PHILIPSBURG — “I am a servant of the people with St. Maarten first and foremost at heart.” writes MP Luc Mercelina in a press statement. “It pains me to see what our country is going through now politically but it also behooves me to do something about it as an elected representative of the people.” The country is in a political vacuum that is doing no one any good presently, states Mercelina in his press statement.” There is no majority support for the government for two weeks.” According to Mercelina there has been no tangible evidence, two years after hurricane…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG — “When I gave the support to this current coalition, I stood by in support even in moments of dismay and never left the coalition. However, recent developments caused uncertainty in the country, with the government no longer having the support of a majority in Parliament.” So begins a press statement issued by MP Chanel Brownbill in light of the day’s speedy developments. “In the weeks since the government lost its majority support, there has been no plan presented to me or my colleagues as to how the country will be able to move forward from the uncertainty created.…
PHILIPSBURG — The Parliamentary factions of the National Alliance (NA) and United St. Maarten (US) party via a joint press release informed the general public that the NA and USP could no longer sit by and allow the country to go through the turmoil caused by the decision of the former faction leader of the United Democrats (UD) Franklin Meyers to pull his support from his own government, the UD/SMCP coalition. As such, a broader coalition has been formed with likeminded representatives of the people who are truly putting St. Maarten first. While the impasse was not of our making,…
PORT ST. MAARTEN – Representatives from Port St. Maarten recently returned from a successful Seatrade Europe Cruise & River Cruise Convention in Hamburg, Germany. The Port of St. Maarten continues to enjoy significant interests from its stakeholders in the country’s cruise product. Cruise destinations present attending the convention were cautioned by the cruise industry about the importance of enhancing the destination as a whole and the cruise passenger experience as the industry continues to evolve. “As I have stated before, Sint Maarten has one of the closest relationships with the cruise industry. The destination has kept a proactive working relationship…
POND ISLAND – Minister of Finance Hon. Perry Geerlings recently received an update of the state of affairs from the newly appointed director at the Land Registry Office Cadastre Shaka Lake. Particular attention was paid to the ICAD new application system that the Cadastre is using on a daily basis in carrying out its work. The ICAD system will increase efficiency when dealing with stakeholders such as Attorneys and Notaries, improve productivity within the organization and increase accuracy of information. The new system will facilitate the processing of invoices, land transactions and allow for electronic payment for services rendered. “The…
By Hilbert Haar Australia: 400,000.Berlin: 100,000. London: 100,000. Hamburg: 50,000. All of Germany: 1.4 million. St.Maarten: zero. These are just a few numbers highlighting the millions of people across the world who took to the streets in more than 150 countries on Friday to express their concerns about climate change. In St. Maarten, the Tourist Bureau is looking for web developers and the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association is grumbling about the management of the port – predicting a drop in cruise arrivals of 25 to 30 percent in the process – because of reports that the Cupecoy shadow government intends…
PHILIPSBURG –MP Claude ‘Chacho’ Peterson confirms that a meeting of Parliament has been convened for Wednesday, September 25th, 2019, with Dutch State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations, Raymond Knops. “Goal accomplished!” stated Peterson. On Tuesday, September 17, MP Peterson, faction leader for the St. Maarten Christian Party (SMCP) in Parliament, submitted a letter to Parliament requesting that a meeting be convened with Dutch State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations, Raymond Knops. The purpose of the meeting is to address a number of issues. This meeting request was supported by Independent Member of Parliament Franklin Meyers and…
Philipsburg, St. Maarten – “Guiding and shaping the youth of today into the leaders of tomorrow” is the motto of the No Kidding with our Kids Foundation which recently received a new projector from CIBC FirstCaribbean as a way to further their work as The charity continues to live up to that motto through a number of programmes including their afterschool program. This donation will enable the foundation, which has been providing afterschool care to children 4 to 14 for twenty-three years, to use the projector for various activities within their program, such as staff trainings and information sessions for…
POND ISLAND – On Wednesday September 11, the Minister of Finance Perry Geerlings signed a settlement agreement with TelEm Group regarding outstanding debts owed by government. The agreement pertains to a substantial outstanding amount and covers the period 2005 up to 2018. The original outstanding amount as per December 31, 2018 was NAf. 5 million higher than the agreed upon amount reflected in the settlement agreement between government and TelEm Group. The Government and the TelEm Group were able to agree on this discount of NAf. 5 million under the condition that government will comply to the payment conditions as…
PHILIPSBURG — In my deliberations on the changes to the three Codes (Civil, Criminal and Criminal Procedure) with the Minister of Justice, I have repeatedly voiced my concerns with the ambivalent responses by Government to the Council of Advice’s report (advice). Answers such as: – Time did not permit a more profound analysis. – Lack of resources caused a mere superficial review. – CFATF timeline does not permit more in-depth scrutiny. Of particularly concern was Government’s reaction that time did not permit a full due process to include a constitutional vetting of some elements, or worse yet that AML/CTF legislation…
