Unlawful spending
By Hilbert Haar The General Audit Chamber investigates the lawful and efficient spending of public funds, or so I read in the chamber’s report about St. Maarten’s 2021 financial statements. Related article: Government’s financial statements remain unreliable, Audit Chamber says After reading the report I can only conclude that how the government More...
Mixed reactions to removal of COHO-law
PHILIPSBURG — Local politicians have reacted with caution and at times enthusiasm to the news that the consensus kingdom law COHO (Caribbean Organization for Reform and Development) is now definitely history. More...
Present-day slavery
Door Hilbert Haar St. Maarten will “accept nor deny” apologies for the history of slavery from the Dutch government, according to Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs in a reaction to a speech by Prime Minister Mark More...
Be careful what you wish for
By Hilbert Haar Independence. That term has been doing the rounds among politicians and among civil proponents of it like José Lake Jr. for a very, very long time. And now independent MP Grisha Heyliger-Marten More...
Freedom of choice
By Hilbert Haar The Common Court of Justice has ordered Aruba and Curacao to allow marriages between partners of the same sex. That order had not gone into effect yet, because both countries could appeal the ruling More...
Don’t come back, or how did you get that job again?
Dear Editor, Students who go away to study are doing so for particular reasons, whether they know or not the ranking of the reasoning. But what guarantees do students have of a different life from those who came More...
Being busy
This week Minister Doran caught my attention with a very interesting statement. He said during an interview on Thursday with Lady Grace on The Breakfast Lounge that and I quote “There is a systematic approach More...
A star is born
By Hilbert Haar MP Grisha Heyliger-Marten dealt a quick blow to her political adversaries after she was voted out of her position as chairlady of parliament. She cut all ties with the United People’s party (UP), More...
Village politics
By Hilbert Haar With the Silveria Jacobs government teetering on the brink of collapse, the question arises why governments apparently fall so easily in St. Maarten. The short answer is: village politics. Our little More...
How MP Brison orchestrated his own downfall
By Hilbert Haar Democracy at its finest. That is how my publisher Terrance Rey describes the outcome of what was basically a vote of no confidence against the chairlady of parliament, Grisha Heyliger-Marten. I More...
