Great Bay, St. Maarten – ‘International Day of Democracy 2018 is held on September 15th every year, and it has been running for 10 years. It is a United Nations, (UN), day of observation, to review the state of democracy in the world and uphold and promote democracy and its principles. The day was founded on the 20th anniversary of the First International Conference of the New or Restored Democracies, which promoted global democracy. On this day, individuals and organizations of all kinds work together for democracy and hold events to raise awareness of democracy, including conferences, discussions and debates, as…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG — The incoming President of the St. Maarten Guyanese Association Velda Blackett has called for “unity by diversity”. She pointed out that even though Guyanese living on the island may have difference of opinions and may argue and in some cases disagree to agree, they “share one common bond which is what makes us Guyanese,” she said. In her address to the members who had gathered to witness the installation of the new board of directors Blackett said “I am a proud Guyanese and I encourage persons from the diaspora to join the association. She mentioned that there are…
PHILIPSBURG — Raids were conducted this morning, September 11, 2018 at 3 construction companies at the Sonesta Maho Hotel. These raids were conducted in the interest of the ongoing investigation being carried out by the Human Trafficking Department of KPSM. During the course of this investigation the suspicion grew that at least 3 construction companies dispatched illegal Venezuelans to work at amongst other locations, the Sonesta Maho Hotel. Administration was confiscated during the raids. Working illegally on Sint Maarten is prohibited. This is not only because it diminishes the chances of a St. Maartener finding a job in the market,…
BELVEDERE — Not many court cases end with a judge personally visiting the site of a case in question. However, on the afternoon of Tuesday, September 11, 2018, a walkthrough of the homes of tenants fighting a court case against the St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF) took place in the presence of the presiding judge, the court recorder and the lawyers of the parties involved. SMN News was the only media house that had access to the homes during the walkthrough. With permission StMaartenNews.com publishes an excerpt of this news report. The full report can be found online at…
RESIDENTS ASKED TO LODGE THEIR COMPLAINTS TO THE RENTAL COMMITTEE — if landlords are taking advantage By Andrew Bishop Great Bay — Residents are being advised by the representatives of the Housing Committee that oversees the cost of rental properties on the island to contact them in cases of over-pricing of apartment buildings. According to Edward “Eddie” Jacobs who is a current employee of the committee he stated that once the property or the apartment cost Naf 200,000.00 they have the authority to regulate the rental. “We have been hearing about all the advantage that the residents have been subjected…
RESIDENTS FEARFUL THAT THEY WILL NOT GET PROPER ACCOMMODATIONS AS PROMISED By Andrew Bishop FRENCH QUARTER — The senior citizens are still waiting on the Collectivité to find proper housing for them following the hurricanes of 2017. According to them they have not heard from President Daniel Gibbs since he had condemned the lower flats in the project in French Quarter as “unfit for living.” The tenants are arguing that although the ground floor of these buildings were condemned they have not heard of alternative housing as yet. Visiting one of the homes one can clearly see they have mold…
By Roeland Zwanikken Art. 36 of the Kingdom Charter stipulates that the Netherlands, Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten (will) provide each other aid and assistance. According to the Explanatory Notes, countries within the Kingdom will consult, assist and cooperate with each other. Furthermore: they are supposed to consider each other’s justified interests and to support each other, both morally and material, as far as reasonably possible. According to the Explanatory Notes the above can be considered a cooperation between countries in the Kingdom on a voluntarily basis. The following questions can be raised: Does the article stipulate that under circumstances,…
GUYANESE ST. MAARTEN/ST. MARTIN ASSOCIATION ELECTS A NEW BOARD By Andrew Bishop GREAT BAY — The Guyanese St. Maarten/St. Martin Association has elected Velda Blackett, a teacher at the St. Maarten Academy, to lead the organization for the next year. The school teacher who has been with the organization for some time has received the nod from the membership with 22 votes. The association has about 60 eligible voters who are financial members but only 24 turned out for the elections which is approximately 40%. It was remarked that the voter turned out just like the island elections which was…
By Hilbert Haar Mongolia, South Korea and Vietnam have several things in common that set these countries apart from St. Maarten. And those things offer plenty of food for thought to politicians, educators, parents and – without any doubt – individual citizens.
Dear Editor, Many years ago there was a board of directors that took the decision to build a new airport building and they approved the plans to build the airport building. They would have appointed expensive architects and suppliers that resulted in the airport building we have today. No doubt the architects presented magnificent and awe inspiring drawings and promised “state of the art” equipment and user experience. We would guess the board of directors was awed and impressed. In order to build the airport deep commitments had to be made to achieve the necessary financing. Finally a new building…
