Now that the NA and the UP have found the common ground that binds them, the country seems to be on the road to the stability it so desperately needs. After five years of fallen governments it is about time too. The ten-seat majority in parliament will give the new coalition a lot of fire power, also when it comes to legislation that requires a two-third majority. That all ministers will come from the candidate lists of the two parties is another revelation, because this seems to exclude the appointment of ministers by individual MPs who then pull the strings…
Author: The Publisher
GREAT BAY – With the exception of Tourism and Economic Affairs Minister Ingrid Arrindell who is attending the FCCA-cruise conference in Puerto Rico, all ministers of the incumbent cabinet signed their letters of resignation yesterday; today these letters will be presented to Governor Holiday. Because the National Alliance and the United People’s party have already signed an agreement to form the next government, Prime Minister William Marlin expects that the governor will soon appoint a formateur – charged with the formation of the new cabinet, rather than an informateur, who would be charged with examining all possible combinations that could…
NEW YORK – Gaston Browne, prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, told the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday that, along with climate change and lingering indebtedness, Caribbean islands face another existential threat from the withdrawal by global banks of correspondent banking relations to their financial institutions. In the global campaign against money-laundering and terrorist financing, very strict penalties have been imposed on banks by regulatory bodies in North America and Europe for any infringement of the stringent regulations. “In this environment, where even the slightest infraction could expose a bank to a fine of hundreds of millions of dollars, many…
GREAT BAY – Financial supervisor Cft is following the developments surrounding the plans for the construction of a new hospital closely “considering potential risks for the national budget.” this appears from the first half-year report of the Cft that covers the period up to June of this year. Financial supervisor Cft publishes half-year report The report states that the current hospital has been losing money for years because the compensation for treatments has not been indexed for a long time – a situation Minister Emil Lee (Public Health) has in the meantime repaired. The Cft refers to a report about…
GREAT BAY – Tropical Storm Matthew could throw a spanner in the works for the elections that are scheduled to take place tomorrow in Curacao. Yesterday, the storm was located 55 kilometers southeast of St. Lucia, moving west at 33 kilometers an hour. The National Hurricane Center in Miami issued a tropical storm warning for Guadeloupe and Martinique; similar warnings are in effect for Barbados, Dominica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and St. Lucia. The hurricane center warned Bonaire, Aruba and Curacao to follow the development of the storm closely. At 5 p.m. yesterday afternoon the center of the storm…
GREAT BAY – The United People’s party has not yet taken decisions about who will become their ministers in the new government, party-leader Theo Heyliger informed us. In yesterday’s front page article, we reported that of the five top vote getters at the UP, none would take up a ministers post, but according to Heyliger this is at best undecided. The party has nevertheless two obvious candidates for the post at the ministry of Public Health: Dr. Lloyd Richardson and Cornelius de Weever. Speculation about who the UP-ministers will be are rife, but as MP Heyliger emphasized: no decisions have…
NIEUWEGEIN – The MH17 flight brought down in 2014 was attacked by a BUK missile that came from the Russian Federation and returned there afterwards, according to the first report from a Joint Investigation Team into the disaster. The Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down on July 17 2014, killing all 298 people aboard, two-thirds of them Dutch. At a packed international press conference in Nieuwegein today, representatives of the Netherlands, Australia, Malaysia, Ukraine and Belgium announced the results of analyzing millions of images, social media posts, videos and telephone conversations. They presented what…
No support for “discriminating law” THE HAGUE – The controversial Bosman-law died in the Second Chamber yesterday, after all parties – with the exception of the VVD and the PVV – distanced themselves from it. Bosman’s law would have set criteria for citizens from St. Maarten. Aruba and Curacao who want to establish themselves in the Netherlands. Bosman pushed his law in an effort to prevent that islanders end up in a life without perspective or, worse, in criminality. Bosman was “disappointed” after the debate in the Dutch parliament. He had revised the text of his initiative-law after consultation with…
Dear Editor, We are still in the midst of the hurricane season. A challenge which we in the Caribbean have to face every year. Unfortunately, there are many people who believe that when a hurricane devastates a community it is an act of God to punish such persons. We need to realize that this is a misconception, since the destruction, suffering and death that a hurricane can bring is an inherent evil and must therefore be the work of Satan, the source of all evil. We want us to be clear in our minds that God does not inflict evil.…
GREAT BAY – Statia will get a daily ferry service to St. Maarten next year, Caribisch Netwerk reports. Currently there is no maritime connection between the two islands. Statia can only be reached through flights with airline Winair. The Wagendorp group is going to change this situation. The shipping company has a history of a hundred years ferrying passengers to the Dutch Wadden islands Ameland and Schiermonnikoog. “We are in the process of purchasing a ferry with a capacity of 350 passengers. The twice-daily departures in both directions will begin in the third quarter of 2017. A single fare will…
