PHILIPSBURG — Businesses perceive government more as a hurdle than a help in realizing their dreams of creating and running a successful business. That is the rather sad conclusion of a working paper published by the Central Bank, entitled Effect of Red Tape on Business and Economic Development by economic analysis and research specialist Reggie Martes. For this Red Tape Survey, Martes received 775 completed surveys from companies: 440 from Curacao and 335 from St. Maarten. The report expresses concerns about the economic development on both islands because real gross domestic product growth has been weak during the past decade;…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG — The Common Court of Justice closed 2022 with a positive balance of 1,330,000 guilders (around $743,000); this amount will be added to the court’s general reserves. During the past five years the court saved 8 million guilders (around $4.4 million) by giving back incidental solidarity contributions to the countries and by adjusting its budgets. This appears from the court’s 2022 annual report. Starting in 2025 the court will start using the legally established cost price model to determine what the countries have to pay for registered court cases. In 2022, Mauritsz de Kort became the president of the…
PHILIPSBURG — Public tenders falling under the authority of the Ministry of Public Housing, Urban Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (VROMI) have once again become a bone of contention. In 2022 the Ombudsman concluded in a report about the tendering of solid waste collecting contracts that these tenders were “neither fair nor sufficiently transparent.”This time the questions focus on the tender for the demolition of the former government administration building at Clem Labega Square. On top of that, PFP-MP Raeyhon Peterson issued a press release that criticizes the tendering process. According to information reaching StMaartenNews.com, the highest bid for the demolition…
THE HAGUE — The VVD-faction in the Dutch parliament has serious concerns about the mutual agreement St. Maarten, Aruba and Curacao recently signed with the Netherlands as the replacement of the controversial COHO consensus kingdom law. MP Roelien Kamminga confronted State Secretary Alexandra Van Huffelen during a parliamentary committee debate with the many weaknesses of the agreement. The MP considers supervision razor thin, enforcement unclear and the way parties intend to settle disputes naïve. “Unfortunately the history of this dossier shows that trust is beautiful and that control is better.” The agreement contains the option of a mediator to settle…
PHILIPSBURG — The limited availability of cell capacity at the Pointe Blanche prison is costing the government a fortune. The Volkskrant reported in November 2019 that the 31 detainees that were at that time in Dutch prisons cost the government in St. Maarten €120,000 per month ($129,600 at the current rate of exchange. That’s $4,180 per prisoner per month. St. Maarten was forced to move prisoners to the Netherlands after Hurricane Irma caused serious damage to the Pointe Blanche prison. Per May 2023 – 68 months and counting since the hurricane – those prisoners have costs the government already…
PHILIPSBURG — CIBC FirstCaribbean introduced the Realtor of the Year Award during special client events it held recently in the Cayman Islands, Jamaica and Barbados. The bank announced that a similar event will be held shortly in the Bahamas. Realtors who are members of the CIBC FirstCaribbean’s Realtors Hub and who hold an active real estate license are eligible for the award. “They must demonstrate professionalism through good business conduct, community service and a sound and active relationship with CIBC FirstCaribbean,” the bank stated in a press release. CIBC FirstCaribbean launched its digital Realtors Hub two years ago. It allows…
PHILIPSBURG — Chief Commissioner Carl John delivered a compelling presentation about the use of artificial intelligence (AI), highlighting advantages as well as disadvantages at the symposium Human Factors versus Technology in Aruba. Justice Ministers from various kingdom countries attended the symposium that aimed to foster discussion about crucial and strategic matters related to general security. Shalton Hato and Rocco Tjon, the ministers of justice of Curacao and Aruba respectively, addressed the audience. “Their valuable insights shed light on the importance of investing in technology as wells as human resources to effectively combat crime,” the St. Maarten police force stated in…
PHILIPSBURG — The Law enforcement Council made fifty recommendations in 2022 to improve the situation at the police force in St. Maarten. Eleven of them have so far been ignored, and five have been partially implemented. “Basic concerns are not being met,” the Council states in its State of Law Enforcement 2022 report. “There are bottlenecks in the areas of updating the legal framework, regulating legal status, earmarking sufficient funds in budgets and a financial mandate for the head of the service.” Of the 25 recommendations related to the investigative process, the police force followed up on sixteen of them.…
By Hilbert Haar I am not a fiscal expert, let me make that clear from the get go, but I have a simple question. Have you ever wondered why things are the way they are? I ask myself that question a lot and now I think I have found the answer: because some people (and I have no clue who they are) want things to be the way they are. I have looked for a long time at the endless number of tax warrants that are published in the National Gazette every two weeks. I did not count them but…
PHILIPSBURG — If you have ever wondered why the tax administration continues to publish dozens upon dozens of tax warrants in the National Gazette, you can find the answer in the latest audit report of the General Audit Chamber. The report examines the process and effectiveness of ex officio tax assessments the tax administration sends to those who have failed to file a tax return. The findings are rather shocking because the report states that the tax administration has no clue about the number and the value of the ex officio assessments and that it is therefore impossible to judge…
