AIRPORT — On Wednesday, June 17, 2020, several meetings and discussions took place between the airport workers and management and representatives of government/parliament, in particular, President of Parliament, MP Rolando Brison, who can be seen here in this video clip addressing the employees at the Princess Juliana International Airport, who voiced their concerns and told MP Brison that they were ready to strike if their concerns were not addressed by the airport management board. Watch the video online here>>> Airport worker describes her family’s plight after hurricane Irma with no assistance from Airport yet her pay was cut because she…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG – The temporary closure of the border between the French and the Dutch side of the island has brought to light the magnitude of fraud with the French social security system, committed by people living on Dutch St. Maarten. The soualigapost.com web site reported this week that social security payments by La Banque Postale dropped by around one million euros each in the months of April and May due to the fact that Dutch side fraudsters were unable to enter French territory to withdraw money – putting the damages for that period against the current rate of exchange at…
“We are in serious times, that require strong forward-thinking leadership,” says UD board PHILIPSBURG — The board of the United Democrats (UD) held an urgent meeting on Tuesday evening to discuss the latest developments and issues affecting our people and our country, the party board’s release stated. The release further states that one of the main premises of the meeting was to hear from the party leader, MP Sarah Wescot-Williams, and get the board’s perspective on some key issues, “we as a people are faced with today.” “We surely have not been blind to the issues plaguing our people and…
PHILIPSBURG -– On June 16th, 2020, State Secretary Knops held and chaired a meeting regarding several urgent matters, including the conditions for further liquidity support from the Kingdom Council. Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs and the Minister of Finance Ardwell Irion were in attendance. The Prime Minister believes that State Secretary Knops did not have all the necessary information before the meeting and behaved in an unbecoming manner. Prime Minister Jacobs stated, “As kingdom partners, we should treat each other with mutual respect, and that certainly did not happen during the meeting.” According to Prime Minister Jacobs, the information submitted on…
by Dr. Hensley D. Tromp ~ The Corona RMR walks and talks like the pre-Corona RMR ~ With unmatched exuberance, the Curaçao government announced the Rijksministerraad (RMR) decision of March 27, 2020, to exempt Curaçao from complying with the provisions of article 15 paragraph 1 of the Rijkswet financieel toezicht (Rft), which calls for a balanced budget. This decision by the RMR was taken in light of the government’s request in pursuit of article 25 paragraph 1 of the Rft to deal with the consequences of the coronavirus crisis. This exuberance proved short-lived, however, when it was announced that on…
PHILIPSBURG -– On June 16, 2020, Party for Progress (PFP) Members of Parliament (MP) Melissa Gumbs and Raeyhon Peterson have submitted questions to the Honorable Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (VROMI) Egbert C. Doran. Previously, on February 26th, 2020, the PFP faction had submitted questions to the then-caretaker Minister of VROMI Christopher Wever concerning the actions undertaken by the Ministry during the period of caretaker status of the former Council of Ministers. The questions posed to Wever concerned, among others, the long outstanding lack of policy related to the issuance of government long-lease land and water…
PHILIPSBURG— Faction Leader for the United People’s Party in Parliament of St. Maarten, the honourable Grisha Heyliger-Marten, is demanding that government “put our local contractors and companies to work first.” In a press release issued Tuesday by MP Heyliger-Marten she asked whether the mistakes of the past would repeat themselves where foreign contractors are allowed to bring their own heavy equipment to the island despite many local companies owning the same types of machines. “I am calling on the Ministers of Government responsible for these projects to ensure that this time around the people of St. Maarten are protected. Contractors…
POND ISLAND — The Supervisory Board of Directors of the Telem Group of Companies has recently requested a shareholders meeting with the Council of Ministers; specifically, with the Shareholder Representative and Prime Minister, Ms. Silveria Jacobs. The purpose is to discuss pending matters from the previous sitting government, with specific attention to the current situations brewing at the Telem Group of Companies. The Supervisory Board in its communication to the government provided a proposed agenda which includes among other topics, the appointment of a fifth board member, a spot that had to be filled since the removal of Mr. Arnell…
~ and about the Assistance by the Government of the Netherlands to Fund these Programs ~ PHILIPSBURG – Three factions in Parliament have requested an urgent meeting of Parliament to hear from the Government regarding the SSRP payroll and unemployment programs and the status of the liquidity assistance from the Netherlands. This matter has taken on more urgency, given the deadline of June 15th as communicated by State Secretary R. Knops, and the reliance on the second tranche of 29M NAF to fund the SSRP programs. In their letter to the Chairperson of Parliament, the three factions also mentioned a…
PHILIPSBURG – Justice Minister Anna Richardson has issued a press statement about the status of temporary residence permit-holders, warning them to arrange the extension of their permit or run the risk of deportation. MPs Melissa Gumbs and Raeyhon Peterson (Party for Progress) have expressed concerns about compliance with international human rights standards in questions they submitted to the minister. The PFP notes in its questions that statements and press releases are not legally binding and that any action by the ministry has to be based on the law – be it through a national ordinance, a national decree, or a…
