By Hilbert Haar The interim government led by Silveria Jacobs currently consists of five ministers – one from the United St. Maarten party (USp) and the rest are all with the National Alliance (NA). Until the remaining two ministers – proposed by the USp – have been sworn in, the Council of Ministers is practically a one-party affair. Does that matter? Yes and no. For the decision-making process in the Council of Ministers it is irrelevant whether the two remaining ministers are there or not. This is because decisions in the council are taken by a majority of votes and…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG – The Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten (CBCS) is not happy with a letter Faroe Metry, president of the supervisory board of insurance company Ennia’s operating units, wrote. The Central Bank hardly gives any information to the supervisory board, Metry complained. He also wrote that the costs for restructuring Ennia have risen to 8 million guilders, while the court earlier had limited those expenditures to just 500,000. The Central Bank says that Metry’s letter contains many errors that damage the bank’s reputation. In 2018 the court placed Ennia under emergency measures at the Central Bank’s request. That…
PHILIPSBURG – Seven parties, 112 candidates and fifteen seats available in parliament: the theoretical odds of winning a seat are close to 1:7.5. The January elections promise an earthquake shift in the balance of power, due to the absence of two big names: Theo Heyliger and Frankin Meyers. In the 2018 elections, Heyliger won by far the most votes of any individual candidate: 1,299. Meyers was good for 402 votes. The merger of the United People’s party (UP) with the Democratic Party (DP) lasted just one election. The Heyliger-less UP will make an attempt to rise from its ashes under…
PHILIPSBURG — On Postulation Day, Thursday, November 21, 2019, the Sint Maarten Christian Party, SMCP, submitted a list of 13 candidates for the upcoming 2020 elections to be held on Thursday, January 9. The list of 13 candidates are as follows: #1 – Smith, Wycliffe Sylvester #2 – Peterson, Claude Alfred Hans #3 – Somersall, Michael Orlando #4 – Gittens, Keith Peter-John #5 – Gibbs, Beverley Denisse #6 – Bell, Benjamin Stephen #7 – Nunes geb. Burleson, Tswana #8 – Sam geb. Arrindell, Marva Rosalinda #9 – Kotai, Viren Vinod #10 – York, Linda Cherline #11 – Rattan geb. Poulo,…
Video explaining the process on Postulation Day:
PHILIPSBURG — StMaartenNews.com was informed by Drs. Rodolphe Samuel that he submitted his documents on Tuesday, November 19, to the Secretary General of the Secretariat of Parliament. These documents will be vetted on Wednesday at 11am during a meeting of Parliament. If all goes according to schedule, at 4:30 in the afternoon, Samuel will take the oath of office at the Governor’s cabinet in order to officially become a member of Parliament.
GREAT BAY — On Monday, November 18, 2019, Faction Leader of the Sint Maarten Christian Party and Member of Parliament, Claude Chacho Peterson, sent a letter to President of Parliament informing him of his resignation as a Member of Parliament according to article 49, sub 2 of the Constitution of St. Maarten. MP Peterson was quoted as saying: “Since the formation of Government process in 2018, I always told the Leader of SMCP, Mr. Wycliffe Smith, I would give back the seat to the party should Government fall and he would no longer be Minister. I became MP when Mr.…
Harbour View – On Saturday evening, November 16, 2019, the Governor of Sint Maarten, His Excellency drs. E.B. Holiday, received the final report from formateur Ms. S. Jacobs. The formateur has accepted the commission to form an interim government supported by a majority in Parliament comprised of the NA-fraction, the USP-fraction, and independent Members of Parliaments L. Mercelina, C. Brownbill and R. Brison. The new government consists of Ministers who will, amongst others, give priority to conclude the legislation regarding the combating of money laundering and financing of terrorism, to execute the agreements made with The Netherlands regarding the financing…
PHILIPSBURG — StMaartenNews.com is nominated for a Crystal Pineapple Award as Media Personality of the Year via the person of our writer Hilbert Haar. Love him or hate him, his iconic photo image has been the face of StMaartenNews.com since its launch in October 2017. Despite his retirement, Hilbert Haar continues to be the watchdog in our St. Maarten society. Hilbert Haar is the embodiment of what StMaartenNews.com stands for. StMaartenNews.com stands for a critical but fair approach towards decision makers. StMaartenNews.com stands for respect of human rights. StMaartenNews.com stands for the protection of the environment. StMaartenNews.com stands for the…
THE VALLEY, ANGUILLA — Former Minister of Public Health, Labor and Social Development, Emil Lee, was invited to participate as a keynote speaker at the 13th Caribbean Conference on National Health Financing Initiatives held in Anguilla at the Cuisinart Resort on Monday November 4th. The conference seeks to provide a platform for participants to share their experiences and to learn from other professionals in the field of healthcare. Mr. Lee’s keynote address was entitled, “A Practical, Political and Financial Perspective on Universal Health: The St. Maarten Experience”. “While a lot of time is spent on the technical and financial process, the process to get the politicians and the public to understand and support the effort should not be underestimated. The draft General Health Insurance (GHI) legislation for St. Maarten is currently waiting…
