The mud-slinging competition between disgruntled politicians is already in full swing and the Parliament has not even passed the motion of no confidence against the Marlin-government yet. It promises to be an interesting time that is ahead of us. With accusations flying to and fro, the average reader will soon be left scratching his head, as it will become near impossible to separate fact from fiction. Under those circumstances, it comes down to who you want to believe; facts be damned. The main players in our political arena have been at this game for decades. They know how it is…
Author: The Publisher
GREAT BAY – Months before Hurricane Irma devastated St. Maarten on September 6, there were already “secret meetings” with at least two Members of Parliament. The Democratic Party was hell-bent on leaving the coalition,” Prime Minister William Marlin said at Wednesday’s Council of Ministers press briefing. Marlin said that the new majority in parliament is “based on ship jumping” and that his government had prepared legislation to prevent this. “MPs jump ship for personal gain,” Marlin said, adding that the draft legislation would allow ship jumpers to retain all their rights but one: the right to be involved in the…
PHILIPSBURG – “I made fiscal discipline a passion during my tenure,” Minister of Finance Richard Gibson Sr. said on Wednesday during what could have been his last appearance at the Council of Ministers press briefing. Describing the three stages after Hurricane Irma – relief, recovery and rebuilding – he said that it was necessary to prepare a new 2017 budget, because the current budget is “no longer based on reality.” The minister presented an amended budget to the Council of Ministers that has in the meantime been approved. “It contains additional expenditures; the amount for onderstand (social welfare) has been…
PHILIPSBURG – “Before Friday we were asked to agree to something of which we did not know the details,” Justice Minister Rafael Boasman said at Wednesday’s Council of Ministers press briefing. Boasman said that he had received the draft mutual agreement about border control only last Friday after 5 p.m. “On Sunday I discussed it with Chief Commissioner Carl John and Anthony Doran of the Customs Department. I did not foresee any problems.” Boasman reiterated that border control has been a joint effort with the Royal Marechaussee from long before 10-10-10 and that the cooperation “is not in bad shape.”…
Philipsburg; In separate letters directed to the Prime Minister of Sint Maarten, Mr. William Marlin and the President of Parliament, Mrs. Sarah Wescot-Williams, the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) expressed sympathy to the government and the people of Sint Maarten in the aftermath of the recent hurricanes. Both letters go on to say that the IOI is conscious of the enormous task ahead of rebuilding the country and the resilience required from the community. Consequently it pledges full support and backing from the international Ombudsman community to the Ombudsman institutions in the region, and wishes the Governments, Parliaments and the people…
Oyster Bay — This Tuesday, the Sint Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) held its first post-Irma mixer on October 31st. The event was hosted by Infinity Restaurant, reopening as of today. By means of the mixer, SHTA invited its membership to convene for the first time after hurricane Irma. The meeting functioned as a platform in exchanging business insights on dealing with its aftermath. 150 Representatives of Sint Maarten’s business life turned up at Infinity, Oyster Bay Beach Resort’s largest restaurant. The association deems it important that Sint Maarten’s business society comes together and shares practices in dealing with…
PHILIPSBURG – Prime Minister William Marlin made a very serious accusation that Minister Lee is deliberately withholding the delivery of relief goods from the people in an attempt to make the government and Prime Minister look bad in order to justify a change in government. Minister Lee stated, “It is really sad that the Prime Minister would sink so low to try and blame the entire Ministry of VSA with an out and out lie. This is clearly a desperate attempt by a seasoned and cynical politician to shift the public’s anger away from himself in order to hold on…
PHILIPSBURG – The new parliamentary majority of eight is heading for a motion of no confidence against the government led by Prime Minister William Marlin. It’s not a done deal yet, because Wednesday’s meeting of Parliament – scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. – was first adjourned until 5 p.m. and then further adjourned until Thursday morning at 10 a.m. after only three speakers had taken the floor. MPs Claret Connor (UP) and Perry Geerlings (DP) made their positions clear, while MP Frans Richardson loudly tore into the critics of the Prime Minister. When the Parliament passes its motion of…
Philipsburg — Member of Parliament (MP) Ardwell Irion has stated that given the current state of affairs, he is not in favor of new elections. He goes on to say “It is unfortunate that the former coalition could not dialogue and make things work, as the decision to form a new government also costs the people of Sint Maarten money and time.” The people of Sint Maarten are still dealing with the effects of Hurricane Irma and believes that calling for new elections is not the best approach at this time. The MP closed by stating that “He hopes that…
GREAT BAY — The board of the United St. Maarten (US) party said it is very disappointed in MP Chanel Brownbill for the decision he took despite having stood by him through everything and involved him in even more. Brownbill ran on the slate of the US party in the last Parliamentary Elections. The board explained that all effort was made to surround MP Brownbill, a new MP, with the assistance and guidance he needs to be successful in Parliament. “The party surrounded him with a legal expert and a legislative expert and former law maker. We made sure that…
