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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 Country”

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

>PHILIPSBURG:---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 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

NIPA subsidy ‘ceased’ in Aug 2014, is now being corrected

PHILIPSBURG--The subsidy for National Institute for Professional Advancement (NIPA) had “ceased” in August last year, and is currently being corrected by authorities, Secretary-General of the Education Ministry Jorien Wuite told Members of Parliament (MPs) Friday.

Wuite said it had been discovered that there had been a “discrepancy” in what NIPA had received as subsidy, “which placed them in a sensitive” situation Read more

Minister Connor congratulates Zaandam as new SHTA Director

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Tourism Claret Connor on Monday congratulated Anenda Zaandam on her appointment as Executive Director of the St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA).
The SHTA announced Zaandam's appointment to the post last week.

Minister Connor congratulated the SHTA on its selection of a young professional to the post Read more

Mp Silveria Jacobs Elected Chair Of Education Committee

St. Maarten – MP Silveria Jacobs has been elected as the Chair of the Committee for Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Affairs (CECYSA) of Parliament and MP Tamara Leonard has been elected as Vice Chair.

The Committee for Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Affairs (CECYSA) of Parliament met on Friday morning to elect a new chair and vice chair on the request of a majority of members.

The committee increased by an additional three members and now consists of eight Members of Parliament (MPs)—MP Silveria Jacobs, MP Sarah Wescott Williams, MP Tamara Leonard, MP Christopher Emmanuel, MP Maurice Lake, MP Leona Marlin-Romeo, MP Johan Leonard and MP Van Hugh de Weever.

MP Silveria Jacobs was re-elected as Chair, and MP Tamara Leonard was elected as Vice Chair both by unanimous vote by all seven members present Read more

Minister Connor Congratulates Zaandam As New Shta Director

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Minister of Tourism Claret Connor on Monday congratulated Anenda Zaandam on her appointment as Executive Director of the St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA).

The SHTA announced Zaandam's appointment to the post last week.

Minister Connor congratulated the SHTA on its selection of a young professional to the post Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The Committee for Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Affairs (CECYSA) of Parliament met on Friday, February 13, 2015 at 9.30 am to elect a new chair and vice chair on the request of a majority of members.

The committee increased by an additional three members and now consists of eight Members of Parliament (MPs) namely, MP Hon. Silveria Jacobs, MP Hon Read more

Permanent Committee Of Cecysa Appoints Mp Silveria Jacobs As Chair And Mp Tamara Leonard As Vice Chair

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – The Committee for Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Affairs (CECYSA) of Parliament met on Friday, February 13, 2015 at 9.30 am to elect a new chair and vice chair on the request of a majority of members.

The committee increased by an additional three members and now consists of eight Members of Parliament (MPs) namely, MP Hon. Silveria Jacobs, MP Hon Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA), the largest private business representative on the island, welcomes Ms. Anenda Zaandam as its new Executive Director. The appointment of Ms. Zaandam follows the resignation of Ms. Karen Hana whose her hard work and grand efforts, during her time with the association, were greatly appreciated.
Anenda Zaandam, Certified Hospitality Educator of the American Hotel & Lodging Association Educational Institute, will be bringing her extensive knowledge of the Hospitality & Service Industry to the SHTA Read more

The Shta Welcomes Anenda Zaandam As New Executive Director

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA), the largest private business representative on the island, welcomes Ms. Anenda Zaandam as its new Executive Director.

The appointment of Ms. Zaandam follows the resignation of Ms. Karen Hana whose her hard work and grand efforts, during her time with the association, were greatly appreciated.

Anenda Zaandam, Certified Hospitality Educator of the American Hotel & Lodging Association Educational Institute, will be bringing her extensive knowledge of the Hospitality & Service Industry to the SHTA.

Ms Read more

Parliament establishes an ad hoc Integrity Committee

PHILIPSBURG--With integrity continuing to be the buzz word in St. Maarten, Parliament established its ad hoc committee on integrity Tuesday, but not without much discussion on the membership.

The establishment of the committee was recommended by Democratic Party (DP) leader Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams in a written proposal in January Read more

MPs to hear from Connor about harbour issues Tues

PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies and its operations will take centre stage at a Central Committee meeting of Parliament with Tourism and Economic Affairs Minister Claret Connor and Finance Minister Martin Hassink on Tuesday, February 10. The meeting, requested by the National Alliance (NA) and Democratic Party (DP) on February 10, starts at Parliament at 2:00pm in Parliament House.

