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…
Author: The Publisher
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…
PHILIPSBURG – The owner of the former restaurant known as Air Lekkerbek, located at Walter J.A. Nisbet Road (Certificate of Admeasurement # 186/2014) is informed that the condition of the building structures and the interior and exterior debris/waste has become fire prone for quite some time now, and in the meantime, clearly squatters are living inside the old plane. Proper enforcement actions have been started on behalf of the Minister of VROMI, with no follow up from the side of the owner. It is therefore decided that the present structure will be removed by the Department of Infrastructure of the…
During the interview, Chief Prosecutor Jeroen Steenbrink expressed deep respect for the work his colleagues and others in the justice chain do. He especially mentioned the police force. The fact that he arrived at a time when many of his newfound colleagues had suffered both personally and professionally from the impact of hurricane Irma apparently made an impression on him when he saw how everyone still managed to do their jobs with the limited resources at their disposal. Being a public prosecutor is not a thankful job, especially here on St. Maarten. However Steenbrink clearly has no need to get…
