CAY HILL — The National Institute for Professional Advancement (NIPA) has partnered with Trinidad-based MIC Institute of Technology (MIC-IT), initially under a one-year contract slated to end December 2019, to offer various courses to the community of St. Maarten. An agency of the Trinidad Ministry of Education, MIC-IT offers courses in Technical and Vocational Training; Industry Services; and Construction Services. MIC-IT, accredited in 2014 by the Accreditation Council of Trinidad and Tobago (ACTT), has collaborated with NIPA to provide free technical vocational courses in carpentry, plumbing, electrical, masonry and property maintenance that allow students to graduate with fitting credentials. The…
Author: The Publisher
CAY HILL — On Thursday, September 5, 2019, the campus of the National Institute for Professional Advancement, NIPA, was the site of the graduation of the second cohort of the St. Maarten Emergency Income Support and Training Project. Whereas the first cohort had 72 graduates, the second cohort produced 94 graduates. Steering Committee Member of the St. Maarten Recovery Trust Fund, Marcel Gumbs, urged the graduates to continue with the training programs as he pledged to go back for more money for the NIPA training programs which were already funded by the World Bank Trust Fund to the tune of…
DUTCH QUARTER — Minister of Public Housing, Environment, Spacial Development and Infrastructure (VROMI) Christopher Wever on Friday assured sub-contractors of the ongoing Dutch Quarter sewage project that the project itself as well as their concerns about various issues has his fullest attention and is looking forward to the project being completed by its stipulated date. Minister Wever held two meetings on Friday at the project site, the first with main contractor Van Boekel, Contract Supervisor IIACO and representatives of government. The second meeting was with concerned citizens of Dutch Quarter who spoke on behalf of several sub-contractors and workers. The…
PHILIPSBURG — As we pensively anticipate the anniversary of Hurricane Irma, after witnessing Dorian’s destruction of the Bahamas, we reflect on how little meaningful progress has been made not one but a full two years later, the SHTA writes in a press release. In the press release the SHTA also includes a table that was published a year ago where the progress of priorities for their vision of a St. Maarten in 2025 can be tracked. According to the SHTA, compared to a year ago – that is one year after Irma – the situation has gone from bad to…
PHILIPSBURG – In observance of the second anniversary of the passing of Hurricane Irma, Prime Minister the Honorable Leona Romeo Marlin addressed the nation. “To the people of Sint Maarten, our residents and our guests, September 6th, 2017 will be a day that none of us who lived through it or heard of it, will ever forget. Today, marks the 2nd anniversary of the passing of Irma, the most devastating Hurricane to ever hit Sint Maarten. With winds of over 185 miles per hour, the horrific storm left a path of destruction across both sides of Sint Maarten and many…
PHILIPSBURG — Tuesday, September 3rd, 2019, at 6am, the personnel of the Pointe Blanche Prison together with KPSM conducted a cell search in the house of detention. During the cell search, different makeshift weapons and drugs were found. The weapons and drugs were confiscated and held for further investigation. Photo caption: Pointe Blanche prison. File photo by Tim van Dijk.
PHILIPSBURG — Minister of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Development and Infrastructure (VROMI), the Honorable Christopher Wever says, “there is no time to joke about the environment especially considering the monstrous storms the region has seen in recent years.” Wever visited the Mullet Bay Beach on Wednesday afternoon following complaints levied on Social Media regarding the mounting garbage on the island’s most famous beach. Despite it being low season over 300 people are believed to visit the Mullet Bay Beach daily many of them tourists. But the garbage situation has caused vendors to take to social media to voice…
Prime Minister Romeo Marlin meets with European Commission Director of Development Cooperation for Latin America and the Caribbean BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – On Tuesday September 3rd, the Honorable Prime Minister & Regional Authorizing Officer for Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT’s), Leona Romeo-Marlin, continued her working visit to Brussels where she met with the European Commission Director of Development Cooperation for Latin America and the Caribbean, Mrs. Jolita Butkeviciene and her staff. The Prime Minister started the meeting by reiterating her commitment to the construction of a wastewater treatment plant in cooperation with French Saint Martin. During the meeting, a number…
PHILIPSBURG — Dutch news site Koninkrijksrelaties.nu reports that the Bonaire-based airline company EZ-Air does not want Winair to transport passengers between the ABC islands. According to a petition filed by the airline company’s legal representative Arndt van Hoof of Soliana Bonapart & Aardenburg, Winair only has a permit to fly from St. Maarten to Curacao, Aruba and Bonaire and not between the islands. According to Koninkrijksrelaties.nu this is the reason for the lawsuit.
PHILIPSBURG — Member of Parliament Frans Richardson, through his attorney Sjamira Roseburg on Wednesday said that he definitely feels targeted and fully intends to fight for his freedom and innocence. Richardson is in restrictive custody and cannot have any contact with anyone other than his lawyer and law enforcement. Richardson still has faith to have a fair trial. His first case has been indefinitely postponed. This second case feels like a targeted attempt. The hardest part however, is not being able to have contact with or see his family. His two young children, his wife, his mother all have to…
