SXMElections.com

Answers Will Have To Wait Until Mid-January: Parliament Wants Clarity About Housing Foundation

St. Maarten – Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs answered the call to appear in Parliament as the acting minister of public housing within 72 hours after he was sworn in on Friday. Members of Parliament appreciated that, even though Gumbs sent them on their way with a flea in their ear, after listening to questions about the chaos of the St. Maarten Housing Development foundation for more than two hours.

The minister brought to mind the words he spoke on Friday in the constituting meeting where his team officially took over the reins: “The country needs tranquility, stability, civility and prosperity.”

Furthermore, Gumbs noted: “Integrity has been a buzz word this year Read more

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The Road To The Gumbs I Cabinet: “Peddling Seats To The Highest Bidder”

St. Maarten / By Hilbert Haar – When Governor Drs. Eugene Holiday administers the oath of office to the five ministers of the Gumbs I cabinet this afternoon, it marks the end of a tedious process that started during the night after the parliamentary elections on August 29. How did we get where we are today? A review.

To avoid any misunderstandings, the governor also administers the oath to the minister plenipotentiary today – but that is not a ‘real’ minister – it is the representative of St Read more

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Cornelius De-Weever Says: “Bring Back Our Professionals”

Great Bay—St. Maarten graduates and professionals in Holland must, according to Minister Cornelius de Weever, be encouraged and motivated to return to the island to use their expertise and knowledge in building their country.

The Social development and labor minister is urging local businesses to participate in Flinx Recruitment Expo Dutch Caribbean (FRED) June 4-June 7, 2015 in the Netherlands, Rotterdam.  “We need to bring our graduating and graduated students back to St Read more

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Minister Cornelius De Weever Resigns From The Democratic Party

St. Maarten —Minister Cornelius de Weever yesterday officially severed ties with the Democratic Party by officially informing the leader of that party and care taker Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams that he is resigning from the party.

Minister De Weever ran on the DP’s ticket in the August 2014 elections but secretly formed a coalition with the UP party shortly after the elections while the DP had publicly announced that it has signed an agreement and was forming a coalition with the US and NA Read more

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Cps Appeals To Garages And Tire Shops To Help Stop Mosquitoes

St. Maarten – The Collective Preventive Services (CPS), is appealing to garage owners and tire repair shops to take measures to remove mosquito breeding sites from their establishments and to maintain on a daily basis control measures to eliminate any standing water on their premises.

Accumulation of rainwater in tires provides breeding space for mosquitoes that carry the dengue/chikungunya-causing virus. According to the CPS, Minister of Public Health Cornelius de Weever, ‘Get Checked” campaign, is in line with the appeal for residents, and business owners, to check-in and around their homes, and businesses in order to reduce breeding sites of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, and make them mosquito-free zones.

“The design of tires makes them ideal breeding sites for several species of mosquitoes, some of which are very important vectors of disease.  Since they are easily filled by rain and collect leaf litter, they provide an ideal incubator for mosquito larvae Read more

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Lloyd Richardson Elected Chairman Of Parliament

St. Maarten – Parliament elected Dr. Lloyd Richardson of the faction of the United People’s party yesterday morning as the successor of Sarah Wescot-Williams as its chairman Read more

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André Bosman Fails To React – De Weever Takes Legal Action

St. Maarten – Member of Parliament Cornelius de Weever will take legal action against VVD-MP André Bosman who did not react to a summons to retract “erroneous, slanderous and defaming statements” before the deadline of last Monday at 5 p.m. On September 30, four different newspapers quoted Bosman as saying, “Heyliger simply paid De Weever.”

The remark refers to De Weever’s decision to withdraw his support for a coalition of the National Alliance and the United St Read more

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Central Committee Rehashes Election Issues Tomorrow

St. Maarten – Parliament meets tomorrow at 2 p.m. to discuss with the main voting bureau and the civil registry department “discrepancies that occurred during and in preparation of the elections” in August.

