AIRPORT — “The restriction of the Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 to St. Maarten has little or no immediate effect to the airlift to the island,” said Chief Executive officer of the Princess Juliana International Airport Brian Mingo. The restriction came after an Ethiopian airline crashed shortly after takeoff in Addis Ababa killing all 157 persons aboard the jet aircraft. Minister of Tourism Stuart Johnson has issued a Ministerial Decree after consultations with the Department of Civil Aviation and Maritime Affairs to restrict the Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 from St. Maarten Airspace on Wednesday. He pointed…
Author: The Publisher
SINT MAARTEN (GUANA BAY) – “The detention of my son has certainly brought me a lot of sadness, frustration and anger,” Lillian Agnes Wathey said on Sunday. “I still feel as if Theo was kidnapped. On that night, without formal notice two masked police officers abducted him from his cell; took him to a car that rushed him to a flight for Bonaire. They were in such a rush that they “forgot” his Gout medication. “In Bonaire they’ve been interrogating him, sometimes for up to 8 hours with only a break for lunch. So, imagine this, my son is in…
PHILIPSBURG — United Democrats MP Franklin Meyers made a number of remarkable statements during a broadcast if the Morning Show on Pearl 98.1 FM Radio on March 11 to the program’s host Elton Jones. Meyers suggested that the prosecutor’s office is not accountable to anybody in St. Maarten, that the extreme high salaries of ministers and parliamentarians were negotiated with the Dutch and that gambling in France is prohibited. He also said it is doubtful that the parliament will approve amendments to the national ordinance that regulates border-crossing money transports.
PHILIPSBURG — The judge of instruction ruled on Friday that United Democrats leader MP Theo Heyliger will remain incarcerated for another 60 days. This term ends on May 14.
~ Provides MSME Community with Solid Network and Information ~ Philipsburg, St. Maarten, March 15th, 2019 – “The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector is one of the primary drivers of economic growth and employment in a country in which they operate.” They create financial independence, provide employment and encourage innovation, said Garth Sherwood, Country Manager CIBC FirstCaribbean as he addressed some eighty (80) businesses at the opening of the First in Business Seminar hosted by the bank on March 14th. “Prior to Hurricane Irma you accounted for 85% of companies operating and you provided approximately 20% of the…
PHILIPSBURG — The National Recovery Program Bureau headed by former parliamentarian Claret Connor has finally opened its doors to the general public. Connor in his new function held a press conference to outline the work that his team is expected to undertake during the recovery phase. Connor stated that there is some US $200 million earmarked for the National Recovery Program which will be monitored by the representatives of the World Bank. In the Emergency Recovery Project 1, there are several areas that they are addressing such as the repairs and the procurement of the disaster preparedness facilities and the…
‘Construction to be finalised by the end of Summer’ CAY HILL — Construction of the Oryx Residences in Cay Hill is at 60 per cent according to its developers the Algemeen Pensioenfonds Sint Maarten APS and should be completed at the end of summer this year. This information was conveyed to Finance Minister with oversight on APS the honourable Perry Geerlings who was treated to a “walk-through inspection of the property” on Thursday afternoon. He received a progress report from contractors Liccom and from the management team of APS. The Minister expressed his satisfaction at the APS’s decision to invest in…
PHILIPSBURG — The government has issued 2,955 long lease contracts for land that covers 4.87 square kilometers of land; this is 14.3 percent of St. Maarten’s total area of 34 square kilometers. The annual lease fee for all these contracts combined is 5.8 million guilders (around $3.2 million). However, there is a problem…
PHILIPSBURG — The government aims to let pension reform for civil servants go into effect per May 1 of this year. With the carnival season almost upon us, parliament will have to move swiftly to get this done.
PHILIPSBURG — The power consumption at public schools varies wildly it appears from the draft 2019 budget. The government intends to save more than 46,000 guilders ($25,720) in 2019 on the electricity bills at eight primary schools and the Vocational School. The Rudy Labega School has the highest budget for electricity: 47,700 guilders ($26,648) – the same as in 2018. The total budget for all nine schools is 193,960 guilders ($108,358), down from 240,000 guilders ($134,078) in 2018. Three schools see the budget for electricity go down dramatically. The Lionel Conner School (30,891 guilders – $17,258 in 2018) has been…
