Utilities company NV GEBE had to do something quick to answer to the growing frustration about the power cuts that have been plaguing everybody’s life on St. Maarten these days. So, they put out a press release. See: https://news.sx/business/general-public-statement-nv-gebe The attempt of putting customers at ease this way is not going to work. At least, that is what we believe, and we will explain why this is so. Based on the press release, two diesel generators are past their technical lifespan of thirty years, and they produce – when working – 18 percent of total demand. These generators are described…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG — The detrimental situation at utilities company GEBE has triggered a fierce debate on social media on Saturday in which former Finance Minister Ardwell Irion, former GEBE-director Jerome Chittick and even former Public Health Minister Emil Lee took part.See: https://www.facebook.com/StMaartenNewsOnline/posts/pfbid02ec5Egpi73zAnN46fb96za7xeeoiLyr43mmVrFjSyJG6tBmoUHBefSz9aY1bFvbxRl Lee probably made the most valuable contribution by stating: “The blame game is not productive. The focus needs to be on what the solutions are. We have spent enough time ignoring the problem. St. Maarten needs to make some hard decisions, quickly.” MP Irion claims in a Facebook-post that the current level of power cuts at GEBE only became…
~ Minister Lewis Meets with the Point Blanche Prison Inmates Association ~ Hopes to Address Urgent Issues at Point Blanche Prison in the Short Term ~ POINTE BLANCHE — On Friday 31 May 2024, the Honorable Minister of Justice, Lyndon Lewis and his cabinet staff visited the Point Blanche Prison, where he engaged in a significant discussion with the Inmates Association, including President Mr. Danzell Richardson, Vice President Mr. Dante Ottley, Treasurer Mr. Theo Heyliger, Advisor Mr. Joceidi Grell, and Secretary Mr. Vincent Hanley. The meeting focused on several pressing issues affecting the facility’s operations and the well-being of its…
Colombian educated Certified Risk Analyst, Terence Jandroep CRA CQA CLA, contemplated the constant energy blackouts that has created significant losses to the Small & Medium Size Enterprises and explains how losses are unnoticeable accrued. Sales and Energy synergy A company with a sales level of $ 300,000 per year and opens 6 times a week, could be interpreted that the sales volume was acquired with an energy intensity of 2,496 hours (312 days x 8 hours) per year. This formula illustrates that the energy supply is aligned with the sales volumes. This example establishes that the company achieves average sales…
PHILIPSBURG — Three diesel engines, or 30 percent of the total, have exceeded their technical lifespan of thirty years, Utilities Company GEBE stated in a press release in an attempt to clarify the issues it is facing with seemingly never-ending power cuts or, in GEBE-lingo: load shedding. The three units represent 18 percent of GEBE’s operational capacity. “They are still operational and serve as peak shavers to meet daily demand but they are less efficient and unreliable,” the press release states. “They are a primary cause of reduced efficiency.” The company points the finger to climate change and rising temperatures…
Editorial Yes, we missed it too, but an alert by Renate and Denicio Brison pointed our noses on to the facts: the national decree announcing elections for August 19 contains a painful omission that seems to be impossible to repair without breaking the law. Read the related article here: Will elections have to be postponed again? Maybe readers know this already: new political parties that want to contest elections have to register with the Electoral Council more than six weeks before postulation day. Because the May 27 decree sets postulation day at July 2 this is not possible because the…
PHILIPSBURG — The revised national decree of May 27 that sets the date for the parliamentary elections at August 19 contains a painful omission: the deadline for the registration of political parties. The now contested decree states: “The government had taken into account the possibility for political parties to register and to abide by the stipulations as prescribed in the Electoral Law.” It sounds good but there is one problem: it cannot be correct. The Electoral Law states that the deadline for political parties to register is six weeks before the date of Postulation Day. The national decree of May…
By Hilbert Haar There are two reasons for putting an inmate at the Pointe Blanche prison in an isolation cell: because of serious misbehavior or for his (or her) own protection. Currently we do not know which one of these motives applies because the investigation into the beating that landed an inmate in hospital is ongoing. Read related story here: Inmate in isolation cell beaten and hospitalized There is no doubt, as Justice Minister Lewis suspects, that corruption plays a role in this unsavory incident. It does not take much to bribe a prison guard and it is probably even…
PHILIPSBURG — An inmate held in an isolation cell at the Pointe Blanche prison was so severely beaten by two assailants that he had to be hospitalized at the St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC). Justice Minister Lyndon Lewis was quoted during the Council of Minister’s press briefing on Wednesday, May 29, as saying that the assailants wore khaki uniforms, suggesting that the attack must have been the work of other inmates. The identity of the victim had not been revealed and the motive for the attack is unknown. Minister Lewis reported the attack during his first appearance at a Council…
Dear Editor, The recent events surrounding the government formation process in St. Maarten warrant a thorough and critical analysis. Here’s a timeline of events that highlight the complexities and challenges faced, which the public needs to scrutinize. On January 13, 2024, the 2×4 coalition agreement was signed, a mere two days after the elections. The Governor then appointed Dr. Luc Mercelina as formateur on January 15, 2024. By February 10, 2024, the new members of Parliament were sworn in with a new majority, setting the stage for the formation of the government. On January 18, 2024, the Governor appointed Dr.…
