PHILIPSBURG – Finance Minister Ardwell Irion disagrees with financial supervisor Cft about its opinion that, by floating a 75 million guilders bond with the Central Bank, St. Maarten violates article 16 of the consensus kingdom law financial supervision (Rft). “Article 16 is vague,” Irion said during Wednesday’s Council of Minister Press briefing. “It is about loans for capital investments and we adhere to that. The bond that is floated now is to cover the costs of government operations. These are not capital expenditure loans and they do not fall under article 16. The statement of the Cft is one hundred…
Author: The Publisher
~ NAGICO donates Hand Sanitizing and Temperature Check stations to all Public Schools and school supplies for Public School students ~ PHILIPSBURG, SINT MAARTEN – In preparation for the reopening of Schools to in class instructions, NAGICO Insurances has donated automated hand sanitizing and temperature check stations to all seven (7) Public Schools and school supplies for the students. This donation is a result of a partnership formed between NAGICO, the Ministry of Education, Sports & Culture to fully outfit the Public Schools with the necessary safety equipment and items needed to allow for proper sanitization, health and safety measures…
PHILIPSBURG — “The unveiling of a multi-million dollar project by the current Minister of VROMI demostrates the depth of how out of touch with reality this coalition Government is.” Thus states the United Democrats (UD) party in a press release to the media. The UD questioned, “What are the details of this project especially the source of funding and the overall projected cost?” Related news: Minister Doran intends to bring life to Philipsburg One of this Minister’s core speaking points was always a Calibration department during his tenure as a Member of Parliament. You would think a matter like this…
PHILIPSBURG – Unless Finance Minister Ardwell Irion makes a U-turn, there will be a 75 million guilders bond issue for St. Maarten on October 21. It is an expensive attempt to get the country out of its financial quagmire, because the interest rate on the bond is 5 percent and St. Maarten will have to pay 1,875,000 guilders interest every six months for 25 years. At the end of its term, on October 21, 2045, the bond will have cost the country 48,750,000 guilders in interest. Related news: Central Bank announces new bond issue for St. Maarten The Central Bank…
As we mark the 10th anniversary of the day St. Maarten became “an autonomous country within the Kingdom of The Netherlands” on October 10, 2010, otherwise known as “10-10-10” that Chinese saying comes to mind: “A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.” How far have we traveled on this journey? What is our destination? And when and why did we take that first step? We would have to search our history to find the answers to these and other relevant questions. But let me say, without any fear of contradiction, that we have journeyed far, however,…
Everyone always progressing” — “Quisgue semper proficiens” My colleagues and the people of St. Maarten a very pleasant good afternoon. In commemorating October 10, 2010, instinctively as a public servant you start to think about your role. You are defacto part of government and governing, so you reflect and look ahead from that premise. As public servants however, there are times when you get so caught up in your bubble of working day and night for your people that occasionally you forget that the best gauge of information about your country is a five minute discussion with any citizen. By…
Good morning Mr. Chairman, Griffiers, my colleagues in Parliament, and those joining us online and via radio, both here and abroad. Mr. Chairman, like my colleagues before me, I do believe that this is a time for critical reflection and discussion. We must reflect on the ENTIRE ten years and not just focus on Hurricane Irma and COVID-19. These are bad things, but they are not the starting points for the social dilemmas facing Country St. Maarten. The issues we’re experiencing now have existed for years: in fact, since many who voted in the 2020 election were children. The harsh…
Dear Editor, I am an eternal optimist. The glass is always half full rather than half empty. My Letter to the Editor of April 9, 2020, entitled FOOD FOR THOUGHT in which I concluded THIS COUNTRY STATUS EXPERIMENT HAS FAILED, for some may have been considered out of character for me. But, the forced business closure due to COVID-19 required by Government (a move I endorsed and applauded), while business owners still have to operate under the yoke of 50-year-old archaic Labor Laws, do that to a person! How is it POSSIBLE or FAIR that owners and managing directors of…
~ Dr. Lloyd J. Richardson was the first chairperson of the Parliament of Sint Maarten ~ PHILIPSBURG – Looking back on ten years of autonomy within the Kingdom of the Netherlands reveals how fast memories fade. When StMaartenNews.com posed the question: who was the first Chairperson of Parliament after 10-10-10, only one reader came up with the correct answer: Member of Parliament for the UP Party, Dr. Loyd J. Richardson. Dr. Richardson presided over the first meeting on 10-10-10 as the oldest Member of Parliament. That same day, Parliament elected Drs. Gracita Arrindell as its President. Arrindell was optimistic and…
PHILIPSBURG –- Successive governments since 10-10-10 have been epic failures. That’s not an opinion, but a statement based on findings of the General Audit Chamber that are published in its report Retrospective – Ten years of the General Audit Chamber. “There has not been much in terms of positive change and accountability is still absent. It is like watching the same film year after year, the same structural errors, a continued lack of reliable information, and with that, the same passivity.” The report notes that the answer to achieving increased financial autonomy lies in improving financial management. “The situation cannot…
