Dear Editor, This week officials from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) will carry out a Damage and Loss Assessment with an emphasis on the economic impact of Hurricane Irma on Sint Maarten. ECLAC is a United Nations regional commission that encourages economic cooperation; contributes solutions by conducting research and analysis and providing sound policy advice and technical assistance to Caribbean Governments. There is a great concern in the post-Irma period related to the nation’s economic well-being which translates into the well-being of the country’s citizens. Much effort has been placed on getting the destination ready…
Author: The Publisher
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By Hilbert Haar It does not happen very often that St. Maarten gets help from an unexpected source on the other side of the ocean. In the middle of the discussions about the conditions the Dutch government has attached to financial assistance for the reconstruction of the island after Hurricane Irma, such help came last week from Flora Goudappel, a professor in European law. Her opinion – published in the quality newspaper Trouw last Thursday – will give our government some additional ammunition in its discussions with The Hague. Goudappel’s message: St. Maarten is in control of everything. St. Maarten…
Philipsburg — The St. Maarten Guyanese Association has distributed relief supplies to more than 250 residents of the island, including the St. Martin’s Home in St. John’s Estate. Six bags of rice and six cases of water were handed over to the director of the Home last Wednesday, October 18th, 2017, as the association felt that it was its civic responsibility to reach out to as many persons and organizations affected by Hurricane Irma. The relief supplies were delivered to the association some two weeks ago as the Government of Guyana was evacuating its nationals. More than 250 persons registered…
While most people blame our honourable Prime Minister and the Government for delaying Dutch hurricane financial aid, the hold-up really lies with Parliament. The Prime Minister is only acting on a mandate, received from Parliament on January 30th 2017, which instructed Government to block the establishing of the Integrity Chamber. In the corporate world when the Board of Directors instructs Management to carry out an order, it is executed until the Board cancels the instruction. Likewise, in the public sector when Parliament passes a motion, instructing government to execute an order, government is expected to carry out the instruction until…
Dear editor, A few months before Irma, I got a request from the VROMI Minister on his official VROMI Government letterhead (with what appears to be a Black Power fist as part of that official letterhead??), requesting a donation of FLS. 5,000.00 towards a plan to put two very tall flagpoles with huge Miami- dealership-style SXM flags in strategic locations: one on the Bell property above what was once Harold Jack’s look-out stand and one in the (now not so) Great Salt Pond, at the combined cost of well over US$ 150,000.00. The idea was to before November 11, 2017,…
By now we understand we were hit by a super storm like nothing before in the Atlantic hurricane basin. While opinions and sentiments abound as to our level of preparedness and actions before, during and after the storm, we should consider the process when a threat to life, property and the national interest becomes imminent. Like with storms before this Irma, the EOC met many times to go over and rehash procedures to insure that all relevant branches were clear on what is their role and how deployment is to be executed. All uniformed services including the marines attended all…
Philipsburg — Head of the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau Rolando Brison has been invited to participate in a panel discussion on Best Practices for Crisis Management during the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) Cruise Conference in Merida, Mexico this week. The discussion will utilize the vantage points of both cruise executives and destinations to examine best practices of handling natural disasters and crises and provide an all-encompassing plan from preparation to proactive reaction, including housing and relief, evacuations, public relations, and communications with partners to supply resources. Brison will join a top-level group of cruise executives including moderator Hon. Allen Chastanet,…
St. John’s — Local Artist Tim Dowling, who has also been an animator for companies such as Disney, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network for over 15 years, is starting an art gallery and school by the name of Art House St. MaARTen, and will be having a grand opening in St. John’s, from 11am to 3pm on Saturday, November 11th, 2017. According to Tim, “people like drawing and painting but are anxious about it and worry if they’re good enough. It does take a while to get to a high level of drawing but it can be taught. Sometimes we were…
GREAT BAY — On October 20, 2017, the Prime Minister of Sint Maarten, Mr. William Marlin, issued a letter to the Dutch caretaker Minister of Interior Affairs and Kingdom Relations, Mr. Ronald Plasterk, in response to his letter dated October 13, in which the conditions of the Dutch Government to make the recovery funds available were stipulated. While amidst the urgency of managing the impact of the hurricane, the Government of Sint Maarten has sent various letters to the Dutch Government in which several topics were raised to keep the Dutch Government aligned and give the possibility to comment and…
Member of Parliament, Frans Richardson, has a point. Not every time a phone call is made to the Netherlands in the ongoing discussions regarding the reconstruction aid Holland is offering St. Maarten should the government of Sint Maarten run to the press and inform the general public of this. It is important that sensitive negotiations of this nature not be done via the media. We have written in our newsletter on Monday that true diplomacy is achieved when common ground is found in a sensitive, understanding and effective manner. That can not be done via the press. We understand all…
