PHILIPSBURG — The resistance of St. Maarten’s electricity network and water supply to natural disasters will be greatly improved with the execution of the Water and Electricity Resilience Program of the National Recovery Program Bureau (NRPB) and NV GEBE. On Tuesday, August 20th, in the presence of Miklos Giterson, Minster of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (VROMI), a subsidiary agreement was signed between NV GEBE and the National Recovery Program Bureau (NRPB). In the coming years, the NRPB and GEBE will collaborate to put the remaining over-head electrical cables underground, upgrade transformer stations and replace analog electrical meters…
Author: The Publisher
POND ISLAND – Last week Wednesday August 21, the Tax Transformation Project was kicked off with a presentation meeting with the entire staff of the Tax Department, Minister of Finance Hon. Perry Geerlings said on Sunday. The purpose of the presentation meeting was not only to kickoff and present the Tax Transformation Project, but also to give the staff the opportunity to comment on it and give their input. The Tax Transformation Project comprises of a three-pronged approach consisting of a reform process of the tax system; organizational transformation; and communication and education of all external and internal stakeholders. Minister…
PHILIPSBURG – Recently, Chairman Charles Smith and Board Member Cindy Marica, of the Corporate Governance Council (CGC), paid a courtesy visit to the office of Prime Minister Leona Romeo Marlin to present the CGC Year Report 2018. The CGC Year Report 2018 covers a summarized account of the activities of the Corporate Governance Council during the year. The Prime Minister and CGC briefly discussed certain challenges that the Council still faces such as budget, housing and hiring a staff member in order for the CGC to function optimally. The Prime Minister expressed her support and encouraged the efforts of the…
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…
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…
