US $1.7 million distributed to help restore local small business economy; businesses encouraged to apply
PHILIPSBURG — To date, US $1.7 million has been disbursed to enterprises within the St. Maarten small business community who have taken advantage of the combination grant/loan financial assistance offered through the Enterprise Support Project (ESP). The US $35 million relief initiative is being implemented by the National Recovery Program Bureau More...
Brison’s political interference with economic controls is an old story
PHILIPSBURG — President of Parliament MP Rolando Brison confirmed the worst fears of the authors of several integrity reports when he attempted to interfere with the work of economic control officers at More...
Minister Richardson’s immigration policy under fire
PHILIPSBURG — Immigration remains a hot topic and it has come to the forefront once more after Justice Minister Anna Richardson’s announcement of a “strict enforcement” of relevant legislation. There More...
Tourism study: time is running out for St. Maarten
PHILIPSBURG / AMSTERDAM – Economist Arjen Alberts obtained his PhD at the University of Amsterdam on Monday. In a ceremonial setting in the Agnietenkapel he defended his thesis entitled “Small Island Tourism More...
Force Majeure or not?
~ Legal jurisprudence needed whether lockdown is force majeure or not ~ PHILIPSBURG — We asked local accountants to provide us with their Top Three Tips for businesses on St. Maarten to survive this economic More...
Employer Council St. Maarten identifies a number of issues with the SSRP program
PHILIPSBURG — The Employer Council St. Maarten issued a statement wherein it states that from the get-go, the SSRP was intended to enable employers to maintain employment relationships with as many employees More...
Learning Unlimited defies Education Ministry’s closure-order
PHILIPSBURG – All public and private schools have to remain closed for onsite education, Education Minister Rodolphe Samuel wrote in a letter to all school boards on August 11, but that message was apparently More...
The potential of the yachting industry in the Caribbean
Whilst Caribbean economies claim to be looking out for opportunities to diversify their economies, in practice, they have been slow to grab the opportunity that is presented by yachting. By Robbie Ferron The yachting More...
A coup at the Social Economic Council (SER)
By Hilbert Haar When any government announces the “restructuring” of a board or of any organization that is supposed to be independent from the political decision makers, I always become a bit suspicious. The More...
IMF-team paints dark picture of road to recovery
PHILIPSBURG — St. Maarten’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will drop 25 percent this year as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. This appears from a note written by a team of the International Monetary fund More...