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Timeshare, The Sick Cousin Of The Tourism Industry

After many years, legislation remains in limbo

St. Maarten – Trouble in the timeshare industry probably dates back further than December 2010, when the controversial sale of the Pelican Resort caused uproar among employees and timeshare owners alike, but it is a good starting point for getting an impression of the state of this industry and the lack of action on the part of successive governments.

When the Pelican Resort changed ownership in December 2010, the jobs of 182 employees were suddenly on the line Read more

Mp Johan Leonard About The Cause Of Ship Jumping: Our Party Leaders Blatantly Disrespect Their Members

MP Heyliger is still smiling after the severe criticism from his fellow-faction member Johan Leonard (left). Photo Today / Milton Pieters

St. Maarten – The attitude of party leaders is the main reason for ship jumping, United People’s party MP Johan Leonard said yesterday morning in an unexpected sharp attack on UP-leader Theo Heyliger Read more

Seven New Political Parties Report For 2016 Elections

St. Maarten – An astonishing number of seven new political parties reported to the offices of the Electoral Council yesterday to submit their request to be registered for the February 9 elections. Among them is the St. Maarten Christian Party, led by Pastor Wycliffe Smith. On the other hand, the party of European Dutch residents did not show up, reportedly because they did not have enough time to prepare their documentation.

With the seven new parties – if they get all their formalities in order – the field for the elections will consist of eleven and possibly twelve parties Read more

Winners And Losers: Who Will Survive The Polls In February?

St. Maarten / By Hilbert Haar – February 9, 2016 is crunch day for politicians and those who aspire to become one. The parliamentary elections – for some mysterious reason perceived by some as ‘snap elections’, whatever that may be – will give voters the opportunity to speak their mind about the constitutional drama that concluded on Wednesday when the ministers of the Marcel Gumbs cabinet tendered their resignation and Governor Drs Read more

“Principles And Values” Directed Maurice Lake’S Decision

Ex-Vromi Minister Maurice Lake.

St. Maarten – In a statement that runs almost 2,000 words, now independent MP Maurice Lake has defended himself against accusations by United People’s party leader Theo Heyliger that “power, position and ministry and others have manipulated him to break the government for self-interest.”

Lake says that he has known Heyliger for 25 years as a friend and for 15 years as his advisor.

“I have three Master’s Degrees and work hard for my family for everything I got in life and never asked Theo Heyliger for nothing in life Read more

No Class Justice At St. Maarten’S Prosecutor’S Office

St. Maarten – The Public Prosecutor’s Office in St. Maarten does not deal with high officials differently than with other citizens. That is the main conclusion of the Law Enforcement Council following the investigation concerning possible class justice by the Public Prosecutor’s Office in St. Maarten. The reason for the investigation was the ruling of the Court of First Instance in the so-called “Masbangu” case, in which the court ruled that the prosecutor’s office, had created the semblance of class justice Read more

Opinion: Something’S Brewing

We know since last night that Governor Holiday sent a letter to Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs. We do not know the content of this letter, but there is no doubt that this will come out some time today.

The past couple of days, two political parties have come out with press conferences where they made their positions clear. The National Alliance nor the Democratic Party fear elections, they say.

Do they really want elections? Not really Read more

Mp Matser Appeals Fraud Conviction This Afternoon

Parliamentarian Silvio Matser arrives at the courthouse on January 7 for his sentence hearing. File photo Today / Milton Pieters

St. Maarten – MP Silvio Matser appears in the Common Court of Justice this afternoon at 1.30 p.m Read more

Opinion: “Self Above Country” 101

Who said politics is boring? The conspirators in parliament had their first laugh on Wednesday when they lured all MPs to the House of Representatives with an irresistible agenda point – the remarks made by Attorney-General Guus Schram about the ties between the criminal underworld and St. Maarten’s legitimate society. Then followed an agenda point about the situation at the government-owned companies, in particular the airport.

But those who thought that the opposition intended to wash the ears of airport director Regina Labega were in for a nasty surprise Read more

St. Maarten Government Falls Again: Fifth Cabinet In Five Years In The Making

UP-leader Theo Heyliger (left) and MP Silvio Matser on 10-10-14 when they were still political allies. Now the political marriage is over: “I cannot take the internal abuse anymore,” Matser said yesterday Read more

Lake Stays In Parliament, No Seat For Buncamper-Molanus

St. Maarten – Rumors about the makeup of the new cabinet and its possible consequences for seats in parliament spread rapidly yesterday after the fall of the Gumbs cabinet. One such rumor was that Maurice Lake, now independent, would return as the Minister of Vromi; that move would have opened a slot in parliament for Maria Buncamper-Molanus Read more

Lake Urges Ministry To Get Rid Of Nipa-Board

St. Maarten – United people’s party MP Maurice Lake urged Education Minister Rita Bourne-Gumbs yesterday to get rid of the board at the National Institute of Professional Advancement (Nipa).

