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>PHILIPSBURG:--- Parliament has been asked in an indirect way to give the Government of St. Maarten some time to get its feet wet, but events in rapid succession are demanding Parliament's attention, and government is called to respond with equal urgency.
How else can one explain the sudden outburst by the Bureau Telecommunication and Post (BTP) in the press of Saturday, January 17th?
To understand the anomaly of this and put this matter in perspective, we need to understand the organization of the institution BTP.
This institution is created by law to execute a public task Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs has submitted to the Council of Advice the written declarations and notifications (assets/holdings, secondary positions/interests) of the new Ministers as well as those of the Ministers of the former cabinet in accordance with the National Ordinance Promotion of the Integrity of Ministers (Landsverordening Integriteitbevordering Ministers).

The declarations were submitted on Friday, January 16, three days before the legally stipulated deadline of 30 from when the Ministers were sworn in and accepted the appointment as a minister and within 30 days of the date on which the former Ministers ceases to be a Minister Read more

PM Gumbs responds to Wescot-Williams on Dutch Secret Service.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister the Hon. Marcel Gumbs has responded, via official letter, to the questions by Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams as submitted to the Chairman of Parliament via letter dated January 13, 2015 Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Finance the Hon. Martin Hassink on Friday, January 16, presented the 2015 draft Country Budget to Parliament. Minister Hassink presented the budget to the Chairman of Parliament Dr. Lloyd Richardson and the Presidium of Parliament in the persons of Member of Parliament Cornelius DeWeever and Member of Parliame Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Marcel Gumbs welcomed Dutch Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk to St. Maarten on Sunday afternoon. Minister Plasterk is on a working visit to St. Maarten, Saba and Statia from January 18 until January 21. On Monday morning he will meet in a formal session with Prime Minister Gumbs Read more

style="text-align: center;">Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson to be replaced by Edward Kiridongo

PHILIPSBURG:--- Another shake up in the current coalition government will soon force Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson out of office. Last week Member of Parliament Frans Richardson confirmed to SMN News that he was approached by persons representing the coalition to join them as they move to strengthen the current government Read more

Draft 2015 Budget Present To President Of Parliament By Finance Minister

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Minister of Finance the Hon. Martin Hassink on Friday, January 16, presented the 2015 draft Country Budget to Parliament.

Minister Hassink presented the budget to the Chairman of Parliament Dr. Lloyd Richardson and the Presidium of Parliament in the persons of Member of Parliament Cornelius DeWeever and Read more

Minister Fleming-Artsen Meets With Dutch Minister Plasterk. Discusses Relations And Improved Communications

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – Minister Plenipotentiary Hon. Josianne Fleming-Artsen recently met with Dutch Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations Hon. Ronald Plasterk.

The meeting which took place at the Dutch Ministry for Interior and Kingdom Relations in The Hague, covered how the Kingdom partners can work better together and how relations can be strengthened.

The issue of "instructions" by the Kingdom Council of Ministers was also discussed and information was shared with respect to the basis of developing such for a particular country within the Kingdom.

One of the conclusions coming out of the meeting is to have quarterly sessions every two or three months between Minister Plenipotentiary and the Dutch Minister of Interior and Kingdom Relations.

Minister Plasterk also discussed his working visit to Sint Maarten and how he was looking forward to meeting the new Council of Ministers and Prime Minister Hon Read more

Dutch Minister Welcomed To St. Maarten By Pm Gumbs Sunday

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Marcel Gumbs welcomed Dutch Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk to St. Maarten on Sunday afternoon.

Minister Plasterk is on a working visit to St. Maarten, Saba and Statia from January 18 until January 21.

On Monday morning he will meet in a formal session with Prime Minister Gumbs.

Minister Plasterk will also meet with His Excellency the Governor Eugene Holiday, Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson, Minister of Finance Martin Hassink and with the Parliament of St Read more

For NBC chief, critical mass of accusers ended Cosby TV show

PASADENA, California--NBC canceled plans for a new television show with Bill Cosby because the number of women accusing the comedian of sexual assault reached a level that tainted the project, NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt said on Friday.

Greenblatt, speaking at a Television Critics Association meeting, said it was "safe to say" NBC would never pursue a future show with the comedian, who starred in the network's hit 1980s family sitcom "The Cosby Show".

