Willemstad, Curaçao, July 15, 2024 – As CIBC Caribbean, trading as FirstCaribbean in the Dutch Caribbean, completed the transfer of its assets to Orco Bank N.V last month, the bank made a parting gift of USD$25000 to support key marine projects in Curaçao. The bank made the donation to Seacology which is involved in two projects in Curaçao, coral restoration and sea turtle protection, through its charitable arm, The FirstCaribbean ComTrust Foundation. Chair of the foundation and Chief Executive Officer of the bank Mark St. Hill said the bank wanted to “make a tangible and lasting demonstration of our gratitude to our…
Author: The Publisher
By Hilbert Haar Something stuck in my mind about the address of attorney David Comissiong at the Governor’s Symposium about the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Related article: Comissiong makes strong case for slave trade reparations One of the elements of a reparation package, Comissiong said, was a demand for sovereignty, independence. Why? Because that was St. Maarten’s situation before Dutch slave traders took hold of the territory and made it a colony. In other words: the Dutch have to give St. Maarten back the status it had before the slave trade. On the surface, this argument makes a lot of sense.…
PHILIPSBURG — State Secretary Alexandra van Huffelen has made more than $23 million in subsidies available to St. Maarten for projects that strengthen the country’s sustainable ability to generate income. The objective of the subsidy-regulation is to contribute sustainably to the economic development of the country with a system of guarantee-regulations from the National Service Entrepreneurial Netherlands (RVO), the National Growth Fund and regulations for sustainable energy production (SDE+++). Eligible request for subsidies can come from legal entities that are governed by private law and from natural persons that run a business. The RVO executes the regulation based on a…
WILLEMSTAD — The Common Court of Justice sentenced Benny Sevinger, a former Minister of Urban Planning, Infrastructure and Environment (and later of Urban Planning, Integration and Infrastructure) in Aruba to a 48-month prison sentence with three years of probation and a 6-year ban on working as a civil servant or to be elected as a member of parliament. Of the sentence, 12 months are conditional. On April 14, 2023, the Court in First Instance sentenced Sevinger to a 1-year prison sentence, of which 6 months is conditional, 3-years of probation and a ban on the right to work as a…
Known to the people as Chacho, Claude Alfred Hans Peterson is the son of retired Police Affairs and Naturalization Department Head, Hans Peterson, and retired School Principal/Union Leader/Politician Aline Choisy. He is a Mechanical Engineer and businessman with a wide range of professional experiences in the private sector. His career spans 13 years as a General Contractor and 12 years in the restaurant sector on St. Maarten. Before returning to St. Maarten in 2001, Chacho spent nine years in the Hotel Management and Tourism sector in Aruba, where he gained invaluable firsthand knowledge and experience on the value of tourism.…
PHILIPSBURG — The Detective Collaboration Team (RST) searched the house and the workplace of an outgoing Member of Parliament, 721news.com reported. According to the report, the investigation focuses on the fall of the government that took office on May 3. The fall was caused by NOW-candidate Kevin Maingrette who announced in a press release on May 20 that he had withdrawn his support from the government that had the support of the United Resilient St. Maarten Movement (URSM), Democratic Party (DP), Party for Progress (PFP) and NOW (Nation Opportunity Wealth). In the January 11 elections Maingrette won a seat in…
THE HAGUE – Curacao and Aruba – and by extension St. Maarten – have to allow partners of the same sex to marry, the Supreme Court stipulated in a ruling dated December 22, 2023. The ruling is the conclusion of a legal dispute that began with a ruling by the Court in First Instance dated September 13, 2021. The court ruled that banning same-sex marriages violates the constitutional ban on discrimination. On December 6, 2022, the Common Court of Justice in Willemstad supported this ruling. Both Curacao and Aruba appealed in cassation to the Supreme Court in The Hague. The…
Dear Editor, With the snap elections set for August 19th, 2024, it is crucial for the residents of Sint Maarten to thoroughly evaluate the candidates and political parties vying for our votes. Our island’s future depends on the decisions we make today, especially regarding environmental sustainability and sustainable development. So far, very little candidates have shown a clear focus on sustainable development and environmental conservation. There is a concerning lack of a climate change resilience and adaptation plan for Sint Maarten, including a structured proposal for sustainable energy using renewable resources, which is critical given the current energy crisis. Additionally,…
PHILIPSBURG — The Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten (CBCS) has learned some valuable lessons from the downfall of the Girobank and from the report Deloitte Netherlands produced about this situation. In December 2013 the Girobank was placed under the emergency measure and the Deloitte-report describes what happened in the period 2013-2019. In December 2019 the Girobank was the target of a bank run. That same month the bank went out of business. The CBCS published a report this month, stating that it has changed its system of supervision in 2021. The Bank now uses stricter supervision standards. Among…
PHILIPSBURG — Attorney David Comissiong made a strong case for the payment of reparations for harm caused by the Trans-Atlantic slave trade at the Governor’s Symposium in June, but a quote from a letter written by former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte made clear that the Netherlands understands the situation very well but that it is not ready to commit to reparations. Comissiong explained that the heads of state of Caricom decided in 2013 to pursue a reparations claim for native genocide and African slavery against all European nations that were implicated in it. Caricom created an infrastructure to pursue…
