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…
Author: The Publisher
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.…
PHILIPSBURG — Independent Member of Parliament Christophe Emmanuel on Wednesday said that a letter from the St. Maarten Airline Handlers Association (SAHA) and its Airline Operating Committee (AOC) is the biggest indictment yet presented against CEO of the Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) Brian Mingo. “When the representative of all major airlines, your most important stakeholder, decries working conditions that go against basic principles in aviation, then it is past time that you pack up and leave or the airport holding board finalizes his dismissal,” the MP said. On February 22, the AOC sent a letter to Prime Minister Silveria…
PHILIPSBURG — On February 23rd the Prosecutor’s Office notified lawyer S. R. Bommel that based on the investigation carried out by the National Detectives there is no need to continue an investigation against her client MP Omar Ottley. There is insufficient grounds to proceed with prosecution therefore the case against MP Ottley is dismissed (geseponeerd). MP Ottley was nominated as a candidate minister. Seeing that Sint Maarten doesn’t have a screening law in place yet for candidate ministers, MP Ottley voluntary agreed to a screening process carried out by VDSM. During this screening process Ottley was informed that the Prosecutor…
