PHILIPSBURG — The Minister responsible for Tourism Stuart Johnson has described the actions of Member of Parliament Rolando Brison for withholding funds that was to be paid to Caribbean Tourism Organization as an embarrassment to St. Maarten. “This has been a very embarrassing situation for our country and as a destination for wanting to promote our tourism product and rebuilding our tourism economy we cannot accept this irresponsible behavior,” said Johnson. He stated It was only recently that MP Rolando Brison had finally paid the bill which he owed for more than a year, which has resulted in the collection…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG/WILLEMSTAD — Over a week ago, the Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten published its financial statements for 2017. In a press release the Bank announced that the 2017 financial statements of the Centrale Bank van Curaçao en Sint Maarten (CBCS) had recently been adopted by the meeting of Entitled Asset holders. A condensed version of these financial statements had been published on the CBCS website. The Bank stated in its release that the increase of the total balance of 2017 compared to the total balance of 2016 was especially related to the increase of the market price of…
Philipsburg — Telecom provider UTS does not have to offer services for phone lotteries to Smartplay, the company doing business as Robbie’s Lottery in St. Maarten. The Common Court of Justice rejected Smartplay’s appeal against an earlier court ruling in a decision that was published last week. More than ten years ago, on March 8, 2008, Smartplay entered into an agreement with UTS-parent company Radcomm to facilitate the sale of lottery tickets via SMS (text messaging). The agreement was for a period of three years and was extended several times with one year. On August 18, 2016, Radcomm informed Smartplay…
by Cdr. Bud Slabbaert It is a well-known fact among economists and aviation professionals that the growth of a region may depend on the development of its airport. You may start laughing, but Grand Case airport and French St.Martin are no exception. Call it a secondary, underdog, relief, or satellite airport and when you’re done with your outburst of laughter, take a look at the argumentation below. Aeroport Grande Case does have a realistic potential of being developed into a player of its own unique kind. As for the expression relief airport, the day after hurricane Irma’s passage, the airport…
By Hilbert Haar The General Audit Chamber-report about Dutch assistance to St. Maarten in the wake of Hurricane Irma reveals that one of the island’s key state-owned enterprises – utilities company GEBE – is in serious financial trouble. The report also suggests that GEBE is not too willing to cooperate with the World Bank. And lastly, it shows some questionable behavior by the government; in four years time it has practically depleted the company’s reserves and it is not paying its dues either. The World Bank has almost $11 million available to save GEBE from going broke, but the utilities…
Philipsburg – The total cost for the execution of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) have been estimated at €1.9 billion ($2.15 billion). The €550 million ($622 million) the Netherlands made available for post-Irma reconstruction and the expected pay out from insurance companies will leave St. Maarten still €1 billion ($1.13 billion) short, the Dutch General Audit Chamber writes in a report about the Dutch contribution to the island’s reconstruction. According to the NRRP insurance companies will pay between $320 and $430 million in compensation. This report mentions as potential financiers for the $1.13 billion shortfall St. Maarten’s national…
By Hilbert Haar “On the occasion of International Anti-Corruption Day we are united against corruption.” That’s a line from a recent statement by Justice Minister Cornelius de Weever. Here is another quote from the same statement: “The government of St. Maarten will always adhere to the rule of law and the principles of good governance.” Sounds good, right? We have a government that stands up against corruption. But what do these statements really mean? If they are only words that are not followed by action at appropriate occasions, they mean a big fat nothing. I do not know what kind…
PHILIPSBURG—The Chairlady of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams has announced that there will be cardinal changes to the pension ordinance. During a press conference which was held at the Parliament Building, she said that these changes will be critical to the future of the pension fund as we know it. This is said to be critical to government employees with the proposed increase of the age for pension. It is being considered moving the pension age from 62 to 65 for civil servants where the pension will be calculated over their entire service and not as it is where it is calculated…
PHILIPSBURG — Several residents who live in the St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation project in Cole Bay have expressed their frustration after the water to their homes have been turned off by the island utility company GEBE. The residents claim that they were given the homes to live in by the former Minister of Public Works Christopher Emmanuel after they lost their homes following the passage of the hurricanes of Irma and Maria in 2017. They reported that about a month ago after they went to court and were given six months by the judge to find homes. “It is…
With support from NAGICO, Atlantic Discovery team rows from the Canary Islands to Antigua to raise money to fight Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Four-man rowing team Atlantic Discovery commenced The Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge Wednesday morning, beginning a 3,000 mile row from the Canary Islands to Antigua. The team is sponsored by NAGICO Insurances, a diversified insurance company serving 21 territories in the Caribbean. “We wish this inspirational team a safe and healthy passage,” said NAGICO Group Chief Strategy and Development Officer Kyria Ali. “This journey is one of extreme human endeavour, which resonates closely with NAGICO’s story. It is a…
