PHILIPSBURG — The future of Air Antilles Express and Air Guyana hangs in the balance now that the commercial court in Point-á-Pitre is expected to rule on the possible bankruptcy of the Caire Group, the parent company of both airlines. The authorities in Guyana are preparing for a serious interruption of domestic air traffic if the bankruptcy becomes a reality. The website franceguyane.fr reported this week that Cafom, described by archyde.com as “a furniture specialist” has withdrawn its offer to acquire the Caire Group because of opposition from Guyana’s Territorial Council. If Cafom’s offer had been accepted, the Council would…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG — While Ennia’s major shareholder Hushang Ansary is entangled in lawsuits that could force him to repay millions of dollars to the insurance company, his wife Shahla does not seem to be short of capital, given her acquisition of a penthouse and cabana in Palm Beach for $14 million. TheRealDeal.com described the purchase in an article that was published on November 23, 2020. Ansary bought the property from reputed West Palm Beach attorney Alan J. Ciklin, who had acquired it back in 2014 for $7.8 million. When Ciklin put the penthouse and cabana on the market in May, the…
PHILIPSBURG — General Pension Fund APS is not doing well, it appears from a compliance audit into the fund’s financial statements 2022 conducted by the General Audit Chamber. APS’ coverage ratio dipped below 100, several real estate projects (like the eco-hotel in Mary’s Fancy) have become liabilities and the fund’s subsidiary St. Maarten Investment Agency has been sidelined in favor of the Curacao Financial Group, operating as the St. Maarten Investment Company. “Numerous real estate projects face challenges and postponements,” the report states. The Audit Chamber recommends an analysis of the economic feasibility of these projects, their costs and their…
Is Fuel Clause rephrasing gross mismanagement? By Terence Jandroep Communities of the Dutch Caribbean are consistently complaining about the utility bills and therefore a simplified explanation is necessary. Colombian educated Certified Risk Analyst Terence Jandroep illustrates the utility bills using layman terms after conducting a historical research: The operating costs of the GEBE (SXM), WEB (Aruba, Bonaire) STUCO (Statia), SEC (Saba) or AQUALECTRA (Curacao) consists of Payroll costs, Consumption and Waste of production. Fact is that most of these utility companies are not the Energy or Water producers but the distributors that are governed by a consumption parameters contract with…
PHILIPSBURG — Refinancing of the corona liquidity loans hinges on an agreement about a solution for embattled insurance company Ennia. The deadline to reach an agreement is October 15. “This agreement remains subject to parliamentary approval,” Minister of Finance Ardwell Irion states in a press release. “The Ministry of Finance is actively engaged in negotiations to find a mutually agreeable solution, understanding the significant impact in has on policyholders and the broader community. Collaboration between Curacao, St Maarten, and the Netherlands is essential for reaching a resolution that safeguards the interests of all stakeholders.” Minister Irion states that the loan…
PHILIPSBURG — St. Maarten’s economic recovery is moving in the right direction, according to the recently completed economic indicators table from the Department of Statistics (STAT). The numbers used for this conclusion mostly stem from 2021 and 2022 and even those numbers are not all final. STAT projects a 4.6 percent growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2021 and estimates its value to be around 2.27 billion guilders ($1.27 billion). GDP was affected during the past couple of years by natural disasters like Hurricane Irma (2017) and the corona pandemic and its subsequent lockdown in 2020. Irma caused a…
PHILIPSBURG — The Dutch Senate approved a 60.9 million guilders ($34 million) loan for capital expenditures on Tuesday, September 26, Finance Minister Ardwell, Irion announced in a press release. The minister mentions seven projects that will benefit from the loan: a shade for the Martin Luther King School playground, renovation of various sports facilities, expansion and reconstruction of the John Larmonie Center and the Philipsburg Cultural and Community Center, completion of the Prince Willem Alexander School, hard surfacing of various dirt and main roads, the Dutch Quarter road development program, expansion of the sewage network (co-financed by the Trust Fund…
Dear Mr. Editor, The Telem Group of Companies announced today that it will transform its total operation into a state-of-the-art “Integrated Digital Service Provider” for St. Maarten. Information about the transformation was revealed to the Council of Ministers in a special convened meeting at the Government Administration Building on Tuesday September 26, 2023, according to news circulating on social media. Mr. Editor, this is good news, but how credible is this news when certain critical points is taken into account. Has the Fiber to the Home project been completed? If not where are the bottle necks? Can the present state…
MARIGOT — Mario di Palma, owner of the defunct District 721 project in Simpson Bay and the bankrupted French-side construction company Deldevert is facing 1-year prison sentence, a €75,000 ($79,500) fine for diverting a reported €1.6 million ($1,696,000) in assets from Deldevert and an arrest warrant. The court in Marigot rules on the case on November 23. A second suspect in the Deldevert debacle, identified by the French-side newspaper Le Pélican as A.K. is facing 6 months in prison with two years of probation, a fine of €75,000 and a commitment to compensate victims. The attorneys for both defendants asked…
PHILIPSBURG — “It is important to get an idea of what the government’s actions and policies have been and currently are with regard to tax holidays and other fiscal incentives,” independent MP Grisha Heyliger-Marten wrote in a press release about her letter dated September 15 to Minister of Finance Ardwell Irion. She wrote that correctly applied fiscal incentives can benefit the country and that incorrectly applied incentives do more harm than good. Heyliger-Marten asked the minister five questions about this issue. She wants to know how many requests the government received since February 2020 for tax holidays or other fiscal…
