The explanatory notes (memorie van toelichting) of the new law for the admission and expulsion of foreigners describe why a person should have an income of 36,000 ANG to bring in a spouse as follows. “Twee personen onderhouden op een bruto-salaris van ANG 2.000,= is zo goed als onmogelijk. Het is dan ook onverantwoord om de norm van ANG 2.000,= bruto inkomen per maand te blijven hanteren.” What this means – and now decreed in black and white as part of a ministerial resolution – and subsequent reasoning why the minimum income has to be 36,000 guilders – is that…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG – “Disrespectful to the floor of Parliament.” That’s what Member of Parliament for the Party for Progress faction (PFP) Raeyhon Peterson had to say about the recent conduct of some MPs on the floor of Parliament. The MP raised his concerns in the Central Committee meeting on the update on the reconstruction of the Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA). This meeting has been adjourned for the third time and is expected to continue within the next month. During this meeting some MPs, including PFP faction leader MP Melissa Gumbs, raised their concerns to the chairwoman on the information of…
By Hilbert Haar There is a strong similarity between the war on drugs and the fight against corruption and money laundering. Sure, if you throw enough resources at it, the occasional drugs transport will be intercepted and the occasional drug lord will be arrested. But you do not eradicate the drugs trade. The same is true for corruption. It happens everywhere: in Asia, in the United States, in the Netherlands and – yes – also in St. Maarten. Locally, there is a by now impressive list of people in positions of power with sticky fingers. Given the nature of…
PHILIPSBURG — “We have to make sure that St. Maarten safeguards its legal residents,” MP Claudius Buncamper said during a Central Committee meeting last week where Justice Minister Anna Richardson provided an update on immigration matters. “What is the added value of the Dutch assistance with border control when we see the large stream of illegals and of drug and weapons that keeps coming in?” Buncamper asked. MP William Marlin would later pose the same question. Buncamper referred to a law that carries a maximum fine of 100,000 guilders ($55,866) for companies that employ undocumented workers. “How often has that…
Steering Committee Agrees on the Importance of Maintaining Focus on Rehabilitating Critical Infrastructure March 5, 2021—The Steering Committee of the Sint Maarten Recovery, Reconstruction and Resilience Trust Fund met virtually and was joined by Prime Minister Jacobs, Minister of Finance Irion of Sint Maarten and State Secretary Knops of the Netherlands in a High Level Meeting. The High Level Meeting focused in particular on the sustainability of projects critical for Sint Maarten’s development. It also discussed practical implementation timelines, human capacity and funding. Participants agreed that the reconstruction of the Princess Juliana International Airport is critical to Sint Maarten’ and…
WILLEMSTAD – The Common Court of Justice sentenced former Minister of Finance George Jamaloodin on Friday on appeal to 30 years of imprisonment. The court found the defendant guilty of ordering the assassination of Pueblo Soberano founder Helmin Wiels on May 5, 2013, and of forgery. The time the ex-minister spent in extradition detention in Venezuela will be deducted from the sentence. Attorney Eldon Sulvaran, who defended Jamaloodin together with Stijn Franken, said after the ruling that his client will take the case for cassation to the Supreme Court in The Hague. The court awarded Wiels’ son and daughter 4,815…
PHILIPSBURG — Has St. Maarten become a hotspot for vaccine tourism? That question came up recently after reports that the White and Yellow Cross Care Foundation in St. John’s Estate is vaccinating walk-ins, among them at least two tourists. While the intention of the vaccination program is to prioritize handling front-liners and vulnerable citizens over the age of sixty, a closer look at the procedures the government has established shows that anybody can get his or her vaccine at any time. All people have to do is fill out a registration form that is available online at https://onlineservices.sintmaartengov.org/covidvaccine/. On its…
~ Says Irion trying to play word games ~ PHILIPSBURG — Civil servants possibly having to sustain more cuts to their salaries and benefits was one of the main areas of concern highlighted by Independent MP Christophe Emmanuel during the Central Committee meeting discussion on the country reform package on Monday. In total the MP asked 73 questions about various aspects in the country reform package. The MP also took issue with the Minister of Finance for trying to use “word games” to deviate and mis-lead about hiring more people just a few weeks after cutting benefits and being instructed…
PHLIPSBURG — Members of Parliament had literally hundreds of questions during Monday’s Central Committee meeting about the country package agreement the government signed with the Netherlands but nobody expressed explicit objections. Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs had asked for the meeting to provide Parliament with an update. She described the timeline from the first negotiations up to the signing of the agreement that is linked to the Dutch willingness to keep the government afloat with liquidity support. “Without those loans in the form of liquidity support the Caribbean Dutch countries would have been bankrupt,” Jacobs said. The prime minister emphasized that…
WELFARE ROAD, COLE BAY — The Police Patrol and the Traffic Department was alerted to a serious traffic accident that took place Friday, February 26th, 2021, around 1:15pm, next to Kimsha Parking lot in Simpson Bay, whereby a rider of a cream-colored scooter was badly injured. On the scene the patrol encounters the rider, with the initials D.S., who was suffering from severe lacerations to his face and legs and was complaining of pain. According to the preliminary investigation by the traffic department, it appears that the driver of the gray Hyundai Accent was driving towards the Simpson Bay Bridge.…
