Pond Island — Gracita Arrindell is making a passionate plea to the electorate to come out today, Monday, January 15th, to the former Census Office located on Pond Island from 9am to 4pm to endorse the PPA slate in order for the party to secure the 142 signatures to participate in the upcoming elections. Gracita says that the endorsement of the PPA slate is a firm step in the direction towards securing a strong, stable and pro-active Parliament of, for and by the people of Sint Maarten. Gracita states: “Monday January 15, is D Day for the P.P.A party in…
Author: The Publisher
by Cdr. Bud Slabbaert Wow, why, what? Is there an upcoming baby-boom? Is it related to this year’s carnival? Why don’t they distribute contraceptives? Those are questions that I don’t have answers for. But I had something else in mind anyway. I believe that the Caribbean needs Business Incubators. Unemployment rates in the region are too high; especially among young persons. There is no such a thing as opening up a can of jobs. The problem does not get enough attention. Well, attention maybe, if one considers ‘talk-talk’ to be attention. In some cases, measures are taken, like providing extended…
GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – The United Nations (UN) health agency, the World Health Organization (WHO), has embarked on a campaign to make antibiotic resistance a globally recognized health issue and to raise awareness of the need to protect antibiotics through appropriate use. The WHO/Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in their efforts to address growing global resistance to antimicrobial medicines, has increased awareness and stimulated AMR (Antimicrobial Resistance) stewardship by publishing a list of antibiotic-resistant “priority pathogens” – a catalogue of 12 families of bacteria that pose the greatest threat to human health. The list was drawn up in…
Willemstad/Philipsburg — On Tuesday, January 9th, Julian Lopez Ramirez was sworn in by the Governor of Sint Maarten as a new board member of the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten (the “CBCS”). Lopez Ramirez is the seventh member of the Supervisory Board of the CBCS (the “RvC”), as a result of which a full Supervisory Board now exists. The swearing in of Lopez Ramirez was attended by the Supervisory Board and by Mrs. Matroos-Lasten and Mr. Jose Jardim, as the Board of Directors of the CBCS (the “Executive Board”). The visit to Sint Maarten was gratefully accepted by…
Dear Editor, The names of the new ministers, scheduled to take office have been released and one could rightfully ask: Was Claret Connor not put forward for a ministerial position? Indeed I was. Persons nominated for a ministerial position must be screened according to the applicable procedures, conducted by several agencies, and reported upon to the so-called “Formateur” and the Governor. The reports from the different agencies are confidential, however I learned that hindering my appointment was the verdict in a civil court case, initiated against the government. In its defense, the government criticized the manner in which the then…
by Sir Ronald Sanders The effect of the inappropriate depiction of Haiti, El Salvador and all African nations as “shit hole” countries is a matter that the people of the United States of America and their government and Congress should contemplate seriously. The responses have been swift, showing a mixture of outrage and shock. At the time of writing this commentary, there has been no expression of regret about the comment that has done nothing but injure the relations between the United States and many countries. Hopefully, representatives of the U.S. in other countries will distance themselves from it, and…
Dear Editor, Has it occurred to you that a handful of farmers in Statia are probably the most heavily subsidized farmers on earth? We read of how in various countries farmers get subsidies from their governments – actually from taxpayers. They get peanuts compared with what Statia animal owners get. Think how much money home owners in Statia have had to spend over the years for walls and fences. Anyone who builds a house today immediately begins to plan to build a wall or fence. If you total up the cost of all these walls and fences you would have…
By Hilbert Haar The interim government that will take office on Monday is, as some may agree with me, a curious bunch. For the first time in its history, the country will have a ship jumper in the seat of the prime minister – Leona Marlin-Romeo. I remember vividly, because I was there, how our designated interim PM said at a press conference hosted by United St. Maarten party-leader Frans Richardson to kill rumors that she was going to jump ship: “I am not going anywhere.” Not too long afterwards, Marlin-Romeo left the USp and joined a coalition with the…
Philipsburg — His Excellency Governor Eugene B. Holiday delivered his New Year’s Message on Friday evening at his New Year’s Reception on the Captain Hodge Wharf for dignitaries and invited guests. The Governor’s New Year’s Message is as follows: Ladies and Gentlemen, Good evening and welcome to this New Year’s reception. To begin this NEW YEAR, Marie-Louise and I, are pleased to extend warm greetings and best wishes to you and to the people of Sint Maarten. May our coming together from various sections of our community this evening, serve to help reignite the progress our country needs in the days,…
GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – The Collective Prevention Services (CPS), a department of the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour, is calling on the community to practice hand hygiene and cough etiquette in order to prevent the spread of influenza. Symptoms of the flu include sudden onset of fever, cough (usually dry), headache, muscle and joint pain, sore throat and a runny nose. The cough can be severe and can last two or more weeks. Most people recover from fever and other symptoms within a week. However, influenza can cause severe illness or death in high-risk groups…
