Author: The Publisher

Dear Editor, Please allow me the opportunity to express my concerns regarding the unfortunate incidents that occurred on August 22, 2024, involving the St. Kitts & Nevis registered motor vessels ‘Blue Wave’ and ‘Paradise Sun,’ during our planned travel, scheduled for 9:00 AM, from St. Eustatius (Statia) to St. Kitts. Eighteen (18) passengers, including young children, were keenly anticipating the celebrations surrounding a family wedding set to take place in St. Kitts on August 24. Despite our careful planning and compliance with all necessary arrangements, our experience was marred by an unexpected and unnecessary delay caused by the Dutch Caribbean…

GREAT BAY — The persistent power outages plaguing St. Maarten have become a national crisis, severely impacting small hoteliers and their guests. The St. Maarten Small Properties Association (SMSPA), led by President Ms. Paulina Nzinga Lake, has voiced its concerns, applauding Honorable MP Ludmila de Weever for bringing this critical issue to the floor of Parliament. Small hoteliers, the backbone of St. Maarten’s hospitality industry, are grappling with the harsh realities of inconsistent power supply. These outages not only disrupt essential services like air conditioning, internet, lights, telephone, and security systems but also significantly tarnish the overall guest experience. “The…

~ MP Ludmila De Weever’s Candid Speech on Party Leadership and Policy Recommendations ~ PHILIPSBURG – In a bold and revealing address, Member of Parliament (MP) Ludmila De Weever expressed her frustrations with Party for Progress (PFP) leadership while offering crucial insights and recommendations for the incoming ministers in the Council of Ministers. On the day of the closing of the parliamentary year, De Weever not only addressed personal political struggles but emphasized the necessity for political leaders to prioritize the struggles of the people over power dynamics within their ranks. Highlighting her disappointment with the internal dynamics of the…

HARBOUR VIEW, PHILIPSBURG — Considering the results of the August 19, 2024, elections, consultations held with the political leaders of all seven political parties that have succeeded in gaining at least one seat, and in taking due account of the four parties that signed the declaration of intent to form a coalition on Thursday August 22, 2024, namely the SAM, the PFP, the DP and the URSM, His Excellency Governor Ajamu G. Baly, LL.M. has requested the leader of the URSM, Mr. Luc Mercelina, to take into consideration an assignment as Formateur.   In that capacity, the Governor has requested…

Speculation is rampant about who will be ministers of which ministries. Initially it was expected that an information and a formation process with respectively an informateur and a formateur would be followed. Somehow that idea – that was proposed by Melissa Gumbs, party leader of the PFP party – got torpedoed quickly and a coalition was immediately agreed to by the URSM, DP, PFP and SAM after elections. To hell with a (in)formation process. And there went integrity and transparency – long championed by the PFP party – out the window. Remarkably, one coalition party was quickly abandoned in this…

PHILIPSBURG — In the wake of a troubling incident that has gone viral on social media, the President of the Dutch St. Maarten Taxi Association (DSTA), Maya Friday, has issued a public statement highlighting the urgent need for reforms in the island’s taxi permit and training systems. The incident, which occurred on Monday, September 3, 2024, involved an airport-based female taxi driver who apparently lost her way while transporting newly arrived passengers. The passengers, who became increasingly concerned with the situation, asked to be taken to a police station or back to the airport after the driver claimed to be…

~ Winners, losers and food for thought ~ PHILIPSBURG — Political scientist Julio Romney has assessed the results of the August 19 snap parliamentary elections in St. Maarten, where he believes some politicians have to begin considering their political future. Romney was positive about the Unified Resilient St. Maarten Movement (URSM) and the Democratic Party (DP), as these two increased their seat counts from two to three seats. “I think that the electorate felt somewhat comfortable with the leader of URSM. URSM didn’t do much campaigning at all. They were busy trying to out fires dealing with St. Maarten problems…

~ St. Maarten Government t to sell recovered items on boat if unclaimed in two weeks ~ PHILIPSBURG — Owners of items on the Island Scout sea vessel that ran aground on Great Beach in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Ernesto, have just about two weeks to claim them from the Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (VROMI). A notice published this week by the VROMI Ministry announced that the minister has decided, based on Article 9, sub 1 of the LANDSVERORDENING houdende maatregelen tot opruiming van schepen en wrakken in zee en op het zeestrand, to…

~ National Alliance remains largest party in St. Maarten after final recount ~ only minor changes to MPs vote tally ~ PHILIPSBURG — While some Members of Parliament-elect from the August 19 snap elections gained votes following the Central Voting Bureau recount, which ended late Wednesday night, the seat allocations remain unchanged and the official seat count is the same. The final vote count for the members of parliament after this week’s recount shows the following: Luc Mercelina (URSM) gaining two more votes from preliminary count with his final tally at 1317 Ludmilla de Weever (PFP) remains at 690 votes…

Success factors By Hilbert Haar The idea to establish a support fund for struggling local businesses sounds sympathetic and I agree that businesses that have trouble making ends meet through no fault of their own deserve that support. Whether any business manages to keep its head above the economically troubled waters obviously depends not only on the market but also on a range of other factors. I get it: somebody has an idea that sounds good and turns it into a business, expecting that the products or services this company is going to provide will find buyers. If there are…