Political storm brewing over “unconditional” letter of Minister Plenipotentiary
PHILIPSBURG – There is a political storm brewing over a letter Minister Plenipotentiary René Violenus sent to State Secretary Drs. Raymond Knops on May 20, informing him that St. Maarten has accepted the requirements More...
No protection for civil servants against lower salaries
PHILIPSBURG – Now that the government has accepted the Kingdom’s conditions for liquidity support, the salaries of civil servants and politicians are up for review: a 25 percent cut in the remuneration of politicians More...
Dutch parliament backs up conditions for liquidity support
THE HAGUE – Members of the Dutch parliament support the conditions State secretary Drs. Raymond Knops has imposed on Aruba, Curacao and St. Maarten for the provision of liquidity support, but some parliamentarians More...
An unthinkable scenario
By Hilbert Haar The conditions attached to the provision of continued liquidity support have put the government in a rather awkward position. Demanding a 25 percent salary cut for ministers and parliamentarians More...
Brutal package of conditions leaves government little choice
PHILIPSBURG – The Kingdom Council of Ministers had presented a brutal package of conditions for the release of continued liquidity support. Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs has labeled these conditions as an ‘indecent More...
Time to split up the monetary union of Curacao & St. Maarten?
~ Is it a good time now to take up the 2013 SER advice to split up the monetary union between Curacao and St. Maarten? ~ By Hilbert Haar The conditions the Kingdom wants to impose on Curacao for more liquidity More...
Dutch national bank to become watchdog of CBCS
PHILIPSBURG – The government of Curacao and the Central Bank (CBCS) will have to provide the Dutch National Bank (DNB) with a broad insight into the situation in the financial sector and into potential losses, More...
Knops maintains: Solidarity is a two-way street
THE HAGUE – “The vulnerability of the economies of the Caribbean islands is significant, not only because of the dependency on tourism but – in the case of St. Maarten – also because of the aftermath of More...
Fooling the people
By Hilbert Haar Let’s have a closer look at our government’s solidarity initiative of and in particular at the decision to cut the salaries of ministers and members of parliament. Based on a letter from the More...
CFT board members revolt
PHILIPSBURG – For the first time since its establishment almost ten years ago there is a public row among the board members of the Board financial supervision (Cft). The Cft-members representing St. Maarten (Russell More...
