PHILIPSBURG — A waste to energy facility is no longer the first option for dealing with the island’s garbage issues. The focus has shifted from producing energy to getting rid of waste. This became clear from a presentation by Claudius Buncamper, the head of infrastructure management at the VROMI-ministry at the Inter-Parliamentary Kingdom Consultation on Wednesday. Taking a decision about how the government wants to solve its garbage issues could take up to three years, Buncamper said. It is more than likely that the government will take steps to impose levies on garbage collection and on waste water processing. Up…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG – Over the past months, the Government of Sint Maarten has worked closely with the Netherlands, the World Bank and the European Investment Bank to secure the necessary funding for the full recovery and strengthening of Princess Juliana International Airport. The Government has initiated this process based on a request for financial assistance by the airport. The discussions with the Netherlands, the World Bank and the European Investment Bank have resulted in a financing proposal of a 100 million US dollars for the reconstruction of the terminal and related facilitates. Under this proposal, 50 million US dollars will be…
PHILIPSBURG – Over the past months, the Government of Sint Maarten has worked closely with the Netherlands, the World Bank and the European Investment Bank to secure the necessary funding for the full recovery and strengthening of Princess Juliana International Airport. The Government has initiated this process based on a request for financial assistance by the airport. The discussions with the Netherlands, the World Bank and the European Investment Bank have resulted in a financing proposal of a 100 million US dollars for the reconstruction of the terminal and related facilitates. Under this proposal, 50 million US dollars will be…
PHILIPSBURG – On Wednesday January 9th, during the Council of Ministers Press Briefing, Prime Minister Leona Romeo Marlin confirmed the appointment by the Council of Ministers of Claret Connor as Director of the National Recovery Program Bureau (NRPB). As Director of the NRPB Mr. Connor will be responsible for the execution of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. During his courtesy visit to the Cabinet of the Prime Minister, Director Connor received an introductory briefing on the status of the recovery process. “I would like to express special thanks to Prime Minister Leona Romeo Marlin the Council of Ministers for…
By Hilbert Haar Every now and then when there is apparently nothing better to do, this question comes up. Who is a St. Maartener? Drs. Rodolphe Samuel, a member of the National Alliance, has once more lit the fire under this seemingly simple question with a draft motion. Technicalities aside – Samuel is not a member of parliament, so he cannot submit motions – his proposal is to declare anyone borne after 10-10-10 on the island to be a St. Maartener. As a seemingly vague afterthought, the motion also notes that “there are persons born before 10-10-10 who are St.…
PHILIPSBURG — NAGICO Group and Swiss Re have renewed their Excess of Loss (XoL) reinsurance treaty with symbolic signing 1,500 miles from land on a boat in the Atlantic Ocean. The treaty, which became effective on 1 January 2019, was signed by Cameron Parker, Head of P&C Structured Solutions for Continental Europe at Swiss Re, who is on an extreme endurance ocean row race as part of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge. When Parker and his four-man rowing team arrive at land and complete their 40-day journey, NAGICO’s Chairman Imran McSood Amjad will countersign the Treaty on NAGICO’s behalf. “We…
AIRPORT—“There is need for more parking space for aircraft at the Princess Juliana International Airport,” said General Manager of Signature, Matumi Shigemoto. He pointed out that this is one of the constraints that handling agents are being faced with presently. This is apparently the first time since the passage of the 2017 hurricanes that so many private jets have landed at the airport bringing in celebrities to the island. According to reports among the events that the celebrities are attending is the annual New Year’s event that happens in St. Barth’s. Shigemoto has confirmed that a number of celebrities are…
~ Light at the end of the tunnel ~ COLE BAY—The continuing criticisms of the functioning of the Western Union has the attention of the Operation Manager Patrice Paines. The crowds that gather at the establishment has complained that they are unable to send their remittance to their families overseas because in some cases the entity closes earlier than is expected. Paines in an invited comment said that because the establishment has only opened a few weeks ago, the cashiers are overwhelmed with the amount of persons sending their funds to their loved ones overseas. He pointed out that Western…
PHILIPSBURG – On Friday, December 21, Prime Minister Leona Romeo-Marlin signed the grant agreement with the World Bank for the Emergency Debris Management Project. This agreement provides US$ 25 million in funding to suppress the fires on the landfill, salvage damaged vessels in the Simpson Bay Lagoon and clear the island of any remaining hurricane debris. The project will also provide financing to improve the management of the landfill and decommission the Irma-dump. “I’m very pleased to sign this important agreement for the people and visitors of Sint Maarten. The Interim Recovery Committee, the Ministry of VROMI, the Ministry of…
PHILISPBURG – The Dutch news magazine Elsevier made a serious mistake in an article about the remuneration of parliamentarians in St. Maarten compared to the money Dutch MPs receive. The Antilliaans Dagblad picked up on the story and asked the accountants and tax consultancy Grant Thornton Dutch Caribbean to separate fact from fiction. Elsevier’s reporter Eric Vrijsen wrote that St. Maarten’s fifteen MPs receive €104,000 ($118,785) per year, their Dutch counterparts get a little bit more: €109,000 ($124,496). So far, so good. But Vrijsen then claimed that the MPs in St. Maarten only pay 20 percent income tax and that…
