The report from the General Audit Chamber about administrative appointments makes clear that this process leaves a lot to be desired. What is even more serious is that six out of seven ministers did not respond to a request to verify the findings of the audit. It remains to be seen how the new parliament will deal with this report; that is to say, whether it will deal with it at all. Past parliaments have mostly ignored these solid audits that contain serious recommendations for improvement. It is also worrisome that the Audit Chamber was unable to establish for half…
Author: The Publisher
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Minister of Kingdom Relations, Ronald Plasterk, says the ball is in the court of St. Maarten in a letter to the Dutch Second Chamber regarding the plans of approach for the Pointe Blance prison and the police force of St. Maarten.
Minister Ingrid Arrindell slightly changed her story about the process surrounding the appointment of Rolando Brison as the director of the St. Maarten Tourism Authority. In a lengthy statement (see related story) the minister demands an apology from this newspaper for calling her a liar. Actually we did not call the minister a liar; we wrote: It appears now that Tourism and Economic Affairs Minister Ingrid Arrindell has been lying about the candidacy of Rolando Brison as director for the St. Maarten Tourism Authority.” That’s a subtle, but important difference. These are the true facts of this story. On August…
Minister Ingrid Arrindell issued a press release on Monday with respect to matters surrounding the appointment of the director of the Sint Maarten Tourist Authority. This newspaper did not receive it for some reason, so we picked up a copy from the soualiganewsday.com website and we offer our readers here the unabridged version. Minister Arrindell has stated that the tone and content, which consisted of innuendos, accusations, and condemnations made toward her in the editorial written by Mr. Hilbert Haar in which he stated that it appeared that she has been lying about the candidacy of Mr. Rolando Brison as the…
The all-out war against houses of easy virtue reached a new pinnacle with the raids at El Capitan and Le Petit Chateau yesterday. Another 29 prostitutes without valid residence papers have been picked up by law enforcement for deportation back to the Dominican Republic and Colombia. After the action against the Hypnotic brothel in late October, a total of 56 prostitutes have now been taken out of circulation. The sex industry is going through tough times; that’s for sure. Love it or hate it, prostitution is part of any community and also of ours. It is a business of demand…
There is a tantalizing story developing around the appointment – or not – of Rolando Brison as the director of the St. Maarten Tourist Authority. We always wish everybody the very best but in Brison’s case, the deck seemed stacked against him and his buddy MP Silvio Matser won’t be able to move him into this coveted position. Mike Granger, a former journalist who now runs a public relations company that for instance produced the controversial ‘interview’ with Maria Buncamper-Molanus that appeared on the front page and on two more full pages in that other newspaper on June 3 in…
Dear Editor, “Some people never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity”, a statement well said by George Bernard Shaw so long ago but still rings true. Especially true concerning the event that took place in St. Maarten last Friday October 28, 2016, when the last KLM flight made its final landing our runways at Princess Juliana Airport. The very runway in which it accredits its fame to this big blue bird. It is undoubtedly a shame on our part for knowing of this potentially major event and taking no action to aid it into something greater than it was.…
The oath of office administered to the fifteen members of the new parliament represents a solemn promise; time will tell how much that oath is really worth, because the first rumblings about discord in the so-called broad-based coalition of ten have already reached our office. The oath put the responsibility for a stable government squarely on the shoulders of the elected Members of Parliament. The past six years have shown that those shoulders are not strong enough to carry that responsibility. Will it be different this time around? We all know the saying, if you always do what you always…
GREAT BAY- Watching a plane carrying a family member or close friend depart from up close or even from a distance can have that emotional roller coaster effect. But what happened when KLM’s Boeing 747-400 lifted off from the Princess Juliana International Airport last Friday for the last time is not easy to describe. It was as if it was the end of a love affair, only this time, it was not an affair involving two people. It was one that involved the trademark blue and white aircraft with the hump and those that had the pleasure of experiencing the…
GREAT BAY – Last Friday the contract for the company’s new chief executives were signed. The appointment come weeks after the Supervisory Board’s proposal to appoint the three to the Executive Managing Board. “Kenrick Chittick the new Chief Executive Officer is a widely respected leader who has built a positive track record while serving as the Head of Power Plant earlier this year,” Gebe stated in a press release. “His background will enable him to play a key role in driving the company’s strategy and reinforcing Gebe’s position as a leading utility company in the Caribbean, while continuing to build…
