~ Presents Parliament’s first ever inquiry proposal ~ PHILIPSBURG — Member of Parliament Rolando Brison on Thursday presented before Parliament his faction’s initiative for a Parliamentary inquiry into Mullet Bay. It was a historic moment for the Parliament of St. Maarten being the first time an MP submitted a proposal to initiate a Parliamentary inquiry. Brison said a Parliamentary Inquiry is the strongest tool the legislative body has at its disposal to address the many current issues related to Mullet Bay. In a passionate statement to Parliament, MP Brison stressed that the people of St. Maarten should not have to…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG — On Monday, October 14, 2019, the Department of Culture within the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport (MECYS) in collaboration with the St. Maarten National Commission (NatCom) for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) will be hosting a Constitution Day Ecumenical Church Service and an official launch of the First National Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Inventory of St. Maarten. This year’s event will take place at the Saints Simon and Jude Anglican Church on Backstreet in Philipsburg at 9:00 a.m. and the following ICH Marketplace will be adjacent to the church in the Old Street…
PHILIPSBURG – On Thursday October 10th, Prime Minister the Honorable Leona Romeo Marlin decided to step down to depoliticize important matters that are pending decision at Parliament. In a letter addressed to the Governor, the President of Parliament has indicated that the new coalition no longer considers the Prime Minister answerable to Parliament. Before leaving office, Prime Minister Romeo-Marlin issued the following statement. “Why did I stay on as de-missionary Prime Minister after the motion of no confidence? As I mentioned before, I had already tendered my resignation on September 23rd and stayed on whilst the governor had the resignation…
GREAT BAY—- NAGICO Insurances hosted the 2nd Edition of its Free Health & Fitness Fair last Saturday at the Raoul Illidge Sports Complex, where hundreds of people attended to take advantage of the many health screenings which were made available and to participate in the exciting fitness classes and challenges. From as early as 6:30 am, scores of people made their way to the venue to participate in the first event of the day which was Sunrise Yoga. Based on registration conducted on the day, a total of 562 persons attended the event. This is more than a 25% increase…
~ NAGICO is the Platinum Sponsor ~ PHILIPSBURG – The Rotary Club of Sint Maarten, in conjunction with the Windward Islands Medical Association, and their Platinum Sponsor, NAGICO Insurances, will hold a conference for medical professionals on the state of Diabetes treatment and care on St. Maarten on October 11 – 12, 2019 at the Belair Community Center. The conference is expected to be attended by more than 100 medical professionals from around the region, and 5 international experts in the field of Diabetes. A FREE Public Meeting on Diabetes will precede the medical conference on Thursday evening, October 10,…
PHILIPSBURG – The White and Yellow Cross Foundation’s attempts to get answers from the government about who is to blame for the large-scale looting that occurred in the wake of Hurricane Irma in September 2017 have been stonewalled by the government with non-disclosure arguments. The foundation posed 84 questions in three separate letters – sent between December 8, 2017 and January 16, 2018, basing its right to get answers on the Freedom of Information Act (landsverordening openbaarheid van bestuur). The foundation posed questions about military assistance, the deployment of the police and about more general hurricane-related matters. It is unclear…
PHILIPSBURG – The Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations is investing €70 million ($77 million) in combating corruption in Curacao, St. Maarten and the BES-islands between 2016 and 2021. This appears from a letter State Secretary Raymond Knops sent to the Dutch parliament on October 7. In it, Knops details the results of the anti-corruption task force (Team Bestrijding Ondermijning – TBO) since it started in 2016. In 2015, the ministry made €22 million available for a period of two years to combat undermining criminality on the islands. During the Judicial Four Party Consultation in 2015 the justice ministers…
THE HAGUE – The governing coalition of VVD, CDA, D66 and Christian Union lost its majority in the Dutch parliament last week after the VVD kicked its MP Wybren van Haga first out of the faction and then out of the party. Van Haga continues now as an independent member of parliament. He did not jump ship: he was pushed overboard. The coalition and the opposition now both have 75 seats in the 150-seat parliament. The situation seems similar to the one in St. Maarten when United Democrats faction leader Franklin Meyers declared himself independent. That left the governing coalition…
MAHO — The private sector on St Maarten has to step up and invest in improving the overall experience of cruise tourists visiting the island. Michele Paige, President of the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA), doesn’t mince words. “Government, Port St. Maarten and the FCCA can’t do it alone. Merchants have to make sure that people will want to come off the ship.” People-To-People experiences are the “IT” for travelers, Paige assures. “Don’t be afraid to share your culture and show your history. You have to make your island stand out.” Cruise passengers spend on average a little over four hours…
PHILIPSBURG – On April 24, 2014, the Council of Ministers approved a rather unique document: the National Energy Policy for Country Sint Maarten. The document has an ambitious subtitle: Towards a sustainable development. It looked like the era of renewable energy had finally arrived on the island. But more than five years later nothing much has been done with the lofty targets the government had in mind at the time. While solar energy production has taken the world by storm, St. Maarten has stayed behind in the dark ages. And it’s not like the technology is unavailable or that people…
