PHILIPSBURG — On Tuesday August 20th, the Kidz At Sea Foundation organized a Graduation Ceremony for the third ‘Zero to Hero’ class. Participants that graduated from this three-month full-time course earned the title Boat Captain, with the entry-level St. Maarten Commercial Captains qualification under their belt. The qualifications earned allow them to seek employment in any aspect of the Maritime field, propelling them into a promising career path. This ceremony also presented skill certificates to the students of the Maritime Program at NIPA who followed the ‘Zero to Hero’ crew courses and passed their Basic Keelboat and STCW Certifications. Garth…
Author: The Publisher
WILLEMSTAD – Caribisch Netwerk writes that the new school year has started and again it appears that quite a few families can urgently use help with the purchase of school supplies. “My grandson is not going to school yet because he has no pens, pencils, folders and no sneakers,” says grandma C. who takes care of two grandchildren. She herself has no work and not enough money to buy all school supplies. In the meantime she has received help but that was not enough. The oldest (16) refuses to go to school because he does not have everything yet. Every…
WILLEMSTAD — During a luncheon of the Curaçao Business Association (“Vereniging Bedrijfsleven Curaçao”), Mr. Bob Traa, acting president of the Centrale Bank van Curaçao en Sint Maarten (CBCS), sparked the interest of those present with his diagnosis of and possible solutions for the current economic situation in Curaçao. Traa pointed out that labor productivity shows a negative trend in Curaçao, while at the same time the growth of potential working age persons is shrinking. As a result, the potential growth of the economy is negative. When productivity declines, business firms reduce employment to lower costs, which increases unemployment. Curaçao not…
By ir. Damien Richardson When Adam woke up that first day in paradise, as his eyes, hears, nose, and all of his body senses began to be activated; that must have been an unbelievable experience. But I am sure that once he saw the birds flying and enjoying the sky’s breeze, he would have wanted to become a pilot. Yet, most of the people of the Caribbean don’t realize that they are in paradise, until they leave and come back or listen as others describe the exceptional radiance, kind people, and levels of relaxation that the Caribbean provide. The world…
SINT MAARTEN (COMMENTARY By Roddy Heyliger) – The Government of Sint Maarten continues to face financial challenges due to the damages caused by Irma and Maria almost two-years ago. As the rebuilding effort continues and hotels continue to come back online, as a country we need to step outside the box and explore other economic and revenue generating opportunities in order to become a smart island. The Smart City concept is common term used due to increase urbanization, scarce resources and development pressures. Countries need to turn to smart innovations in order to make their cities more livable in order…
Dear Sir, Recently there were discussions in parliament about lease land that housed a boatyard (St Maarten Shipyard) and the press also covered the matter of the major marina in Oyster Pond (Captain Olivers) where legislation matters prevented reinvestment after hurricane Irma. In all that was said on these matters by public decision makers, there was nothing that referred to the impact that these non-functioning entities are having on the marine industry. This is in contrast to the airport where the link between it’s functioning and other industries is central. The marine industry was measured at being 15% of the…
PHILIPSBURG — Detectives at the Juvenile and Morals Department are presently investigating a case of attempted rape which according to the report was filed on Saturday August 17th, 2019, at approximately 11.00 a.m. by the victim identified with initials M.D.C.H. (15). The victim stated that her brother-in-law identified with initials M.E.V.H. (32) attempted to rape her shortly before at their residence in Cay Hill however did not succeed. On Saturday August 17th at approximately 12.00 p.m. the police department received a phone call from a member of the suspect living abroad who stated that he was worried about his brother…
The parliamentary inquiry proposal submitted by member of Parliament Rolando Brison as faction leader of the United St. Maarten Party (USP) aims to shed light on the decades long pressing question of the ownership structure of the Mullet Bay properties, especially in regards to the ownership of the world-renowned Mullet Bay beach itself. The majority of the lands on St. Maarten have been privately owned. Initially owned by land owners who were not slave masters, but who leased their properties to plantation owners. These plantation estates where later sold to wealthy people on St. Maarten and St. Martin and to…
PHILIPSBURG – There is no justification for spending half a million guilders on a parliamentary inquiry into Mullet Bay of which the outcome will be that the beach is public. That is the opinion of civil law attorney Wim van Sambeek who dissected the inquiry proposal MP Rolando Brison submitted to parliament last week.
PHILIPSBURG – United St. Maarten Party (USp) Member of Parliament Rolando Brison submitted his proposal for a parliamentary inquiry into the status of the Mullet Bay property to parliament today, Tuesday, August 13, 2019. If parliament approves it, Brison will head a committee that will spend 32 weeks researching the issue. The process will end with debates in relevant parliamentary permanent committees and in a plenary session of parliament. The estimated cost of the inquiry is 519,200 guilders (a bit over $290,000). Brison’s proposal is a thoroughly researched paper of seventeen pages that describes its objective, the history of Mullet…
