What’s next?
There is a meme on social media depicting COVID-19 as a tsunami wave while behind that wave is a bigger tsunami wave with the name “Recession”. We think this an appropriate way of how we see things developing right now. Because, as we keep looking past the COVID-19 crisis into the post-pandemic period, we see another crisis and we see something More...
Still Homeless
While exploring the supposedly deserted streets of Dutch St. Maarten for a media report, we encountered several homeless persons, some more aggressive in their approach than others, despite there being a complete More...
What about testing?
With the declaration of a state of emergency last night during the Prime Minister’s online press briefing the island is on lockdown 24/7, effectively a police state for two weeks. While the purpose of this More...
Following procedures the new norm?
It is very interesting to hear members of parliament rail against the new work permit policy imposed by Minister Pamela Gordon-Cary, citing lack of following procedures and lack of consultations with other government More...
What did any other parties really do in Parliament?
The question was raised when we published the achievements article about the SMCP on our front page outlining what the party did in Parliament during its 19 months’ term. Few parties if any can publish anything More...
The H-Factor
Leader of the SMCP, Wycliffe Smith, writes in an article about the H-Factor. Already on November 7, 2019, during an ad hoc committee meeting on electoral reform, the former MP Claude Chacho Peterson proposed that More...
Separation of church and state
St. Maarten is a very religious island. The separation of church and government was never a discussion point until the appearance of the Sint Maarten Christian Party, SMCP, in the political arena in 2015 and with More...
The thing with article 59
Is there a cure for the seemingly never-ending battle between an obstinate parliament – that sends the government home – and an evenly stubborn Council of Ministers that reacts by invoking Article 59 of the More...
Hands off
The times they are a’changin and so is the political makeup of St. Maarten’s government. Once upon a time – and not all that long ago – appointments to key positions, be it as policy advisors or in executive More...
Screening: a step in the right direction
By Hilbert Haar Is screening candidates for positions on supervisory boards of government-owned companies a good idea? Definitely. In fact, I am almost taken aback by Prime Minister Romeo-Marlin’s decision to More...
