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,…
Author: The Publisher
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…
PHILIPSBURG – The Court in First Instance has declared the Pro Soualiga Foundation inadmissible in its injunctions against the state of the Netherlands and its Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations. The foundation wanted the court to forbid the Netherlands to establish the consensus kingdom law Reform Entity and to prohibit that the state uses the Kingdom Charter against St. Maarten. StMaartenNews.com reported already in August, shortly after the foundation had submitted its petition to the court that the demands stood on shaky grounds. But the court did not even get around to a judgment of the arguments because…
As we commemorate today, 10-10-20, 10 years of Country Sint Maarten since 10-10-10, we must inexorably conclude: “We have nothing to be proud about!” The past weeks we have reviewed the state of the mental health of our country. A countty is judged by how it takes care of its most vulnerable. Our most vulnerable are abandoned, forgotten and left isolated. To fix these problems in our country the next ten years, we need to train our own people and amass an army of strategically placed personnel, educate a cadre of competent managers and instill and inspire a new generation…
~ Are the workers better off today than ten years ago? ~ PHILIPSBURG — The labor Union WICSU-PSU is reflecting back on the last 10 years of St. Maarten being a ‘Country’. The question that comes to mind is What do we have to look back on? Ten years in a change of status from the former Netherlands Antilles to Country status, what are the highlights of this era especially for the working class of this Country during this new status? As union, we are disappointed that the report when it comes to the worker is not one of change,…
Building Our Country: Pivotal Moments by Eugene B. Holiday Governor of Sint Maarten Philipsburg, Sint Maarten Saturday, October 10, 2020 Fellow Sint Maarteners, Good Morning, Introduction Today, October 10, 2020, we observe the 10th anniversary of Sint Maarten’s Country status. The tenth anniversary of Country Status is an excellent moment to stop and take stock of our experiences in the past decade and to prepare for the challenges and opportunities for the coming decade. Today’s observance is a moment to renew our commitment to the goal of Country Status. That is to improve the wellbeing of the people of…
