise Line/FCCA Chairman took the stage to discuss the cruise industry and St Read more

Former Ministers Distributed Bus And Taxi Permits Like Candy

St. Maarten – Moratoriums on economic licenses “appear to be lifted by ministers in a subjective manner” the PricewaterhouseCoopers integrity report observes. Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs Ted Richardson has, in the past half year, lifted moratoriums on bars and restaurants, car rentals and casinos. It also appears that former Ministers Franklin Meyers and Romeo Pantophlet issued between them 161 taxi licenses and 52 bus permits to specific individuals at the end of their term in government in 2012 and 2013 respectively.

In February, the moratorium for bars and restaurants was lifted because “the government wants to stimulate entrepreneurship and the economic growth of St Read more

Pink October: Smmc Holds Open House For Breast Cancer Awareness

St. Maarten – Pink was the color of choice at the St. Maarten Medical Center’s open house on Saturday, Oct 4, which was held in honor of breast cancer awareness and the fight against breast cancer itself. Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor Cornelius de Weever and PM Sarah Wescot-Williams were in attendance Read more

Caravanserai timeshare owners informed their rights annulled

~ Clients in disbelief, want Government to take action ~

SIMPSON BAY--Timeshare owners at Caravanserai Beach Resort are up in arms after being informed recently by the property's new owners Alegria Real Estate BV that all timeshare rights granted by the previous owners are being annulled and that instead the company will offer hotel units against payment.

The news, seemingly the only contact that has been made by Alegria so far, is causing considerable concern amongst timeshare owners who are overwhelmed with questions Read more

“Justice Ministry Frontrunner In The Region” “Exemplary” Code Of Conduct

St. Maarten – “Working as a stripper or pole dancer.” That is on the “not-to-do-list” in the code of conduct for civil servants that work at the Ministry of Justice. It is an example among many, one that may speak more to the imagination than suggestions not to use a department-car to go to the beach, or not to print complete books on a printer in the office.

During a ceremony at the University of St. Martin, PricewaterhouseCoopers Dutch Caribbean presented the code of conduct, the first milestone in an integrity-journey that began six months ago with a presentation at the Claude Wathey Legislative Hall, followed by sessions at the Justice Academy, the prison and the airport Read more

Cosme Program Aims To Stimulate Local And Regional Economies

St. Maarten – Stakeholders from different Caribbean islands came together at the COSME (Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories Small and Medium Enterprises) 2-day Stakeholder Forum with the common goal of creating a healthy and stable economic environment within the Caribbean region for small and medium-sized enterprises through the development of a regional SME (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) program. Divi Little Bay Beach Resort hosted the event. Each country present developed and submitted its own individual SME program, based on its economy, to meet the needs of its local business enterprises Read more

Code of Conduct signed during Integrity Ceremony

PHILIPSBURG--The Ministry of Justice and its various departments held a ceremony at University of St. Martin on Thursday afternoon to celebrate the completion of a six-month Justice Integrity Programme that led to the development of a Code of Conduct.

The Code of Conduct, in its introduction, states that it "provides a common framework to perform the important tasks within the field of Justice in a responsible manner and with integrity" and explains that it "applies to all those employed by the Ministry of Justice, both directly and indirectly." Its aim is to raise awareness of the necessity of displaying integrity and to provide employees guidance on dealing with integrity.

The Code of Conduct is based on six key principles of behaviour: Incorruptibility, trustworthiness, perceptibility, being meticulous, fairness and public interest, and expands by giving examples of how to deal with matters such as relationships at work, gifts, favours and bribes, confidential information and side jobs Read more

Prime Minister Has Nothing But Smooth Answers To Integrity Questions

St. Maarten – Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams had nothing but smooth answers to questions about the PricewaterhouseCoopers integrity report yesterday but then, her term in office comes to an end just eight days from now and from the way things stand now, she will not have to deal with it from an executive position anymore.

