PHILIPSBURG — St. Maarten’s national debt increased over the first two quarters of 2023 but stabilized more or less at the end of the third quarter. This appears from reviews by financial supervisor Cft. Payment arrears to government entities keep going up. At the end of 2022, the national debt was 1,122 million guilders ($626.8 million), but in 2023 the debt kept increasing. First to 1,170 million ($653.6 million) and then to 1,287 million ($719 million), before the bleeding stopped at the end of the third quarter when it stood at 1,285 million ($717.9 million) – 44 percent of gross…
Author: The Publisher
By Hilbert Haar It will take some time before the Netherlands has a new government – with or without Geert Wilders, leader of the PVV (Party for Freedom) and winner of the Dutch elections. Wilders has to deal with two formidable obstacles: VVD-leader Dilan Yesilgöz, who does not want to be part of a Wilders-government but is thinking about supporting him from the opposition benches and Pieter Omtzigt of NSC (New Social Contract) who wants constitutional guarantees from Wilders. While Wilders has toned down his rhetoric because he badly wants to become the next Dutch prime minister, Omtzigt is not…
PHILIPSBURG — The Government of St. Maarten is under legal scrutiny as it has been mandated to compensate the family of Caulette Julien, who tragically died in August 2020 while in solitary confinement at the Mental Health Foundation (MHF). Attorney Geert Hatzmann, representing Julien’s mother and sister, has submitted a compensation claim of US$55,381.88 on behalf of the surviving relatives. The claim, dispatched to Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs, Minister of Justice Anna Richardson, and Minister of Public Health, Social Affairs, and Labor, VSA Omar Ottley, explicitly requested payment by November 27, 2023. Unfortunately, none of the ministers have acknowledged or…
PHILIPSBURG — The St. Maarten Tourism Bureau (STB) inaugurated its new office in the Convent Building on Front Street on Friday, December 1 under the watchful eye of government officials, tourism stakeholders and visitors. Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication Arthur Lambriex opened the office and unveiled the new St. Maarten logo in the presence of Tourism Director May-Ling Chun and the owners of the building, Luis and Angel Gioia. He labeled the event as a milestone. “With this new hub for tourism we have the potential to revolutionize how we promote and develop our local tourism industry.”…
PHILIPSBURG — The company culture at utilities company GEBE is unhealthy due to a lack of communication between management and employees, the Integrity Chamber concludes after investigation the situation at GEBE. The Chamber also found that political influence negatively influences the composition of GEBE’s supervisory and management board. Related article: Integrity Chamber Completes Investigation into N.V. GEBE The Chamber advises to prevent political influence by creating and publicizing profiles for the managing and supervisory board members based on the required background and experience and by ensuring a transparent and accountable process and selection of candidates. The investigation covered the years…
Dear Editor, NOW, just some months ago, bounced on to the scene with petite fanfare, as a new political party, offering a minuscule of hope and change for the upcoming elections. Presenting regurgitated outlooks on navigating the course towards opportunities and wealth for the people of our nation, NOW provides citizens yet another political party platform of promises. With a candidate list to fill, supporters to acquire, voters to lock in, contacts to be made and possibly financiers to be gain, NOW became a sitting duck. Filling its candidates’ list, NOW signed off on the acquisition of two defectors from…
THE HAGUE – The Dutch gaming authority KSA has fined online gambling company Betent $3 million ($3.27 million) for violating a string of requirements. Betent operates in The Netherlands under a sub-license from master license holder Antillephone in Curacao. The validity of this license has been repeatedly questioned by Nardy Cramm, the editor of KnipselKrant-Curacao.com, but the KSA-decision about the fine refers to Betent as a company that “holds a license for offering online games of chance.” According to Cramm, the KSA has not reacted to her research into the questionable validity of the license. Antillephone profiles itself as “a…
PHILIPSBURG — The Pointe Blanche prison is not the only facility in the Kingdom’s justice chain that struggles with staff shortages it appears from a letter Minister Franc Weerwind (Legal Protection) sent to the Dutch Second Chamber. The minister wrote that not all criminals with a verdict to their name can be put in prison immediately. He considers several solutions, like releasing prisoners with a sentence of up to 1 year with an ankle bracelet. Jan Keijser, a representative of the central works council of the DJI (Dienst Justitiële Inrichtingen) said that staff is unable to abide by agreements about…
PHILIPSBURG — Artist Deborah Jack took some time out of her busy schedule to speak with StMaartenNews.com about the Open Society Foundations 2023 Soros Arts Fellowship: Art, Land and Public Memory, that came her way. The fellowship comes with a most welcome grant if $100,000 and her project is scheduled to be completed by March 2025. Her award-winning project entitled To Make a Map of My Memory: Wayfinding Along Synaptic Topographies intends to create a new kind of archive. During the next eighteen months, the artist will interview St. Maarteners and use their recordings to create a library of oral…
MARIGOT — The court in Marigot holds Canadian businessman Mario di Palma responsible for the bankruptcy of the French-side construction company Deldevert. The court sentenced him to a 6 months conditional prison sentence, a fine of €10,000 ($11,000) and a ban on practicing any commercial or industrial profession or a management function in Saint Martin for five years. A second defendant in the bankruptcy, identified by the French-side newspaper Le Pelican as A.K. received a fine of €500 ($550) with five years of probation. Di Palma bought Deldevert in December 2017, shortly after the island was devastated by Hurricane Irma.…
