Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
Mp Silveria Jacobs Becomes New Na-Leader Next Year
St. Maarten – The leadership of the National alliance will transfer in 2016 from MP William Marlin to MP Silveria Jacobs, current party leader Marlin said yesterday in answer to a question from this newspaper 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
National Alliance Leader William Marlin Looking Forward To Supporting Party In Different Capacity
PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Who will be leading the National Alliance in the next election? Will it be the party's current leader William Marlin or is it going to be the deputy leader Silveria Jacobs?
The answer became evident when the question was put to Mr Read more
William: NA leadership transition expected in 2016
PHILIPSBURG--The leadership of the National Alliance (NA) may transition from current party leader Member of Parliament William Marlin to now deputy leader MP Silveria Jacobs at the 2016 NA Party Congress.
Asked at a press conference on Wednesday in Parliament House if discussions on leadership transition have taken place considering the results of the September 2014 Parliamentary Election that saw Jacobs gain more votes than him, Marlin said "absolutely not." There has not been any discussion to that effect.
Marlin said the reason for this is that he told the party congress in 2014 that he was ready for a transition as it is not his intention to remain party leader "for ever and ever."
Jacobs was elected deputy leader of the party at the 2014 congress.
However, it will be "up to the congress" to decide in 2016 "to make the transition," he said.
Marlin claimed it was the indication from him about the desire to transition the leadership of the party that may have reflected in the results of the election 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
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
Worse than the previous
Dear Editor,
Despite the efforts of this new parliament of trying to convince the public that it has raised the bar to a very high standard, this proclamation continues to be such an uneasy truth. On the contrary, it is by far, worse than the previous. What has become common practice for some parliamentarians is to have speech competitions and to see who can outfox and demean the other. But the public is not interested in such devious minds and childish behaviours.
Elevated representation of the people coincides with the ability to think independently and then proceed expeditiously and consciously to the demands of society and the success of this island Read more
First Meeting Ad Hoc Committee Integrity:Â Code Of Conduct Suddenly AÂ 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
Philipsburg- Windward Islands Bank employees received their USM specialized certificate “Towards an Associate of Arts Degree in Business Management for St. Maarten Professionalsâ€.
Wib Middle Management Employees Move Closer To Obtaining Associate Of Arts Degree At Usm
PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Windward Islands Bank employees received their USM specialized certificate "Towards an Associate of Arts Degree in Business Management for St. Maarten Professionals".
The University of St. Martin (USM) collaborated with the Windward Islands Bank Ltd. (WIB) to offer its Middle Management employees a set of academic courses with the objective to update their skills in Business Administration, and offer them the opportunity to gain a USM's Associate of Arts degree.
The program for the WIB employees, which consisted of the components, Business and Marketing, Business Communication, Management and Human Resource Management, Accounting and Finance, was held at the training facility of the bank.
The USM instructors of the Hospitality and Business Divisions, Dr 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
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
Scholar Julio Romney; “St. Maarten Is Not A Countryâ€
GREAT BAY – “Sint Maarten is not a country.†That statement from political scientist Julio Romney during the presentation of his book St. Maarten: Our Constituent State Constituent Framework resulted in a heated debate with Acting Governor Reynold Groeneveldt, who strongly disagreed. Romney however, stuck to his position: “For Pete’s sake, you cannot even determine your own budget,†he said, slightly exasperated.
Romney’s 128-page book about St. Maarten’s governing system dives deeper into what Romney calls incorrect political terms, like ‘Country Sint Maarten,’ ‘dualism’ and ‘separation of powers.’
According to Romney – a scholar of comparative government and politics – these terms are “conceptually taken out of context.†His explanation in the book: “St Read more
Romney’S Draft Electoral Ordinance Prohibits Going Independent
St. Maarten – Political analyst Julio Romney presented on Wednesday evening his proposal for electoral reform in the form of a draft electoral reconciliation ordinance. The draft contains two key differences with the current system. One is the way seats are distributed among the parties that contest the elections; the other is a ban for Members of Parliament to declare themselves independent.
Romney supports the D’Hondt system for seat distribution. In this system, the numbers of votes won by each party are divided by a series of increasing denominators – from 1 until as high as necessary to arrive at a result.
Using this method, the results of the 2014 elections would have been exactly the same in terms of seat distribution Read more
Mp Silveria Jacobs Still Has Questions After Harbour Presentation To Parliament
PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Member of Parliament Silveria Jacobs while expressing appreciation for the presentation of the multiannual strategic plan by the Harbour Group of Companies via its CEO Mark Mingo during the Committee meeting on Thursday had several questions and observations.
Several issues were raised by the MP pertaining to Government's Program and its subsequent strategic plan, which has not yet been presented to Parliament.
Is this strategic plan of the Harbour in line with Government's strategic plan and/or the country's National Development plan? In moving forward, there must be synchronization in setting strategic goals by Government and Government owned companies Read more