Philipsburg — Minister of General Affairs, the honorable Prime Minister William Marlin on October 11th, received letter from the leader of the Democratic Party, MP Sarah Wescot-Williams, as a result of the allusions made by (outgoing) Dutch Minister Plasterk regarding Dutch reconstruction aid for St. Maarten. The Dutch minister in essence accuses the local government of jeopardizing the reconstruction aid from the Netherlands. While the timing might be suspect, the fact remains that the storm did not blow the integrity chamber issue away. It was there and talks between the two governments on the matter were well advanced. Some persons…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG – The Ministry of TEATT, Public Health Department, Representatives of the Business Community and the Association of Psychologists and Allied Professionals has come together to give support in the psychological first aid of companies and organizations in the connection with the passing of hurricanes Irma & Maria. After a disaster there are specific risk groups that are more likely to develop (trauma related) psychological complaints such as, first responders and others whose jobs are directly linked to disaster management. The trauma may also affect workers who were in one way or the other affected by the storm and are…
Saint Lucia — From October 5 to October 9, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LBTQI) activists from across the region gathered on Saint Lucia for the 5th annual Caribbean Women and Sexual Diversity Conference (CWSDC). The groundbreaking pre-eminent networking event for LBTQI activists was convened under the theme ‘Self-Development for Community Empowerment’. “The first ever Caribbean Women and Sexual Diversity Conference was held on Curacao in 2013. Since then the event has traveled the Caribbean from Suriname to Trinidad to St. Croix and now, because of the steadfast involvement of United and Strong, to Saint Lucia,” organizer Kenita Placide…
GREAT BAY — Member of Parliament and leader of the United People’s (UP) Party, Theodore E. Heyliger sent an open letter by way of the Dutch Representative’s office in Philipsburg to the Dutch Government in The Hague. We hereby publish this letter below. A WORD OF GRATITUDE TO THE DUTCH GOVERNMENT AND ITS PEOPLE. TO: Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Dutch nation, On the night of Tuesday 5th to Wednesday September 6th 2017, our island was hit by hurricane Irma. This caused tremendous devastations, both on vital infrastructure, including roads, the airport and the port of Sint Maarten,…
Philipsburg — Following the press release by President and Managing Director Jeff Boyd of Yacht Club Port de Plaisance regarding it’s reopening on November 1st, he and his management team would also like to keep the people of Sint Maarten informed of their efforts to ensure that Yacht Club Port de Plaisance may resume regular business as soon as possible by securing the required specialized equipment for the removal of sunken vessels. Boyd said “As you can imagine, time is of the essence with the yachting season approaching in less than 30 days and thus the rebuilding of the marinas,…
Simpson Bay — Due to Hurricane Irma causing significant damage to underwater life because of storm surge and strong water motion, the Sint Maarten Nature Foundation conducted initial Marine Park and Dive Site assessment to determine the level of impact underwater. Initial marine assessment was carried out from the 28th of September until the 6th of October 2017. Several St Maarten dives sites in the Man of War Shoal Marine Park and around the island have been surveyed for reef and coral damage, marine life presence and to assess the mooring systems for dive operators. The Nature Foundation will start…
PORT ST. MAARTEN – Royal Caribbean Line’s (RCL) Grandeur of the Seas will be the first commercial cruise vessel to return to the destination post-Irma on Sunday, November 5th. RCL as of that date will also be carrying out an adjusted cruise itinerary for the remainder of 2017 which will be published within short. Grandeur of the Seas was launched in 1996 and is part of the Vision-class of RCL. The vessel has 11 decks and carries 2,446 passengers and 760 crew, and went through a comprehensive revitalization in Cadiz, Navantia Shipyard in May 2012. A delegation from RCL recently…
Oranjestad – The Board of financial supervision Aruba (CAft) considers the compliance with the budgetary norms for 2017 and later years crucial in decreasing the government debt of Aruba and making the public finance sustainable. This is what Raymond Gradus indicated during his first visit to Aruba as CAft chairman. For 2017 a strict supervision is essential to comply with the projected measures to reduce the financing deficit. Considering the results of the first half year, CAft is concerned about the disappointing income and increasing expenses. In addition the CAft has insisted during its visit to present the 2018 budget…
CAY HILL – On Friday October 6th the final Emergency Operations Center (EOC) meeting was held at the Fire & Ambulance Building, marking the end of the emergency response to Hurricane Irma. The next phase will be the road to recovery, which entails the rebuilding of Sint Maarten. The EOC was called in to action on September 1st in preparation for the approaching Hurricane Irma. Since that time the EOC has met regularly and at the peak of the response at least once daily. The EOC consists of 10 Emergency Support Function (ESF) Groups led by Prime Minister William Marlin…
SIMPSON BAY – On Tuesday 10-10-17, Prime Minister William Marlin and Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication Melissa Arrindell Doncher welcomed the 1st commercial flights to Sint Maarten marking the re-opening of PJIAE / SXM Airport. The two Ministers were present 7:50 am in the morning to welcome the first flight, WINAIR that arrived from Saba beginning the historic day that saw 6 flights land with one cancellation. Around midday a festive welcome ceremony was organized that included live music, ladies in beautiful carnival costumes, give away items, finger food snacks & cold beverages. The special welcome was…
