GREAT BAY — On Monday, November 18, 2019, Faction Leader of the Sint Maarten Christian Party and Member of Parliament, Claude Chacho Peterson, sent a letter to President of Parliament informing him of his resignation as a Member of Parliament according to article 49, sub 2 of the Constitution of St. Maarten. MP Peterson was quoted as saying: “Since the formation of Government process in 2018, I always told the Leader of SMCP, Mr. Wycliffe Smith, I would give back the seat to the party should Government fall and he would no longer be Minister. I became MP when Mr.…
Author: The Publisher
Harbour View – On Saturday evening, November 16, 2019, the Governor of Sint Maarten, His Excellency drs. E.B. Holiday, received the final report from formateur Ms. S. Jacobs. The formateur has accepted the commission to form an interim government supported by a majority in Parliament comprised of the NA-fraction, the USP-fraction, and independent Members of Parliaments L. Mercelina, C. Brownbill and R. Brison. The new government consists of Ministers who will, amongst others, give priority to conclude the legislation regarding the combating of money laundering and financing of terrorism, to execute the agreements made with The Netherlands regarding the financing…
PHILIPSBURG — StMaartenNews.com is nominated for a Crystal Pineapple Award as Media Personality of the Year via the person of our writer Hilbert Haar. Love him or hate him, his iconic photo image has been the face of StMaartenNews.com since its launch in October 2017. Despite his retirement, Hilbert Haar continues to be the watchdog in our St. Maarten society. Hilbert Haar is the embodiment of what StMaartenNews.com stands for. StMaartenNews.com stands for a critical but fair approach towards decision makers. StMaartenNews.com stands for respect of human rights. StMaartenNews.com stands for the protection of the environment. StMaartenNews.com stands for the…
THE VALLEY, ANGUILLA — Former Minister of Public Health, Labor and Social Development, Emil Lee, was invited to participate as a keynote speaker at the 13th Caribbean Conference on National Health Financing Initiatives held in Anguilla at the Cuisinart Resort on Monday November 4th. The conference seeks to provide a platform for participants to share their experiences and to learn from other professionals in the field of healthcare. Mr. Lee’s keynote address was entitled, “A Practical, Political and Financial Perspective on Universal Health: The St. Maarten Experience”. “While a lot of time is spent on the technical and financial process, the process to get the politicians and the public to understand and support the effort should not be underestimated. The draft General Health Insurance (GHI) legislation for St. Maarten is currently waiting…
PHILIPSBURG – Foreign investors are moving in on the banking sector in St. Maarten, After Trinidad-based Republic Financial Holdings Limited bought the activities of Scotia Bank – that will now become Republic Bank – for $123 million in August, GNB Financial Group, owned by Colombian banker Jaime Gilinski Bacal, put up $779 million for a majority share in Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) FirstCaribbean. GNB now controls FirstCaribbean banking activities in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, St. Maarten. Anguilla, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Dominica. GNB also operates banks in Grenada, Guyana, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Ghana and…
PORT ST. MAARTEN – A delegation from Port St. Maarten and other local stakeholders recently returned from the flagship marine event, the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (FLIBS) in Florida. Owned by the Marine Industries Association of South Florida (MIASF) and produced by Informa Markets, FLIBS is recognized as the largest in-water boat show in the world. FLIBS spans more than three million square-feet of exhibit space. The five-day show attracts approximately 110,000 attendees and 1,200 exhibitors representing 52 countries with more than 1,500 boats on display each November. “Attending the boat show allowed us to gain insight into the…
By Hilbert Haar The parliament meeting about funding for the airport reconstruction was rather bewildering – at least, that was my experience. Finance Minister Perry Geerlings made clear that the bondholders refuse to sign off on the loan agreements with the World Bank Trust Fund and the European investment Bank until parliament unequivocally declares that the incoming interim government will honor these agreements. Only then will the bondholders release the $72 million insurance pay-out that is currently under its control. Passing a motion presented by Christian Party MP Claude Peterson would most likely have satisfied the bondholders. But former opposition…
PHILIPSBURG – After a parliament meeting that lasted close to three hours and fifty minutes, Christian Party MP Claude Peterson’s motion that aimed to assure bondholders about the caretaker government’s authority to sign off on loans from the World Bank and the European Investment Bank for the reconstruction of the airport failed to get majority support due to a lack of quorum. When it was time to vote, there were only seven parliamentarians left in the meeting. MPs Franklin Meyers, Jules James, William Marlin and Chanel Brownbill were not there, while MPs Brison and Emmanuel had already left before the…
PHILIPSBURG – Parliament unanimously approved the initiative of MP Rolando Brison to conduct a parliamentary inquiry into issues concerning the Mullet Bay property. An amendment presented by MP Sarah Wescot-Williams, geared towards narrowing down the scope of the inquiry, was defeated by 8 to 4 votes. Brison presented an abbreviated version of the proposal he made earlier in a central committee meeting. “This is an historic day, because it is the first time parliament discusses a parliamentary inquiry,” Brison said, adding that the inquiry aims to “remedy the ill-managed issue of the Mullet Bay property.” The MP furthermore said that…
PHILIPSBURG — MP Rolando Brison made Parliamentary history again on Tuesday when his proposal to conduct a Parliamentary into Mullet Bay was approved by Parliament by a unanimous vote. All members of Parliament present voted FOR! It was the first time the Parliament for St. Maarten voted to initiate a Parliamentary inquiry into any subject. As he has been stressing for a few months already, MP Brison re-iterated that the people of St. Maarten has waited nearly a quarter of a century to see any kind of action on Mullet Bay. The time to act is NOW. “24 Years is…
