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PHILIPSBURG:--- The newly sworn in Council of Ministers held their first meeting at the Government Building on Thursday morning December 22nd. Attending the meeting were Prime Minister William Marlin, Minister of Finance Richard Gibson, Minister of Public Health Social Development and Labor Affairs Emil Lee, Minister of Education Culture Youth & Sports Silveria Jacobs and Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure Christophe Emmanuel.

In its first meeting, the Council of Ministers took the decision amongst others, to grant all Civil Servants “half day off” on December 23rd and 30th where the service permits Read more

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Exclusive: Sls Threatens Uszv And Government That They Will Not Be Accepting Uszv Cards For Civil Servants Due To Outstanding Debts Amounting To Naf.139, 000.00.

USZV and Government have until January 15th to settle the debt or face litigation.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The St. Maarten Laboratory Services (SLS) has dispatched a letter through its legal representatives to the Minister of VSA Emil Lee, and Director of USZV Glen Carty which was also copied to the Prime Minister of St. Maarten William Marlin and Minister of Finance Richard Gibson (Country St Read more

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PHILIPSBURG: --- During the first live press briefing on Wednesday Prime Minister William Marlin informed the people of St. Maarten that the screening process for the Ministry of TEATT is not yet completed but hopefully that process will be completed shortly. Marlin said that in the meantime, the Minister of Justice Raphael Boasman will be responsible for that Ministry until the new Minister takes office.
However, Minister Boasman has left the island shortly after the swearing in ceremony for the Netherlands for a period of two weeks, therefore, the Prime Minister will be responsible for the Ministry of General Affairs, Justice and TEATT until Minister Boasman returns.
The Prime Minister also introduced the new council of ministers, namely Minister of Finance Richard Gibson, returning Minister of VSA who was not present  at the opening of the weekly press briefing Emil Lee, Minister of Education, Minister of Justice Raphael Boasman, and Minister of VROMI Christopher Emmanuel and Minister of EYS Silveria Jacobs.
Marlin said that he hopes that the coalition partners will give this government a full four-year mandate which would give the island some stability.
Marlin outlined some of the things the government has been doing, and of the things they have high on their agenda are affordable housing and he plans to support the Minister of VROMI with whatever plans the SMHDF and the Ministry come up with to provide more affordable home.
Another priority for the government is the country’s infrastructure which is affecting the visitors of the island and residents Read more

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Lengthy Budget Debate Ended On Friday With Upp Members Voting Against For The 2017 Budget.

7 motions also passed.

PHILIPSBURG:--- After nine days of budget debate 10 Members of Parliament, those forming the current coalition NA, USP and DP MP’s voted in favor of the 2017 budget, while three of the UPP MP’s voted against Read more

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HARBOUR VIEW:--- On December 16th, 2016, His Excellency the Governor of Sint Maarten, drs. E.B. Holiday, received the final report, including the Governing Program 2016 – 2020, Stability For Prosperity from formateur William Marlin.
The formateur has accepted the commission to form a new government supported by a majority in Parliament comprised of the NA-fraction, the USP-fraction, and the DP-fraction Read more

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Exclusive: Judge Slams Uszv, Kmpg, Minister Of Vsa And Smmc With The New Hospital Bidding Procedure --- Uszv Ordered Not To Proceed, $1M Violation Up To A Maximum Of $25M.

The government will have to compensate INSO if they lose completely.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The Court of First Instance in its ruling on Friday, November 25th in the injunction filed by VAMED against USZV, slammed USZV, KMPG SMMC and the Minister of VSA Emil Lee with the way the bidding procedure was conducted for the construction of the New Hospital Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- Rumors are circulating on social media (Facebook) and throughout the community claiming that the current coalition agreement between the National Alliance (NA), the United St. Maarten People’s Party (USP) and the Democratic Party (DP) fell through and that talks are currently taking place between the United Peoples Party (UPP), United St Read more

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Lack Of Unity Apparent On St. Martin’S Day.

MARIGOT/PHILIPSBURG:----The annual St. Maarten/St. Martin day celebration was this year blighted by a marked lack of unity as the absence of members of the St. Maarten Executive Council was apparent at the usually joint commemoration activity on November 11th.

A decision was taken by the afore mentioned Executive Council not to attend the celebratory activities which were held this year on the French St. Martin. Both sides of the island alternate the hosting of activities to observe St Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:---- Emil Lee, Minister of Public Health, Social Development & Labor and representatives from the Ministry recently attended the 11th Annual Caribbean conference on National Health Financing Initiatives which took place in Bonaire. In addition to representatives of the Ministry of VSA, representatives from SZV and the SMMC were also present.

As Sint Maarten embarks on plans for National Health Insurance, the Ministry attended the conference as an important part of the research process Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- The Board and Membership of the Democratic Party express their deep appreciation, gratitude, and pride in the exemplary performance of the Chairperson of Parliament, MP Sarah Wescot-Williams and the outgoing Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor, Mr Read more

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Uzv Staff Getting Special Treatment With Medical Referrals, At Least One Patient Staying At Renaissance Resort In Curacao.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Management of USZV was caught with their pants down by SMN News when several patients alerted SMN News that a particular staff of USZV who went to Curacao for medical check-ups and at the same time spend the mid-term vacation with her minor child in Curacao was staying at the Renaissance Resort in Curacao where the daily rates are over $200.00 per day. Not only that the USZV staff is staying in a high-class hotel while on medical referral the woman also has her minor daughter staying with her.
SMN News contacted the Director of USZV Glen Carty who confirmed that the staff of USZV was indeed staying at the resort and the person went there for annual check-ups Read more

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Another Coalition Government For St. Maarten --- Stability Not Guaranteed With New Elections.

Alleged vote buying rampant on Monday.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The early elections called by the Governor St. Maarten, when it was requested by former Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs, did not change anything for St. Maarten, instead it opens the door for more instability. Another very unfortunate situation the election called on September 26th created was vote buying by at least one particular political party who also even refused to comply with the laws laid down by the Minister of Justice Read more

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The Grand Finale- Bigger And Better with an All-Star Panel.

Concordia:---- Recent guests on Fresh with the Y2X Crew, Jennifer Richardson da Silva of NA, May- Ling Chun of UP, Marinka Gumbs of DP, Angelina Williams of PPA, Anna Rabess-Richardson of USP, Mulrose Toulon of the St Read more

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Exclusive: Vamed Sends Letter To Minister Of Vsa To Be Transparent With Regards To The Bidding Process For New Hospital.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The law firm representing VAMED Engineering dispatched a letter on Friday morning to the Minister of VSA Emil Lee urging him to be open and transparent about the public procurement procedure regarding the New Hospital. The letter which was delivered to the Minister of September 23rd reads that the company is requesting the Minister of VSA to disclose information based on the public information act.
The letters state that so far despite numerous request both the Minister and USZV have not complied by providing the information they are asking for to render account for the decisions they have taken, which has forced VAMED to take their case to court.
The letter continues to state that they were involved in the evaluation of the bids and the bids were submitted to them Read more

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Exclusive: Minister Lee Got Warning From Jeroen Veen About Aov Funds In December 2015.

PHILIPSBURG: --- Another document surfaced since the ongoing saga with the investing of the AOV funds. On Wednesday, Minister of VSA Emil Lee said he was never warned neither did he had any meetings with the former chairman of the Supervisory Board of Directors of USZV Dr. about the investment of the AOV funds.
Minister Lee attacked the former Chairman of the SBOD Dr Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Public Health, Labour and Social Development Emil Lee and SZV Director Glen Carty have signed the first ever Performance Agreement between a Minister and the Director since the founding of the Social & Health Insurances SZV after 10-10-10. This performance agreement is a legal obligation and is directly tied to the operational budget of the SZV, which was submitted by Director Carty by the yearly legal deadline, which was also a first for SZV.
Key elements of the performance agreement call for; an enhanced digital medical referral process, benchmarked results for the safe investment of social funds that must have a measurable standard, medical care quality reviews, improved customer satisfaction and bi-annual reports on the terms in the agreement issued with input from the Supervisory Board.
This performance agreement is the result of months of work to establish what is a landmark document that can act as a model for future Ministers and Directors to follow Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of VSA Emil Lee now has to deal with an injunction filed by VAMED the contractor who wrote the concept for USZV for the construction of the New Hospital. Minister Lee made the announcement on Wednesday at the Council of Minister's press briefing. Minister Lee said they are now faced with a hiccup but then said it’s more of a nuisance because they went through the process and ensured that all “I” have been dotted and all “T” crossed.
Minister Lee said this is the first time they have seen a losing bidder resort to court to try and change the outcome of the bidding process.
He said when he reviewed the process and the timeline he saw some very interesting things, he said it's either observations or coincidences.
As he laid out what he discovered Minister Lee said when he met with the board of USZV in December 2015 when Dr Read more

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“If getting St. Maarten a new hospital is against the law I am all the way behind it.’

PHILIPSBURG: --- The tripartite, consisting of the St. Maarten Medical Center, USZV, and the government of St. Maarten signed the Design, Build and Management contract with the contractor INSO on Monday. Among those at the ceremony were Prime Minister William Marlin, Minster of VSA Emil Lee, Kees Klarenbeek of SMMC and representatives of INSO.
Klareenbeek outlined the need for the new hospital which he said will provide more services which also included oncology and dialysis which is currently being offered at SMMC.
USZV Director Glen Carty said that finally, they have reached another step especially for USZV because the health insurance company pays approximately NAF20 to Naf 30M per year to other countries to provide health care for St Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Health and Social Affairs and Labor Emil Lee announced at the weekly press briefing on Wednesday that there are now 54 confirmed cases of Zika on the Dutch side of the island.
The Minister said that the department of CPS has started fogging in targeted area to combat the zika virus and the war against the mosquito Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- The contract for the new hospital that was supposed to be signed between the contractor INSO and the director of USZV on August 31st, 2016 is yet to be signed confirmed Minister of VSA Emil Lee. When asked about the signing of the contract Minister Lee said that negotiations are still ongoing especially how to best finance the new hospital.
Asked if there were problems that held up the signing the Minister said that there have not been any problems even though groundbreaking was scheduled for this month Read more

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Collection of ambulance fees dramatically improved by Ministry VSA

PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Public Health, Social Development, and Labor Emil Lee said that the investments in the ambulance Department are a critical part of the Country’s Emergency Response team.
The Minister mentioned this during Wednesday's council of Minister's press briefing where he announced that on September 6, the ambulance Department, commissioned their 1st of 3 new ambulances.
Minister Lee said that the other two ambulances are currently being manufactured and outfitted, and are expected to arrive within a few months.
The Minister informed that 7 hydraulic stretchers were ordered of which the first arrived Read more

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Sponsors Nephrology Conference, -FREE PUBLIC MEETING ON KIDNEY DISEASE

PHILIPSBURG:---  September 5, 2016 – The Rotary Club of Sint Maarten proudly accepted a large donation from Nagico Insurances in support of the upcoming Nephrology Conference.

The Rotary Club of Sint Maarten, in conjunction with the Windward Islands Medical Association, will be holding a conference for medical professionals on the state of Kidney Disease and care on St. Maarten on September 16 and 17 at the Belair Community Center Read more

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 Dialysis Center will be built first ---- Lee.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The Minister of VSA Emil Lee was certainly not happy on Wednesday when he attended the Council of Minister's press briefing to address the contract that the Director of USZV is about to sign with INSO which was slated for August 31st, 2016.
Minister Lee started off his opening statements by stating that he is conducting the people’s business in an open and transparent way Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- The Minister of VSA Emil Lee needs to save his excuses for the Federal Detectives when they knock on his door for explanations about the over NAF200M that is scheduled to be spent from the AOV funds and possibly other accounts managed by USZV, while proper legislation is not in place Read more

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