“IN MEMORY OF THE LATE MR. LOUIS DUZANSON” PHILIPSBURG — Gracita Arrindell, former President of Parliament states that, “it is with deep sorrow we mourn the passing of our former colleague, the late Mr. Louis Duzanson, former head of the department of General affairs Island Territory St. Maarten.” “Mr. Duzanson was loved and highly respected by all who had the privilege to work and be trained by him for decades. He was particularly, skilled in document registration and archiving. His work went far beyond the correct and timely processing of documents traversing the corridors of the government apparatus. He was…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG — The Delegation of the European Union (EU) in Guyana, for Suriname and with responsibility for Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Saint-Barthélemy, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten is announcing a special facility to support the Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) as they face the enormous resilience challenges that the COVID-19 crisis has further precipitated. The facility is an immediate response to help the OCTs as it has been incorporated into the existing EU-funded RESEMBID programme (Resilience, Sustainable Energy, and Marine Biodiversity Programme) for Caribbean OCTs which has been in operation from its base on St. Maarten and is implemented…
By Sanvi Ramrakhiani Every weekend Lisa goes to the seashore. She loves playing with sand, collecting sea shells and watching small fishes in the sea. She finds peace near water. One day she sees round-shaped eggs close to the seashore rocks. She wonders which creature’s eggs are those. She started coming everyday to the seashore in order to know which creature’s eggs were those. After two or three days she saw a turtle protecting the eggs and she understood the turtle is the mother of the eggs. She read about the metamorphosis process and this was a good time to…
PHILIPSBURG – Recently, international health organizations have called for the use of barrier masks to complement protective hygiene measures and social distancing rules to help slow the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). In an effort to provide as many barrier masks to St. Maarten residents as possible, the St. Maarten Development Fund (SMDF) has launched their Masks for the Masses project with the help of over 20 local seamstresses and tailors. Hobbyist and professional seamstresses and tailors offered to assist in producing approximately 1000 adult and child cloth face masks for those most in need of them. The intention is…
~ In solidarity with the pain and suffering that many on the island are enduring during this period, the Council of Ministers has decided that the flags at government buildings on St. Maarten will fly at half-mast until it has been determined that the country is out of the COVID-19 pandemic. ~ PHILIPSBURG — Based on advice from the Minister of Public Housing, Planning, Environment & Infrastructure (VROMI), the honorable Minister Egbert Jurendy Doran, flags at government buildings around the country will be flown at half-mast. This will be done in memory of the nine persons who tested positive for…
PHILIPSBURG — The Cul de Sac, Cole Bay and Little Bay areas are the districts on Dutch St. Maarten with a majority of persons who tested positive for the corona virus called COVID-19. Other areas with persons who have tested positive, reside in Simpson Bay, Upper Princess Quarter and Lower Princess Quarter. No positive cases of persons residing in Lowlands and Philipsburg have been recorded to date although they are persons who are or have been in self-quarantine and self-isolation in these areas at one point or another. This is according to information from government’s COVID-19 dashboard shared with members…
CAY HILL — With the Mobile Medical Pavilion (MMP) and the ICU Hospitainer, both located across St. Maarten Medical Center at the basketball and tennis courts at Raoul Illidge Sport Complex, now fully operational, the next phase is to start preparing the transfer of COVID care to this area outside SMMC in order for the hospital to allow regular care and consultations to resume once the conditions of the lockdown allow for this to take place. “Last month, SMMC ceased elective medical procedures and consultations as part of the preventative measures SMMC’s Outbreak Management Team (OMT) implemented in order to…
PHILIPSBURG — In an ongoing effort to contain and mitigate the COVID-19 virus on St. Maarten, Prime Minister and Chair of the EOC Silveria Jacobs declared a State of Emergency on St. Maarten on April 4, 2020, during her National Address, with immediate effect as of April 5, 2020. This state of emergency instituted a total lockdown of Dutch St. Maarten including the ports of entry and the borders to the Northern side of the island. After several heavy discussions with the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and strategic meetings with the relevant Emergency Support Function (ESF) coordinators, the decision was…
PHILIPSBURG — On Wednesday, April 15, 2020, the Honourable Minister of Justice Anna E. Richardson, held a virtual meeting with various stakeholders from within the ministry as well as representatives from external agencies. The meeting’s purpose was to address a growing concern within the community and the relevant stakeholders regarding child protection in general and specifically the Alternative Care System (foster care system), which has changed drastically over the last three years. Since then, there has been a decrease in the number of Alternative Care Homes (Foster Homes) currently in operation on the island. With the sudden closure of two…
PHILIPSBURG – “The budget cannot finance the measures necessary to safeguard the health of the population and avoid social unrest and disruption of the already fragile economy. We need support from the Netherlands,” the Stimulus Relief Plan presented by Finance Minister Ardwell Irion states. The plan was completed on April 4 and sent to parliament on April 13. It asks the Netherlands for 254 million guilders (almost $142 million) in support to cover expenditures for the months April, May and June. The plan assumes that 50 to 80 percent of St. Maarten’s gross domestic product (GDP) is depending on tourism.…
