“PARLIAMENT MISSING IN ACTION AT A TIME WHEN NEEDED MOST BY THE PEOPLE OF SINT MAARTEN“ “IT JUST IS NOT RIGHT” SAYS PPA LEADER GRACITA ARRINDEL Philipsburg, July 15, 2018. Gracita states; “Most people took a big sigh of relief when the first tropical storm threat took a turn away from Sint Maarten. It’s a fact of life, we live in the hurricane belt. It’s a fact of life, we cannot move our island up or down out of harms way, during the hurricane season. It is therefore incumbent upon all of us, including Parliament, Government, private sector and individual…
Author: The Publisher
by Cdr. Bud Slabbaert If an airport in the Caribbean wishes to be an international hub, or even a regional hub, it is probably well advised to drop departure taxes and other passenger taxes. Passenger taxation is ‘swamp taxation’ because no one besides the receiver wants it, and it sucks. “Dutch Government ditches passenger ticket tax in efforts to halt declining traffic at Amsterdam International Airport, the media reported in 2009. It was first camouflaged by the name ‘eco’-tax. The controversial departure tax ranging from 11 to 45 Euros was blamed for a steep decline in passenger traffic within a…
PHILIPSBURG — On Tuesday, July 10th, 2018, in the conference room at the House of Parliament, Anna Richardson, the director of Posh Productions presented the organization’s pageantry plans for Carnival 2019 as a part of the St. Maarten’s golden year of carnival with its 50th anniversary celebration and festivities. Present during the press briefing were the Minister of Tourism (TEATT), Stuart Johnson, the director of the St. Maarten Tourism Bureau (STB), May-Ling Chun and three of the reigning carnival queens for 2018, Shanice Powell (Miss Senior Carnival Queen), Shakainah Pompier Arrindell (Miss Teen Carnival Queen) and Zidania Charles Gumbs (Miss…
By Political Analyst, Julio R. Romney Knowledge is understanding – with the swearing in of the Council of Ministers on June 25, 2018, the ruling United Democrats/Sint Maarten Christian Party (UD/SMCP) coalition government found itself in a political dilemma with not having enough sitting MP’s in the Parliament to govern. The 8 to 7 ruling coalition government resigned 2 of its sitting members of parliament and had them sworn in as ministers, leaving the coalition with a 6 to 7 minority support in the Parliament. Consequently, there were not enough MP’s to form a quorum to convene Parliament in order…
PHILIPSBURG – On Wednesday, July 11th, 2018, the notaries on St. Maarten issued an ultimatum regarding the lack of a functioning Mortgage Conservator at the Kadaster. If by Sunday, July 15th, no action is taken to remedy the situation, the notaries will collectively take legal action against the Stichting Kadaster en Hypotheekwezen Sint Maarten and all other stakeholders. The situation has become a serious liability issue for the notaries as they have not been able to fulfill their notarial duties and obligations to clients for the past three weeks. The Role of a Mortgage Conservator at the Kadaster An important…
We have said it so often now, it is becoming like a mantra. Not because something is common practice means it is legal. Banks have been blocking checks deposited from other banks for so long that it has become commonplace to hear the teller say that the check will be blocked for 5 days until the check clears, that we have taken it for granted. It is of course understandable that checks have to clear first before you get access to the money. But the law is clear on the topic of issuing checks. You are only allowed to issue…
PHILIPSBURG – Over the weekend, reports reaching our news desk indicated that the Prosecutor’s Office in Curacao at the behest of the Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten (CBCS) requested the assistance of the Prosecutor’s Office in St. Maarten to put liens on over ten properties of Sun Resorts Ltd NV. Alarm bells went off because one of the major properties on St. Maarten owned by Sun Resorts is the Mullet Bay property. According to press reports in the past, Mullet Bay land was on the books at Ennia for a value of 460 million guilders. The property was…
The Caribbean can issue a collective sigh of relief now that hurricane Beryl has dissipated, thanks to the Sahara desert dust in the air. But the question remains whether St. Maarten was truly prepared for this hurricane? The government rightfully took all precautionary measures this time, including putting the marines on stand-by. Yet, when we look around the communities, we still see too many houses covered in blue tarpaulin. We still see too many debris scattered around the neighborhoods. We still see too many yards not cleaned up, including our own backyards. Not a good sign. So are we really…
PHILIPSBURG—Economic Affairs Minister Stuart Johnson has lauded the grand reopening of the Caribbean Cinemas Megaplex 7 in St. Maarten a “much needed economic activity generator for our economy.” In a press release issued Wednesday, July 4, Minister Johnson commended the operators of Megaplex 7, on behalf of his Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic & Telecommunications, TEATT, for their demonstrated commitment to reopening and supporting the local economy. “The Movie Theatre was extensively damaged by hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 and left both French and Dutch St. Maarten without the coveted outlet of ‘movie nights’ with friends and family.…
by Chris Morvan The woman I’m talking to is almost naked and so am I. So is everyone else in the vicinity, for that matter. But the woman and I can’t see much. Just each other’s head, really, and arms wafting around. The rest is a dull, ever-morphing blur. That’s because we are swimming. In the sea. Carmen (not her real name) is here on vacation. A gentleman doesn’t ask these things, but I gather she is in her 70s. We have been talking for 10 minutes and I know all about her family and a fair bit about her.…
