PORT ST. MAARTEN – The Simpson Bay Bridge despite an incident on Sunday afternoon is fully operational for outbound and inbound Mega Yachts and regular boat traffic. On Sunday afternoon after the incident, the bridge continued to operate according to the seasonal schedule. The Bridge Attendant Booth at the Simpson Bay Bridge on Sunday during the 3.00pm bridge opening, an inbound Mega Yacht vessel veered too much to the right and collided with the booth causing structural damage. There were no injuries and the damage were limited to the inbound Mega Yacht vessel. The bridge operational equipment remains intact and…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG – Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs, supported by the Council of Ministers, decided today, in a second emergency meeting with Police representatives, senior staff of the Ministries of General Affairs, Justice, and TEATT, that Government of St. Maarten will not grant clearance for commercial cargo ships to dock at the Port of St. Maarten nor for the military transportation trucks to be offloaded and transported via the sea to Galisbay as requested by Mme. la Préfète Foucher. Prime Minister Jacobs could also not grant permission on Saturday to a request from Mme. la Préfète Foucher in relation to allowing a…
PHILIPSURG — The Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs, Minister of Justice Egbert Doran, Minister of (Tourism, Economic Affairs, Telecommunications and Transport (TEATT) Mellissa Arrindell-Doncher, along with the Police, Immigration department and senior staff of the relevant ministries held an emergency meeting on Saturday, December, 2019, to deal with the consequences of the effects of the current demonstrations and road blocks happening on the French of St. Martin over the last 3 days. “We are in solidarity with the people of French St. Martin and their struggle, and pray that dialogue will resolve the current impasse in the interest of all concerned.…
THE HAGUE/PHILIPSBURG (13 December 2019) – The Kingdom Council of Ministers today, Friday, approved the appointment of Senior Judge in The Hague Mrs. H.W. (Rian) Vogels as President of the Integrity Chamber of Sint Maarten. Vogels will fully assume her post as of January 2020 following her swearing-in by Sint Maarten Governor Eugene Holiday. As per January 2020, Vogels will step down from her post as a senior judge in the Netherlands. The function of judge is incompatible with that of president/member of the Integrity Chamber. Vogels has made her career in the judicial field in the Netherlands. Since 2007,…
~ MP Brison to Chair, MP Emmanuel Vice Chair ~ PHILIPSBURG — The members of the Mullet Bay Inquiry Commission were appointed on Wednesday by Parliament with MP Rolando Brison being appointed Chairman and MP Christopher Emmanuel as Vice-Chairman. The commission is a bi-partisan body that also includes MP’s Tamara Leonard, Sidharth Bijlani, Anna Richardson and Solange Duncan as a substitute member in case another MP cannot make a meeting. MP Brison is the initiator of the Parliamentary inquiry into Mullet Bay which received unanimous support from Parliament last month. It was a historic moment for the Parliament of St.…
PHILIPSBURG/THE HAGUE — Although out of function, Michael Somersall, former Deputy Minister of Plenipotentiary for the Sint Maarten Christian Party, SMCP, in The Hague, The Netherlands, is still busy working on finding solutions for the many problems facing the island of Sint Maarten. Somersall got in contact with the World Sustainable Fund, WSF, through a friend and brother of the church he attends in The Hague. He met with the team of WSF, lead by Emile van Essen, to discuss the rebuilding progress, challenges and future plans of Sint Maarten. The organization’s main goal is to create the world we…
GREAT BAY — The decrease in cruise ship arrivals in St. Maarten is clearly felt by businesses in Philipsburg. Since November 1st, the start of the tourist high season, fewer of the mega-sized cruise ships have docked in St. Maarten. Relatively more European ships come to the island. Their passengers have different spending habits than what St. Maarten is used to.
PHILIPSBURG/WILLEMSTAD – The court in Curacao has increased the advance payment to the Central Bank for expenditures related to the restructuring of insurance company Ennia to 15 million guilders, the Antilliaans Dagblad reports. The newspaper obtained the information by requesting a copy of the relevant court-edict. Initially, the court limited the costs to 500,000 guilders. The chairman of the Ennia’s supervisory board Faroe Metry complained in a letter that became public in November that the costs had risen to 8 million. In a reaction, the Central Bank stated that Metry’s letter contains inaccuracies, without contesting this number. Now it appears…
By Hilbert Haar Wow, the funding agreements for the airport-reconstruction with the World Bank and the European Investment Bank have finally been signed by the current government. That’s good news for the airport and its employees and a feather in the cap of – yeah, of who exactly? The current government led by Silveria Jacobs delivered some of the signatures, exactly a month after her party, the National Alliance, together with the United St. Maarten party and a few independent MPs sabotaged attempts to appease the bondholders with a reassuring motion of confidence in parliament. Seen from that perspective, the…
PHILIPSBURG – In February MP Frans Richardson of the United St. Maarten party (USp) declared during a debate about funding for the reconstruction of the airport terminal in parliament that “The agreement with the World Bank is the worst agreement this country has ever signed.” On Monday, December 11, the government of which Richardson’s USp is now a part signed the same loan agreements with the World Bank and the European Investment Bank (EIB). The loan conditions have not changed; only the government changed. The agreement that was signed on Monday includes a $72 million grant from the World Bank…
