PHILIPSBURG – The Economic Bulletin of December 2022 of the Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten contains an article about the effect of inequality on economic growth. The bank writes that this topic warrants further research and that it can therefore not present a definitive conclusion. Inequality has effect on a political and an economic level. Politically, inequality creates pressure for the implementation of redistribution policies. Economically, it provides incentives for innovation and entrepreneurship. “Those at the upper end of income distribution have surplus resources to invest in new businesses,” the report states. ‘Those at the lower end may…
Author: The Publisher
THE HAGUE – Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte offered his government’s apologies for the history of slavery on Monday December 19, in a speech at the National Archives in The Hague. We offer our readers hereby a verbatim translation of the speech which Rutte beforehand touted as “a meaningful moment.” “Here in the National Archives history speaks to us through millions of documents. And even though we do not hear the unwritten voices from the past, the story that emerges from all those archived documents is not only beautiful. It is often also ugly, painful and even plain shameful. This…
PHILIPSBURG — The National Institute of Arts (NIA) hosted a concert at the Divi Resort with the Family String Band with its lead vocalist Edsel Eusebius and NIA’s Youth Orchestra. “With this project we would like to continue the legacy of St. Maarten’s cultural heritage,” NIA-director Arlene Halley said. “This is about instilling a sense of national pride and identity in youngsters via the Youth Orchestra by exposing them first-hand to the ‘older heads’ with their cultural music and instruments. In turn the youth orchestra will share their skills and culture with visitors to the island and with the general…
PHILIPSBURG – The departure hall of the Princess Juliana International Airport will be fully operational before the 2023 high season, the airport announced in a press release. The new terminal building is projected to be completed by April 2024. In the meantime, the airport expects to handle more than 7,000 passengers per day during this holiday season and up to March 2023. Without providing any specification, the airport states that it has taken “several additional measures” to guarantee a smooth flow of passengers and to provide these passengers with a better airport experience within the given circumstances. Five new TV…
BETHLEHEM, Sint Maarten – Sint Maarten’s newest mixed-use location ‘Village at the Border at Bethlehem’ marked the completion of Phase 1 infrastructure on Wednesday, December 14, 2022. Phase 2 will commence in February 2023. Located at the border of Dutch and French Quarter, Village at the Border at Bethlehem Estate is a new mixed-use location where the developer, Bethlehem Real Estate Development NV, is selling large commercial and developer lots with sale prices including infrastructure to access the lot, utilities, streetlights and parking. Located next to the McDonald’s and Delta Petroleum (re-opening in 2023), the construction of a new Carrefour…
PHILIPSBURG — In November of last year, the Court in First Instance described the atmosphere at utilities company GEBE as toxic. The case revolved around the (failed) attempt to fire Sharine Daniel. “GEBE has devised a strategy to get rid of its employee and it shunned few methods. Normally, an employee whom this happens to would not even want to work for such an employer anymore,” the court ruling states. Turns out that GEBE is not the only company in the world where labor conditions can be described as toxic. The Professional Association of Independent Researchers in the Netherlands published…
For Sale Valley Estate land, lowest phase 1, 800m2, with VROMI-approved building permit for a house with 3 bedrooms + 1 bedroom apartment for $100.000,- US Dollars. Renderings of this property are based on the approved building permit from VROMI. Basically, these are allowed and approved drawings for a 3-bedroom house + 1 bedroom apartment. For Sale Valley Estate land, lowest phase 1, 800m2, with VROMI-approved building permit for a house with 3 bedrooms + 1 bedroom apartment for $100.000,- US Dollars. This opportunity is presented to you by…. For Sale Valley Estate land, lowest phase 1, 800m2, with VROMI-approved…
For some of us it is about safeguarding power for our children and next generation alone. For some of us it is all about protecting the economic power of those that we are connected to. For some of us it is about ensuring that the dynasties and power legacies of our families will live on. For some of us it is about protecting the wealth of the organizations that we represent. For some us it is about having our foreign influences overpower the customs of the natives of our Land. For some of us it is all about influencing a…
Dear Editor, Listening to a recent radio program hosted by ONESXM Association, in which the Head of the Labour Department was the guest, turned out to be a sad state of affairs where employers behavior are concerned. The Labour Department, is tasked in carrying out its function to safeguard employment for nationals of this territory, and prevent employers from blatantly discriminating in their hiring practices, which are aided and abetted by judges. Case in point. The Labour Department denied a work permit for a foreigner as requested by an employer, because nationals are available to perform the work…
PHILIPSBURG — In the first seven months of the year, Princess Juliana international airport handled 425,000 departing passengers. “The airport is currently at 95 percent recovery in terms of traffic and movements,” airport-director Brian Mingo says. Twenty percent of departing passengers used American Airlines (85,325) while 14 percent (59,070 passengers) flew with JetBlue, followed by Delta with 12 percent (56,006). The majority of passengers (53.1 percent) were Americans, followed by Europeans (18.5 percent) and Caribbeans (11 percent). At the bottom of the seven top-rated airlines is KLM with 4 percent (17,423 passengers). Of the 425,000 passengers, just half a percent…