The agenda for the meeting covers issues related to the harbour group, the past and future impacts of the company on the country, cruise passenger head tax, Dock Marteen (Deher) marina project; causeway Turn over Tax payment, cranes, dividend and payment for the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association Conference (FCCA).

Members of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams (DP), Silveria Jacobs and George Pantophlet (NA) requested answers to be provided orally in the meeting by the ministers on the "outcome between the harbour and Bobby's Marina" and if government had given the harbour the exclusive right of development for the area that the company claims in its case against the Deher's development.

Also, the MPs want to know when Parliament will receive the harbour's 2013 financial report, whether government promised to contribute to the FCCA conference and what did government actually contribute Read more

Central Committee Meeting requested by DP and NA Factions about Port St. Maarten.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The Central Committee of Parliament will meet in public session on February 10 at the request of the Democratic Party (DP) and National Alliance (NA) factions.
The Minister of Finance Hon. Martin Hassink and Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications Hon Read more

Smhdf Supervisory Board Refuses To Meet With Parliament

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The meeting requested by three members of the opposition in Parliament on December 18, regarding the Harbor Group of Companies has been convened for Tuesday, February 10, 2015.

It will be a meeting of the Central Committee of Parliament, which meetings are open to the public.

The members who requested this meeting back in December are MPs Silveria Jacobs, George Pantophlet, and the undersigned.
In their request, the members of Parliament cited the issues that are playing regarding this government company as the following:
- Head tax issue
- The Deher's marina project
- The Causeway (TOT payment)
-The Crane issue
- Government dividend and payment for the FCCA conference

The presence of the ministers was requested and ministers Conner and Hassink have confirmed to be at the meeting on Tuesday Read more

Central Committee Meeting Requested By Dp And Na Factions About Port St. Maarten

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – The Central Committee of Parliament will meet in public session on February 10 at the request of the Democratic Party (DP) and National Alliance (NA) factions.

The Minister of Finance Hon. Martin Hassink and Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications Hon Read more

Parliament adopts ‘skeleton budget’

PHILIPSBURG--Parliament passed the 2015 budget with an 11-4 vote on Thursday night with just two days to spare before the deadline set by the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT.

The budget had to be established in December 2014. Government asked CFT for more time and was given the deadline of January 31.

Voting for the budget were the 10 Members of Parliament supporting the coalition and former coalition member MP Sarah Wescot-Williams (Democratic Party (DP)) Read more

Central Committee Meeting scheduled for Friday regarding Non-payment of bills by SZV and Government for health care.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The Central Committee of Parliament will meet in public session on January 30 at the request of the National Alliance (NA) faction.

The Central Committee meeting is set for Friday at 10:00am in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelmina Straat #1 in Philipsburg.

The agenda for the meeting is the non-payment of bills by the Social Health Insurance (SZV); the non-payment of premiums by Government to the SZV, and the consequences to health care in the country.

This meeting has been requested by NA Members of Parliament (MP) Hon Read more

Central Committee Meeting Scheduled For Friday Regarding Non-Payment Of Bills By Szv And Government For Health Care

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – The Central Committee of Parliament will meet in public session on January 30 at the request of the National Alliance (NA) faction.

The Central Committee meeting is set for Friday at 10.00am in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelmina Straat #1 in Philipsburg.

The agenda for the meeting is the non-payment of bills by the Social Health Insurance (SZV); the non-payment of premiums by Government to the SZV, and the consequences to health care in the country.

This meeting has been requested by NA Members of Parliament (MP) Hon Read more

Draft Budget is a silent cry --- Questions posed were not clear or properly answered.

style="text-align: center;">Ministers and MPs salaries should be cut by 5% - MP Leona Marlin

PHILIPSBURG:--- The 2015 draft budget was heavily criticized during the budget debate that started on Tuesday. The first speaker MP Leona Marlin made it clear that government should live by example and one of the ways they can cut cost and save monies is to let Ministers and Members of Parliament travel business class rather than first class. MP Romeo Marlin said that government including Parliament could further cut the traveling expenses by not attending certain meetings but use technology instead Read more