By Hilbert Haar Membership of parliament is supposed to be a full time job and our fifteen parliamentarians are handsomely paid for it. Yet, according to a proposal submitted by MPs Rolando Brison, Christophe Emmanuel and Jurendy Doran – one week is not enough to review a budget that runs 355 pages. That number of pages may sound overwhelming on its own. But how bad is it really? A regular work week of five days – with 8-hour days – has 40 hours. If an MP would devote that time to reviewing the budget, he (or she) would have to…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG — The Public Prosecutor’s Office has assumed the responsibility for all public statements to be made in regards to the ongoing investigation into the robbery of a male Canadian tourist who succumbed to his injury after being critically wounded when he was shot in the head by an unknown gunman. The Canadian died on Friday night in a trauma center in Miami. On Thursday June 6th the PR & Communications Department of the St. Maarten Police Force (KPSM) reported that in connection with an ongoing investigation of a shooting incident which took place on the evening of Wednesday June…
PHILIPSBURG — Agents and Brokers from across the 21 territories in which NAGICO Insurances operates were awarded during a Regional Conference & Award Ceremony held in Trinidad & Tobago last Saturday. The two-day event, which was held at the Hilton Conference Center in Trinidad, saw over 200 guests in attendance and kicked off with a Conference on the Friday morning. NAGICO’s success over the years is largely attributable to its intermediary network so each year it dedicates time to recognize and show appreciation to these persons and also to share in a more intimate setting information about the Group status…
PHILIPSBURG — The spokesperson for the Public Prosecutor’s Office was quick to dispel the rumors circulating on social media that a hoard of cash was also seized during a coordinated action of the Asset Recovery Team (ART) on French Saint Martin to confiscate heavy equipment trucks, vehicles and a boat as a part of the EURO investigation. “No that’s a rumor.” the spokesperson wrote when queried by StMaartenNews.com. “Only the boat and vehicles were confiscated.” The fake news was published on a fake Facebook page and the photos, video and voice note circulated on Whatsapp were also clearly fake as…
~ Proposes funds go to Police Force, Pension and Affordable Housing ~ PHILIPSBURG — Member of Parliament Rolando Brison on Wednesday will table his initiative law authorizing the proper sale of UTS. The law will be debated on the floor of Parliament in a Central Committee meeting. This will only be the third initiative law ever debated on the floor of Parliament with this law being the fastest to reach this stage, taking just seven weeks to go from date of initiative to date of debate. Once approved, the law would ensure multi-faceted benefits though the sale of the minority…
At the dawn of the internet it was seen as the cusp of the information age and was dubbed the information superhighway. The internet became the great equalizer where everyone, no matter color, race or creed, could become wealthy beyond anyone’s imagination. The internet was also the inspiration for democratization processes around the world in many countries. The internet gave rise to all sorts of movements such as The Tea Party Movement, Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter, culminating with many hashtag movements such as #mgtow, #metoo, #shetoo, #hetoo and #ustoo. The internet has given a platform for many…
CUPECOY — The AUC campus in Cupecoy was the location of an interesting gathering this past week. The medical university saw a group of media professionals from different backgrounds in St. Maarten coming together to participate in a series of workshops organized by Press Center Nieuwspoort and the Rotary Club Nieuwspoort in The Netherlands. The masterclass sessions were financed through funding raised in the Netherlands after the passing of hurricane Irma in 2017 in support of the media on St. Maarten. The series of workshops were held under the banner ‘MasterClass Media St. Maarten’ and took place from Monday, May…
PHILIPSBURG – Following the completion of the first phase of works at the Philipsburg and Simpson Bay police stations, both are now better able to withstand any major storms as the buildings have been deemed ‘water and wind tight’. This is the consensus of the small group of representatives that participated in the official walkthrough and handover on Wednesday, May 29th. The project , which falls under the Emergency Recovery Project 1 of the Sint Maarten Recovery, Reconstruction and Resilience Trust Fund, comprises of repairs including window repairs, doors, shutters and roof sealing to improve working conditions at the police…
Dear Editor, Well. Just when you think you’ve seen it all in St. Maarten politics you learn something new every day. And every day there is somebody from the old guard getting exposed about how they built their wealth on the backs of the people of St. Maarten. Years and years of self-enrichment allowed by people who kept voting them back into office over and over again. The latest hypocrite is former Commissioner and Former Minister of Finance Michael Ferrier. Mr. Do No Wrong, Mr. Holier-Than-Thou, Mr. Clean…yea right. Michael Ferrier, if the reports are proven to be true, reportedly…
WILLEMSTAD, CURACAO — Cable & Wireless Communications, part of the Liberty Latin America listed on NASDAQ Global Select Market, has acquired all shares in United Telecommunication Services held by the Country of Curaçao. The interest sold by the seller concerns 87.5% of the total number of outstanding shares in UTS. The remaining 12.5% is held by the Country of St. Maarten. It is one of the largest deals within the Caribbean part of the Kingdom in recent years. Tjarda Tazelaar, deal maker for VanEps Kunneman VanDoorne: “UTS has telecom activities in Curaçao, St. Maarten, St. Martin, Bonaire, St. Barths, St.…
