Philipsburg — The Office of the Civil Registry of St. Maarten is the subject of much criticism, due to its new policy of providing services via appointment only. The phone and email service that is supposed to facilitate the “by-appointment-only” policy is alleged to be way below par. It would help greatly if the motivation for this management decision and an overview of the numbers and data involved would be provided. For example: How many requests for appointment have been made? How many requests have been honored? What was the subject of these requests ( ID, passport, etc. )? How…
Author: The Publisher
Philipsburg — The first national decree promulgating the dissolution of parliament was dated November 3, 2017, LB-17/0575) with the first convening of the new parliament on January 31, 2018. By decree of November 12th, one day before nomination day (kandidaatstelling), this decree was amended to establish the day of election on February 26th. However, in the amended decree ( LB-17/0619), the first convening of the new parliament is now set for April 2nd 2018, in gross violation of article 59 of the Constitution of St. Maarten. The 3 month period, prescribed by the constitution has been exceeded with nearly 2…
Dear Editor, “Please hold the line while we try to connect you, the person you are calling, knows you are waiting”, except that in this case, the person probably doesn’t care or is it that the calls are not being picked up because only one person or one phone is responsible for handling the many issues associated with the census office? Isn’t this the latest song in town especially when you try to reach the Census Office and you have done that several times? I recently went by the government building to complain about my inability to reach the telephone…
GREAT BAY – The endorsement of the list of candidates took place – as per article 23 of the Electoral Ordinance – today, January 8th 2018 as of 9am thru 4pm. Of the six political parties that submitted a list of candidates, only four were required to be endorsed. The National Alliance and the United St. Maarten Party were exempted from this requirement, as they received one or more seats during the previous Parliamentary election. In this regard, reference is made to paragraph 4 of the aforementioned article, the Central Voting Bureau said on Monday. As per paragraph 1 of…
PHILIPSBURG – Endorsement Day at the former Census Office on Soualiga Boulevard was a subdued event on Monday. After all the hustle and bustle that marked Endorsement Day in 2016, the almost deserted area in front of the Census Office suggested mid-morning that many people have lost their interest in politics, politicians and especially in elections. Earlier on the day there was some activity when the United Democrats came to town. Party leader Theo Heyliger and his second in command Sarah Wescot-Williams were among them and the UD-list easily surpassed the threshold of 142 signatures a party needs to qualify…
PHILIPSBURG – The mutual Dutch-St. Maarten agreement about strengthening border control in St. Maarten remains in place for two years, until January 1, 2020. This appears from the text of the agreement that was published last Friday in the National Gazette. The agreement took effect one day later, on Saturday January 6. The Netherlands and St. Maarten have agreed to deploy officers from the Royal Marechaussee and officers from the Dutch Customs Department in an effort to get a grip on the flow of people, goods and money. The Royal Marechaussee is responsible for the control on people coming to…
By Hilbert Haar The mutual agreement between the Netherlands and St. Maarten that regulates the strengthening of border control through the deployment of Dutch officers from the Royal Marechaussee and the Customs Department officially states that St. Maarten’s Minister of Justice remains responsible for the policy and the execution of border control. It sounds good and may give some people the cozy feeling that St. Maarten remains in control of its own affairs. But further down in the agreement we found the composition of a Progress Committee that will monitor the project. That committee is dominated by representatives from the…
The unsure snap election is on. The parties vying for a seat in Parliament will be knocking on your door as of now straight through February 26th. Some of them are already claiming they need more time to make a difference. But I want to warn my people more time is not the issue, more dedication conviction and work might however do the island and its people some good. Entering 10-10-10 we adapted a pay grade we said because Parliament will be a full time (24/7) job. To date it seems that they themselves interpret that to mean when there…
Dear Editor, As the United Democrats made their way through the makeshift tents at the Philipsburg market place on Nomination Day on Friday last, it was a stark reminder of the current Government’s missteps after the passing of Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The missteps discovered were outlined in the ruling of the Court of First Instance last week, in which Government is instructed to remove the kiosks that were placed on the beach, and in particular from in the front of the Pasanggrahan Boutique Hotel. This is again a clear indication that hasty decisions and indecision by the current government…
PORT ST. MAARTEN – SeaDream 1 anchored in Great Bay on Monday morning in an unscheduled port call. SeaDream 1 is owned and operated by SeaDream Yacht Club. SeaDream 1 has been named “Best Small Luxury Cruise Ship of 2015” in ForbesLife. SeaDream I is an intimate boutique ship that provides a unique travelling experience unlike any other cruise vacation. Port St. Maarten Management is pleased to welcome SeaDream 1 to the shores of the ‘Friendly Island,’ and that the guests and crew will have a wonderful stay on the island. Port St. Maarten is also looking forward to future…
