By Hilbert Haar The Central Plan Bureau in the Netherlands routinely analyses election programs of political parties before an election takes place. Such analyses show whether these programs are financially feasible, or not. During the last Inter-Parliamentary Kingdom Consultation (IPKO) in Bonaire, members of the permanent parliamentary committee for Kingdom Relations asked whether the CPB is prepared to do the same in the run-up to elections in St. Maarten, Curacao and Aruba. State Secretary Drs. Raymond Knops wrote in answer to this question that such a CPB-analysis “requires profound knowledge of the macro-economic, financial and legal context of each country.”…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG — Independent Member of Parliament Christophe Emmanuel on Wednesday once again questioned when the actual reconstruction work of the Princess Juliana International Airport will begin. The MP noted that the end of the year is approaching along with another peak season and PJIA is still showing the world the same face it has been showing for four years following Hurricane Irma of 2017. He also said he is still awaiting a response from the Minister of TEATT to a letter he sent since August 15 seeking an update on any potential delays at PJIA, considering an ongoing situation in…
Bridgetown, Barbados 12th October 2021. FirstCaribbean International Bank Limited has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, FirstCaribbean International Bank (Barbados) Limited (“FCIB Barbados”), has agreed to sell its banking assets in St. Vincent, Grenada, Dominica and St. Kitts to: The Bank of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Ltd., Grenada Co-Operative Bank Limited, National Bank of Dominica Ltd., and St. Kitts Nevis Anguilla National Bank Ltd. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, FirstCaribbean International Bank (Cayman) Limited (“FCIB Cayman”), has agreed to sell its banking assets in Aruba to Aruba Bank N.V. The transactions are all subject to regulatory approval, including from the Central Bank of Barbados, and are…
THE BOTTOM — Students of the Saba Comprehensive and Sacred Heart Primary School in Saba have expressed a big thank you to NAGICO Insurances, for providing them with care packages, to help them maneuver face to face learning while staying safe in the pandemic. Administrator of the NAGICO Saba Office, Sheritsa Brigida Oleana made a courtesy call to the schools, where she presented the packages to the eager students. “Trying to return to a state of normalcy during a pandemic is very difficult, especially with the new strain of the COVID-19 Delta variant affecting many of us personally,” she said.…
PHILIPSBURG – In light of the apparent norm within the civil service of having one person fulfil multiple critical roles at the same time, Party for Progress (PFP) Members of Parliament (MPs) Melissa Gumbs and Raeyhon Peterson questioned Minister of General Affairs Silveria Jacobs and Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (VROMI) Egbert Doran about the practice in an official letter on Friday, October 8, 2021. MPs Gumbs and Peterson based their letter on the National Ordinance Structure and Organization of National Government, also known as the LIOL. According to Articles 5-9 of the LIOL, there is…
PHILIPSBURG — The available capacity for the execution of measures from the country package in St. Maarten remains a continuous source of concern. The capacity in St. Maarten is even more limited than in the other two countries,” the third-quarter report about the execution of the country packages states. It is obvious, the report states, that it is not possible to achieve the intended objectives with the available capacity. This means that the Temporary Work Organization (TWO) and the COHO-in-the-making offer St. Maarten more active support than they provide to the other countries – Aruba and Curacao. “In writing many…
PHILIPSBURG — Curacao is not making any progress with the reform of its policy for games of chance, the third-quarter report about the execution of the country packages states. Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas warns in a reaction against rücksichtlos actions in this field. St. Maarten has its affairs with regard to the gambling industry in order. The plan of approach has been completed and established, the report states. The country packages for both Curacao and St. Maarten contain the intention to reform the gambling sector. “Based on existing and/or additional research it will be determined whether and how the (physical…
In September, GEBE, first alone and then together with the members of its supervisory board, filed lawsuits against the company’s shareholder Country St. Maarten based on tort. More specifically, because Country St. Maarten represented by its government was structurally and frequently violating norms that govern its conduct, when exercising power as per civil law on a government owned company of which it’s the sole shareholder. In those cases the court declared GEBE inadmissible, ruling that actions taken by the shareholder that might result in decisions by the company are for the account of the company. The plaintiffs should have taken…
PHILIPSBURG — “A remarkable verdict if not a miscarriage of justice,” attorney Jairo Bloem says about the ruling of the Court in First Instance against two members of GEBE’s supervisory board, Roberta Diaz and Conrad Richardson. In September, GEBE filed a lawsuit against the company’s shareholder – country St. Maarten. In that case the court declared GEBE inadmissible because decisions taken by the shareholder are for the account of the company. The plaintiffs should have taken GEBE to court, not country St. Maarten, the court ruled. On the day this ruling came down, supervisory board members Diaz and Richardson filed…
PHILIPSBURG — There is more trouble on the horizon for former parliamentarian Frans Richardson, the founder of the United St. Maarten party (USp). On November 16, the Court in First Instance will hand down its verdict against Richardson in the Aquamarine II-trial. The Public Prosecutor has demanded a 24-month prison sentence. The prosecutor also wants to take away Richardson’s passive voting rights for four years. In January 2020 the court already sentenced Richardson to a 36-month prison sentence at the conclusion of the Emerald-trial. It took away his passive voting rights (the right to be elected) for five years. The…