According to the press release about the meeting there were (unspecified) discrepancies at the Pointe Blanche prison polling station. Voters used foreign ID’s and there was “a lack of privacy during the supporting of the candidate lists. At several polling stations there Read more

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Theo Heyliger Submits List To Governor

St. Maarten —After weeks of speculation, the biggest vote getter in the 2014 general elections, Formateur and leader of the United Peoples Party Theo Heyliger, confirmed he will not be taking up the position of Prime Minister of St Read more

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Mps Unable To Give Update On Government Formation To Youth Parliament 

St. Maarten – As President of the St. Maarten Youth Parliament, Dwayne Griffith submitted to St. Maarten Parliament a motion, requesting an update on the current situation with government and the steps being taken to establish the new Council of Ministers. However, the MPs present were unable to give any information on the developments to the Youth Parliament, as many were not privy to what was taking place. Members of the Youth Parliament met with Parliament members at the Central Committee meeting on Tuesday to discuss the developments in government formation with regard to the instruction for the screening of candidate-ministers from the Kingdom Council of Ministers in The Hague.

“Our faction cannot provide any insight as to whether a list of ministers has been put forward… neither do we know the standards by which they will be screened,” said MP William Marlin Read more

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No Ebola Travel Ban In Place On French St. Martin

St. Maarten –No ebola travel plan has been put in place on French St. Martin, although officials there have said they have three levels when dealing with a suspected case of ebola. Dutch St. Maarten issued an ebola travel ban on October 27.

Collective Prevention Services (CPS), a delegation from the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labor (VSA), met with French side officials in Hope Estate last week to discuss preparations related to the ebola virus disease (EVD) and inform them of the St Read more

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St. Maarten Government Issues Ebola Travel Ban

St. Maarten – The government has issued a travel ban to everyone who has traveled within the past 21 days to, from and through the countries of Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The ban is related to the outbreak of the ebola virus in West Africa. Public Health Minister Cornelius de Weever addressed the situation in a press statement that explains the scope of the outbreak and the reason for the travel ban.

The ebola virus disease (EVD) is a severe, often fatal illness in humans Read more

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Other Parties Stay Away From Protest Against Kingdom And Plasterk – Green March Against Instruction

St. Maarten– Between 300 and 400 people took part in the march People United for True Democracy organized yesterday afternoon in protest against the instruction from the Kingdom Council of Ministers to Governor Holiday for a stricter screening of candidate ministers – a handsome turnout with one flaw: only supporters of the United People’s party showed up.

UP party leader Theo Heyliger was there, as were his faction leader Franklin Meyers, MP Tamara Leonard and MP Lloyd Richardson Read more

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Cps Reminds Persons To Get Their Flu Vaccine

St. Maarten—Persons, especially persons that fall into the high risk category, are urged by minister of public health and the Collective Preventative Services(CPS) to get their annual flu shots. Influenza is an acute viral infection that spreads very easily from person to person, and can affect anybody in any age group.

“Check with your physician to see whether or not you are part of the high risk group and be proactive.  Get vaccinated and apply strict and consistent preventive measures to stop you from getting the flu,” Minister of Public Health, Cornelius de Weever said.  Influenza is a serious public health problem that causes severe illnesses and deaths for higher risk populations.  Vaccination (flu shot) is the most effective way to prevent infection.

Persons who form part of the risk groups are: pregnant women who are in the last six months of pregnancy or second trimester – from their fourth month onwards;  persons with pulmonary disease: asthma (when maintenance medication is given; this also holds true for children), COPD, carcinoma of the lung, anthracosilicosis, lungfibrosis , mucoviscidosis, severe kyfoscoliosis, status after resection of a lung, breathing difficulties;  with cardiac disease: having experienced a myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, arrhythmias, valve dysfunction, cardiac failure; with diabetes mellitus, even if not on medication;  with chronic kidney disease/failure: dialysis, kidney transplant; after a recent bone marrow transplant;  with HIV-infection; with an intellectual disability in an intramural setting; with a diminished resistance to infections: livercirrosis, (functional) asplenia, auto-immune illnesses, chemotherapy, immunosuppressive medication; 60 years and older.

Front-line workers as well as health care workers who may be in contact with patients pertaining to the medical risk groups (personnel in nursing homes, senior citizen home, hospital, outpatient clinics and general practitioner/specialist practices), are also encouraged to get their flu vaccination Read more

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Committee For Action Plan On Integrity Reports: Parliament Calls On Governor Not To Execute Instruction

St. Maarten – The Parliament passed a motion yesterday that calls on governor Drs. Eugène Holiday “not to yield to the measure of instruction formulated by the Dutch government” and to instruct the government to establish a committee that will “study, evaluate and recommend” an action plan based on the findings of three integrity reports that are currently on the table.

