PHILIPSBURG — The management team of the Kadaster and Mortgage Custodian Registry on St. Maarten visited Minister of Finance Perry Geerlings at his office on Monday this week to provide an update on the progress being made to improve the operation of the Kadaster Department. The team consisted of Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Kadaster and Mortgage Custodian Registry Louis Crastell Gumbs, Interim Mortgage Custodian and Acting Director of Kadaster Robert Boekhold and Director for the Kadaster Bonaire Reiner Holder along with Kadaster Board Member Victoria Dubourcq. Director Holder is here on St. Maarten in an advisory role…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG — Announcements by American Airlines that it will increase its airlifts to St. Maarten starting in November, has sparked high interests in travellers wanting to return to St. Maarten, following its devastation just over a year ago by hurricane Irma. American Airlines recently announced the return of its direct flight from Charlotte which will resume service to the destination on November 4th. American Airlines will also re-establish its direct flights from New York and Philadelphia starting on December 19th this year. The Honorable Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic & Telecommunication TEATT, Stuart Johnson welcomed the good news of…
THE HAGUE / PHILIPSBURG – Four paragraphs before the end of the annual Troonrede in Den Haag, King Willem-Alexander devoted more space than usual on the Caribbean part of the Kingdom on Tuesday. There is only a brief reference to the reconstruction efforts in St. Maarten though; most of the attention goes to the BES-islands and to Curacao and Aruba. This is what the king said verbatim: “In the context of the Kingdom the reconstruction of St. Maarten, Statia and Saba had high priority after two devastating hurricanes in 2017. The coming years more than 600 million (euro) will be…
“Post-war history tells a story of progress and improvement” THE HAGUE – On Tuesday, King Willem-Alexander opened the new parliamentary year in the Ridderzaal in The Hague with the traditional Troonrede. Below is the unabridged translation: “Members of the States-General, The commemoration of 75 years of liberation begins in the parliamentary year that lies ahead of us. In the fall of 1944 the occupier was driven out of large parts of the south of the Netherlands. Above the large rivers it still took a long Hunger Winter before the Wilhelmus was heard there again. At moments like this we realize…
Philipsburg, September 17, 2018 — Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports, the Honourable Wycliffe Smith visited the Sister Regina Primary School on Monday to personally apologize to the Principal, Samantha Beaton and staff for the error made in his presentation to Parliament last Friday. This visit followed the Minister’s discussion with the Chairperson of the Catholic School Board and telephone call to the Principal of Sr. Regina Primary where Mr. Smith apologised directly for his mistake. Mr. Smith said, “I accept the responsibility for this error. It was a misplacement of the information received from the Catholic School Board,…
By Hilbert Haar On a Wednesday afternoon, we wander over to the visa center of the Chinese embassy in Ulaanbaatar. We ask someone why it is open now – since the official opening hours to apply for a visa to China is from 9 a.m. to 12 noon – three times a week. The man says that he is there to pick up his visa. Come tomorrow at 12, if you want to get in, because they only allow ten foreigners per day to apply, he says. Little did we know that he meant twelve noon, not twelve at midnight.…
This week the Public Prosecutor’s Office issued a press statement wherein mentioned was made that “raids” were conducted at three construction companies at Sonesta Maho Hotel looking for illegal Venezuelan workers. It is suspected that these construction companies dispatched illegal Venezuelans to work at amongst other locations, the Sonesta Maho resort property. Administration was confiscated during these raids. Maho’s resort management subsequently issued a statement saying it was not a raid, but just “a friendly exchange of information”. Maho’s reaction reads as follows: “On the morning of September 11th, a few members of the prosecutor’s office and local law enforcement…
Great Bay, St. Maarten – ‘International Day of Democracy 2018 is held on September 15th every year, and it has been running for 10 years. It is a United Nations, (UN), day of observation, to review the state of democracy in the world and uphold and promote democracy and its principles. The day was founded on the 20th anniversary of the First International Conference of the New or Restored Democracies, which promoted global democracy. On this day, individuals and organizations of all kinds work together for democracy and hold events to raise awareness of democracy, including conferences, discussions and debates, as…
PHILIPSBURG — The incoming President of the St. Maarten Guyanese Association Velda Blackett has called for “unity by diversity”. She pointed out that even though Guyanese living on the island may have difference of opinions and may argue and in some cases disagree to agree, they “share one common bond which is what makes us Guyanese,” she said. In her address to the members who had gathered to witness the installation of the new board of directors Blackett said “I am a proud Guyanese and I encourage persons from the diaspora to join the association. She mentioned that there are…
PHILIPSBURG — Raids were conducted this morning, September 11, 2018 at 3 construction companies at the Sonesta Maho Hotel. These raids were conducted in the interest of the ongoing investigation being carried out by the Human Trafficking Department of KPSM. During the course of this investigation the suspicion grew that at least 3 construction companies dispatched illegal Venezuelans to work at amongst other locations, the Sonesta Maho Hotel. Administration was confiscated during the raids. Working illegally on Sint Maarten is prohibited. This is not only because it diminishes the chances of a St. Maartener finding a job in the market,…
