One would wonder why Royal Schiphol Group (RSG) is making such a big stink about the airport. But one must remember, Schiphol is synonymous with The Netherlands which is part of the European Union. The $100 million dollar funding was provided by both The Netherlands and the European Investment Bank (EIB), a loan organized by the Dutch. One of the main conditions for this Dutch loan was that Schiphol be an integral part of the airport reconstruction process. So the Dutch represented by RSG has every right to be concerned. A $122 million dollars is at stake and it is…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG— Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor, Omar Ottley met with the Supervisory Board Representatives, Mr. Robert-Jan James and Mr. Jim Rosen, of the Sint Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) for an urgent meeting to gather information on some pressing matters. The Minister enquired about the ongoing frictions with the Union and the tension amongst the workers. The Supervisory Board revealed that the responsibility of the negotiations between the Union and management lies with the Hospital’s Management Board. Upon learning this, the Minister requested an urgent meeting with the Management Board, in which he was informed that the Union…
PHILIPSBURG — Ten years after the establishment of St. Maarten’s National Detectives Agency (NDA, Landsrecherche) there are still several serious bottlenecks, the Law Enforcement Council concludes in its report ‘Inspection: Review of St. Maarten’s National Detectives Agency.’ The council published the complete report in Dutch and English on its website (raadrechtshandhaving.com). “The main objective, a full-fledged agency, has not been achieved. The agency’s functioning can be described as problematic in all aspects. It lacks policy, management and direction. The resources are inadequate to achieve the objectives,” the report states. The Law Enforcement Council also notes that the agency’s independence is…
PHILIPSBURG – PFP members of Parliament Melissa Gumbs and Raeyhon Peterson expressed concern, but not surprise, at the May 6th letter sent by Schiphol Group to the Government of St. Maarten. In the letter, Schiphol Group makes it clear that until corporate governance discrepancies at the Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) are addressed, there is a very real chance that they will withdraw from their supporting role in the project as per 15 July 2021. The faction had shared concerns in previous Parliament meetings held over the status of PJIA’s reconstruction; the facility was damaged during the passing of Hurricane…
PHILIPSBURG — The Judge in the Court of First Instance will hand down a preliminary judgement in the case regarding the dismissal of the Chief Executive Officer Brian Mingo on Wednesday upcoming. According to reports, Mingo was fired by the Board of the Princess Juliana International Airport at the end of April while he was trying to complete the reconstruction of the airport, which was severely damaged by the hurricanes of 2017. Since the damage, the airport has been operating only partially with limited possibilities. Several months ago, the workers staged a strike at the airport calling for Mingo’s resignation.…
PHILIPSBURG — On Monday, May 10, 2021, the court decided in 11 police officers’ cases to allow the present Minister of Justice four weeks from that day to take a decision on a settlement agreement that the previous Minister of Justice made with the police officers.Nine of the 11 police officers were represented by attorney Cor Merx of Cor Merx Legal Services. The other two police officers were represented by their legal advisor, Lyndon Lewis. In a previous court case, these 11 police officers successfully claimed their rights to be promoted in the ranks they had earned. These officers were…
PHILIPSBURG -– The General Audit Chamber submitted its report entitled “Mini audit: Implementation of personalized license plates” to Parliament today. The report highlights the possibilities of implementing an additional structural revenue stream; personalized license plates. Personalized license plates give the consumer the choice to pay an additional fee for a specialty license plate. The report looks closely at Aruba as a benchmark island for personalized plates and investigates the structure in which they implement this. In 2020, Aruba generated revenue of over a half a million Aruban Florin (NAfl.) in personalized plates. The revenue generated from personalized plates accounted for…
PHILIPSBURG — The Royal Schiphol Group threatens to terminate its cooperation agreement with the Princess Juliana International Airport per July 15 unless the holding and the exploitation company take certain measures by May 26 to correct shortcomings in corporate governance. Kjell Kloosterziel, director of Schiphol International writes this in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs, Finance Minister Ardwell Irion, holding director Dexter Doncher and to Michel Hyman at PJIAE. The letter, dated May 6, also went to Frans Weekers a member of the World Bank trust fund steering committee and to one Mrs. S. de Reuver at the…
PHILIPSBURG — After the change of government in 2019 nothing has been done about plans to transform the country’s tax system. “The current government does not consider fiscal transformation opportune,” the Court in First Instance writes in a ruling about a dispute between BearingPoint and country St. Maarten. BearingPoint Consulting demanded in summary proceedings that the government signs agreements for the execution of an ICT-contract for the tax administration worth 15 million guilders. But the court denied this: “A ruling to abide by the ICT-agreements cannot lead to anything. That is not in the interest of both parties, also not…
PHILIPSBURG — The Court in First Instance sentenced the former branch manager of the courthouse in Philipsburg, Maritsa James-Christina (63) to 27 months in prison for embezzling more than $1.1 million from the court and for forgery. She also has to pay the Constitutional Court 50,000 guilders. Her husband Reginald James (67) was sentenced to 240 hours of community service for money laundering. The prosecution charged James-Christina with the embezzlement of $1,153,770 from the Common Court of Justice (later adjusted to $921,475) and another 153,679 guilders ($85,850) from the Constitutional Court between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2017 (the…
