GREAT BAY – That the defendants in the Casablanca case did wrong is clear from the verdicts the court handed down yesterday (see related story on page 1: Light sentences in Casablanca case). The defendants “are guilty of the exploitation of a large number of foreign women,’ the ruling states. “Due to their beggarly living conditions the women feel that they have to go and work in the prostitution industry in St. Maarten. In itself there is nothing wrong with this – legal and facilitated by the government – work. Casablanca is a legal company that is free to offer…
Author: The Publisher
GREAT BAY – The Court in First Instance imposed much lighter sentences in the Casablanca case than the public prosecutor demanded during the trial on March 14. None of the defendants is going back to prison and the court acquitted them of several charges. The prosecutor’s office is studying the verdicts and has not taken a decision about an appeal yet. Augusto Theodore McQuincy Reiph, the managing director of the brothel, was sentenced to 730 days of imprisonment, with 385 days conditional, 2 years of probation and a fine of $15,000. Reiph already served the unconditional part of the sentence…
GREAT BAY – Governor Drs. Eugène Holiday administered the oath of office yesterday morning to Mellissa Arrindell-Doncher as Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (see photo). The Council of Ministers is now complete with seven members. Governor Holiday stated that the new minister has accepted to serve in challenging economic times, when there is much to do and much debate about the state and vision for our tourism based economy. The governor therefore recommended that the minister when deliberating taking action use the oath as a guide to develop opportunities to realize the aspirations of the people. Governor…
The report that citizens in St. Maarten produce 22 times more household garbage than their brethren in Curacao is a rather shocking eye opener. It is also a piece of information that should guide the government towards a sustainable approach of its huge waste management problem. It is almost cynical that the same citizens that complain about the constant fires on the dump now appear to be part of the problem. Bringing waste levels down to acceptable levels should now be a top priority. To tackle this issue, the government must find out how it is possible that local citizens…
GREAT BAY – St. Maarten is a wasteful community. That appears from data published in an unsolicited advice from the Social Economic Council to ministers Marlin, Emmanuel, Lee and Boasman. Per capita, citizens on the Dutch side produce on average 9.7 kilo of waste per day, 22 times more than the citizens of Curacao who produce just 440 grams of waste per day. This means that the 39,410 registered citizens of St. Maarten produce 382,277 kilo of waste per day, or close to 140 million kilo per year (to be exact: 139,531,105 kilo). This alarming number adds to the pressure…
MARIGOT – On Sunday morning Governor Eugene Holiday and his wife Marie-Louise, President of Parliament Sarah Wescot Williams and Prime Minister William Marlin and his wife Gabrielle formed the government’s delegation that attended the inauguration of Daniel Gibbs as the next President of the Collectivité of St. Martin. Gibbs first launched this idea almost six years ago on September 25, 2011 in a broadcast on Radio Soualiga in Eddie Williams’ program For the Record. ”People do not believe in memoranda of understanding anymore,” he said on that occasion; on the Dutch side his initiative fell on deaf ears; it did…
Based on the latest documents this newspaper has received from sources in Aruba regarding a warning letter the Department of Civil Aviation in Aruba has issued to Aruba Airlines, giving the company 15 days to rectify the situation regarding critical vacancies in the company’s organizational structure, one could say the Caribbean aviation, especially the Dutch Caribbean aviation sector, has a curse on it. With the future of Insel Air hanging on a thread and a recent press release from the troubled airline company in Curacao stating that its lay-offs of critical positions within the company’s organizational structure is within the…
It is not surprising that Daniel Gibbs, the new president of the Collectivité dusted off his old plan for the establishment of a United Congress, consisting of members from the Dutch and the French side of the island. It makes a lot of sense, yet over the years it has met with an astounding lack of enthusiasm on the Dutch side. Gibbs has little confidence in memorandums of understanding the Dutch side is so fond off. He prefers a setting were serious agreements are made that cannot be set aside just like that in case there is a change of…
GREAT BAY- Alberto Arrindell, stage name ‘Fish Da Mega Boss’ delivered the musical punch which enabled him to captivate the panel of judges and the entire audience during the Nagico Calypso Eliminations under the tent at the Princess Port de Plaisance last Friday. At the conclusion of the competition, it had to be a moment of truth for judges solicited by RAW Promotions Roberto Arrindell, Denis van Putten, Dion Gumbs, Shujah Reiph, Claudious Jones and head judge Kendall Dupersoy after the 15 calypsonians had delivered their musical social commentaries. The ‘Mega Boss’, who was dethroned by Shakiya in the 2016…
Dear Editor, It may come as surprise to many, that two able bodied young men drowned in the waters of Mullet Bay last Saturday. Please allow me to explain my perception as to how easily this can happen, and my suggestion as to how future incidents may be avoided at minimal expense on not just this beach but to other beaches on our beautiful island. Ideally, traditional approaches adopted all over the world would be effective, such as flags and lifeguard towers or even buoyed lines (that would have the additional advantage of keeping out those pesky jet skis). A…
