
Political instability hampers functioning Ombudsman
PHILIPSBURG — Political instability is a major challenge, Ombudsman Gwendolien Mossel writes in the introduction to her office’s 2020 annual report. “Responses by government to queries of the ombudsman More...

Audit Chamber presents devastating report about 2017 financial statements
PHILIPSBURG — The country’s 2017 financial statements contain “numerous errors and uncertainties,” the General Audit Chamber writes in its compliance audit St. Maarten Financial Statements 2017. “Expenditures More...

Draft budget is “sloppy and full of grammatical mistakes”
PHILIPSBURG — The draft 2021 budget is sloppy and a step back “due to its many grammatical and legal-technical mistakes,” the Council of Advice writes in its analysis of the budget that is currently under More...

Is function book saga finally coming to an end?
PHILIPSBURG — State Secretary Raymond Knops spoke during his visit to St. Maarten with Justice Minister Anna Richardson and Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs about the worrisome situation at the police force More...

Knops disappointed after visit to St. Maarten
PHILIPSBURG — State Secretary Raymond Knops is disappointed on several levels after his visit to St. Maarten last week. His experiences with the islands of Statia and Saba were much more positive. This appears More...

Political mess in the Netherlands potentially good news for Caribbean countries
StMaartenNews.com publishes a review of the present political situation in The Netherlands and how this potentially can be good news for the Dutch Caribbean countries of the Kingdom. This article is published exclusively More...

Ombudman submits austerity measures for review to Constitutional Court
PHILIPSBURG — The office of the Ombudsman has submitted three national ordinances that regulate salary cuts for employees in the (semi) public sector for review to the Constitutional Court. The Ombudsman asks More...

Report recommends external review of airport investments
PHILIPSBURG — The airport’s financial performance for fiscal year 2018 resulted in a 16.4 million guilders ($9.16 million) overdraft. The total bank withdrawal led to a 12.6 million guilders ($7 million) More...

While the grass is growing, the horse is starving
Dear Editor, We are about over a year into the Covid-19 pandemic. The impact of this disease on our island nation has been nothing short of disastrous. The impact has meant 2134 confirmed infected cases with 27 More...

COHO draft law triggers questions about compatibility with Kingdom Charter
THE HAGUE — An earlier report on dossierkoninkrijksrelaties.nl about the advice concerning the draft kingdom law Caribbean Reform and Development Entity (COHO) stated incorrectly that the Kingdom Council of More...