PHILIPSBURG — As we pensively anticipate the anniversary of Hurricane Irma, after witnessing Dorian’s destruction of the Bahamas, we reflect on how little meaningful progress has been made not one but a full two years later, the SHTA writes in a press release. In the press release the SHTA also includes a table that was published a year ago where the progress of priorities for their vision of a St. Maarten in 2025 can be tracked. According to the SHTA, compared to a year ago – that is one year after Irma – the situation has gone from bad to…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG – In observance of the second anniversary of the passing of Hurricane Irma, Prime Minister the Honorable Leona Romeo Marlin addressed the nation. “To the people of Sint Maarten, our residents and our guests, September 6th, 2017 will be a day that none of us who lived through it or heard of it, will ever forget. Today, marks the 2nd anniversary of the passing of Irma, the most devastating Hurricane to ever hit Sint Maarten. With winds of over 185 miles per hour, the horrific storm left a path of destruction across both sides of Sint Maarten and many…
PHILIPSBURG — Tuesday, September 3rd, 2019, at 6am, the personnel of the Pointe Blanche Prison together with KPSM conducted a cell search in the house of detention. During the cell search, different makeshift weapons and drugs were found. The weapons and drugs were confiscated and held for further investigation. Photo caption: Pointe Blanche prison. File photo by Tim van Dijk.
PHILIPSBURG — Minister of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Development and Infrastructure (VROMI), the Honorable Christopher Wever says, “there is no time to joke about the environment especially considering the monstrous storms the region has seen in recent years.” Wever visited the Mullet Bay Beach on Wednesday afternoon following complaints levied on Social Media regarding the mounting garbage on the island’s most famous beach. Despite it being low season over 300 people are believed to visit the Mullet Bay Beach daily many of them tourists. But the garbage situation has caused vendors to take to social media to voice…
Prime Minister Romeo Marlin meets with European Commission Director of Development Cooperation for Latin America and the Caribbean BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – On Tuesday September 3rd, the Honorable Prime Minister & Regional Authorizing Officer for Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT’s), Leona Romeo-Marlin, continued her working visit to Brussels where she met with the European Commission Director of Development Cooperation for Latin America and the Caribbean, Mrs. Jolita Butkeviciene and her staff. The Prime Minister started the meeting by reiterating her commitment to the construction of a wastewater treatment plant in cooperation with French Saint Martin. During the meeting, a number…
PHILIPSBURG — Dutch news site Koninkrijksrelaties.nu reports that the Bonaire-based airline company EZ-Air does not want Winair to transport passengers between the ABC islands. According to a petition filed by the airline company’s legal representative Arndt van Hoof of Soliana Bonapart & Aardenburg, Winair only has a permit to fly from St. Maarten to Curacao, Aruba and Bonaire and not between the islands. According to Koninkrijksrelaties.nu this is the reason for the lawsuit.
PHILIPSBURG — Member of Parliament Frans Richardson, through his attorney Sjamira Roseburg on Wednesday said that he definitely feels targeted and fully intends to fight for his freedom and innocence. Richardson is in restrictive custody and cannot have any contact with anyone other than his lawyer and law enforcement. Richardson still has faith to have a fair trial. His first case has been indefinitely postponed. This second case feels like a targeted attempt. The hardest part however, is not being able to have contact with or see his family. His two young children, his wife, his mother all have to…
Dear Editor, A remarkable report about aviation and government caught my eye in your online publication recently. It is a global phenomenon that small airlines are generally not profitable. In the Caribbean they are almost never profitable. Companies that are owned by the state are seldom profitable, particularly in the Caribbean. In Sint Maarten they are also seldom profitable unless they benefit from concessionary income. What a pleasant surprise to see that Winair, operating entirely in the Caribbean and owned by the state, produces a profit for it’s shareholders. How nice to see that the trend of unprofitable airlines in…
By Hilbert Haar Suppose I wrote that St. Maarten’s political system is rotten to the core. What would the predictable reaction be? Here are some ideas: I am a Dutchman, I don’t even live in St. Maarten, the Dutch have an agenda …. And of course I would get historian Will Johnson on my back for “making all kinds of accusations against local politicians.” Well, so be it. St. Maarten’s political system is rotten to the core and – to use a familiar cliché – the proof is in the pudding. The experience of the past, say, ten years, clearly…
By Hilbert Haar Is screening candidates for positions on supervisory boards of government-owned companies a good idea? Definitely. In fact, I am almost taken aback by Prime Minister Romeo-Marlin’s decision to amend the national decree that regulates positions of confidentiality and the mandatory screening candidates for these positions have to go through. Why? Because this change seems to be designed to put a stop to appointments of malleable supervisory board members who function as the puppets of their political masters. The screening by the national security service VDSM (Veiligheidsdienst Sint Maarten) will come on top of the stipulations laid down…
