PHILIPSBURG — Curacao is not making any progress with the reform of its policy for games of chance, the third-quarter report about the execution of the country packages states. Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas warns in a reaction against rücksichtlos actions in this field. St. Maarten has its affairs with regard to the gambling industry in order. The plan of approach has been completed and established, the report states. The country packages for both Curacao and St. Maarten contain the intention to reform the gambling sector. “Based on existing and/or additional research it will be determined whether and how the (physical…
Author: The Publisher
In September, GEBE, first alone and then together with the members of its supervisory board, filed lawsuits against the company’s shareholder Country St. Maarten based on tort. More specifically, because Country St. Maarten represented by its government was structurally and frequently violating norms that govern its conduct, when exercising power as per civil law on a government owned company of which it’s the sole shareholder. In those cases the court declared GEBE inadmissible, ruling that actions taken by the shareholder that might result in decisions by the company are for the account of the company. The plaintiffs should have taken…
PHILIPSBURG — “A remarkable verdict if not a miscarriage of justice,” attorney Jairo Bloem says about the ruling of the Court in First Instance against two members of GEBE’s supervisory board, Roberta Diaz and Conrad Richardson. In September, GEBE filed a lawsuit against the company’s shareholder – country St. Maarten. In that case the court declared GEBE inadmissible because decisions taken by the shareholder are for the account of the company. The plaintiffs should have taken GEBE to court, not country St. Maarten, the court ruled. On the day this ruling came down, supervisory board members Diaz and Richardson filed…
PHILIPSBURG — There is more trouble on the horizon for former parliamentarian Frans Richardson, the founder of the United St. Maarten party (USp). On November 16, the Court in First Instance will hand down its verdict against Richardson in the Aquamarine II-trial. The Public Prosecutor has demanded a 24-month prison sentence. The prosecutor also wants to take away Richardson’s passive voting rights for four years. In January 2020 the court already sentenced Richardson to a 36-month prison sentence at the conclusion of the Emerald-trial. It took away his passive voting rights (the right to be elected) for five years. The…
PHILIPSBURG — The announcement by Minister Omar Ottley (Public Health) that he intends to increase the salary-ceiling for insurance under SZV from 67.816 to 120,000 guilders (from $37,886 to $67,039) per January 1, 2022, has drawn criticism from insurance companies and from the Employer Council. They warn that the measure would lead to job losses, increased costs for businesses and lower net salaries for employees. The Employer Council – an association of the Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA), the Marine Trades Association (SMTA), the Indian Merchants Association (IMA) and the Timeshare Association (SMTA) addressed the issue with Minister Ottley in…
~ Denounces Jacobs’ Approach to Censor Press and Public ~ PHILIPSBURG — Party for Progress (PFP) Members of Parliament (MPs) Melissa Gumbs and Raeyhon Peterson denounced recent statements made by Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs, who, during the Council of Ministers press briefing on Wednesday, warned that government’s attention will be focused on adjusting the country’s legislation to criminalize the press and members of the public from sharing leaked internal government documents. Instead, the PFP faction calls on the government to institute a so-called whistleblower policy. Although Gumbs and Peterson share Jacobs’ sentiments that civil servants should act with integrity and…
In reference to an article published on Thursday, September 30, 2021, in The Daily Herald on the front page and continuing on page 10 under the title “Judge approves government terminating leasehold rights”, former architect/engineer and present day writer and leader of the Integrity Advancement Movement (IAM), Roberto Achken Richardson writes: Very good ruling by the Judge in favor of the Government of Sint Maarten as it relates to the Lease Holder/Third Party Lease Holder (a) being in violation of the Lease as it pertains to an expired Lease, (b) as well as in violation by having Long Lease Yearly…
Philipsburg, St. Maarten, 20 September 2021 – “In politics, what you say can come back to haunt you.” This is how MP Wescot-Williams introduced her statement regarding the budget 2022 for the country. MP Wescot-Williams has written to Finance Minister Irion, seeking information regarding the budget 2022. “Several weeks ago in a meeting of Parliament the Minister confidently stated that the draft 2022 budget would reach the Parliament by the date prescribed in the Constitution of Sint Maarten, that being no later than September 1st. During the opening of the current Parliamentary year, we learned from the Governor’s presentation that…
By Hilbert Haar The Kingdom Council of State has finalized its advice about the amended draft kingdom law COHO (Caribbean Organization for Reform and Development) but at the moment of this writing it was not published yet. So we do not know the content of this advice. All countries in the kingdom have agreed with the process this draft law is currently going through. That is not the same as agreeing with the draft the Dutch government will shortly send to the Dutch Second Chamber and to the parliaments of St. Maarten, Curacao and Aruba. The Caribbean parliaments will get…
GREAT BAY — The Dutch Marines stationed in Aruba conducted a military exercise at the Raoul Illidge Sports Complex on Tuesday morning. The exercise named “Windward Express” included marines stationed on St. Maarten with the assistance of the naval vessel M.V. Pelican. This amphibious operation also saw marines from the ship being deployed to the shore on the frisk, which is a fast interception vessel that is able to rapidly deploy marines. In this exercise, the stage was set for the marines to extract a VIP which was at a location at the Raoul Illidge Sports Complex. According to the…