“When the school started in 2014 it had 288 students. In 2015 there are just 65,” Lake said. The board does not live up to any deadlines Read more

St. Maarten Government Falls – Three Coalition Members Defect

Picture: St. Maarten Parliament

NEWSFLASH!! St. Maarten– The Gumbs government fell shortly after 12.30 p.m. today (Wednesday, September 30, 2015) after the parliament passed a motion of no-confidence submitted by Democratic Party MP Sarah Wescot-Williams with an 8-7 vote Read more

Garbage Meeting Fizzles: Many Questions, No Answers And No Solutions

St. Maarten – At the end of a long meeting, finally there were some fireworks when opposition MP asked Vromi-Minister Claret Connor to answer one question: “Is there a contract with a company to build the waste-to-energy plant and how does this jive with your visit to a project in Miami?”

Minister Connor, who had just said that he would be able to inform the parliament on Monday when he would be able to answer the more than one hundred questions MPs had asked, did not bite Read more

Only National Alliance Votes Against Ordinance: Parliament Establishes Integrity Chamber

St. Maarten – After everything was said and done yesterday, only the opposition faction of the National Alliance voted against the establishment of the Integrity Chamber. The United People’s party faction, having voiced serious opposition against the Dutch pressure on St. Maarten, withdrew all of the amendments it proposed to the law in June, and went along with a strategic proposal from opposition MP Sarah Wescot-Williams to accept the proposal the government put on the table Read more

Matser’S Energizer Gets Distress Warrant

St. Maarten – The bailiff has served a distress warrant to Energizer NV, the construction company of United People’s party MP Silvio Matser. The company was established at an address on the Chameleon Drive, but is now, according to a publication in yesterday’s edition of the National Gazette, “without a known address in Sint Maarten or elsewhere.”

The bailiff delivered the distress warrant at the request of the Receiver on July 7 and Energizer had to comply with its content within two days.

The Court in First Instance sentenced Matser in January to 24 months of imprisonment (with 18 months suspended) with 3 years of probation and 240 hours of community service for a string of fiscal offenses Read more

Laville Still Under Investigation

St. Maarten – Former Member of Parliament Romain Laville is not off the hook yet as the Public Prosecutor’s Office still considers charging him for gun possession and two cases of gun threats. Officers of the National Detective Agency arrested the former politician on Thursday March 26 at his home but they released him the same day.

“The case is still under investigation Read more

Claude Wathey Commemoration: Everybody On The Same Page Again

Family members and representatives of DP and UP gather for a group picture together with Minister Claret Connor. Photo Today / Leo Brown

St. Maarten – After the awkward split in the election year 2014, when the Democratic Party and the United People’s party organized separate wreath laying ceremonies to commemorate the birth date of the late Dr Read more

Only 6 Of 22 Motions Since 2012 Yielded Results: Motions Carry The Day – But Only In Parliament

St. Maarten – The motions Members of Parliament submit during the annual budget debate seldom yield results. This newspaper examined 28 motions a host of parliamentarians tabled since 2012. With 22 of them successive government did absolutely nothing. Six of them yielded (some) results.

When governments fail to execute motions, parliament never retaliates. In the Netherlands, a cabinet that refuses or neglects to execute a motion that is carried by a majority in parliament, could lead to a cabinet crisis Read more

Connor Moves To Vromi – New Candidates Pending : Cabinet Reshuffle After The Summer

Minister Claret Connor’s days as the Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs are almost over. Photo contributed

St. Maarten – Minister Claret Connor will be removed from his position at the Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication after the summer and stay in the cabinet as the Minister of Public Housing, Urban Planning, Environment and Infrastructure Read more

Vote Buying Case Heads Back To Court — No Proof Of Class Justice 

St. Maarten – The vote buying case, commonly called the “Masbangu case” was referred back to the Court of first instance by the Court of Appeal in a verdict rendered yesterday. The case was dismissed by the Court of First Instance when the judge ruled that trying the persons who allegedly sold their votes and not trying the person to whom they are accused of selling their votes smacked of class justice.

The case concerns charges brought against four persons who were accused of selling their votes to the UP in 2010 and were brought before a judge in 2012, following which the case was postponed and continued on August 24th of last year, just after the 2014 elections Read more

Chief Prosecutor Ton Maan: “The Word Class Justice Has Hurt Us A Lot”

Chief Prosecutor Ton Maan: “We have indicated to the Minister of Justice that the prostitution policy violates international treaties.” Photo Today / Hilbert Haar

St. Maarten – “The word class justice has hurt us a lot and the effect is that you are almost going to have reverse class justice whereby you are inclined to prosecute dignitaries sooner than criminal citizens, if only to prove that you are not practicing class justice. That is not good either,” Chief Prosecutor Ton Maan says Read more

Mp Lake Commends Gebe; Urges Seniors To Apply For Relief

St. Maarten –NV Gebe has extended its senior relief program until December of this year and this has led to a verbal commendation from United People’s Party MP Maurice Lake to the company for taking this action.

The relief for seniors began in 2014 while MP Lake—then Minister Lake—was the minister with responsibilities for Gebe Read more

Integrity Chamber Meets Resistance From Coalition

St. Maarten – The draft ordinance for the establishment of St. Maarten’s Integrity Chamber met with unexpected opposition from within the governing coalition yesterday. Members of the opposition also expressed their doubts. Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs said that he is facing a May 5 deadline. On that date, the Dutch Council of State renders judgment on the advice the Kingdom Council of Ministers has requested about a looming instruction for St Read more