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NIPA board refuses to sign agreement with ministry

~ MP tells minster to fire board ~

PHILIPSBURG--The Advanced Vocational Education (AVE) board of National Institute of Professional Advancement (NIPA) has refused to sign an agreement with the Education Ministry geared at improving the institute.

The board also has refused to adhere to a seven-point plan of action to improve things at the institute, Education Minister Rita Bourne-Gumbs told Members of Parliament (MPs) during the continuation of a parliamentary session on NIPA and other issues on Tuesday Read more

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MPs meet about Schram’s comments on Wednesday

PHILIPSBURG--Members of Parliament (MPs) are set to give their views in a plenary session of Parliament on Wednesday on the comments made by Attorney-General Guus Schram at the installation of a new judge on September 11.

Justice Minister Dennis Richardson has been invited to the session in Parliament House slated to start at 10:00am.

Richardson already has called on Schram to produce evidence of his claims of a serious mixing of the underworld and civil society.

This urgent public meeting was requested by Democratic Party MP Sarah Wescot-Williams and National Alliance MPs William Marlin, Silveria Jacobs, and Christophe Emmanuel.

The parliamentary session will be aired live on St Read more

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NA: Marlin’s waste-to-energy plan called for zero investment

PHILIPSBURG--The still-pending waste-to-energy (WTE) plant would have cost taxpayers “a total of zero investment” under the plan left behind by National Alliance (NA) leader Member of Parliament William Marlin after his tenure as Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI in 2012-2013, said the NA board in a press statement on Wednesday.

The terms of reference were designed so that the WTE supplier would be granted a concession for 20-25 years and utilities company GEBE would buy the energy produced by the WTE plant, said the board as they chided United People’s (UP) party Member of Parliament Theo Heyliger for saying in Parliament recently that projects require investment.

“So you see, MP Heyliger, you are not correct Read more

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MPs question Dennis on Zebec settlement at Port

~ Sarah’s call for more speaker’s time voted down ~

PHILIPSBURG--Members of Parliament (MPs) fired off numerous questions seeking clarity on the Harbour’s settlement with Zebec Development during an emergency meeting on Monday.

The meeting was adjourned after the first round of questions to give Deputy Prime Minister Dennis Richardson a chance to obtain answers. The meeting will continue at 2:00pm today, Tuesday.

A proposal by Democratic Party (DP) MP Sarah Wescot-Williams at the start of the meeting for the speaking time to be increased to 30 minutes in the first round and 20 minutes in the second round was voted down with eight MPs voting against the proposal and six voting for it.

The vote was called after United People’s (UP) party MP Franklin Meyers said he opposed Wescot-Williams’ proposal Read more

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Wescot-Williams: Connor ‘intimidated’ by coalition

PHILIPSBURG--Recently appointed Minister of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Development and Infrastructure VROMI Claret Connor “seemed intimidated” by the coalition partners who appointed him in the post when he appeared before Parliament on Friday to answer questions from, in particular, opposition National Alliance and Democratic Party Members of Parliament about tackling the country’s garbage mountain Read more

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Parliament adopts Constitution Day

PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten officially has ditched Kingdom Day, December 15, as an official holiday and replaced with it Constitution Day, which is to be observed annually on the second Monday in October, starting this year.

Parliament unanimously adopted the law on Thursday to make the day official and strike Kingdom Day from the calendar. The establishment of this newest holiday comes ahead of the fifth anniversary of St. Maarten’s attainment of country-within-the-Dutch-Kingdom status and the coming into force of the St Read more

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MPs get calls from inmates

PHILIPSBURG--Justice Minister Dennis Richardson has been asked by Members of Parliament (MPs) to look into why they are receiving mobile phone calls from prisoners housed inside of Pointe Blanche House of Detention.

United St. Maarten Party (USP) leader Frans Richardson was the first to raise the issue in Parliament with the minister on Wednesday Read more

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MPs want Constitution Day on 2nd Monday in October

PHILIPSBURG--Members of Parliament (MPs) want Constitution Day to be observed annually on the second Monday of October instead of the actual day – October 10 – when the St. Maarten Constitution came into force.

The proposal to make October 10 a holiday and to have it replace Kingdom Day, December 15, by amending a number of laws, including the labour ordinance, was tabled by Education and Culture Minister Rita Bourne-Gumbs in a meeting of the Central Committee of Parliament on Tuesday afternoon.

The minister is slated to be back in Parliament for a vote on the law changes Thursday Read more

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Richardson to Schram: Prove underworld claims or ‘shut up’

PHILIPSBURG--Justice Minister Dennis Richardson minced no words when he publicly called on Attorney-General Guus Schram to prove his claims about the mixing of the so-called underworld with civil society.