Wescot-Williams said that the government is ready to take over the recommendations from the PWC-integrity report, adding that the new government that will soon take office also ought to get an opportunity to react to it Read more

Editorial - First things first

Reports received by The Daily Herald that a change was being made to the casino policy were confirmed by outgoing Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams during Wednesday's weekly press briefing (see related article). Answers to further inquiries from this newspaper also were provided last night by the cabinet chief of the responsible Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs Ted Richardson.

It's an interesting development especially because it regards gaming activities, always a sensitive subject Read more

Plasterk wants intervention in St. Maarten justice system

THE HAGUE--A special white-collar crime unit from the Netherlands at the Philipsburg Prosecutor's Office, an Integrity Officer appointed by the Dutch Government, more direct supervision of The Hague on immigration and border protection through the strengthening of the Royal Dutch Marechaussee, National Detectives/RST, Customs Department, the Royal Dutch Navy and the St. Maarten Police Force.

These are the measures that Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk will be proposing for St Read more

Policy expanded to grant four new casino licences

~ Airport and Harbour to get licences ~

PHILIPSBURG--Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Ted Richardson has expanded the casino policy to grant four additional casino licences – two for land-based casinos and two for vessels, the minister's Chef de Cabinet Ludwig Ouenniche told The Daily Herald last night.

The Harbour Group of Companies and Princess Juliana International Airport SXM already have submitted applications for casino licences, according to a press release from the minister's cabinet Read more

Minister de Weever Attended Council of Ministers Meeting on Tuesday --- Ministry fully functional.

style="text-align: center;">No political talks took place

PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Health, Labor and Social Affairs Cornelius de Weever attended the Council of Ministers meeting on Tuesday, confirmed Prime Minister of St. Maarten Sarah Wescot Williams Read more

Minister of TEATT Broadens Casino License Policy – PM.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams confirmed on Wednesday when she was asked if the current caretaker government made changes to the casino license policy in order to grant three more stand-alone casino licenses. Wescot Williams told reporters she did hear something to that effect on the streets and she asked the Minister of TEATT about it and he told her that the casino licensing policy has been expanded Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The task ahead for St. Maarten is daunting said Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams when addressing the media on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers weekly press briefing. She said St. Maarten will do what is necessary to implement the recommendations given in the PWC integrity report which the Kingdom Council mandated the Governor of St Read more

Pwc-Integrity Report: Ministers Meddle In Day To Day Operations Of Their Departments

St. Maarten – Senior public officials throughout the government have failed consistently to set the tone that exemplifies the highest standards of personal and professional integrity. This is among the findings PricewaterhouseCoopers researchers have included in their integrity inquiry into the functioning of the Government of St. Maarten.

The report contains a stunning collection of examples that show how ministers and high-ranking civil servants alike use their clout to frustrate the functioning of departments Read more

Integrity report: Transfer SLAC back to government

THE HAGUE/PHILIPSBURG--The regulatory functions of the Simpson Bay Lagoon Authority Corporation (SLAC) should be transferred back to government to create a level playing field for the sector and avoid a distortion of competition.

This is one of the recommendations of the PricewaterhouseCoopers Inquiry Team that scrutinised the functioning of integrity in the St. Maarten government. The inquiry report, ordered by the Kingdom Council of Ministers through St. Maarten Governor Eugene Holiday, was released on Friday.

The Integrity Team observed that the 2009 acquisition of SLAC by the St Read more

Prime Minister Wescot-Williams highlights the Importance of Safety, Security, Efficiency and Growth for the Future of St. Maarten’s Airport.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams in her opening address at the Princess Juliana International Airport Safety and Security Conference highlighted the importance of safety and security for the economic stability on the island; "As you as representatives from the aviation industry have travelled to our shores to attend the Safety and Security Conference at the beautiful Westin Resort it is important for us to realize the importance of safety, security, efficiency and growth for the further development of the ports on our island.

"In recent decades airport safety and security has been one of the most important areas not only to airport administrators and security experts but also especially to the general public Read more