Dear Media, Would like to address you with some factual information regarding the recent political developments. It would seem as if everyone is washing their hands of the Mingo saga and now attempting to throw the honorable Minister of Teatt under the bus. The same Minister that has been thrown under the bus for doing the right thing numerous of times by her own leader and faction leader of the UP party. As with the Casino licenses, the 721 illegal businesses and other business and operating licenses that they want her to push through, her integrity wouldn’t allow and they…
Author: The Publisher
Dear State Secretary Knops, We have taken note of your letter sent to Prime Minister Jacobs in regards to the suspension of the fifth tranche of liquidity support (Naf 39 million) due to very worrying developments regarding the corporate governance of Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA). We have been proactively informing the population for weeks and months on so many of the very same concerns we see listed in your letter. We have repeatedly sounded the alarm on all forms of media. Although we anticipated the consequences faced today by the Jacobs government due to a lack of proactive action…
PHILIPSBURG — Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams is demanding an explanation of the government’s handling of the PJIA airport affair. The MP also wants clarity on the suspension of the airport holding company, PJIAH, managing director Dexter Doncher. The MP is of the opinion that it would be too simple to assume that with the reinstatement of B. Mingo and the suspension of the MD of the PJIAH, Mr. Dexter Doncher, everything is back to normal. In her view, too much intrigue has surrounded this entire saga from the get-go. Foremost on her mind is therefore the question: Why only…
PHILIPSBURG — The ABN-AMRO bank has temporarily withdrawn its intention to terminate relationships with clients who live outside of the European Economic Area. The measure would have affected account holders in St. Maarten like BZSE-attorney Roeland Zwanikken and other attorneys who bank with ABN-AMRO. In January the bank informed Zwanikken and other account holders of its intention to terminate the relationship per July of this year. The attorney maintains two accounts at ABN-AMRO for himself and one for his daughter Alexia who is studying in the Netherlands. Zwanikken informed the bank that he would file a lawsuit if it stuck…
PHILIPSBURG — State Secretary Knops has put the fifth tranche of liquidity support on hold until the government has acted “sufficiently vigorous” to rectify the problems at Princess Juliana International Airport and to safeguard the reconstruction project for the airport terminal. The Kingdom Council of Ministers will take a decision about the 39 million guilders ($21.8 million) support in its meeting of May 21. Knops does not mince his words in a letter dated May 12 to Prime Minister Jacobs. He notes that the trust in St. Maarten’s government has been damaged and that Jacobs has not lived up to…
Dear Editor, I can remember back in the 90s and early 2000s, with the first large renovation project of the Port at Point Blanche, the Conditions for the financing by the Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (RBTT), was that Financial and Economic Expert, Mr. Rommel Charles of Trinidad, would be temporary appointed as Managing Director of the Port during the Financing and Reconstruction, until a period in which the Government of Sint Maarten would appoint its own Managing Director back then in the person of Sint Maarten’s own very qualified Mr. Mark Mingo, under the then DP Government with…
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…
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…
