By Hilbert Haar The draft banking law that is currently under review by the parliament triggers a number of questions. The first one is, of course, whether this law will result in “financial inclusion.” What is that supposed to mean anyway? See related article: Support for draft banking law, but questions remain Don’t get me wrong; it is positive that the government makes an effort to tackle the hurdles applicants for a basic bank account have to overcome if they want to get rid of their unbanked status. While the draft law tackles obstacles on the side of the banks,…
Author: The Publisher
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PHILIPSBURG — “Access to basic banking services is a fundamental right,” Finance Minister Marinka Gumbs declared when she presented the draft national ordinance that regulates access to a basic bank account to parliament. The draft law can count on strong support from among others MP Sarah Wescot-Williams and MP Frankie Meyers. However, from the explanation Minister Gumbs presented, it appears that basic bank accounts will come with some rigid restrictions. The Minister did not mention the amendment MP Ardwell Irion has submitted. More about that amendment later. A study dating back to 2021 suggested that 17 percent of citizens in…
PHILIPSBURG — The trade war US President Trump ignited by imposing tariffs on imports will have a serious effect on the economy of St. Maarten. This appears from a report entitled Macroeconomic Implications of the Announced US Tariff Measures for the Monetary Union, published by the Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten (CBCS). The Central Bank foresees “more expensive groceries and a decline in tourism from the United States and from Europe.” The report notes that St. Maarten’s economy has strong ties with the United States. The US is good for 50.5% of the trade between the two countries…
PHILIPSBURG — The cruise industry is rapidly changing and those changes could very well affect St. Maarten’s economy. This appears from a report on CNN by Terry Ward that describes the emergence of super-sized cruise ships. Ward describes how cruise companies are building ever larger ships to serve their customer base. And larger is not always better because the amenities on the new generation cruise ships are so extensive that passengers will hardly feel the need to disembark once they dock at a port. Royal Caribbean launched the largest cruise ship in the world in January 2024: the Icon of…
By Terrance Rey Publisher & Editor, StMaartenNews.com Like wars, we only remember the coups. History doesn’t recall the years of peace; it remembers the World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq, Ukraine. Who recalls the in-between times, the quiet spells of peace? We don’t even have names for them. Maybe we should. It’s the same with St. Maarten’s politics. Since we gained our status as a Country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 2010, we’ve had so many governments that if you blinked too long, you probably missed one. Up until the National Alliance finally managed to last…
By Terrance Rey Publisher & Editor, StMaartenNews.com CEO, AirStMaarten | VIPservices.sx | StMaartenTours.info In a recent article posted on Facebook, Regina Labega posed a question that has become almost rhetorical: “KLM still connects, but does St. Martin benefit?” Her article, while peppered with facts and reflections on the current KLM triangle route to St. Maarten, Trinidad, and Guyana, ultimately stirs up a discussion that, frankly, distracts from the real issues. As someone deeply entrenched in this industry—from publishing to private air charters to VIP services and ground tours—let me be blunt: the discussion about triangle routing is not the point.…
PHILIPSBURG — The government of St. Maarten has ignored the call from the Kingdom Council of Ministers to present an approved 2025 budget by April 30. Instead, the revised budget will only reach the floor of parliament at an as yet unspecified date in June. Parliament approved the 2025 budget on January 17 but it was never ratified due to “technical legislative issues.” Finance Minister Marinka Gumbs explained during a meeting with members of parliament that the budget would not have had any issues if there had not been seven amendments, submitted by the government and by the parliament. Basically,…
PHILIPSBURG — The Public Prosecutor’s Office intends to prosecute former parliamentarian Rolando Brison. It has charged him in its Lissabon-investigation with accepting bribes to the tune of more than $92,000 in exchange for efforts to promote crypto currency as legal tender and to make crypto exempt from capital gains tax. So far, those efforts have brought no results. Prosecutors also want to drag the parties who paid the bribes to court. Among them are Robbie dos Santos, Johan Alex Dijkhoffz and a businessman only identified as S.L.G. (Sunil Gehani, ed.), who is seemingly linked to business interests in St. Maarten…
By Hilbert Haar St. Maarten could be a tropical paradise. So why isn’t it and – more importantly – what can we do to change the situation? Our country has its 37 beaches and the weather is, most of the time, very agreeable. There is an abundant choice of restaurants and for the gamblers among us there are more than enough casinos as well. While all this sounds pretty good, our country also has a dark side. For visitors, safety is a big issue and, unfortunately, that is exactly one of our weak points. Taking a stroll on the beach…
PHILIPSBURG — The presence of Italian mafia organizations like the Ndrangheta and the Camorra has been noted in St. Maarten, Insightcrime.org reports in its publication Criminal threats to the Caribbean in 2025. These criminal organizations are also active in Curacao, the Dominican Republic and Guyana. Insight Crime is a non-profit organization that publishes an annual report about the presence of criminal organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean. Though its latest report emphasizes the threats to the islands closest to South America – in particular Curacao and Aruba – its contents suggests that St. Maarten is not far from the…
