PHILIPSBURG — The Nature Foundation carried out water quality tests at seven sites surrounding St. Maarten. These tests, which were conducted for the first time since the passage of Hurricane Irma, were carried out in order to determine the levels of pollutants and other factors affecting wetlands and beaches on St. Maarten. Tests were carried out in order to determine Nitrates (which shows that the water is polluted), Phosphates and Coliform Bacteria (which shows the presence of Sewage), Nitrogen, Dissolved Oxygen, and the acidity of the water. Tests were carried out on seven sites; Cole Bay Lagoon, Simpson Bay Lagoon,…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG—While sharing his vision for the future of his Ministry, Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic & Telecommunication (TEATT) Stuart Johnson made it clear to over 100 civil servants on the afternoon of Wednesday August 8th, that he was ready to roll up his sleeves, and “put on my sneakers and get to work.” Johnson outlined his strategic plan for the ministry of TEATT for the coming four years, which includes instituting the current Philipsburg revitalization plan as a priority. His projects will also involve developing community-based tourism and developing a sustainable agricultural policy to maximize the potential of farming…
PHILIPSBURG — On Thursday August 23rd 2018 during the evening members of the Alpha Team operating at the Princess Julian International Airport carried out a control on man identified with initials J.A.M.S. who initially came to the airport to pick up an arriving passenger. During this control the man could not provide the investigating officers with valid identification. J.A.M.S. was temporarily detained at the airport where shortly after an acquaintance handed over his Venezuelan passport to the investigating team. During the inspection of the passport the investigating officers noticed that J.A.M.S. arrived legally on the island in February of 2018,…
PHILIPSBURG — At the recent committee of finance meeting on Wednesday August 22nd with the Central Bank, Member of Parliament and USP Faction Leader Rolando Brison had expressed some serious concerns about the various issues the community faces in the banking sector, as well as the urgent measures the Central Bank and Public Prosecutor has had to take against the Ennia conglomerate and its largest asset, the Mullet Bay property. “What is the Central Bank doing to protect our local insured and pensioners and what are we doing to protect the asset of Mullet Bay with the measures being taken?…
PHILIPSBURG — On Monday, August 20th, Member of Parliament and SMCP Faction Leader, Mr. Claude “Chacho” Peterson and Faction Staff Mr. Benjamin Bell, met with the Chairman of the Board, Mr. Ronald Halman and Secretary-General, Mrs. Joane Dovale-Meit of the St. Maarten General Audit Chamber (GAC) to get an orientation of the organization and receive a tour of the new offices at the request of the MP. The discussion concerned the role of the GAC as one of the High Councils of State and their history, services and reports. Some of the points discussed during the meeting was the importance of getting up to…
Philipsburg, August 23rd, 2018 — Gracita states; “ the recent political turmoil that dominated the local air-waves regarding the possible fall of the present ‘government’, once more reigned supreme at the kitchen tables of residents and visitors our Island. This is highly regrettable. Leaving speculations aside for the reason or reasons why this event caught on like one of our now infamous dump-wild-fires. This ‘ fake news’ served to magnify the fact that we still face unstable governments and lack of effective and decisive leadership at a critical time when focus should be on a cleaner, safer, beautiful Sint Maarten,…
By Fabian Badejo Just recently, my daughter told me, “on St. Martin, you are guilty until proven innocent and even then, you still remain guilty.” Her statement jolted my memory and then it came back to me: eight years ago, I had written an opinion piece titled: “Where there is smoke… Character assassination and the culture of suspicion.” At the time, I had absolutely no inkling that I would be roped in as a co-defendant in the ongoing case code-named “Colade,” which is yet to be heard in court. This is what I wrote then: “It takes a lifetime of…
By Hilbert Haar On a Thursday at 3 o’clock in the morning our train rolls into the main station in Irkutsk, with around 600,000 inhabitants one of the largest cities in Siberia. Finally we are out of the digital wilderness – we’ve had no internet since our trip began on Sunday. A few coffee places in the station are still (or already) open and we hang out there for a while with a Spanish couple, until we figure out that it is possible to check into our hostel – The Eight Floor – at this ungodly hour. The cab drivers…
By Hilbert Haar It is tempting to note that integrity issues have soared to the surface again in St. Maarten after the common Court of Justice gave the green light for the prosecution of MP Theo Heyliger. The suspicions are that the good MP attempted to bribe former MP Romain Laville back in 2012-2013. Let me first establish that these are suspicions – allegations, if you want. True or false, that will be up to the independent court to decide. Fabian Badejo recently published a statement suggesting that the allegations against St. Maarteners are inspired by a Dutch agenda aimed…
On August 24, 2018, Mrs B. Cannegieter, Mr C. Koster and the law firm BZSE Attorneys at Law/Tax Lawyers filed a petition for an injunction against Country Sint Maarten and the operator of the dump. The plaintiffs request the Court to order Government and the dump operator to ensure that the dump will no longer spread smoke, gasses and stench within three months after the Court’s ruling. They also request the Court to order Government to have an official institute, like the ‘Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu’, to conduct measurements to establish how toxic the fumes are. The plaintiffs base…
