By Terrance Rey A Dutch friend of mine was once amazed at the size of my house. He concluded that I must be rich. In the Netherlands he lives two floors high in a flat. I drive a jeep, he rides a bicycle. One might think that we only live in villas here. But that’s all appearances. The reality is very different. On Sint Maarten people often speak of ‘property rich but cash poor.’ I often hear people say that if you have land, you can easily get a loan from the bank. After all, you can use the land…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG — The NAGICO Cricket Club will be debuting their new uniforms and gears this weekend, in the ongoing T-20 competition being held at the Carib Lumber Ball Park. The team received these new uniforms, courtesy of their title sponsor; NAGICO Insurances. The entire uniform includes long jogging pants, long sleeve shirts and matching caps, all emblazoned with the NAGICO logo and brand colors. The uniforms were unveiled in an air of excitement, as the design was created and selected by the Team’s Board, which was also represented at the handing over. “We are grateful for this sponsorship from NAGICO”…
By Hilbert Haar It is not a good week for the United St. Maarten party (USp), its faction leader Claudius Buncamper and its founder Frans Richardson. Like attracts like, or as the Dutch like to say: soort zoekt soort. This seems to apply to the kind of people the USp attracts: characters with a tendency to bend rules and regulations beyond breaking point to get what they want. Buncamper is facing a 3-year prison sentence and Richardson received a 12-month sentence, on top of an earlier conviction to 36 months. To be clear: the 3 years of imprisonment against Buncamper…
PHILIPSBURG — The public prosecutor demanded on Monday a 3-year prison sentence against Member of Parliament Claudius Buncamper and a 12-month sentence against his wife, former Public Health Minister Maria Buncamper-Molanus. The court announced it will render its verdict probably on December 23, but in any case no later than January 13, 2022. On December 23, it is exactly eleven years ago that Buncamper-Molanus was forced to step down as Minister of Public Health (after a bit more than two months in office) because of the Eco Green scandal. The public prosecutor later took the Buncampers to court and sentenced…
~ Also Inquires Regarding the Mullet Bay Inquiry to “Give Mullet Bay Back to the People” ~ Philipsburg – With the Mullet Bay beach very much in the news lately, MP Sarah Wescot-Williams is attempting to get answers to her questions which were evaded by the Minister of VROMI in the public meetings dealing with Government’s policies on the granting of long lease land. In her letter to the Minister, the MP reminded the Minister of her attempts to get some clarity with respect to what is taking place at Mullet Bay beach. “During the sessions of public meeting no.…
PHILIPSUBRG — Financial supervisor Cft expressed serious criticism of St. Maarten’s 2021 budget in a letter from Cft-chairman Prof. Dr. Raymond Gradus to Finance Minister Ardwell Irion on October 13. The Cft is especially concerned about the huge deficits at the social funds and it urgently advises the government to take measures immediately. The financial situation of these funds is “untenable,” Gradus writes. The ZV (healthcare insurance), OV (accident insurance) and FZOG (Fund for healthcare costs of retired civil servants) funds recorded a combined deficit of 291 million guilders ($162.6 million) at the end of 2020, an increase of 21…
PHILIPSBURG — In the view of MP Wescot, “The coalition might have breathed a sigh of relief, following the contentious meetings of parliament on the long lease land policies of government, but this saga seems far from over. In the case of the Vineyard Heights/Over the Bank land, concerns remain regarding the mounting claims by inheritors.” It is on this matter, that the public meeting of parliament produced 3 motions directed to the ministry of VROMI. Motion no. 1 dated October 20th, i.a. called for cessation of all handlings regarding Vine Yard Height/Over the Bank, until a policy is put…
PHILIPSBURG – Sol Antilles N.V. (Sol) has begun the process of rebranding its recently acquired Gulfstream Petroleum Dominicana SRL’s (GPD’s) Service Station Network, to the Sol retail brand. Sol and its predecessor have been the provider of reliable energy solutions to the St. Maarten community for the past 40 years and remains committed to growing together with its new and existing partners, to continue to provide reliable and exceptional service to consumers. The rebranding process will involve an overall reconstruction and upgrade of the Simpson Bay, Cause Way and Bush Road Service Stations. The Service Stations will be rebranded ‘Sol’,…
PHILIPSBURG — Road rage and wayward behavior of young scooter riders have become a thorny issue, but Chief commissioner Carl John said in an interview on The Breakfast Lounge with Lady Grace that this is not the real problem. “This is not our biggest problem. The level of aggression youngsters display needs more attention. There is more to this than just enforcement of traffic regulations. I hope we can come together as a community – churches, schools, parents – to take a keen look at our youngsters and see if we can identify from a young age whether there is…
PHILIPSBURG — The police force of St. Maarten is on the move. After a live interview with Chief Commissioner Carl John on radio broadcast The Breakfast Lounge with Lady Grace, the graduation of thirteen cadets from the basic police training on the morning of Friday, October 29, the afternoon of that same day was the moment for the second group of students to complete their FINEC-course. Finec focuses on structural interventions to prevent and combat undermining criminality. Prevention and repression go hand in hand in this approach. A precondition for success is the creation of effective networks. While the ideal…
