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Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG – The statues at local roundabouts are important symbols but they are not official monuments, Minister Jorien Wuite (Education, Culture, Youth and Sport) said at Wednesday’s Council of Ministers press briefing. The statue of One Tete Lohkay and the statues at the Salt Pickers roundabout near the police station have both been damaged by Hurricane Irma. One Tete Lohkay has completely disappeared from its pedestal at the roundabout near Learning Unlimited. One Tete Lohkay, the runaway slave girl that became a legend in St. Maarten’s history, is even more of an important symbol because of the approaching date of…
PHILIPSBURG – Starting in September, eligible students will be able to begin with their law studies at the University of St. Martin, Minister Jorien Wuite (Education) announced at Wednesday’s council of Ministers press briefing. The law study is an initiative of former Minister of Finance Richard Gibson Sr. and should have started last year in September. Hurricane Irma changed those plans. The budget for the course was already created at the finance ministry, and Gibson’s successor Mike Ferrier has honored the reservation. The law study will be offered in St. Maarten by the University of Curacao. “The objective is to…
PHILIPSBURG – With hindsight, the Navy had its priorities wrong when it came to the rescue in Sint Maarten after Hurricane Irma in September of last year. Or rather, the government chose the wrong priorities. Brigade General Peter de Vin, the Commander of the Navy in the Caribbean, says this in an interview published on Tuesday in Alle Hens, a publication of the Navy in Curacao. “It was beyond our imagination. Especially St. Maarten, Saba and Statia experience hurricanes more often, but nobody had expected this. Hellish natural violence. In spite of the disaster this was a unique operation for…
PHILIPSBURG – The monetary union of Curacao and St. Maarten has returned to the political agenda. This is because the supply of bank notes in Antillean guilders will dry up in about two years, Finance Minister Mike Ferrier said at Wednesday’s Council of Ministers press briefing. Printing more guilder bank notes begs the question whether the monetary union will continue. But before that question even becomes an issue, there is another stumbling block. Ferrier: “It is not possible to continue printing these bank notes. There are technical issues with forgery and it is extremely expensive to upgrade the design of…
PHILIPSBURG – With the assistance of Judge Peter Lemaire, the Justice department is developing a standard form for the small claims court procedure. The form will be available on the website of the court starting in September, Justice Minister Cornelius de Weever said at Wednesday’s council of Ministers press briefing. According to the minister, the small claims court procedure is in place but not very well known among citizens. The standard form will be available in English, Dutch and Papiamento, while other languages are still under consideration. The procedure is open for claims up to 10,000 guilders and the initial…
PHILIPSBURG – Covering the $11.2 million financial burden of garbage collection and processing with fees charged to the approximately 7,000 households would cost these households $1,600 per year, Member of Parliament Rolando Brison calculated during the urgent meeting of the central committee about the dump on Wednesday afternoon. “That is more than some households make in a month,” Brison said. He offered an immediate solution: levying an environmental tax on tourists. “If there is anything tourists do not have a problem with it is paying for something that will protect or improve the environment. Some do it already voluntarily, via…
PHILIPSBURG – Kathron Fortune, the convicted murderer who escaped from the Pointe Blanche prison on February 15, 2016, is at the center of a new murder trial. Fortune and two others are the main suspects in the murders of Luiz Diaz-Sarante and Edwin Rosario on December 5, 2016. The other suspects are Tito Jahatan F. (28) and Kalaika Kisha Kalamee S. (32). These two suspects appeared in the Court in First Instance on Wednesday morning for a pro forma hearing; Kathron Fortune attended the hearing via a video link. He is currently detained in the heavily secured prison in Vught…
PHILIPSBURG — Algemeen Pensioenfonds Sint Maarten (APS) has identified a need for Sint Maarten’s own Investment Bank (SMIB). On Friday June 8, 2018, APS hosted a Round Table Discussion on the topic, assisted by financial market experts MGM Source of Aruba for stakeholders from the financial and business community. Prime Minister Mrs. Leona Marlin-Romeo and Minister of Finance Mr. Michael Ferrier were present, in addition to representatives of local banks, insurance companies and institutional investors. The SMIB would help match supply and demand in the country’s financial market. Especially in the aftermath of hurricane Irma, an Investment Bank can recognize…
PHILIPSBURG — With the main part of his trial still pending, Member of Parliament Frans Richardson on Tuesday said he is not going to sit back silently and let the Prosecutor’s Office paint a negative picture for the public and tarnish his name. “I have young children, a concerned family and a community I work very hard for. I am not going to let them tarnish me,” MP Richardson said. Richardson said the goal of the prosecutor to link the charges brought against the defendants in the Emerald case, with those it presented against him, is as clear as day.…