"Fifteen women came out and accused him," Greenblatt said in response to questions about the network's decision in November to drop its development of Cosby's new show.

"While over the years we'd heard some of those accusations and knew there were a couple settlements, it didn't seem to be the sort of thing that was critical mass," he said, adding that it was a "tainted situation."

Over the last three months, more than a dozen women have come forward alleging that Cosby had sexually assaulted them Read more

Last year was Earth's hottest on record, US scientists say

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida--Last year was Earth's hottest on record in new evidence that people are disrupting the climate by burning fossil fuels that release greenhouse gases into the air, two U.S. government agencies said on Friday.

The White House said the studies, by the U.S. space agency NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), showed climate change was happening now and that action was needed to cut rising world greenhouse gas emissions.

The 10 warmest years since records began in the 19th century have all been since 1997, the data showed Read more

Sarah still awaits answers about housing foundation

PHILIPSBURG--It has been a month and Democratic Party (DP) Member of Parliament (MP) Sarah Wescot-Williams is still waiting on answers from government, in particular Public Housing Minister Marcel Gumbs, to her questions about whether St Read more

MPs emphasise need for information from govt

PHILIPSBURG--Parliament wants timely information from government when such is requested, especially on matters being handled in the Inter-Parliamentary Kingdom Consultation IPKO. This need was highlighted by United St. Maarten Party Member of Parliament (MP) Frans Richardson on Friday.

His recommendation was supported by other MPs in the debriefing meeting of Parliament's Permanent Committee on Inter-Parliamentary Affairs and Kingdom Relations held in Parliament House Read more

Court issues eviction order of Caravanserai apartment

BEACON HILL--The Court of First Instance on Friday ordered two owners of a timeshare unit at Caravanserai Beach Resort in Beacon Hill to vacate the apartment and hand over the keys to Caravanserai's new owner, Alegria Real Estate BV.

Alegria had filed the injunction against the couple as they held no long-lease rights to the unit they were occupying. Alegria's claim was not contested in court.

The judge ordered the defendants to vacate their timeshare unit within two days upon receipt of the verdict, hand over the keys and make the property available to Alegria.

The new owner would be entitled to seek assistance of the "strong arm of police and justice" to enforce eviction, when necessary, the judge added Read more

BTP wants end to fraud allegations

PHILIPSBURG--The Supervisory Board of the St. Maarten Bureau Telecommunication and Post BTP SXM has issued a press release saying that after prior consultation with Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Claret Connor, it has decided to make a public statement that "it is evident that crucial available information within Government is not made available to all, or considered, which leads to the continued unfounded allegation of fraud at the BTP SXM."

"In an effort to address these unfounded allegations once and for all the Supervisory Board of BTP SXM wishes to inform all that the laws applicable to the functioning of BTP SXM are followed Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister, The Hon. Marcel Gumbs, officially introduced himself and members of the Council of Ministers to members of the Supervisory Board of Directors and Management of the Sint Maarten Telecommunication Holding Company N.V. (SMTHC) for the company's Annual General Shareholder's meeting in the A.C. Wathey Legislative Hall, Thursday.
In attendance along with the Prime Minister were, Minister of Education, Sport and Culture, the Hon Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The Leader of the government coalition, MP Theo Heyliger is expecting the people of St. Maarten to believe that he has no and will not get any previous knowledge of the budget which has been sent to the Governor and is well on its way to Parliament. Really?
This revelation by MP Heyliger comes after repeated calls by his Minister of Finance for a dividend policy to level the playing field for all government-owned companies.
And it comes after severe criticism from the CFT and from several integrity reports about the contribution of government-owned companies to the country's coffers.
Not only that, but most of these organizations have also criticized the involvement of politicians(!) in these companies' policies and programs Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- On December 16th, 2014 I sent the minister of VROMI via the chairman of Parliament, 5 questions regarding the St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation, due to the public uproar regarding this institution, the allegations, the threats etc.
My questions were straightforward. I did not ask for books, I did not ask for financials or incorporation articles.
The Prime Minister, Honorable Marcel Gumbs subsequently dutifully presented himself to Parliament, also acting as minister of VROMI and boasted of this record, having done so within 72 hours of his installation.
Again I repeated the same basic questions, most of which could be answered with a yes or no Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The outcome of the Inter-parliamentary Kingdom Consultation (IPKO) that took place in Aruba recently, will be a topic of discussion on Friday morning in the House of Parliament when the Permanent Kingdom Affairs and Inter-parliamentary Relations Committee will meet for a debriefing.
The meeting is scheduled to start at 10.00am in the General Assembly Chamber, and members of the public are invited to attend the open session.
The next IPKO is scheduled for May 27 to 29 in The Hague, the Netherlands which will be attended by parliamentary delegations from the Netherlands, Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten.
Members of Parliament (MPs) will be sharing their opinions on Friday morning when the House sits for the debriefing.
On energy matters, delegation members fully support cooperation in the area of energy, and look forward to seeing the utility companies of Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten coming together to have discussions in exploring such cooperation.
After such discussions are held, it should lead to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) being signed by the three parties.
The delegation members then hope to be able to discuss the MOU at the next IPKO meeting.
A workgroup has been established with representatives from the following countries: Rasmijn (Aruba), Sulvaran (Curacao) and Bosman (the Netherlands) Read more

