Putting our house in order of proper priorities of first things first. The fact that mrs.Pamela Gordon Carty has now assumed leadership of the USP, the first and foremost action we are looking forward to is: Putting our house in order of proper priorities. First things first in adressing: 1) the pleas and plights, 2) the perils, predicaments and problems facing our people in Country ST.Maarten. With a cool, calm and collective approach we expect her to place, pile oops put pressure on government to ease or eradicate the long sufferings of our people in Country ST.Maarten. At the same…
Author: The Publisher
GREAT BAY — The situation regarding poverty in the Caribbean part of the Netherlands seems to be “very worry some.” That was the consensus by these High Counsels of State during their deliberations that was recently held on St. Maarten. According to St. Maarten Ombudsman Gwendolyn Mussel, she has submitted a report which identified the way people are living and questions what are the standard that government requires for the people. She pointed out that the Ombudsman of the Netherlands concluded a study on the elderly in the Caribbean part of the Netherlands that can be taken over by her…
Photo caption: New USP leader Pamela Gordon Carty (center) with incoming and outgoing party board members and former leader Frans Richardson (second from right). ~ Nicholas new board President ~ PHILIPSBURG — Former Minister Pamela Gordon-Carty was elected as the new political leader of the United St. Maarten (US) party on Sunday, November 28, and immediately made it clear that the party, in or out of government, will not allow the people of St. Maarten to accept “crumbs in exchange” any longer. Re-emphasizing that the US has always been and remain on the path to realizing independence for St. Maarten,…
Blessings to All People, Leaders in all Areas, Governments, and Representatives of the People of the Countries and Entities of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. First things first. I am very and deeply concerned as to how we are progressing as Countries in relations to our relationships within the Kingdom, and more specifically placing the Focus on the Dutch Caribbean Islands with the Netherlands. At the same time, my concerns have deepened as it relates to how we are managing, governing and representing the People of these Dutch Caribbean Countries, placing specifically my attention on Sint Maarten from within. And…
PHILIPSBURG — Selling government-owned land or giving it out in long lease is subject to rules ministers cannot ignore, it appears from a recent ruling by the Dutch Supreme Court. According to former Minister of Justice Roland Duncan, the ruling has far-reaching consequences for the way the government of St. Maarten issues domain land in long lease. The dispute in the Netherlands revolves around a decision by the municipality of Montferland to sell the former town hall in the center of Didam without much ado to supermarket chain Co-op, while one of its competitors, a franchisee that exploits Albert Heijn…
by Cdr. Bud Slabbaert Voters in Switzerland, this Sunday approved by a clear margin legislation which introduced a special COVID-19 certificate that lets only people who have been vaccinated, recovered or tested negative attend public events and gatherings. Why is this worth to know especially when there are demonstrations all around against vaccinations or restrictions. No, in Switzerland it was not the politicians who decided, it was the Swiss population. How does that work? Despite claims of some countries that they have the oldest democracy or the most egalitarian democracy in the world, the Swiss are just not the kind…
GREAT BAY — Daniel Gumbs was the 500th candidate to receive a loan from Qredits as a young entrepreneur at the closing ceremonies of the Small Business Academy on Friday evening. Gumbs, who is doing a reverse osmosis business is competing among the two other major companies on the island, says that he remains focus in his quest for perfection. Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs in her address spoke of the impact of the pandemic to the island and the world. Jacobs who was on the media daily called on the people to reflect on what they wanted to do since…
PHILIPSBURG — Tax reform. Tax compliance. Tax evasion. Tax fraud. These are all well-known terms in St. Maarten where fooling the tax inspectorate is seen by quite some citizens and companies as a national sport. According to some experts, compliance stands at 30 or maybe 35 percent, meaning that the majority of those who ought to be tax payers are not paying anything at all. Ralph Cantave recently interviewed tax attorney Quincy Lont about St. Maarten’s tax system on his radio broadcast The News Behind the News. One of the more noteworthy statements from that interview indicate that there is…
By Hilbert Haar Bad things happen when good people do nothing. I have been unable to source this quote but it feels appropriate for the topic I want to discuss here (again): corruption. More in particular: corruption in St. Maarten. When I wrote about it earlier under the headline Mar, bribe and destroy I could not begin to imagine the number of reactions it would trigger. Those reactions did not come in the form of signed letters to the editor; they simply flooded the Whatsapp of the publisher of StMaartenNews.com. That showed, at the very least, that there are…
Cayhill — Local professionals Nathalie Tackling and Emilio Kalmera recently joined the APS Board as members. The APS Board now consists of four persons: Shaira Bommel, Arjen Alberts, Kalmera, and Tackling. There is still a vacancy for an independent Chairman of the Board. Nathalie Tackling is a Sint Maarten native with an extensive background in corporate and legislative law. She obtained two Masters of Laws: one in Trade & Corporate Law from the University of Maastricht (Netherlands) and one in Intellectual Property Law from the George Washington University School of Law (Washington, DC). Upon her return to Sint Maarten,…
