PHILIPSBURG – The government is still in a bind about the liquidity support it is expecting from the Netherlands for 2018 and 2019. But so far, St. Maarten has not met the conditions the Kingdom Council of Ministers attached to this financial injection in April 2019. These conditions still apply: the Kingdom Council of Ministers demands that St. Maarten improves the detention capacity at the Pointe Blanche prison; that it tackles the salaries and fringe benefits of members of parliament; that it allows the National Police to work on the island; and that it reforms the pension system for civil…
Author: The Publisher
by Cdr. Bud Slabbaert Many executives and managers are like chicken picking around for worms in a chicken coop. However, fat worms are found by the early birds. And those early birds don’t pick around in a corral with a fence around it and a roof over it. If you are looking for fresh fat worms, look beyond the fences of the industry or the limitations of knowledge. Opportunity recognition is an important part of value creation processes. Executives and managers often lack entrepreneurship. They got their assignment because they could provide evidence of formal education, training and experience in…
By Hilbert Haar Minister Pamela Gordon-Carty is not the first one to come up with measures to protect the local labor market. Her work permit policy that went into effect on February 7 has met with instant resistance from employers organizations. Said reactions in turn have inspired other to rail against the employment of foreigners on the island. The question is of course whether the new policy will have any meaningful effect. The advice the Social Economic Council (SER) issued in November 2013 about yet another work policy measure – the counterpart-rule – immediately came to mind. And that advice…
PHILIPSBURG – There is a lot of discussion about the new work permit policy Labor Minister Pamela Gordon-Carty put into place per February 7. The Hospitality and Trade Association, the Timeshare Association, the Marine Trade Association and the Indian Merchants Association immediately rejected it and demanded that the minister withdraw the policy. So let’s take a step back and look at what is really going on here. In her introduction to the policy, as published in the National Gazette, Minister Gordon states: “The aftermath of Hurricane Irma has seen many foreigners employed with companies on Sint Maarten. In addition, several…
WILLEMSTAD – The Court in First Instance in Curacao will handle the liability procedure against insurance company ENNIA’s major shareholder Hushang Ansary and other former managers on March 30, the Antilliaans Dagblad reported, based on information obtained from the information desk of the Common Court of Justice. Ansary will have to give account for the funds he extracted from ENNIA; the insurance company operates since 2018 under an emergency measure. The procedure against Ansary has also been filed at the Bankruptcy Court Southern District of New York by the American law office of David Polk&Wardwell. The entities of ENNIA Caribe…
MP Sarah Wescot-Williams: VSA Minister’s Decision Regarding Work Permits is Haphazard and Uncoordinated. PHILIPSBURG — MP Wescot: “Where does this National Employment Service Center fit in the legal organization of the country? The announcement by the VSA Minister regarding her policy relative to foreign work permit applications is reason to query government’s modus operandi, as this comes across as a hasty and uncoordinated decision.” The organization of the country St. Maarten is regulated by national ordinance. According to that ordinance the Ministry of VSA consists of amongst others, the Department of Labor, responsible for policy. In addition, the VSA Ministry…
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…
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…
