PHILIPSBURG – Drs. Raymond Jessurun is a strong proponent of equal treatment of all citizens in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Currently, citizens living in St. Maarten, do not get that treatment, even though they hold a Dutch passport. Social benefits, pensions and wages are all lower in St. Maarten than they are in the Netherlands. Unemployment benefits? They do not even exist on our island. Jessurun has repeatedly, and on many different forums, referred to the international treaties that actually mandate that the Kingdom treats all of its citizens equally but it simply does not happen. This is, Jessurun…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG — Since 2021 the government had never ordered more than 550 plates for taxi licenses but over the past couple of years around 30 percent, or 165, of these plates were not picked up. This mean that there are around 385 taxis active on the Dutch side of our island. There are 200 cab drivers on the French side of the island. This appears from answers Minister Arthur Lambriex (Tourism, Economic Affairs, Telecommunication and Transport) provided to seventeen questions from the Integrity Chamber. In 2021, 182 plates were not picked up, in 2022 and 2023 165. Lambriex stated that…
PHILIPSBURG — The Social Economic Council advised the government more than ten years ago, in February 2013 to leave the monetary union with Curacao as soon as possible. Politicians may have read the advice, or maybe they did not but the result was that they did nothing at all with it. The Council’s advice to introduce dollarization also fell on deaf ears. Even before that advice was published it was clear that St. Maarten was not happy with the Central Bank of Curacao and Sint Maarten (CBCS) and the associated monetary union. In April 2012, then Minister of Finance Hiro…
PHILIPSBURG — The draft 2024 budget mentions 572.2 million guilders ($319.7 million) in expenditures and 574.8 million ($321.1 million) in revenue – a modest surplus of around 2 million ($1.1 million). The budget for the parliament is 7.3 million guilders ($4.1 million), an increase of 12.7 percent. Remarkable are the 23 percent increase for travel expenditures to just above one million and the increase of representation costs from 100,000 to 150,000 guilders (from $55,866 to $83,799). The budget contains 1.8 million ($1 million) in pensions for former politicians. The total costs for the Ministry of General Affairs are 5.1 million…
PHILIPSBURG — Reyjets.com, a company of StMaartenNews.com publisher Terrance Rey, is spreading its wings by offering seamless transfers from St. Maarten to St. Barths from anywhere in the world. Terrance Rey is also owner and operator of AirSXM.com. Rey has over twenty years of experience in organizing charters by air, land or sea to St. Barths. Now he is offering his unique and highly specialized service to rich jetsetters who want to travel to St. Barths from anywhere in the world with seamless and hassle-free connections through the surrounding islands such as St. Maarten, one of the main gateways to…
PHILIPSBURG — The Prince Bernhard Bridge – the connection between Bush Road and the A.Th. Illidge Road over the Fresh Pond – is once more the subject of a controversy. The Ministry of Public Housing, Urban Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (VROMI) announced in a press statement that Omega Construction will take three to four months to restore the bridge. The work includes the demolition of the “existing monument.” Said monument is a stone marker that identifies the structure as the Prince Bernhard Bridge. It has been in place since January 25, 1950, when Bernhard flew to St. Maarten in his…
CAY HILL — Sol Ecolution, the low-carbon and renewable energy division of The Sol Group, has signed its first renewable energy agreement in St. Maarten with the National Institute for Professional Advancement (NIPA). The agreement will see Sol Ecolution providing the academic institution, which offers advanced vocational education for students, with a renewable energy solution that will significantly reduce the institution’s reliance on electricity. The renewable energy solution comes in the form of a fit-for-purpose solar photovoltaic (PV) system that will be installed on the Skill Lab roof of the NIPA’s facility, reducing NIPA’s reliance on electricity from the grid–…
PHILIPSBURG — The tourism industry is slowly but surely getting back on its feet, but the numbers, presented by the Department of Statistics (STAT) show that we are still far from the top years 2014 and 2016. In 2014, St. Maarten welcomed 2,001,996 cruise arrivals, the first and so far only time the industry beat the two million mark. In 2016 stay-over arrivals peaked at 528,153. Stay-over tourism experienced its worst year in 2020 when, due to the corona-pandemic, just 106,425 visitors arrived. A year later the number increased to 248,852 and since then the numbers kept going up. In…
PHILIPSBURG — The formation of a new government will take at least 78 days. This appears from a press release from Governor Ajamu Baly based on an update from formateur Dr. Luc Mercelina. The release states that the screening of candidate ministers is still ongoing and that Mercelina needs more time to present the new government. Governor Baly asked him to present his final report by March 29. Mercelina is working on a government consisting of his own party Unified Resilient St. Maarten Movement (URSM), the Democratic Party (DP), Nation Opportunity Wealth (NOW) and the Party for Progress (PFP). But…
PHILIPSBURG — Financial supervisor CFT has expressed its concerns about the future of the old age pension (AOW) in St. Maarten. In a press release, the Cft notes that, starting in 2029, premiums will not be sufficient to cover AOW-payments to an ageing population. It advises the government therefore to take measures. Another serious concern is the national budget. Since 2010 St. Maarten has not managed even once to present an approved budget to the Cft by the deadline of December 15 of the previous year. It urges the government to establish an approved 2024 budget by March 31. The…
