PHILIPSBURG — Member of Parliament Christophe Emmanuel said it would be a “crying shame” if government allows the Pasanggrahan Royal Guest House, a recognized monument, to be sold without even an attempt from government to save it. Emmanuel disclosed recently that the property is schedule to be auctioned around the 10th of December 2020, but the initiators of the auctioned is willing to dialogue with government and debtors to arrange a payment plan of sorts if government is willing to initiate the dialogue. The issue is important enough to MP Emmanuel that he even offered to provide the contact information…
Author: The Publisher
By Achken Roberto Richardson Supposing Government wants to preserve building monuments, then the Country should be the owners of these properties, a policy which I can understand and do support, given the culture, Sint Maarten’s families history, the strong historical values as well as the preservation of our historical heritage have as a benefit for our economy. And if Government is not the owner of these real estates in question, then it behooves the Government to purchase or present Purchase Agreements for said properties immediately, conditional to the implementation of any Law/Ordinance or Policy, for properties purchased at market value…
PHILIPSBURG – The creation of a Monument Fund is almost completed, Minister Drs. Rodolphe Samuel (Education, Culture, Youth and Sport) told Parliament members last Thursday during a meeting about the state of the monuments in St. Maarten. According to Minister Samuel, the fund will become an independent organization that will be able to acquire funds from international and kingdom sources. Those funds will be used to help monument-owners with the restoration of their property. The minister said that maintaining monuments is the government’s responsibility if owners are unable to do this. Answering questions from members of parliament, Samuel pointed out…
PHILIPSBURG – Statements by Minister of Justice Anna Richardson about the Ombudsman’s investigation into the country’s parking and towing policy show that “the role of the Ombudsman is misunderstood,” Ombudsman Gwendolien Mossel said during a meeting of the Central Committee of Parliament on Friday. During Wednesday’s Council of Ministers press briefing Richardson dismissed the Ombudsman-report as “a blanket statement” and complained that “it is remiss that we did not have an opportunity to work together.” Richardson also criticized a video the Ombudsman posted on Facebook: “It addresses the findings in the report without giving the minister a fair chance to…
PHILIPSBURG — It was long in the making, however, Member of Parliament for the National Alliance (NA), Christophe Emmanuel, finally announced his resignation from the NA party today, Friday, December 4, 2020, declaring himself an Independent member of Parliament. In a subsequent email to the press via his press agent, the NOW Independent Member of Parliament, disseminated of copy of his resignation letter to the leader and board of the National Alliance party. The letter reads as follows: To the leader and board of the National Alliance. When I joined the National Alliance it was premised on a party principle…
PHILIPSBURG – Under the guise of “considering the position of minister in Country St. Maarten” Denicio Brison has asked Governor Drs. Eugène Holiday 24 questions regarding the screening process of ministers. However, the questions seem more related to the security investigations by the national security service VDSM then with the screening process. Former attorney Brison is currently the legal advisor to the faction of the United People’s Party (UP). He is also behind the Pro Soualiga Foundation that has made attempts to have to Kingdom charter declared null and void. The national decree of May 22, 2013, that regulates the…
PHILIPSBURG — The Police of Sint Maarten (KPSM) has been continuously working towards putting a halt to the increase in car thefts taking place on both sides of the island. A meeting between KPSM and our French counterparts was held last week to discuss the vehicles that had been previously seized by KPSM over the past days but were reported stolen via the French side. Law enforcements from both sides of the island have intensifying controls on all vehicles. A team consisting of several specialized officers has been put together to carry specific tasks to, conduct controls at various locations…
PHILIPSBURG — The board of the United St. Maarten Party (USP) on Monday said it stands behind USP MP and faction leader Claudius Buncamper in calling for a fair trial for his latest fight with the prosecuting authority on St. Maarten and questioned when is St. Maarten going to say enough is enough to underhanded tactics used by prosecuting authorities apparently on a mission to ruin every elected representative. The USP board said the 23 million price tag at the disposal of the prosecutors has yielded very little in terms of a serious conviction rate because cases of the prosecutors…
PHILIPSBURG – The government’s towing and parking policy is a mess, and in parts nonexistent, and the public prosecutor’s office has failed to collect approximately 1.3 million guilders ($758,855) in fines over the years 2015-2019. This appears from an investigation by the office of the Ombudsman into the towing policy of the police force. The amount of uncollected fines is an approximate because the data are incomplete. For 2015 and 2018 the value of issued fines is unavailable and for 2017 there are no data at all. We used the average collection result of 2019 (56 percent) and the average…
~ The SCDF would like to issue the following statement in response to comments made today by the Minister of TEATT and PM ~ PHILIPSBURG — The St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) on Wednesday said its responsibility is to always prepare for Carnival, the island’s biggest festival and it will continue to do so until it is clear that it cannot execute Carnival 2021 based on the plan it has developed for a safe festival. The foundation said while the Prime Minister and Minister of TEATT are free to comment as they see fit, the public should also be…
