PHILIPSBURG – Port de Plaisance Boutique is the rightful owner of the Sunset Building in Simpson Bay. Attempts by its previous owners – United St. Maarten party leader Frans Richardson and Bureau Telecommunication and Post director Anthony Carty, as well as their company Paradise Real Estate (PRE) – to declare the auction of the property null and void fell on deaf ears in the Court in First Instance last year December 2019. Here is a recap of how Frans Richardson lost his beautiful building. In November 2011, Scotia Bank (now Republic Bank) extended a $2 million loan to PRE, to…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPBURG — The Sint Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) calls for an immediate revocation of the new “Policy on issuance of Labor Permits”, as was published last Friday February 7th in the National Gazette. The policy change is meant to decrease unemployment and underemployment of residents. SHTA fully aligns with the Ministry on this ambition, but stands vehemently against the policy. The SHTA’S objections to the change in policy are supported by The Sint Maarten Timeshare Association (SMTA), the Sint Maarten Marine Trades Association (SMMTA) and the Indian Merchants Association (IMA) in this protest. The association stresses it will only…
PHILIPSBURG — The Department of Civil Aviation informs the public that with the implementation of the Ministerial Regulation limiting the use of RPAS/UAS or drones, there are zones now established where drone flights are prohibited, so-called No Fly Zones. In this article we will discuss what does this means for the many drone pilots exercising their craft here on St. Maarten taking aerial photos and making drone video footages by operating their aerial crafts, such as remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS)/unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) or drones as they are colloquially called. Drones flights in these ‘no fly zones’ can only…
PHILIPSBURG – The Central Bank of Curacao and Sint Maarten (CBCS) has presented the governments of both countries with a draft national ordinance aimed to establish a deposit guarantee regulation. Such a measure would protect the deposits of accountholders at licensed banks. For accountholders at the Christian Kingdom Cooperative in St. Maarten that went bankrupt in 2010 and the Girobank in Curacao that measure comes too late. The Central Bank says in a press release that it will discuss the draft ordinance with the two countries before it will be submitted for decision making and implementation, so it could still…
By Hilbert Haar When Girobank accountholders in Curacao panicked and started a run on the bank, the Central Bank was quick to point out that all deposits up to 10,000 guilders (just over $5,500) were safe and that this meant that more than 90 percent of all accountholders had nothing to fear. The other ten percent was obviously in a bit of a bind. This little safety net was based on international deposit guarantee standards according to the Central Bank. But the chaos at the Girobank seemingly has inspired the Central Bank to draft a national ordinance aimed at protecting…
Door Hilbert Haar Toen door paniek bevangen Girobank rekeninghouders in Curacao een stormloop op de bank ontketenden was de Centrale Bank er als de kippen bij om duidelijk te maken dat alle tegoeden tot een bedrag van 10,000 gulden (iets meer dan $5,500) waren gegarandeerd en dat dit betekende dat meer dan 90 procent van de rekeninghouders niets te vrezen had. De resterende tien procent had vanzelfsprekend een probleem. Het bescheiden vangnet was volgens de Centrale Bank gebaseerd op internationale deposito garantie normen. Maar de chaos bij de Girobank heeft de Centrale Bank kennelijk toch geinspireerd tot het opstellen van…
PHILIPSBURG – De Centrale Bank van Curacao en Sint Maarten (CBCS) heeft de regeringen van beide landen een ontwerp verordening voorgelegd voor de vaststelling van een depositogarantieregeling. Deze maatregel beschermt de tegoeden van rekeninghouders bij banken met een licentie van de Centrale Bank. Voor rekeninghouders by the Christian Kingdom Cooperative (CKC) in Sint Maarten en voor verontruste rekeninghouders by the Girobank in Curacao komt het voorstel echter te laat. De Centrale Bank stelt in een persbericht dat het de ontwerp verordening gaat bespreken met de twee landen voor het wordt ingediend voor besluitvorming en implementatie; het kan dus nog wel…
by Cdr. Bud Slabbaert One of the reasons why people prefer to fly on a private charter are the typical inconveniences of flying scheduled commercially. A good longtime friend of mine, Prissy, prefers to fly private. But, when her son is flying their Learjet and her daughter drives the Lamborghini, Prissy must fly scheduled. Prissy flew to Philadelphia and experienced that her lost luggage didn’t arrive. After realizing that her luggage remained absent from the carousel, she agitatedly walked through the terminal towards the baggage claim area with the determination of a Caterpillar bulldozer to flatten anything that comes in…
Philipsburg—After having served as the Head of the Department of Economic Licenses for the last 6 years, Valya Pantophlet has now moved on to head the division of Economy, Transport & Telecommunication (ETT). The division of ETT is tasked with the development of policies and regulations geared towards among others (sustainable) economic growth, while also providing the executing agencies with the necessary legislative tools to execute their tasks effectively and efficiently. Minister Gordon indicated that the position became vacant following hurricane Irma in 2017. After going through several recruitment processes, Pantophlet was ultimately selected as the best candidate for the…
PHILIPSBURG — From Princess Juliana International Airport to Hato Airport in Curaçao in an hour and twenty minutes. This is now possible twice a week with Jetair Caribbean. Jetair flies a Fokker 70 between Curaçao and St. Maarten on Wednesdays and Sundays. “A boy’s dream has come true,” says businessman Antonio ‘Tony’ Ribeiro about the inaugural flight of Jetair Sunday afternoon to St. Maarten. Smiling broadly, the owner of the new Curaçao airline United Caribbean Airlines BV, license holder for Jetair Caribbean, posed with the pilot, crew and management next to the aircraft at Princess Juliana International Airport. CEO Robert…
