SXMElections.com

Draft Law Establishing A Timeshare Authority For St. Maarten Under Review.

PHILIPSBURG:--- It has not gone unnoticed that timeshare users of units on St. Maarten have been very vocal as of late regarding the draft law to establish a timeshare authority.
“There is quite a history behind the proposal to establish a Timeshare Authority, starting with a motion passed in Parliament on June 29, 2011, to establish a ‘timeshare regulatory body”, explained MP Wescot-Williams.
With the help and involvement of many, in and outside of government/parliament and in and outside of the timeshare industry, two draft initiatives were tabled by former MP, P Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

GREAT BAY (DCOMM):---On Friday, March 31, the Council of Ministers hosted an Information Session to the Secretaries General of the seven different Ministries and their Management Team, the Staff of the Ministers cabinet, and the Staff of the Secretariat of the Council of Ministers.

The main agenda points of the session were the Governing Program; integrity and the plans of the Dutch Government towards establishing an Integrity Chamber on Sint Maarten and their recent appointment of a Dutch Integrity Quartermaster and an update on the budget 2017.

The Council found it essential to inform the key leaders and advisors of the organization in person about these key matters.
While the Prime Minister, William Marlin, spoke on the issues of the Governing Program and Integrity, the Minister of Finance, Richard Gibson Sr., elaborated on the budget.

At the same time, both Ministers stressed the importance of the role of each civil servant in the process of making Sint Maarten great Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

PHILIPSBURG:--- During his recent visit to St. Maarten, Mr. Rudy Croes paid a courtesy visit to DP leader, Sarah Wescot-Williams, also in his capacity as vice-chairperson of the Permanent Conference of Political Parties of Latin America and the Caribbean (COPPAL).

The Democratic Party is a long-standing member of COPPAL, however during the last couple of years, has been inactive as far as this regional political body is concerned.
COPPAL is an international organization of political parties in Latin America and the Caribbean Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

PHILIPSBURG:--- As one of her first stakeholders' consultation, MP Sarah Wescot-Williams met with Nature Foundation's manager, Tadzio Bervoets to discuss her proposal to ban the use of plastic bags.
As the MP already made clear, there is a draft initiative law at parliament, going back to 2014, seeking to address the same matter, however in a more indirect way.
"My proposal is to amend the General Police Ordinance and prohibit the use of plastic bags" Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

Sarah: “A Reset, Not A Retreat Is What Is Necessary As Far As The Relationship Between The Kingdom Government And St. Maarten Is Concerned.”

PHILIPSBURG:--- I don’t remember a time that the relationship between these 2 entities has not been strained. Yes, we have had lulls, but the underlying currents have always been present. I remember the early years following the constitutional referendum of 2000 when the position of the Kingdom government was “no separate (read: country) status” for any entity in the Kingdom. You were either in or out!

10 years after our referendum, parties had managed to get out of that quandary to the cautious satisfaction of parties, it seemed.
Nevertheless, some thorny issues remained, not in the last place the opposing positions partners on both sides of the ocean take as far as the contentious article 43 of the Charter is concerned.
The recent amendment to the Charter while a step in the right direction, does not totally mitigate the democratic deficit, which remains a thorn in the relationship.

Fast forward to today and not wanting to rehash the whole story regarding the Integrity Chamber, let’s establish at least the following:
The GOVERNMENT of St Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

PHILIPSBURG:--- The Sint Maarten Christian Party welcomes the two proposals made by President of Parliament, Sarah Wescot-Williams, to improve the functioning of Parliament. One proposal increases the transparency and accountability of parliamentarians towards the voters and the other proposal improves the communication between parliament and the people Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

PHILIPSBURG:--- President of Parliament, Sarah Wescot-Williams has decided to hold public consultations every other week on Wednesdays, starting on Wednesday, April 12th, 2017 between the hours of 10 am and 1 pm.
While this consultation will take place at the Parliament building, to begin with, the President has announced that it is her intention to also visit different locations and visit with different groups when and where such is more feasible.
"I am daily accessible at my office, except of course when in meetings etc., however, I want to encourage citizens to use their elected representatives for the purpose we were elected."
Often times, the Parliament is copied in correspondence between citizens and government; this, however, will not evoke any formal action from parliament.
Different, however, is when a citizen/citizens petition parliament to act upon a matter where the one/ones concerned feel government has not properly acted in the execution of its task Read more

---

Candidates in this article: