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PHILIPSBURG:--- The e-version of the first issue of Growing Up Safe St. Maarten has been launched online. The magazine is geared primarily towards informing and connecting professionals working in the field of Child Protection, but also contains interesting information for the wider community and touches upon topics such as domestic violence and teaching during COVID-19.

The magazine is the first initiative of the recently established Child Protection Working Group (CPWG) with the support from UNICEF Netherlands and the Augeo Foundation Read more

Pfp Concerned About Plan B And Economic Recovery

PHILIPSBURG Party for Progress Members of Parliament Melissa Gumbs and Raeyhon Peterson issued a press release on Thursday, expressing their concern over responses received to questions sent to the Prime Minister, particularly those related to Governments much-discussed plan B.

The faction noted that they had submitted questions to the Prime Minister regarding the ongoing discussion with the Kingdom Government over support for the country, the economic recovery plan (which was requested by Parliament on July 8th and what was in Governments plan B.

Clarity on the economy, it seems, will not be available for several more weeks, according to the responses received to the factions questions Read more

Sint Maarten Anti-Poverty Platform / St Maarten Consumers Coalition Press Conference Thursday August 13, 2020

Topic 1. SMAPP: COM addresses Dutch government without dialogue and consensus with WICLU
Topic 2. SMCC : 75 years non-compliance of the Netherlands, what about the coming 7 years?
Topic 3. SMCC : Not only consumer rights, but also political, economic, social and cultural rights
Topic 4: SMAPP: Proposal WICLU for a MOU with COM and the political parties in Parliament
Topic 1. SMAPP: COM addresses Dutch government without dialogue and consensus with WICLU

The Council of Ministers has sent two letters to State Secretary Knops with the position of the Council of Ministers of St Maarten concerning the 218-page document with conditions for liquidity support for the third tranche Read more

 PHILIPSBURG:--- The US$35 million Enterprise Support Project was officially launched today. The project is funded by the Sint Maarten Recovery, Reconstruction, and Resilience Trust Fund, financed by the Government of the Netherlands, managed by the World Bank, and implemented by the National Recovery Program Bureau (NRPB) on behalf of the Government of Sint Maarten. The project aims to support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through direct financial assistance to contribute to the restoration of economic activity in Sint Maarten.

Micro, small, and medium enterprises are key for the islands economic recovery and for job creation Read more

The St. Maarten Police Department Bid Farewell To Dutch Police

Philipsburg The St. Maarten Police Department (KPSM) bid farewell to the Dutch Police officers and support staff.Post-Hurricane Irma in 2017, the Netherlands and other countries within the kingdom, provided extra manpower to secure the safety and security of the island. At the end of the direct assistance, it was agreed between St. Maarten and the Netherlands that the Dutch police’s support would remain for an extended period, allowing KPSM to implement their recovery plan.

With the support of the Dutch Police officers and support staff, KPSM was able to implement new policing strategies and crisis management structures to keep St Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- The St. Maarten Police Department (KPSM) bid farewell to the Dutch Police officers and support staff. Post-Hurricane Irma in 2017, the Netherlands and other countries within the kingdom, provided extra manpower to secure the safety and security of the island. At the end of the direct assistance, it was agreed between St. Maarten and the Netherlands that the Dutch police's support would remain for an extended period, allowing KPSM to implement their recovery plan.

With the support of the Dutch Police officers and support staff, KPSM was able to implement new policing strategies and crisis management structures to keep St Read more

Night Life Industry Develop Newcovid Protocol, Will Present To Govt.

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – About 30 representatives of the bar, restaurant, casino and night life industry met on Monday to discuss implementing stricter COVID-19 measures and formalising an association for legally established industry members.

The bar, nightlife, restaurant and casino industry had come under scrutiny after an unsubstantiated recent viral message claimed that a cluster of COVID-19 infected persons was identified at a local club.
Images of filled-to-capicity entertainment venues also surfaced online resulting in increased public scrutiny.
While acknowledging that some in their industry can and should do better, the business owners stressed that most establishments have COVID-19 measures in place and is willing to do more to protect their patrons and the general public.

In that context, the business owners agreed to develop a new protocol and implement additional measures which they will also present officially to Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs and Minister of Health Richard Panneflek and hope to secure their support on such Read more

Night Life Industry Develop New Covid Protocol, Will Present To Govt. .

PHILIPSBURG:--- About 30 representatives of the bar, restaurant, casino, and nightlife industry met on Monday to discuss implementing stricter COVID-19 measures and formalizing an association for legally established industry members.

The bar, nightlife, restaurant, and casino industry had come under scrutiny after an unsubstantiated recent viral message claimed that a cluster of COVID-19 infected persons was identified at a local club.

Images of filled-to-capacity entertainment venues also surfaced online resulting in increased public scrutiny.

While acknowledging that some in their industry can and should do better, the business owners stressed that most establishments have COVID-19 measures in place and is willing to do more to protect their patrons and the general public.

In that context, the business owners agreed to develop a new protocol and implement additional measures which they will also present officially to Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs and Minister of Health Richard Panneflek and hope to secure their support on such.

These measures include, but are not limited to:
- Reduced capacity figures Read more

Twelve colourful murals now brighten up Philipsburg. In photo: Youngest artist Annabelle Verheij (16) with her mural SXM Strong. (John van Kerkhof photo)

PHILIPSBURG--Be The Change Foundation proudly presented a sneak peek into its @colormesxm mural project to participating artists, partners and sponsors. In recent weeks, the twelve participating artists and their volunteers put in lots of hard work to help bring colour and art to Philipsburg, and their results were unofficially unveiled on Friday afternoon.

Present for the official kick-off of the mural project were Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport (ECYS) Rodolphe Samuel and Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Ludmilla de Weever.

Also in attendance were Director of Tourism May-Ling Chun, Head of the Culture Department Clara Reyes and Secretary-General for United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) in St Read more

School Leaving Exercises Held on July 2, 2020

PHILIPSBURG:--- St. Maarten Academy PSVE hosted its school leaving exercises on Thursday, July 2, on the schools campus, with the theme SOAR-The World Awaits You, with 58 students, or 89% of the Form 4 students meeting the graduation criteria. This year, given the COVID-19 realities, the school modified its graduation program, hosting five independent school leaving programs to minimize face-to-face engagement as students were conferred with their school-leaving plaques and grade lists while creating memories of their last official day at school Read more

St. Maarten Academy Psve Achieves 89% Pass Rate School Leaving Exercises Held On July 2, 2020

GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten – St. Maarten Academy PSVE hosted its school leaving exercises on Thursday July 2, on the schools campus, with the theme SOAR-The World Awaits You, with 58 students, or 89% of the Form 4 students meeting the graduation criteria. This year, given the COVID-19 realities, the school modified its graduation program, hosting five independent school leaving programs to minimize face-to-face engagement as students were conferred with their school leaving plaques and grades lists, while creating memories of their last official day at school Read more

Ncf Seizes Opportunity For Staycation In St. Eustatius

Students of New Challenges Foundation (NCF) and director Francine Foe (third right) with Deputy Government Commissioner Alida Francis (second row, left) and co-managers of The Old Gin House hotel and restaurant Marlies ten Hoopen (front row, left) and Sybolt ten Hoopen (front row, second right), with the other NCF students and teachers.

NCF students and teachers at the gala dinner during their staycation at The Old Gin House.

EUSTATIUS--New Challenges Foundation (NCF) students had to postpone several of their fundraising events as well as an educational trip due to the coronavirus pandemic Read more

Van DamS Plan To Take Over Prison Is Unlawful Knops Gets It Right For Once- Mp Heyliger-Marten

PHILIPSBURGFaction Leader for the United People’s UP Party in Parliament on St. Maarten Grisha Heyliger-Marten says Dutch MP Chris van Dam’s motion to intervene and run the St. Maarten prison at the islands expense is precisely the type of unlawful interference with budgetary processes by the Committee for Financial Supervision (Cft), that has prevented the local Government from structurally addressing urgent local matters.

On June 22, Van Dam submitted a motion to the Dutch Second Chamber requesting that the Dutch Government, at the expense of the Government and people of St Read more

Council Of Ministers Commends Unity Among Unions

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten The Government of St. Maarten has been informed of a series of manifestations that have been ongoing this week. Permission for these manifestations was requested and they have been granted. The government was also informed concerning the willingness of union members to partake
in these meetings and manifestations. During the past two days, Prime Minister Jacobs responded to two emails received in relation to the manifestations, including requesting a meeting to follow up and clarify any pending questions.

Prime Minister Jacobs commends the unity being displayed by the workers across the board Read more

PHILIPSBURG:---The Government of St. Maarten has been informed of a series of manifestations that have been ongoing this week. Permission for these manifestations was requested and they have been granted. The government was also informed concerning the willingness of union members to partake in these meetings and manifestations. During the past two days, Prime Minister Jacobs responded to two emails received in relation to the manifestations, including requesting a meeting to follow up and clarify any pending questions.

Prime Minister Jacobs commends the unity being displayed by the workers across the board Read more

Pfp Submits Old, And New, Questions To Doran

SINT MAARTEN (PHILIPSBURG) On June 16, 2020, Party for Progress (PFP) Members of Parliament (MP) Melissa Gumbs and Raeyhon Peterson have submitted questions to the Honorable Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (VROMI) Egbert C Read more

Usm To Hold Webinar On Human Rights In The Face Of Coivd-19.

