PHILIPSBURG — Dutch construction company Ballast Nedam has won the bid for the airport terminal reconstruction project. The Princess Juliana International Airport Operating Company (PJIAE) hails de winner of the tender in a press statement as an “international contracting company with vast experience in building large scale and complex projects worldwide, including, ports, hospitals and waterworks.” But while the airport is happy with the outcome of the tender, its result drew immediate criticism from parliamentarian Christophe Emmanuel, so far the only politician to make a public statement. Emanuel questions how “Dutch firms with a criminal history” continue to secure contracts…
Author: The Publisher
~ Says measuring stick is different for Dutch firms ~ PHILIPSBURG — In response to the news that Ballast Nedam has been awarded the contract for the airport reconstruction project, Independent Member of Parliament Christophe Emmanuel has again questioned how Dutch firms with a criminal history continue to secure contracts on St. Maarten. It is not the first time the MP has raised these concerns. Earlier this year he pointed out that Windward Roads, despite its guilty verdict in the Larimar investigation and defrauding the country, is still somehow managing to secure contracts from the government of St. Maarten, with…
PHILIPSBURG — The Council of Ministers has fired Glenn Daniel and Rochelle Hodge from their positions on the supervisory board of directors of the Princess Juliana International Airport Holding Company (PJIAH). With their removal the cleanup of the holding board is complete. Earlier managing director Dexter Doncher was relieved of his duties. Cleveland Beresford Jr. and Lisandra Havertong-Ellis now form the new board together with Schiphol Group representative Jim Fazio. The complete Council of Ministers, acting as the shareholder representative for the holding company signed on to the dismissals in a meeting on Tuesday, July 20. The dismissals have the…
Philipsburg – INDISU Dance Theater of St. Maarten students will be heading to Los Angeles in just ten days to attend the International Festival, Dance Excellence. The festival brings together young dancers from around the world for a once in a lifetime experience. The inspiring week-long event aims to help participants fulfill their artistic aspirations through training and performances. The 24 members of the school’s divisions, Junior Elite Company, Company, and Senior Company will have the opportunity to also share their love for the art of dance and exchange ideas with students from 35 other countries. CIBC FirstCaribbean was happy to support the dance school, which has been invited to attend the event for…
CAY BAY — Sol Antilles N.V. (Sol), the Caribbean’s leading provider of petroleum-based energy solutions has taken a major step towards further energizing the island of St. Maarten. This comes with the recent acquisition of Gulfstream Petroleum Dominicana SRL’s (GPD’s) integrated fuel marketing business in St. Maarten, the Texaco-Branded Network, which involves retail, commercial, marine, LPG distribution operations and aviation assets, and customer contracts. Commenting on what this acquisition means for consumers, Robert James, General Manager of Sol St. Maarten said that it unlocks opportunities for synergies, and efficiencies across the business, allowing Sol’s teams to focus on delivering safe,…
CAY BAY — The Prosecutor’s Office OM SXM has launched a preliminary criminal investigation into the major oil spill that occurred on Tuesday in the vicinity of the Cay Bay power plant of utilities company N.V. GEBE. The spill has led to an oil slick moving from Cay Bay/Simpson Bay into the Caribbean Sea. OM SXM met on Wednesday with the Dutch Caribbean Coastguard, the Police Force Sint Maarten KPSM, the Inspection Department of the Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Development, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI, and the Maritime Inspection Department of the Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transportation, and Telecommunication…
Dear Editor, I have been very interestingly following the efforts being made by MP Claudius Buncamper regarding Possible as well as Potential Government Revenue Streams of Income through various levying of Taxes that can be Presented and Approved by Parliament. In working on the level of Commissioners and Executive Councils of Sint Maarten in the past, I have come to realize that in order to resolve this Revenue Generating Matter, we need to approach it all in a very simplistic, realistic and practical manner, that we know can work, and will work. Those with experience in this Area know exactly…
~ Tackle tax reform before Dutch do it for you ~ PHILIPSBURG — Independent Member of Parliament Christophe Emmanuel on Thursday said that the government of St. Maarten has to say once and for all if land and property taxes as proposed by the CFT is on the table for consideration and future implementation yes or no. Plain and simple, the MP said, government has to say whether it will entertain such suggestions and advice from the CFT or if it will inform CFT that such a suggestion is dead on arrival. “For me it already is,” the MP said.…
On Tuesday, July 6th, 2021 the parliament members of the Finance committee had a closed-door meeting with the CFT to be informed of the position of the CFT on the financial situation of the island. A presentation was made by the chairman of the CFT showing some of the financial issues we are facing, the recovery progress, the vaccine level not being up to par for the industry, the stayover numbers, the cruise numbers, etc. Also discussed was the amended 2020 budget deficit of some 197 million guilders or about 20% of our GDP. The budget 2021 presently has a…
On June 12th, 2021, a letter of the ex-chairman of the Supervisory Board of NV GEBE, Mr. Bienvenido Richardson, became the subject of an online media article. That letter circulated before in the social media. On July 1st, 2021, I was released by NV GEBE of my confidentiality obligations. This, in order to be able to defend myself. After careful consideration and basically only because the deliberate misrepresentations, carefully crafted narratives with the clear intention to mislead and deflect from the real issues at hand, continued after June 12th, 2021, with little to no regard for the damage to our…
