~ Lack of security at container terminal in St. Maarten an indication of a serious problem ~ PHILIPSBURG – Kilos of drugs found on Monday at the Marine barracks in Doorn in The Netherlands are quite possibly from the island of St. Maarten reports in The Netherlands indicate. According to the Algemeen Dagblad (AD), that is what Marines and union representatives told the newspaper. The container containing the 16 bags of cocaine packs has a code on the side that refers to the Caribbean island. Marines found the drugs on Monday afternoon in a container at the Van Braam Houckgeest…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG—Minister of Finance Perry Geerlings has every intention of delivering the final budget for 2019 to Parliament of St. Maarten before the December 15, 2018 deadline but says he will take the time necessary to “fine tune” the budget. Hi statement came as a reaction to media reports on Monday that the 2019 budget will not be ready for the December 2018 legal deadline. Under normal circumstances, the budget for each following year is delivered to Parliament by September 1 for deliberation by the Members of Parliament who are required to have an approved budget for the coming year by…
~ NAGICO continues to settle hurricane insurance claims at a score of 94% to date in St. Maarten, according to a company statement to StMaartenNews.com ~ PHILIPSBURG — NAGICO wrote to StMaartenNews.com that they “were pleasantly surprised and very appreciative of the heartwarming gesture of gratitude publicly expressed by Carrefour.” This was in response to an inquiry regarding the Thank You billboard sign at the Carrefour parking lot entrance StMaartenNews.com submitted in writing to NAGICO’s management. StMaartenNews.com also inquired if claims for the recent fire damage were being settled to parties’ satisfaction. NAGICO stated that “As it relates to the…
SINT MAARTEN (MULLET BAY) – Benjamin Ortega, Leader of the St. Maarten Development Movement (SDM) has issued a press statement on Sunday regarding Ennia, and the measures taken by the Central Bank of Curacao and Sint Maarten (CBCS). “Over the past years, there have been widely publicized media reports about issues surrounding insurance company Ennia and the companies directly affiliated with it. All mentioned companies are part of the business conglomerate of the well-known billionaire Hushang Ansary. “The “Ennia saga” seems to have started back in 2010. Since then, at least six employees of Ennia expressed their concerns about “risky”…
PHILIPSBURG — On Sunday, July 15th, 2018, in an invited comment regarding the expiration of the ultimatum issued by the notaries, minister of Finance, Perry Geerlings, stated that the notaries have accepted a short-term solution in regards to the functioning of the Kadaster and that the notaries have also offered their assistance if needed. However, what that ‘short term solution’ is is not clarified. “The Notaries were asking to get clarity from the Supervisory Board on what steps they intended to take to address the situation at the Kadaster in the short term. That matter has been resolved.” according to…
ST. PETERS — StMaartenNews.com made use of the quiet time on the roads while everyone was watching the France-Croatia World Cup final match to make a photo reportage of running water on the streets in the communities around St. Maarten. We have posted the photos of our findings in the various districts on St. Maarten on our Facebook page and so far the post has been viewed by over 2052 and drew 19 reactions, 11 comments and 27 shares from people. Obviously, running water in the streets of St. Maarten remains a hot issue for people and some followers even…
“PARLIAMENT MISSING IN ACTION AT A TIME WHEN NEEDED MOST BY THE PEOPLE OF SINT MAARTEN“ “IT JUST IS NOT RIGHT” SAYS PPA LEADER GRACITA ARRINDEL Philipsburg, July 15, 2018. Gracita states; “Most people took a big sigh of relief when the first tropical storm threat took a turn away from Sint Maarten. It’s a fact of life, we live in the hurricane belt. It’s a fact of life, we cannot move our island up or down out of harms way, during the hurricane season. It is therefore incumbent upon all of us, including Parliament, Government, private sector and individual…
by Cdr. Bud Slabbaert If an airport in the Caribbean wishes to be an international hub, or even a regional hub, it is probably well advised to drop departure taxes and other passenger taxes. Passenger taxation is ‘swamp taxation’ because no one besides the receiver wants it, and it sucks. “Dutch Government ditches passenger ticket tax in efforts to halt declining traffic at Amsterdam International Airport, the media reported in 2009. It was first camouflaged by the name ‘eco’-tax. The controversial departure tax ranging from 11 to 45 Euros was blamed for a steep decline in passenger traffic within a…
PHILIPSBURG — On Tuesday, July 10th, 2018, in the conference room at the House of Parliament, Anna Richardson, the director of Posh Productions presented the organization’s pageantry plans for Carnival 2019 as a part of the St. Maarten’s golden year of carnival with its 50th anniversary celebration and festivities. Present during the press briefing were the Minister of Tourism (TEATT), Stuart Johnson, the director of the St. Maarten Tourism Bureau (STB), May-Ling Chun and three of the reigning carnival queens for 2018, Shanice Powell (Miss Senior Carnival Queen), Shakainah Pompier Arrindell (Miss Teen Carnival Queen) and Zidania Charles Gumbs (Miss…
By Political Analyst, Julio R. Romney Knowledge is understanding – with the swearing in of the Council of Ministers on June 25, 2018, the ruling United Democrats/Sint Maarten Christian Party (UD/SMCP) coalition government found itself in a political dilemma with not having enough sitting MP’s in the Parliament to govern. The 8 to 7 ruling coalition government resigned 2 of its sitting members of parliament and had them sworn in as ministers, leaving the coalition with a 6 to 7 minority support in the Parliament. Consequently, there were not enough MP’s to form a quorum to convene Parliament in order…
