~ Statistician’s Report Finds Rising Utility Costs Affecting Household Behavior, Public Confidence and Economic Resilience ~ PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — A newly released technical report prepared by local statistician Shandrika Octavia Peterson, M.Sc. Mathematics & Statistics, has transformed a community electricity survey into one of the most detailed statistical examinations to date of how residents are experiencing electricity affordability and utility reliability in Sint Maarten. Peterson, who holds a Master of Science degree in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of Miami, conducted a comprehensive analysis of the 2026 Sint Maarten Community Electricity Survey, an anonymous survey that collected approximately…
Author: The Publisher
Member of Parliament Egbert J. Doran raised concerns based on statements made by Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina in Parliament regarding the approval process for a doctor to practice as a general practitioner in St. Maarten. The Prime Minister stated that the advice before him concerned the denial of an application because the doctor did not have the specialization as a family doctor. He later stated that only four of nineteen general practitioners in St. Maarten have that specialization certificate. MP Doran’s concern was whether the Prime Minister knowingly approved a doctor despite concerns raised in the advice, and whether…
Philipsburg, Sint Maarten – Member of Parliament Omar Ottley is calling on government to stop delaying meaningful relief for the people of Sint Maarten and immediately utilize the legal mechanisms already available to regulate electricity tariffs and fuel costs as done in Curacao. Recent announcements by Minister Grisha Heyliger-Marten concerning the signing of a Ministerial Decree to appoint BTP under the Electricity Ordinance and announcement to use an national ordinance containing general measures as the instrument to regulate the new tariff have been presented as progress toward electricity reform. However, MP Ottley warns that this approach may take another year…
By Hilbert Haar One may well wonder how anyone is able to, according to utilities company NV GEBE, run up payment arrears of 15,000 guilders on the consumption of electricity. One may also wonder how it is possible that GEBE is invoicing some clients two to three times for the same period. Another question is why GEBE is not handling this situation in a more mature way. Clients who are waiting for a letter that says something like ”sorry, we made a mistake” can wait a very long time. Such letters will never arrive. I think it is fair to…
PHILIPSBURG — Utilities company NV GEBE has sent out letters to several clients, reminding them of outstanding invoices. The letter, dated May 19, gives GEBE-clients seven days to pay, otherwise the company threatens to take measures, like disconnecting those who do not comply. The dunning letter begins with “valued customer” and is only signed with “Yours truly, NV GEBE.” In some letters, GEBE claims payment arrears of more than 1,900 guilders ($1,061). One client said that he or she sent proof of payment to GEBE, showing double and at times even triple billing for the same period, without getting a…
SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY) – Prudential Tax Services (PTS), the leading authority in accounting, auditing, and forensic financial defense in the Dutch Caribbean, has launched a powerful strategic alliance with Resolution Management, led by Business Management Expert Mrs. Saskia Farquharson. This collaboration introduces a bulletproof, dual-layered defense mechanism for regional enterprises: combining PTS’s elite forensic auditing with Resolution Management’s operational engineering to insulate local businesses from aggressive, inaccurate, or inflated tax assessments. “Our mission has always been to ‘de-risk’ our clients’ financial survival,” stated the PTS leadership team. “By integrating Mrs. Farquharson’s structural management frameworks, we are moving beyond reactive tax defense.…
By Hilbert Haar Concerned citizen Shandrika Peterson did what utilities company NV GEBE should have done a long time ago: she asked clients to participate in an online survey and express their concerns about the price and the availability of electricity in St. Maarten. In itself, this is of course a commendable initiative. See related article here: https://stmaartennews.com/social/online-survey-returns-predictable-results-about-concerns-regarding-nv-gebe/ But citizens who thought that this public community report would also contain solutions for their concerns must now be sorely disappointed because the report does not contain solutions. Not one. The logical question is then obviously: are there solutions? One of the options…
PHILIPSBURG –- Shandrika Peterson, a concerned citizen has done what utilities company NV GEBE should have done a long time ago: she did an online survey that resulted in a public community report about electricity supply on St. Maarten. A total of 201 citizens participated. The report contains pie charts and percentages and the results are not surprising because they reflect perfectly the concerns citizens have been expressed over the years. Consumers are concerned about the price of electricity, about the reliability of the distribution system and billing issues. Though the report emphasizes that the results of the survey should…
For many business owners in the Dutch Caribbean, losing a final tax case can feel like reaching a financial breaking point. Once objections, appeals, and court procedures are exhausted, the Tax Office may proceed with enforcement measures such as bank liens, account freezes, asset seizures, and public auctions. Within a short period, a functioning business can face operational paralysis. At this critical stage, many traditional advisors step away. Accountants often focus primarily on compliance and reporting, while litigation attorneys may conclude their involvement once court proceedings have ended. Business owners are frequently left facing severe financial pressure with few structured recovery…
MP York has written to the Minister of Finance outlining a series of operational and administrative concerns at the Tax Department that have been building since mid-2025 and now risk serious consequences for both staff and the taxpaying public. From a prolonged leadership vacuum to data errors affecting individual tax assessments, the picture that emerges is one of a department under significant strain. It is worth noting that challenges within the Tax Department did not emerge overnight. However the situation appears to have deepened considerably since mid-2025, suggesting that what may have once been manageable has since crossed into territory…