Richardson said in Monday's plenary session of Parliament that Schram should prove his claims or "shut the hell up."

Richardson was reacting to comments made by the Attorney-General on Friday at the swearing-in of a new judge for the Court of First Instance. Schram said, "The Friendly Island has lost its innocence."

He said another threat existed in St Read more

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Urgent Parliament session on education today 3:00pm

PHILIPSBURG--Parliament meets in an urgent public plenary session today, Monday, at 3:00pm in Parliament House on the request of National Alliance (NA).

 The public session will address the pending and urgent challenges experienced by students and staff of the National Institute for Professional Advancement (NIPA), a status update and the action plan of government as pertains to students who have been placed (or not placed) in Secondary Public Schools, and have to date not started school as yet.

 Also on the agenda is complaints of students in the Netherlands and other countries who have not yet received their study financing funds and the status of Study Financing Ordinance.

 The meeting was requested by NA Members of Parliament Silveria Jacobs, William Marlin, and George Pantophlet via letter on September 10.

 The parliamentary session will be live on St Read more

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Minister: Further action against NIPA board if ultimatum not met Wednesday

PHILIPSBURG--Minster of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Rita Bourne-Gumbs warned on Monday that "further action" will be taken against the board of National Institute for Professional Advancement (NIPA) if an "ultimatum" given is not met in a meeting set for tomorrow, Wednesday.

The minister did not divulge the details of the ultimatum to which she referred. She told Members of Parliament (MPs) during an urgent public plenary session of Parliament on Monday that she did not want to give certain details before meeting with the board.

She painted a grim picture of the situation at NIPA in her response to several questions and concerns MPs raised in the meeting Read more

Prime minister’s travel plans halt meeting about Zebec settlement

PHILIPSBURG--The “urgent” meeting of Parliament requested by opposition parties – National Alliance (NA) and Democratic Party (DP) about the out-of-court settlement reached by St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies and developer Zebec has stalled before it could get started.

The meeting cannot be held this week, an official Parliament meeting week, because of an already packed Parliament schedule and due to the travel of Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs from Wednesday, September 16, until Sunday, September 27, 2015.

DP leader Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams is not amused that yet another urgently requested meeting of Parliament has not been scheduled by Parliament Chairman Dr Read more

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Sabnani: Carrefour products more cost-effective and available in LGM

PHILIPSBURG--It is “unfortunate” that National Alliance Member of Parliament (MP) Christophe Emmanuel opted to compare a national brand like Frisian Flag with Super U milk, a private label, instead of with a comparable product such as private label Carrefour milk, said Le Grand Marché (LGM) Managing Director Anil Sabnani as he countered Emmanuel’s claims that LGM’s prices are higher than those of French-side-based Super U.

Sabnani told The Daily Herald on Friday that Emmanuel “did not make a correct comparison Read more

NA, DP request meeting on harbour settlement

PHILIPSBURG--Opposition National Alliance (NA) and Democratic Party (DP) have requested an urgent meeting of Parliament about the out-of-court settlement for an undisclosed amount made by St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies and Zebec, the company that was contracted to develop th Read more

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Emmanuel calls out Dutch-side supermarkets on ‘price gouging’

~ Tags Super U prices as cheaper ~

PHILIPSBURG--The vastly cheaper prices for groceries at French-side supermarket Super U compared to large Dutch-side chain Le Grand Marché (LGM) has National Alliance Member of Parliament Christophe Emmanuel crying foul.

The MP, who said he was disgusted with price-gouging by supermarkets on the Dutch side, went on a price-comparison mission Thursday, buying comparative or same items at both supermarkets Read more

Achievements and lack thereof highlighted as MPs close year

PHILIPSBURG--The achievements or lack thereof in the first Parliamentary year of the second Parliament came into focus as Members of Parliament (MPs) closed off the 2014-2015 legislative year in Parliament House on Monday. The 2015-2016 year opens today, Tuesday, with much pomp and ceremony.

The call to work together was issued by fraction leaders representing the coalition partners while the two opposition fraction leaders MP William Marlin (National Alliance) and Sarah Wescot-Williams (Democratic Party) were straightforward with their criticism about lack of action by the United People’s (UP) party-led coalition.

Destiny impaired

UP fraction leader MP Franklin Meyers laid the blame for the country’s stagnated growth and development in the past year at the door of The Hague saying that government and Parliament have spent the past year battling instructions and financial constraints due to financial supervision Read more

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