PHILIPSBURG — A five-year-old ruling from the Supreme Court about a land dispute between a family and the municipality of Heusden sheds some more light on the intricacies of prescriptive rights. The ruling, dated February 24, 2017, is a clear warning for real estate owners: if they don’t pay attention they could easily lose what they thought was theirs. The municipality of Heusden, a fortified city in the vicinity of Den Bosch, went to court three times in an attempt to regain ownership of a parcel of land the family considered as its property. The first time the court sided…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG — Financial supervisor Cft is highly critical of St. Maarten’s budget for the year 2022. Because tax revenue is falling 12 million guilders ($6.7 million) behind 2019-levels, the Cft advises Finance Minister Ardwell Irion to introduce as soon as possible a casino-tax and a tax on imported goods. In general, Cft-chairman Raymond Gradus states in a letter dated April 14 to Irion, the budget 2022 does not meet the requirements set forth in the kingdom consensus law financial supervision (Rft). The Cft points out that the multi-annual budget shows deficits for the years 2023 until 2025. “The Kingdom Council…
CAY HILL — Due to international developments, St. Maarten General Hospital (SMGH) construction activities have slowed down over the recent weeks. As a lingering result of the pandemic, there have been delays in purchasing and shipping materials and steep increases in the prices of construction materials. These challenges make it unrealistic to build the hospital at the original price and by the original due date. SMMC and the contractor (FINSO) are working on a solution to address the increased cost of materials and challenges with shipping. The result of these discussions might be an increase in the overall SMGH construction…
PHILIPSBURG — Project developer Zebec intends to take St. Maarten Harbor Cruise Facilities (SMH Cruise) and others to court in an attempt to claim close to $100 million in damages it suffered after the port replaced Zebec with Ocean Drive Properties (ODP) as its preferred party for the development of a parcel of land within the port property. Attorney Jacob Cornegoor (Hoff Attorneys, based in Haarlem) wrote a blistering letter to SMH Cruise on December 17, 2021, that reveals the role of former Member of Parliament and founder of the United People’s party UP) Theo Heyliger in the “corrupt practices”…
~ Op-Ed on Media Policy by Ralph Cantave ~ On Tuesday, May 3, the world celebrated International Press Freedom Day, which inspired this article along with the recent press developments on our island. It is an honor to serve in this noble profession and I look forward to contributing towards the profession’s value, impact and legacy. As a member of the St. Martin press and representative of my media house, I have noted with deep concern the need to ensure that freedom of the press, as enshrined in article 10 of the constitution, is never trampled upon. Having been critical…
PHILIPSBURG — Party for Progress MPs Melissa Gumbs and Raeyhon Peterson, as well as MP Sarah Wescot-Williams (United Democrats) have made their positions about the draft COHO-law clear ahead of the Inter-Parliamentary Kingdom Consultation (Ipko) that is currently taking place in St. Maarten. While Wescot-Williams mainly points out her concerns about the draft law, the PFP-faction offers an alternative: the establishment of a new World Bank Trust Fund. “The COHO (Caribbean Organization for Reform and Development) is simply a way to push through a plethora of matters via a new type of higher supervision,” MP Wescot-Williams states in a press…
Lazy Affairs I am late with this column today as a direct result of the term ‘laissez-faire’. I once heard someone pronounced it as ‘lazy fairs’. So the term ‘lazy affairs’ got stuck in my head ever since. I looked it up online. Laissez-faire is a policy of minimum governmental interference in the economic affairs of individuals and society. The doctrine of laissez-faire is usually associated with the economists known as Physiocrats, who flourished in France from about 1756 to 1778. The term laissez-faire means, in French, “allow to do.” I keep saying St. Maarten is a wild wild west.…
PHILIPSBURG — It’s Time SXM Foundation is proud to have been a sponsor of the Blue Etoile Carnival Troup. Through the continued strong commitment, dedication and sound planning of troupe leader Nathalie Parotte-Van Heyningen and section leader Rena Richardson, the Troup Blue Etoile has won the best senior troupe for the third consecutive time. Mr. Cloyd Ohndhae Marlin of Its Time SXM Foundation: “In light of our foundation’s drive to be a part and contributor of activities that enhance the development of our people, weather it be in sports, education, and of course cultural arts, it was an easy…
By Hilbert Haar The media accreditation policy the Department of Communication announced recently has local journalists up in arms. Good. They demand a meeting with the Council of Ministers to discuss their concerns and in the meantime they will not sign any consent-form. See related article: Journalists demand postponement of accreditation policy That last point is interesting, because the government wants to have the policy go into effect per May 1. Journalists who have not signed a consent-form – meaning that they agree with the conditions set forth in the policy – will not get access to the live Council…
WILLEMSTAD — “The Parliament of Curacao finds the draft consensus kingdom law COHO in its current form unacceptable,” the website dossierkoninkrijksrelaties.nl reports. But the motion to which the site refers says no such thing. It states that “negotiations must result in a cooperation that guarantees Curacao’s autonomy.” The parliament approved a motion about the COHO (Caribbean Organization for Reform and Development) on April 26 with 20 votes to one. Only Rennox Calmes (TPK – Trabou pa Kórsou) voted against. The motion does not reject the establishment of the COHO outright but it lists ten concerns that require “urgent attention.” In…
