PHILIPSBURG — Independent Member of Parliament Grisha Heyliger-Marten criticized the National Alliance faction for not providing a quorum to a meeting of the parliament’s Justice Committee. “The coalition continues to disrespect government, justice workers and population,” she stated in a press release. ‘What we witnessed past Friday was yet another unfortunate and shameless display of this government’s coalition’s disrespect for itself and its ministers, the parliament and the people of St. Maarten,” the MP stated in a press release. “When meetings are finally called coalition MPs leave the minister high and dry without a valid explanation.” The Justice Committee was…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG — Retroactive payments to personnel of the justice ministry are going to cost the government 44,588,500 guilders ($24.9 million) it appears from a press release issued by the ministry. Making these payments over a five-year period is not feasible, so the ministry reached a agreement with labor unions in July to extend this period to ten years. The ministry will have to reserve 4 to 6 million guilders ($2.2 to $3.35 million) in its budget for a period of seven to ten years. Minister Richardson provided this information in a press release after a scheduled meeting of the Justice…
By Hilbert Haar Tee shirts, watches, booze, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics. There is hardly a product for which consumers cannot find cheaper (and therefore counterfeited) alternatives. Stores in St. Maarten are stuffed with counterfeit merchandise and for a very long time the government has done its utmost to turn a blind eye to this practice. Brands have ignored the situation in St. Maarten for a long time as well. Why? Because in the big scheme of things, St. Maarten is a small market and going after counterfeiters is expensive. There is no point in throwing good money after bad money. Some years…
PHILIPSBURG — The second annual anti-counterfeit and intellectual property protection conference will take place on October 19 and 20 at the Simpson Bay Resort the Ministry of Justice announced in a press release. Brands like LVHM (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy), Chanel, Nike and Puma have confirmed their attendance. UniFab (Union des Fabricants), a French anti-counterfeit association of manufacturers established in 1872 by a group of pharmacists that focuses on the international protection of intellectual property will be present as well. Justice Minister Anna Richardson and Disosa focus on revitalizing St. Maarten’s retail market. Disosa is the Caribbean brand protection service…
A report from our Correspondent COLE BAY — Duped investors of Carbon Grove Residences in Cole Bay are planning a town hall meeting on Thursday, October 5, at a later to be disclosed location in Simpson Bay. After creating a WhatsApp discussion group, dozens of clients of Carbon Acquisition Group (CAG) dba Melbon Enterprises are making collective efforts to persuade the Prosecutor to launch a criminal investigation into the real estate company and its owner Dwain Carbon. The group is represented by a lawyer who was informed that the Chief Prosecutor would take a decision before the end of September.…
WILLEMSTAD — The results of general pension fund APC were under pressure in 2022 as a result of disappointing investment results and the war in the Ukraine and the associated price- and interest rate increases. The coverage rate declined from 111.5 percent in 2021 to 103.7 percent at the end of 2022. In its annual report APC maintains that its available assets of 5,148 million guilders ($2,876 million) are sufficient to cover its pension liabilities. However, the coverage rate of 103.7 percent is insufficient to cover general risks; that requires a rate of 105 percent. In the long term, APC…
WILLEMSTAD — “It is a given that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will not go away,” said Carine Jänsch, the Dean of the Bar Association in Curacao in a speech during the installation of new judges at the Common Court of Justice. “AI is used worldwide to optimize judicial databases and to make them more accessible for professionals and incidental users. Application in the administration of Justice is the next step.” Jänsch said that there is a European ordinance AI in the pipeline that also addresses the use of AI for supporting judicial agencies with explaining facts and the application of the…
GREAT BAY — The One St. Martin (One SXM) Association, acting on behalf of the People of St. Martin, has submitted a formal claim for reparations against the Netherlands (also referred to as the Dutch or Dutch State). This significant claim is based on the historical injustices committed against the St. Martin People, stemming from Transatlantic Chattel Slavery (TCS) and Colonialism. Throughout the Caribbean and on the island of St. Martin, the Dutch played a role in enslavement, trafficking, and the financing of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, primarily involving Africans who are the ancestors of the majority of the St.…
Point-á-Pitre — The Commercial Court in Guadeloupe ruled on Friday that Cipim (the holding company of the Edeis Group) and the community of Saint Martin will take over part of Air Antilles. Air Guyane is not part of the deal, so this airline has been declared bankrupt. Air Antilles and Air Guyane were part of the Interregional Express Airline (Caire) which placed itself in liquidation in August. The court’s decision means that 176 of the 309 employees of Caire will be laid off. Louis Mussington, the president of the Collectivité de Saint Martin is delighted with the court’s decision. “The…
By Hilbert Haar What is the world coming to? What happened to the process of logical thinking? Those thoughts hit me like a hurricane when I read that the Council of Ministers asked the Integrity Chamber whether it is acceptable to let third parties pay for travel and accommodation expenses. See related article: Integrity Chamber advises against payment of travel expenses by third parties Good grief! I am not an expert but I could have answered that question in something like thirty seconds. Of course it is not acceptable to have others pay expenses for traveling on government business. This…
