~ 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…
Author: The Publisher
~ How to deal with litterbugs? ~ What do you do when you see people littering? ~ Many people are seen littering the streets and beaches despite there being bins for the same. Throwing light on this, we interviewed people responsible for throwing trash and also those who pick up someone else’s trash. “It’s a daily recurring headache, I’m really tired of it,” says a beach chair owner at Kimsha Beach. “Beer bottles, plastic cups, foam containers, the beach is littered with them every morning. That rubbish does not come from tourists, because there are hardly any. No. Locals, who…
ST. PETER’S — TelEm’s Fiber to Home project is a source of contention for local workers. In St. Peters, the hiring of illegal immigrants by contractors led to protests in the neighborhood. Residents who years ago laid the cables for telephone and internet in their neighborhoods, now have to watch with sorrow how strangers dig trenches and draw cables in every street. “This is our job,” says a man who grew up in St. Peters. Angry: “How is it possible that not we, but foreigners get the work? We know exactly where all the cables are located in the area,…
PHILIPSBURG — On Tuesday, Member of Parliament, (MP) Claudius Buncamper, of the United St. Maarten Party (USP) faction in Parliament, sent a letter to Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs addressing the local sub-contractors who were left without payment for works they carried out for MER Sint Maarten B.V., the company contracted by TELEM. “The local contractors have been left hanging with huge unpaid invoices”, MP Buncamper stated in his letter to the PM. Some of the local contractors have taken MER Sint Maarten to court and won their cases, but there are no assets and no money that can be seized…
PHILIPSBURG — A 27-year-old man with the initials M.B is now in police custody, after being shot in the leg while officers were responding to reports of a possible breaking and entering at a used car dealership in the Cole Bay area on Sunday, November 29th, 2020. The Police dispatch center received several calls regarding persons being spotted breaking into and damaging cars at the car lot location. Patrols rushed to the scene and were approached by one of the managers of the dealership. They were informed that the security had seen several unknown persons stealing parts from the vehicles…
ST. PETER’S — On Sunday, 29th November, 2020 at around 5:30pm, the Police Dispatch Center received information that a man was found not showing any signs of life along a hiking trail on St. Peter’s hill. Patrols, Fire, and Ambulance personnel were dispatched to the area. Upon arrival the officers and the fire personnel encountered the male, after checking his vital signs, he was carried up the hill, where ambulance personnel was waiting to take over. The doctor was called to the scene to officially pronounces the victim dead. After a brief investigation, it was later concluded that he died…
PHILIPSBURG – Justice Minister Egbert Doran was “unreasonable” when he decided to fire Pointe Blanche Prison Director Alwin Keli per March 24, 2020. The Court in First Instance ruled on November 20 that the country has to pay Keli 55,904 guilders ($31,231) plus de equivalent value of unused vacation days and the accompanying vacation allowance. The government also has to pay the costs of the court procedure, an amount of around 1,775 guilders ($992). The court declared its ruling executable with immediate effect. Minister Doran gave Keli a warning on February 6, 2020, and already the next day he announced…
We are amazed how often we hear or read a statement saying the media should write about this, publish a story about or that the media should do more investigations. Surprisingly, when the media do write about certain issues, it is then written off as melee, gossip and yellow journalism. A big complaint on the island is that the media does not do enough investigative journalism. But guess what, a big part of investigative journalism is that people need to go on record and make statements about whatever the issue is that is affecting them. However, the problem is many…
PHILIPSBURG — United St. Maarten Party (USP) Member of Parliament Claudius “Toontje” Buncamper on Friday fired off a number of questions to Prime Minister, Silveria Jacobs, regarding government’s failure to appoint new board members to the board of the Social Economic Council (SER). The MP questioned the reason why the new board members have not yet been appointed and when does government expect to do so. In addition to government’s negligence to appoint new board members, the MP enquired about the number of members of the current board and the legality thereof, and how many members does government intend to…
There are so many loopholes in our laws that we can rightfully be called the land of the lawless. Time to plug those loopholes. Do you agree? Leave a comment below…