Inter-Parliamentary Kingdom Consultation In Aruba Covers Many Topics Requiring Follow-Up By The Four Governments. Debriefing Set For Friday Morning

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – The outcome of the Inter-parliamentary Kingdom Consultation (IPKO) that took place in Aruba recently, will be a topic of discussion on Friday morning in the House of Parliament when the Permanent Kingdom Affairs and Inter-parliamentary Relations Committee will meet for a debriefing.

The meeting is scheduled to start at 10.00am in the General Assembly Chamber, and members of the public are invited to attend the open session.

The next IPKO is scheduled for May 27 to 29 in The Hague, the Netherlands which will be attended by parliamentary delegations from the Netherlands, Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten.

Members of Parliament (MPs) will be sharing their opinions on Friday morning when the House sits for the debriefing.

On energy matters, delegation members fully support cooperation in the area of energy, and look forward to seeing the utility companies of Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten coming together to have discussions in exploring such cooperation.

After such discussions are held, it should lead to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) being signed by the three parties.

The delegation members then hope to be able to discuss the MOU at the next IPKO meeting.

A workgroup has been established with representatives from the following countries: Rasmijn (Aruba), Sulvaran (Curacao) and Bosman (the Netherlands) Read more

Teenager takes stance against sex offences against children

ST. PETERS--A sixteen-year-old girl, supported by her family and friends, has started an initiative to encourage government to take action to better protect children and young people from sexual predators.

The aim of her petition is for government to offer better protection of children and young people by taking a number of measures, including a publically-accessible sex offenders register.

"In St. Maarten, the rights of convicted sex offenders seem to take precedence over victims' rights," says the front sheet of the petition Read more

Theo: Govt must be willing to get concession fees from companies

PHILIPSBURG--Government must show explicit willingness to demand concession fees from all government-owned companies capable of paying the fee and not allow some companies to get away scot-free while others pay year after year, says United People's (UP) party leader Member of Parliament Theo Heyliger.

The concession fees must be collected by government and used the balance the budget, instead of excessive budget-cutting that "can affect the rendering of needed services to the people." The concession fees can aid in the balancing the budget without the need "to trouble the pockets of the people."

There is "no viable reason" why a company like SXM Princess Juliana International Airport "should not pay government a concession fee," Heyliger told The Daily Herald on Thursday.

United Telecommunication Services (UTS), of which St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- President Hon. Dr. Lloyd Richardson on Wednesday morning met with Prime Minister Hon. Marcel Gumbs to discuss a number of matters.
Richardson and Gumbs have decided to meet on a quarterly basis to keep each other abreast on matters of mutual interests.
President Richardson was informed that the national 2015 budget has been forwarded to His Excellency Governor Eugene Holiday who will send it to Parliament within short Read more

style="text-align: left;">PHILIPSBURG:--- Well placed information provided to SMN News states that allies from the United Peoples Party (UPP) approached the leader of the United St. Maarten Party (USP) Frans Richardson and asked him to join the current coalition Read more