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…
Author: The Publisher
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…
By Hilbert Haar Much has been said and written about the violation of constitutional rules related to the upcoming elections. Those violations have occurred because our lawmakers got lost in the way they have established those rules. It feels like an innocent factual observation in article 59 of the Constitution that Nomination Day – also known under the more Christian term Postulation Day – has to take place between 80 and 90 days before the term of the current Parliament ends or before the date when the Parliament is being dissolved. The constitution also establishes that, when the government decides…
PHILIPSBURG – A man with two aliases who is currently detained in the Pointe Blanche prison saw an attempt to regain possession of items the prosecutor’s office confiscated twice, strand in the Court in First Instance on Friday. Spas Iliev Tsokinov is according to court documents also known as Miguel Rodriguez and as Angel Reyes. In 2017, Tsokinov was held on suspicion of using a forged passport. On that occasion, the prosecutor’s office confiscated several passports, ID cards and driver’s licenses, as well as two credit cards, a bank card, two laptops, a hard drive, two cell phones , a…
Harbour View – On January 12, 2018, His Excellency the Governor of Sint Maarten, drs. E.B. Holiday, received the updated final report from formateur S. Wescot-Williams. The formateur has accepted the commission to form an interim new government supported by a majority in Parliament comprised of the UP-fraction, the DP-fraction, and Member of Parliament C.E. Brownbill. The new government consists of Ministers who are committed to the promotion of the wellbeing of Sint Maarten, who will amongst others give priority to concluding the development of a recovery plan, to the agreement with the Netherlands on the financing of the recovery…
Willemstad/Philipsburg — The recruitment campaign ‘Lawyer in the Caribbean’ of VanEps Kunneman VanDoorne was awarded the ‘Gouden Toga’ (Golden Robe) for 2017. This award for the best legal recruitment campaign is presented annually by the Dutch legal magazine Mr. On Friday 5 January 5, managing partner Focco Lunsingh Scheurleer and associate Vincent Abbing received the ‘Gouden Toga’ in Amsterdam. The winner of the ‘Gouden Toga’ is chosen every year by a jury of experts in the field of HR and Communication. This year’s jury included, amongst others, a lawyer and a professor of Organization and Legal Services. Other nominees for…
