Harbour View – The Governor of Sint Maarten, His Excellency drs. E.B. Holiday, following the outcome of the January 9, 2020 elections held consultations from January 10 through 14, 2020 to gather information to decide on the process for the formation of a new government. The Governor, considering the ongoing discussion regarding compliance with the standards set forth by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), also convened a meeting with the political leaders and the bankers association to underscore the importance and urgency of handling this matter for Sint Maarten irrespective of which parties form the new government. The Governor…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG – In 2017 a group of “dynamic and forward-thinking St. Maarteners” – as the party describes this on its Facebook-page – came together and founded the Party for Progress. On January 9 it entered the parliamentary elections under the heading PFP with a list of just eight candidates, fewer than any of its six competitors. More than 1,400 voters answered the party’s call for change, catapulting party leader Melissa Gumbs and her number four candidate Raeyhon Peterson into the new parliament. The electoral success of the PFP is mesmerizing in more than one way. It is, in recent history,…
PHILIPSBURG – Corruptie in eigen land belet Venezolaanse emigranten om in het buitenland een legale status te verkrijgen. Dat zeggen Venezolanen op St. Maarten die tevergeefs in Venezuela documenten aanvragen. “Het treurige is, dat het onze eigen mensen in Venezuela zijn die op allerlei manieren misbruik maken van de situatie in ons land.” Voor ‘documentos apostillados’ – kopie van een trouwakte, geboortebewijs, bewijs van goed gedrag – geldt in Venezuela een vast tarief in Bolivaros, maar in de praktijk is de legalisering van documenten inzet van handel in dollars. “Er verblijven momenteel miljoenen Venezolanen illegaal in het buitenland. De aanvragen…
PHILIPSBURG — Vier maanden vóór de invoering van de geplande visumplicht voor Venezolanen in de voormalige Nederlandse Antillen is meer dan de helft van de illegale Venezolanen op St. Maarten op eigen initiatief teruggekeerd naar Venezuela. Op dit moment bevinden zich naar schatting nog driehonderd ongedocumenteerde Venezolaanse mannen op het eiland. Santiago (41) is een van de weinige illegale Venezolanen die twee keer op de luchthaven Grand Case-Espérance in het Franse deel van het eiland landde; de eerste keer in 2017 en de tweede keer in oktober vorig jaar. Hij keerde net op tijd terug, vlak voordat de regering van…
PHILIPSBURG/WILLEMSTAD – Ruim 27.000 gedupeerde rekeninghouders bij de insolvabele Girobank NV in Curaçao kunnen alleen uitzien naar uitkering van eventuele resttegoeden als Nederland te hulp schiet. Dat blijkt uit een relaas van Etienne Ys, voorzitter van de Raad van Commissarissen bij de Centrale Bank van Curaçao en St. Maarten. De voorzitter van het toezichthoudend orgaan van de Centrale Bank van Curaçao en St. Maarten (CBCS) die sinds 16 december 2013 de leiding over de Girobank heeft, zette vanochtend tegenover de pers uiteen dat er drie mogelijke oplossingen zijn: 1) Nederland schiet te hulp, alsook de overheid van Curacao en St.…
PHILIPSBURG – According to Venezuelans in St. Maarten, corruption at home prevents Venezuelan emigrants from gaining legal status abroad. Many have requested necessary documents from Venezuela without success. “The sad thing is that it is our own people in Venezuela who abuse the situation in our country in all sorts of ways.” In order to receive these “documentos apostillados” (copy of a marriage certificate, birth certificate, proof of good conduct), payment must be made in dollars under the table. “Millions of Venezuelans are currently living abroad illegally. Requests for documents are piling up in Venezuela, you may have to wait…
GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – National Disaster Coordinator/Fire Chief Clive Richardson said on Sunday, that due to the continued earthquake activity along the southern coast of the island of Puerto Rico, the aforementioned is causing some anxiety throughout the community here at home. The U.S. National Weather Service Pacific Tsunami Warning Center EWA Beach, Hawaii, on Saturday, issued a ‘Tsunami Information Statement’ on Saturday morning related to a 5.9 magnitude earthquake. The statement stated: Based on all available data…there is no significant tsunami threat from this earthquake, however, there is a very small possibility of tsunami waves along coasts…
The FORMATION should take into ACCOUNT: 1) the FACTS! 2) the FIGURES! 3) the FEARS! 4) the FAITH! 5) the FUTURE! A) FACTS and FIGURES: This simply means the outcome of the snap election regarding the seats awarded to the parties that won seats in the new PARLIAMENT! B) FEARS: History will REVEAL and REMIND us that we will still have to GAMBLE and GUESS on the CREDIBILITY, HONESTY and SINCERITY of political parties at the bargaining table when negotiating to form the next government! FEARS is what we knew of the PAST and hope not to RELIVE it again…
PHILIPSBURG — The National Alliance and United People’s Party on Saturday, January 11, 2020, signed a coalition agreement to form the next government of St. Maarten. The agreement will see the two largest parties coming out of the January 9 Parliamentary election form a solid majority in the next Parliament of St. Maarten, and, most importantly, a stable government for the next four years. Under the coalition agreement the National Alliance will appoint the Minister of General Affairs and Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, Minister of Education, Minister of VROMI, Minister of Justice, Minister Plenipotentiary, Deputy Prime Minister, Vice Chair…
By Hilbert Haar Based on results, issues like integrity and transparency do not appeal to our electorate. The United Democrats and the St. Maarten Christian Party campaigned on these issues and look where it got them. The SMCP lost its seat and the UD barely managed to hang on to its lone seat in parliament. But, as the saying goes, the people have spoken and they will now get the government they deserve. The coalition of the National Alliance with the United People’s party looks on the surface stable enough: together they occupy ten seats in our fifteen-seat parliament. That’s…
