Philipsburg — The Electoral Council would like to remind all political parties contesting the upcoming parliamentary elections that in accordance with the National Ordinance on Registration and Finances of Political Parties, the political parties are required to make their manifestos public in a timely manner. In order for the public to make a well-informed decision, the political program of a party should be published around the date of postulation. To date, only the Party for Progress (PFP) publicized its manifesto for the 2020 parliamentary elections on Postulation day, 21 November 2019 and presented it to the Electoral Council on 4…
Author: The Publisher
~ “Terrance Rey is a qualified, experienced, committed and passionate candidate” ~ PHILIPSBURG — The words qualified, experienced, committed and passionate describing the number 12 candidate on the Sint Maarten Christian Party (SMCP) list is none other than Atwell Terrance Rey, a candidate with over 25 years of experience in business development, internet startups, e-commerce and technology; with over 15 years of experience in the travel, tourism and aviation sectors; and, most importantly, with a solid basis of 9 years of experience in Parliament and Government as Policy Adviser, serving from 2010 to 2012 in Parliament and from 2012 to…
St. Maarten is a very religious island. The separation of church and government was never a discussion point until the appearance of the Sint Maarten Christian Party, SMCP, in the political arena in 2015 and with the one seat the party managed to obtain in the 2018 elections, it has forever changed the political landscape of St. Maarten. In all the discussions about the separation of church and state, the word ‘Christian’ in the SMCP party’s name seems to evoke the most emotion in certain people. But what needs to be clearly understood is that the Sint Maarten Christian Party…
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…
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.
