By Hilbert Haar How Minister Ludmila De Weever was able to reach an amicable settlement with Anthony Carty, the heavily overpaid director of the Bureau Telecommunication and Post (BTP) is a mystery to me. As the minister responsible for telecommunication, De Weever must be aware of a highly critical report about BTP from the General Audit Chamber in 2015. She must, therefore, know that Carty does not have a performance contract and that he hardly has any responsibilities. The annual salary Carty receives – reportedly around $214,000 – is also way beyond what can be considered reasonable. But so far…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG – Telecommunication Minister Ludmila De Weever brokered a settlement between telecom provider Telem and Bureau Telecommunication and Post (BTP), according to a press release issued by the ministry. Unfortunately, the press release was short on details so it remains unclear what this settlement exactly entails. Apparently, TelEm owed money to BTP and BTP owed money to the government. Minister De Weever settled the dispute in an amicable manner and now she is free to issue a concession agreement to TelEm, based on a positive advice from BTP. TelEm Chief Executive Officer Kendall Dupersoy said in an interview with…
Our feature interview article with Covidist and researcher, Dr. Leonard Richardson, MD, has so far been published in the Dutch and in the Spanish languages. The advice contained in that article urged governments to take evidence-based decisions. However, it seems we need to publish an article targeting the general public as well, with the urgent advice to heed the evidence that not practicing social distancing is not only detrimental to our health but to those of others as well. Cases are now almost 90 confirmed active. 89 to be exact, as of yesterday, Sunday, with a new death recorded on…
BALTIMORE / PHILIPSBURG — Landen hebben goed geïnformeerd leiderschap nodig en ze moeten op feiten gebaseerd medische beslissingen nemen. Dat is de boodschap van luitenant-kolonel Dr. Leonard (Lenny) Richardson, een COVID-19-onderzoeker uit Anguilla die momenteel werkt in het Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. “Het coronavirus is niet nieuw; COVID-19, ook wel bekend als SARS-CoV-2, is echter nieuw en nieuw voor de mens. We zijn niet COVID-vrij”, zegt Richardson. “Maar de vraag is: houden we de wereld buiten of stellen we ons open? Hoe zal onze economie anders overleven?” “Er is veel verkeerde informatie over dit virus. Sommigen zeggen dat het…
~ Curacao sticks to system that favors position on candidate-list ~ PHILIPSBURG – St. Maarten’s current electoral law – oft referred to as the Lynch-law after its architect – determines that candidates with the highest number of votes are elected over candidates with a higher position on a party-list. The system was introduced 21 years ago at the initiative of the late Edgar Lynch. Is it still a valid system?
PHILIPSBURG — The discussion about electoral reform will soon be in full swing, whereby the focus will be on the Lynch-law – actually, an article in the current electoral law that determines who gets elected: candidates with more votes or candidates with a higher position on a party-list. The arguments against the Lynch-law should be placed in their proper perspective. A reversal would mean that a candidate’s place on a party-list once more becomes the deciding factor. Ironically, this is the system currently in use in Curacao where Partido MAN in 2016 attempted to change it by introducing their own…
~ LU’s hygiene procedural handbook balance educational needs with safe environment ~ CAY HILL — In preparation of the opening of its 2020-2021 school year on August 12, Learning Unlimited (LU) has produced a 30-page Hygiene Procedural Handbook for students, teachers and parents with the goal of balancing students’ educational needs within a safe, supportive environment for learning while providing important services to limit the virus that causes COVID-19. The handbook was sent to all parents last week. In drafting this comprehensive handbook, LU utilized the recommendations of the Federal Institute for Health and Environment (Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu…
BELLEVUE — French St. Martin reported sixteen new COVID-19 cases today. Officially, the border between the Dutch and the French side has been closed since July 31, a day before St. Maarten welcomed American tourists. St. Martin does not want American tourists, but pedestrians and cyclists can cross the border without being checked. According to St. Martin authorities, thirteen of the sixteen new COVID-19 cases are due to local community transmission. Eighty-nine active cases have been identified on the Dutch side; today, three new cases have been added. “All we need to do as a country, in order to flatten…
“The Constitution of Sint Maarten – When it is time to vote” By author Hensley G.A. Plantijn A book review for StMaartenNews.com by Terrance Rey ~ People must buy this book if they want to fully understand our parliamentary system and the election process that governs the selection of representatives in Parliament. ~ Someone with practical and hands-on experience in this field wrote this book. The author seems to have been privy to or part of the various discussions and debates on constitutional issues (such as the use of Article 59) and the ongoing debates surrounding the application and validity…
MP Wescot-Williams: “St. Maarten/St. Martin’s border closure has taken on a European context and should be elevated to a Kingdom level.” Philipsburg, St. Maarten, August 2, 2020 – MP Wescot-Williams: “With the announcement by the Préfecture of Saint Martin of another border closure “in agreement with the Ministry of Overseas France”, dubbed as a “traffic restriction” between the two parts of the island, we can no longer pretend that this is strictly a local matter, left up to the authorities in Marigot and Philipsburg.” To further exacerbate and move this away from the local authorities is the decision by the…
