Philipsburg, November 1, 2018 – Discussions have begun between DIVI DIVI Air (Curacao) and WINAIR (St. Maarten) to begin the process of cooperation to work together improving connectivity in the ABC islands and Northern Caribbean. “The goals of these two companies will be how can we provide better services to our mutual customers, lower prices and increase options for our customers capitalizing on each other’s geographical location and extensive route networks” stated Michael Cleaver, President and CEO of WINAIR. WINAIR is a founding member of the Caribsky Alliance (with Air Antilles and LIAT) which serves 35 destinations and has a…
Author: The Publisher
By Hilbert Haar Interestingly, MP Frans Richardson once more brought up the issue of the Dutch language in a meeting of parliament on Wednesday. The occasion was a presentation by the Progress Committee about the situation at the police force and the Pointe Blanche prison. It is really odd how parliamentarians are able to rail with a straight face against things they – or their predecessors – have themselves agreed to. MP Richardson is a prime example but I seem to remember that MP Christophe Emmanuel also has a problem with Dutch. But to identify, as MP Richardson did, the…
Dear Sir, The report in your newspaper on tax reform discussions in parliament indicated that the view of the present government is to stick to the Turnover Tax model and to avoid working in the direction of a value added tax (VAT or dutch BTW). The history if tax policy in Sint Maarten reflects a consistent approach of plugging revenue holes in the short term rather than long term planning . It is in the country’s interest to change this. Our parliament has control over this. Whilst turnover tax has the advantage of simplicity for all to see, it hides…
PHILIPSBURG—The leader of the Progressive Labor Party Clyde van Putten filed an injunction just minutes before midday at the Court of First Instance in Philipsburg on Wednesday. This injunction which was filed is said to have the administrators who were appointed by the Dutch Government immediately removed from office and restore the democracy, said van Putten. “This means turn over the government back to the legitimate elected people of the island. That is directly what we are doing with this injunction,” said van Putten. He said that there is already the matter that was filed in the courts against the…
POND ISLAND — Telem Group announced Monday, October 29, 2018, that they would be shutting down their communications network for important upgrades to the system. The maintenance window for these urgent upgrades would be from Tuesday night 11pm until 3am. For four hours no communication services would be available. Not even for the emergency services. In a press statement the telecom company announced that all mobile voice and data services, internet and landline services would be affected. A number of emergency services would also be affected including the Police Department, the Fire Department, the Sint Maarten Medical Center and the…
Philipsburg St. Maarten, October 29th, 2018 – The Market vendors and all the other small and micro entrepreneurs should be part and parcel of our economic recovery. “It is therefore with concern that I’ve noted that no information is available regarding the market vendors in Philipsburg and the food trucks on the Pondfill. In the latter situation, stories about the allocation of land on the Pondfill/Ring Road have lead me to question our Minister(s) about the plans for the Pondfill and Ring Road and the plans for the vendors/food trucks in this area.” stated Member of Parliament, Sarah Wescot-Williams. The…
By Hilbert Haar After Envirogreen it is now Enviropower to get a shot at building a waste-to-energy facility on Pond Island. The company recently made a presentation in the parliamentary committee for environment and infrastructure. It’s an old song and people desperate for a solution to the situation at the dump have been hearing it like a broken record for years. So far it never added up to anything. Former Vromi-minister Christophe Emmanuel declared with a lot of pomp in the past that he was two signatures away from a deal with the Canadian company Envirogreen but before he could…
By Hilbert Haar What exactly are Gestapo tactics? That question becomes relevant now that members of parliament have seen fit to take Minister Perry Geerlings to task for his attempt to pacify the Dutch over the use of this term by MP Theo Heyliger. How did this term get a new lease on life in St. Maarten again?
ORANJESTAD – Statian politicians spearheaded by Island Council member Clyde van Putten are heading to court in an attempt to regain control of their island. There is not even a remote chance that the Netherlands will give in to their demand to relieve administrator Mike Franco of his duties by 4 p.m. on Monday afternoon. Once that deadline is gone, Van Putten c.s. will file an injunction on Wednesday at the Court in First Instance in a further attempt to suspend the Temporary Law Task Negligence Sint Eustatius (Tijdelijke Wet Taakverwaarlozing Sint Eustatius) and to undo some of its consequences.…
By Hilbert Haar Interesting that debate on our island about the accountability of journalists. Andrew Dick seems to be at the centre of this storm in a glass of water. I happen to know Andrew – for a short time when nobody else wanted him I employed him at the Today newspaper. Everybody deserves a second chance. Unfortunately, Andrew screwed up. I know from personal experience that Andrew is not a journalist – he is an opportunist. That’s okay, and it is not my intention to make this personal, because the debate is about the accountability of journalists. When I…
