PHILIPSBURG — On February 22nd 2019, Bureau Telecommunications and Post St. Maarten (BTP) and the vice-chair of the Supervisory Board of BTP conducted a meeting with the United Postal Union of the Americas, Portugal and Spain (UPAEP). UPAEP is an association of the postal authorities of the countries of the Americas, Spain and Portugal that promotes technical cooperation among Postal Operators of Member Countries. During the meeting in-depth discussions took place on the situation of the postal sector in Sint Maarten, and ways to further promote, develop and modernize postal services. The meeting was initiated by the Managing Director of…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG — Five fuel stations on St. Maarten were controlled to ensure proper calibration of fuel pumps by the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic & Telecommunication TEATT as part of a routine control last week. Additional inspections were conducted to ensure that the price per litre is displayed in Netherlands Antillean Florins (NAf), which is the official local currency. As part of the control, the Inspectors are affixing special marks on equipment to help consumers recognize whether the establishment they patronize has appropriately calibrated equipment. These controls are in keeping with Article 19 of the National…
WILLEMSTAD — Venezuelan authorities turned back the cargo ship Midnight Stone filled with humanitarian aid, goods and foods when it sailed from Curacao via Bonaire to Venezuela this past weekend. Another cargo ship is said to be in the port of Willemstad still awaiting sailing orders. Most likely, according to reports, this ship together with the Midnight Stone, will be offloaded in Curacao and the goods stored on the island there until further developments. As a direct result of this Curaçao has suspended the humanitarian aid support activities for the time being. Curaçao will only send relief goods to Venezuela…
~ Fate of Inselair’s future in the hands of a judge ~ WILLEMSTAD/PHILIPSBURG — Tuesday, February 26, 2019, is the day for Inselair. Once the biggest airline in the Caribbean, it is certain that the judge in the bankruptcy protection case of Inselair will have no choice but to declare airline company bankrupt. Rapid growth, un-collectable debts and lack of cash flow have decimated the company and left it with just the one aircraft: a Fokker 70. Hope was resting on a Trinidadian investment company to come to the rescue, but after the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) in Curacao…
PHILIPSBURG — Communication’s Officer of the of the Anti-Corruption Taskforce TBO, Roderick Gouverneur, informed StMaartenNews.com that today the court has granted the Prosecutor’s Office permission in order to prosecute Theo Heyliger in the LARIMAR investigation. In a closed door session on Thursday afternoon, the Prosecutor’s Office petitioned the Common Court of Justice for permission to prosecute Heyliger in the Larimar investigation into corruption, bribery and money laundering. Photo caption: A gathering outside the court house in the alley with among others, President of Parliament Sarah Wescott-Williams and MP Sidarth Bijlani on Thursday, February 21, 2019. Photo by Andrew Bishop. More…
PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – The pre-trial detention of Member of Parliament and leader of the United Democrats, Theo Heyliger has been extended to eight days. Mr. Heyliger, who was arrested on Tuesday morning at his home in Guana Bay by members of the TBO, is alleged to have committed several illegal acts including bribery and money laundering. The decision to extend his detention was taken during a closed door session Thursday afternoon. However, the accused, the Member of Parliament did not attend the closed door hearing. According to the spokesman of the of the Anti-Corruption Taskforce TBO, Roderick Gouverneur, a…
PHILIPSBURG – Two motions of no confidence – one against Prime Minister Leona Romeo-Marlin and one against Tourism and Economic Affairs Minister Stuart Johnson – failed to get majority support in parliament on Friday morning. Both motions, tabled by the opposition factions of the National Alliance and the United St. Maarten party, were rejected with seven votes in favor and seven votes from coalition members against. USp-MP Rolando Brison called Minister Johnson “the biggest threat to our tourist economy” but that did not convince any coalition-MP to give the motion a majority. Fourteen of the fifteen members of parliament were…
GLOSSARY OF KEY WORDS IN THE INSURANCE BUSINESS Questions Answers 1. What is an application form? It is a form you fill out which provides information the insurance company will use to decide whether to issue you a policy and how much to charge. The application form is a part of your contract with the insurer thus it is therefore important that it is filled out as completely and accurately as possible. 2. What is an endorsement? This is a written amendment to an existing insurance policy that changes the terms/ conditions or scope of the original policy issued.…
By Hilbert Haar This morning the political life of Prime Minister Leona Romeo-Marlin and Tourism and Economic Affairs Minister Stuart Johnson hangs in the balance. There are two motions of no confidence on the table and the meeting where these motions will be handled begins at 10am. The arrest of MP Theo Heyliger has put the government coalition in quite a pickle. With his presence, and assuming that all members of the governing coalition show up in the meeting, the motions would most likely be defeated, unless there is a snake hiding in the UD-grass. As things stand right now,…
By Hilbert Haar The Financial Action Task Force has put forty recommendations in place that St. Maarten is supposed to follow. It is all about combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism. The Financial Intelligence Unit or MOT (Meldpunt Ongebruikelijke Transacties) plays a key role in these efforts. The Netherlands Antilles had an MOT that was managed from Curacao and since 10-10-10 St. Maarten has its own reporting center. If you don’t count the Standard Trust Company and its successor, there seem to be few problems with getting financial and non-financial institutions to abide by the mandatory reporting of…