PHILIPSBURG:0--- On Saturday, 20 June 2020, the University of St. Martin (USM) in collaboration with the Sint Maarten Anti-Poverty Platform will hold the first-ever webinar with local and international guest experts. The full-day event, open to the public via Zoom and broadcasted via Facebook, will be dedicated to various topics that fall under the theme Human Rights in the Face of COVID-19.

According to USM President Dr. Antonio Carmona Bez, the purpose of this webinar is to create a space for critical reflection and in-depth analysis into the state of human rights since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation on 11 March 2020.

Following lockdown, schools were closed and thousands of formal and informal workers were left without an income Read more

Heyliger-Marten Repeats Demand For Decolonization Following Ipko

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten Whether the recently held IPKO Meeting with the Kingdom Partners will yield fruit is too early to say but departing Members from The Netherlands are now sure that Member of Parliament and Faction Leader for the United Peoples Party Grisha Heyliger-Martens mission to right the wrongs of the Kingdom Charter are only just beginning.

On Sunday Heyliger-Marten issued a statement in which she confirmed that partners within the Kingdom had, and continue to have unresolved disputes since the inception of the Kingdom Charter (het Statuut) in 1955.
Since then, Holland has been using its size and power to impose its will on its Caribbean partners within the Kingdom Read more

POND ISLAND, Sint Maarten – Dear SMCU,
I fail to understand why the correspondence sent to you on Monday June 1st, 2020 is considered disrespectful.

The company simply forwarded a proposal for cost-cutting measures and explained why this is required. We were clear and transparent in our communication as to why we need to proceed in this manner and also as to what costs we need to cut/are looking at cutting, in an attempt to safeguard the company and all the employees. No disrespect was meant, we are merely looking for a way in which we can cooperate to achieve what we must.

In that respect, the fact that the Unions president went to the media and made several untrue and unfounded accusations about management mismanaging the company, does not contribute to such a cooperation between parties Read more

Group Of Teachers Willing To Accept Proposed Cuts, Says W.I.T.U Does Not Speak For Entire Teaching Population.

PHILIPSBURG:--- A group of teachers that Franklin Jeffers is representing has penned a letter to the Minister of Finance Ardwell Irion informing that they are ready to accept the proposed cuts for the years 2020 and 2021. The teachers in their letter said they are ready to accept their full salaries, and the proposed 50% cut in vacation pay for both years, while they envisioned having their vacation pay reimbursed by 200% in the year 2022.
The group of teachers also explained that they stand in solidarity with the entire island in these trying times and also made clear that while the Windward Islands Teachers Union (W.I.T.U) is a respectable organization they do not represent the entire teaching population.
The letter reads below.
Dear Honorable Minister Ardwell Irion,

We are a group of concerned teachers who have taken note of the proposed cuts by the government Read more

Open Letter To Minister Irion

Dear Honorable Minister Ardwell Irion,

We are a group of concerned teachers who have taken note of the proposed cuts by the government. While everyone would love for our finances to be stable, we acknowledge the limitations of our coffers.

Therefore, it is reasonable to accept our current salaries as we move forward and half of our vacation pay for 2020 and 2021 Read more

Government To Honor Frontline Workers, Parents Ask For Children Participation.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The -Government will be honoring Frontline Heroes on Friday announced Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs at the Council of Ministers Press Briefing on Wednesday. Parents are hereby informed that children with frontline career day costume to send it by email to the government of St. Maarten. Emails should be sent to pmtalks@sintmaartengov.org, the names of the child must also be included in the email Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- Year eight indeed shaped up to be a great one for the regions largest cancer fundraiser across the English and Dutch Caribbean CIBC FirstCaribbeans Walk for the Cure.

Partnership with the Positive Foundation and Adtalem Global Education on St. Maarten heightened the awareness, raising a grand total of USD $16,000 for the benefit of the Positive Foundation.

The donation supports the foundations endeavors which are geared towards stimulating, educating and activating the consciousness of the community on aspects of self-responsibility towards overall health improvement, and in particular, towards breast cancer Read more

Second Chamber Fully Supports Loan Conditions

THE HAGUE – The Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament is in full support of setting conditions to the financial assistance for Aruba, Curaao and St. Maarten, it became clear during a plenary debate on Wednesday. Above all, Dutch funding should help the large group of needy persons on the islands and certainly not benefit the small group of the rich elite.

The poor man should not suffer. They need our help in this crisis situation. The broadest shoulders should carry the biggest weight, said Member of Parliament (MP) Nevin ztok of the green left party GroenLinks, who pointed out like many of her colleagues in the Second Chamber that the humanitarian urgency was high, and that a swift start of the reforms by the countries was needed to increase resilience and to realise growth.

In that sense, there was full support for the proposal of State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops to link the second tranche of liquidity support to Aruba, Curaao and St Read more