THE HAGUE – The Netherlands has offered St. Maarten redemption on an existing loan, even though the country’s finances are not in order. St. Maarten would have gotten into more trouble if that had been blocked, Acting Minister Stef Blok (Kingdom Relations) said in the Second Chamber yesterday. He emphasized that it is about an existing loan, not a new one, Pieter Hofmann reports on Caribisch Netwerk. André Bosman (VVD) had asked questions after reports that a 26 million guilders loan of St. Maarten had been extended by the Netherlands, in spite of the fact that St. Maarten’s 2016 budget…
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In a statement published on CuracaoChronicle.com, Ronald Plasterk, Minister of Kingdom Relations, is quoted as saying that the governors of the countries of Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten serve primarily the interests of The Hague and not that of the country where they are. They are representatives of the King, who is the head of the Kingdom Government. This was stated in answers to queries from the Dutch members of the Second Chamber in Holland to the minister about the position of the governor after the disagreement between the Kingdom government and the Aruban government headed by Mike Eman. What…
The story about Antillean students who feel like outsiders in the Netherlands deserves some further thought. Obviously, we do not condone or support discrimination in any way. Yet we know that it exists, not only in Donald Trump’s locker rooms but in many other places too. Wishing that discrimination and racism disappear is like asking Santa Claus for that Ferrari you’ll never drive. So what to do? The thing to realize is that discriminatory and racist remarks say more about the one who makes them than they do about their targets. This is how Dutch kids used to reply to…
THE BOTTOM – Film crews of the German TV-show Terra X and the Discovery Channel were on the island to shoot some promotional material. Saba has been nominated in the Most Beautiful Nature Area of the Netherlands competition, Hazel Durand reports on Caribisch Netwerk. The nomination has triggered international interest while the local tourism industry goes through difficult times. Saba Conservation Foundation, Saba Archeological Center and the island council have already made a plan in case Saba wins the prize money – which could be as much as €300,000. “We will seriously invest in improving the hiking routes and in…
GREAT BAY – With only today and tomorrow left for candidates that took part in the September 26 elections 42 percent of them (53) have not yet submitted their donation registration to the Electoral Council. Among them are candidates that have been elected to parliament. This afternoon, candidates elected to parliament have to sign a declaration at the Electoral Council stating that they have abided by the national ordinance registration and finances political parties. Deadline October 26 Last Friday, the Electoral Council requested the representatives of the political parties to urge all candidates, who contested the 2016 parliamentary elections to…
GREAT BAY – The St. Maarten Harbor Holding company suffered another defeat in court in its battle against the building permit Dock Maarten obtained for the construction of a rock revetment to facilitate the expansion of its marina. The harbor took the ministry of public housing, urban planning, environment and infrastructure (Vromi) to court, demanding that the building permit be declared null and void. The court declared the harbor’s appeal without merit. The harbor maintains that it has a 30-year concession for Great Bay and Cole Bay – at a price of 5.2 million guilders per year – and that…
A lot has been said and written about the dump and a lot will be said and written about this thorn in everyone’s hide for decades to come. Those who think that our politicians will take care of the problem are dreaming. Politicians who says that they will take care of the dump are hallucinating. Why? Because we have amassed an enormous amount of crap on Pond Island that for reasons unknown some people call the sanitary landfill. It is a huge mountain of debris and you can bet your bottom dollar that everything that should not be in there…
The harbor lost another court case in the ongoing feud about a building permit Dock Maarten obtained for the expansion of its marina in Great Bay. That was predictable, but it seems that the port still won a small concession from the Vromi-ministry. That is the promise to include the port in the decision making process in the future when other building permits become an issue. The court pointed out that the government is obliged to consider all aspects before issuing a permit – any permit, really – and that it behooves the ministry to gather information from all parties…
GREAT BAY- When completed, the Rainforest Adventures Park located on the premises of the Emilio Wilson Estate will have more than thrill seeking adventurers bargain for. In addition, to the two lift stations at elevations of 790 and 138 meters respectively, there will also be a humming bird garden. That is just one aspect of the project that will certainly attract nature lovers. According to Scott Swietanski, the managing director of the project, he has seen it done in Jamaica and he intends to have one here also. This new development was made public last Saturday when two journalists from…
The Rainforest Adventure Park’s zip line will take people to the top of Sentry Hill for spectacular view. The project is a fait accompli and the time to object to it is passé, which obviously does not mean that everyone is happy with this development. As the project nears completion by next summer it is however time to look at its impact and the first issue that comes to mind is traffic. Another issue that is still a reason for concern has to do with the developer’s pledge to restore Emilio Wilson’s house on the property and to give some…