With this motion, the Parliament sent a message to The Hague that it will not stand for interference in its internal affairs Read more

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Analysis: Screening Of Candidate-Ministers Seems At Odds With Constitution

St. Maarten / By Hilbert Haar – Screening? What screening? Nobody has asked this simple question yet, because everybody has been either busy and confused, or excited and angry about the humongous cloud of dust the Kingdom Council of Ministers created with its instruction to Governor Holiday for additional screening of candidate-ministers. One may well wonder which instruments the experts Minister Plasterk wants to send to St. Maarten have at their disposal to find something so wrong with one of the candidates that this will give reason to ban them from becoming a minister.

St Read more

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Icon Mike Ferrier Resigns From Democratic Party

St. Maarten – Mike Ferrier has terminated his membership of the Democratic Party out of disappointment over the way party-leader Sarah Wescot-Williams handled the defection of her number 2 candidate Cornelius de Weever to a coalition with the United People’s party and the subsequent decision by Wescot-Williams to follow suit.

“I cannot subscribe to abandoning all that we campaigned on and claimed to stand for prior to August 29, 2014, by joining a government that has been given life by a person, or a couple of people from within our DP-ranks who seem to be driven only by power, greed and self-interest,” Ferrier – who was the party’s public relations officer – writes in a letter to Wescot-Williams dated last Friday, October 17 Read more

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De Weever Demands That Dutch Mp Andre Bosman Retracts Slander

St. Maarten – Minister of Public Health, Social Affairs and Labor Cornelius de Weever has summoned Dutch VVD-parliamentarian André Bosman in an open letter – written by his attorney Jairo Bloem – to retract his statement that UP-leader Theo Heyliger paid him for signing a coalition agreement with the UP.

Four different newspapers – Today, the Telegraaf, the Amigoe in Curacao and the Daily Herald – quoted Bosman on September 30 as saying, “Heyliger simply paid De Weever.”

The statement “lacks factual basis,” Bloem states in the letter, “and they are slanderous and defamatory towards client.” The attorney labels the statement as untruthful, grievous and deliberately slanderous, based on an article in the civil code and writes that it amounts to slander based on the penal code.

“I furthermore note that your contentions do not serve any general interest Read more

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St. Maarten Governor Asks Theo Heyliger To Form New Government

MP Theo Heyliger. Photo today / Leo Brown

St. Maarten – Governor Drs. Eugène Holiday has asked United People’s party leader Theo Heyliger to form a new government as formateur.

Last Friday the governor received the final report of the informateurs Joe Richardson and Marcel Gumbs, plus the governing accord 2014-2018 signed by the 7 members of the UP and Cornelius de Weever who will take up their seats in Parliament on Friday.

The 8 MPs-elect agreed in the governing accord that they will form a government that will among others give priority to the approval of the 2015 budget and to the decision making regarding the different reports on integrity of the public administration as well as to the execution thereof Read more

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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

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Minister De Weever Balds His Head In Support Of Breast Cancer Awareness

St. Maarten – In solidarity with people undergoing treatment for breast cancer, Minister of Public Health, Cornelius de Weever continues to honor his tradition of balding his head. On October 1st breast cancer survivor and founder of Still Beautiful Foundation, Marcellina Loblack shaved off the Ministers hair.  Each year Minister de Weever takes part in this breast cancer awareness initiative to support and encourage breast cancer awareness

“October, Breast Cancer Awareness month provides an opportunity for us all to focus on breast cancer and its impact on those affected by the disease as well as raise awareness about the importance of early detection of breast cancer Read more

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Thompson Concerned About Economic And Environmental Sustainability

St. Maarten –Rueben Thompson of the United St. Maarten party expressed his concerns for St. Maarten’s future environmental and economic sustainability under the governance of current Minister of Vromi Maurice Lake and the newly-formed UP coalition, which will constitute the new government, saying, “We’re slaughtering the goose that lays the golden egg.”

“I’m very concerned about the plans for the protection of our natural and cultural heritage Read more

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Mobile Health Services Bus Has Arrived

St. Maarten – A mobile health bus service has been introduced on the island and Health Minister Cornelius de Weever notes that the introduction of this service brings the island one step closer to a healthier St. Maarten through increased access to health care services.

“Preventative care is highly important for managing the health of the people of St Read more

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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

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