SXMElections.com

Presentation National Mental Health Plan “Half Of Mental Disorders Begin Before The Age Of Fourteen”

St. Maarten – “There will be no more budget cuts to the subsidy for the Mental Health Foundation,” Public Health Minister Cornelius de Weever said yesterday in answer to a question from this newspaper at a press conference where Virginia Asin-Oostburg, head of Collective Prevention Services (CPS) presented the National Mental Health Plan 2014-2018.

Last year, the Mental Health Foundation lost around 200,000 guilders of its annual subsidy, while the government increased the subsidy for the rehab center Turning Point Read more

Lenny Priest Wants Clarity About St. Maarten Medical Center

St. Maarten – Lenny Priest, leader of the One St. Maarten People Party (OSPP), has asked clarification from Public Health Minister Cornelius de Weever about the possible construction of a new hospital. In a letter dated August 6 (last week Wednesday), Priest notes that four years ago there was talk of an expansion of the existing St Read more

Financial Supervision (Cft) Blames Four Ministries For Delay In 2015 Budget

St. Maarten – The 2015 budget will be ready by the end of the month, Finance Minister Martin Hassink told this newspaper last week. That is more than a month after the budget should have been submitted to the Council of Advice and to financial supervisor Cft, who should have received the draft by July 9. Four ministries still have to downsize their wish list for 2015 to make it fit within the financial plan for 2015.

The Cft notes in a letter dated July 15 to Minister Hassink that the deadline of September 1 for submitting the budget to Parliament is at risk Read more

Confusion About Annual Accounts From Subsidized Foundations 

MHF: “We submit documents every year”

St. Maarten – That the board for financial supervision has not received annual accounts from foundations that receive annual government subsidies is in most cases not due to those foundations. This appears from reactions this newspaper received to last week’s article – based on a letter from the board for financial supervision (Cft) to Finance Minister Hassink – that stated that the Cft had not received such accounts for a large number of years.

Mental Health Foundation’s director Eileen Healy was the first to react, saying that the MHF files annual accounts every year Read more

Health Authorities Monitoring Deadly Ebola Outbreak Closely

St. Maarten (DCOMM) – Minister of Public Health Cornelius de Weever said on Thursday that public health authorities at the Ministry of Public Health are closely monitoring the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa, adding that Ebola does not pose an immediate threat to the country. “We are being proactive and very vigilant and closely monitoring developments daily with respect to the advices from the World Health Organization, Pan American Health Organization and the Caribbean Public Health Agency,” Minister De Weever said.“Ebola does not pose a threat to the country, but we must monitor.” Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal illness in humans Read more

The Campaign Promises Of 2010: Second Hospital-Plan Is Already Four Years Old

St. Maarten – The campaign promises are flying far and wide again in the run-up to the August 29 elections. How did our political parties do in 2010? What did they promise and what became of it? Let’s begin with an obvious example: the claim by the United People’s party (UP) – “We ready for our new medical center.” On September 15, 2010, the final campaign meeting of the UP took place on the grounds of the still unfinished ring road. Gerrit Schotte, leader of Movementu Futuro Kòrsou who was to become the first Prime Minister of Curacao before he got entangled in a web of scandals, endorsed the UP and lit up the meeting with his presence. UP-leader Theo Heyliger made his entrée in a carnivalesque atmosphere, dancing to the podium while cameras flashed and supporters wanted pictures with him Read more

Quarter Of The Population Is Without Medical Insurance

St. Maarten – Between 20 and 25 percent of the population still does not have healthcare insurance, Public Health Minister Cornelius de Weever said at a press briefing of the Democratic Party yesterday. The numbers are improving, because in the recent past the number of uninsured citizens stood around 33 percent. De Weever said that his ministry has been quite busy with the National Health Insurance plan Read more