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Safety Tips For Holiday Shopping

GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – As part of the Minister of Public Health's Hon. Cornelius de Weever 'Get Checked' campaign, every parent's number one concern this holiday season should be to make sure that whatever it is you buy for your child this year, it's safe.

Therefore, make sure you check the safety information of t Read more

Sarah withdraws her support from coalition

PHILIPSBURG--Just over a month after gaining the support of ten Members of Parliament (MPs), the United People's (UP) coalition has lost the support of one partner: Democratic Party (DP) leader MP Sarah Wescot-Williams.

The withdrawal of support for the coalition has been considered a foregone conclusion since earlier this month, after Wescot-Williams announced that her party's minister candidates had been passed over in favour of those submitted by DP parliamentarian Cornelius de Weever to formateur of the new cabinet UP leader Theo Heyliger Read more

DP moves to ‘expel’ De Weever from ranks

PHILIPSBURG--The Democratic Party (DP) has moved to expel Member of Parliament (MP) Cornelius de Weever from its ranks. The party has given De Weever until 5:00pm today, Friday, to appeal his expulsion if he so wishes.

De Weever, who is off-island, has not responded to requests for a comment on what he intends to do in the face of his pending expulsion.

De Weever was informed of his pending expulsion from St Read more

style="text-align: center;">UPP candidates fuming because they got no Ministerial Positions

PHILIPSBURG:--- Leader of the United Peoples Party (UPP) and formateur Theodore Heyliger has shuffled the deck of cards again as he tries to form the next government Read more

style="text-align: center;">DP Expelled MP De Weever from Democratic Party

PHILIPSBURG:--- Leader of the Democratic Party Sarah Wescot Williams sent an official letter to the leader of the UPP Theodore Heyliger informing him that she has withdrawn her support from his coalition government.
The letter sent to Heyliger is dated November 18th, 2014 Read more

Dp Board Seeking Expulsion Of Minister De Weever From Party

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The board of the Democratic Party of St. Maarten Tuesday sent a letter to MP the Honorable Cornelius de Weever in which they have clearly stated their intentions to expel him from the folds of the party.

The letter which is signed by the President and leader states that they have given MP de Weever the opportunity to appeal the decision of the board, however this appeal must be submitted by five 0'clock Friday afternoon.

According to the Leader of the Democratic Party MP the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams, MP C Read more

Editorial - Immediate and direct

For the second time in three months a worker fell from a height while doing his job in St. Maarten (see related article). This time there was no serious injury, so the victim could be treated on the spot by ambulance personnel and didn't require hospitalisation.

It was different story on August 27, however, when Haitian mason Diuecel Bosse (54) of S&R Construction toppled into an empty elevator shaft at the former Ocean Terrace building in Maho then under renovation and died. There were rumours that he had been fleeing from an immigration raid held there that day, but this never was confirmed.

In general, one regularly can see people working at heights on the island without any safety line or even a helmet Read more

Airco worker falls through roof into minister’s office

PHILIPSBURG--An air-conditioning technician working on an air-conditioning unit at the Government Administration Building took a wrong step and fell through the roof into Minister of Health, Labour and Social Affairs Cornelius de Weever's office early Tuesday afternoon.

The man did not sustain any serious injuries as a result of the fall Read more

Teens unite to end violence to women

PHILIPSBURG--November 25th was International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls. In observance of the day, Women's Desk with the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour, together with Community Development, Family and Humanitarian Affairs, organised an awareness event for teenagers in the Philipsburg Cultural Centre.

Some 60 youths, both male and female, attended the event, which was part of a month of awareness activities in five high schools on both sides of the island Read more

Collective Prevention Services Appeals for Action to Prevent an Increase in Dengue and Chikungunya Cases due to daily rainfall.

>GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- Section Collective Prevention Services (CPS) within the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour is appealing to the community to step-up mosquito prevention measures in order to prevent an increase in dengue and chikungunya cases due to the daily rainfall that the country has been confronted with.

CPS uses this opportunity to also commend the Dutch Quarter Community Council in conjunction with the organizes of the OASIS project for carrying out a clean-up effort within the district about two weeks ago.

Minister of Public Health Hon Read more

Collective Prevention Services Appeals For Action To Prevent An Increase In Dengue And Chikungunya Cases Due To Daily Rainfall

GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – Section Collective Prevention Services (CPS) within the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour is appealing to the community to step-up mosquito prevention measures in order to prevent an increase in dengue and chikungunya cases due to the daily rainfall that the country has been confronted with.

CPS uses this opportunity to also commend the Dutch Quarter Community Council in conjunction with the organizes of the OASIS project for carrying out a clean-up effort within the district about two weeks ago.

Minister of Public Health Hon Read more

Pantophlet wants updates on short-term contract changes

PHILIPSBURG--National Alliance (NA) Member of Parliament (MP) George Pantophlet is calling on Ministers to give a long-overdue update on the amendment to the Civil Code to end the abuse of short-term labour contracts, the establishment of the Casino Gaming Board, the Dividend Policy and the Consumer Protection Agency.

Pantophlet said in a press statement Monday that they had had enough time to present to Parliament the changes or legislation for establishment of the various entities.

NA submitted draft amendments to Book VII of the Civil Code to correct the abuse of short-term labour contracts some 42 months ago.

Caretaker Labour Minister Cornelius de Weever has made "several changes" still in draft form to the relevant parts of the Civil Code and presented them to the Council of Ministers Read more

>GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour (Ministry VSA) Collective Prevention Services (CPS) Dr. Virginia Asin said on Sunday that the 30th meeting of the Caribbean Immunization Managers hosted by Sint Maarten was a success, and resulted in the review and finalization of the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) plan of action for 2015.

"I think it is very important as a region that we continue in our efforts to learn best practices from each other, and this setting was a great way to do that," Minister of Public Health Hon Read more

Airport develops infectious disease manual, taskforce

AIRPORT--SXM Princess Juliana International Airport has developed an infectious disease manual and established an infectious disease taskforce as part of its efforts to deal with potential Ebola cases.

The airport outlined its plans to handle potential Ebola cases during a meeting with stakeholders last Tuesday. The airport gave an extensive overview of its plan.

The airport has purchased two isolation units and has established the necessary protocols in case of a potential Ebola case Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- "The Ebola situation is one that we are all taking very seriously. Although the possibility of the Ebola Virus Disease reaching St. Maarten is very low, given the recent and past global health emergencies such as HINI, Swine Flu, Bird Flu, etc, the Ministry of Public Health along with key stakeholders are taking the opportunity to review the preparedness plans which are already in place and revitalize the system", said Minister of Public Health Cornelius de Weever Read more

Sint Maarten Hosts 30Th Caribbean Epi Managers Meeting 2014

GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour (Ministry VSA) Collective Prevention Services (CPS) Dr. Virginia Asin said on Sunday that the 30th meeting of the Caribbean Immunization Managers hosted by Sint Maarten was a success, and resulted in the review and finalization of the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) plan of action for 2015.

"I think it is very important as a region that we continue in our efforts to learn best practices from each other, and this setting was a great way to do that," Minister of Public Health Hon Read more

Claire slams De Weever for Coliseum statement, says should protect workers

PHILIPSBURG--Windward Islands Chamber of Labour Unions (WICLU) First Vice President Claire Elshot has come out swinging at Labour Minister and Member of Parliament (MP) Cornelius de Weever, saying that he should "step up to the plate" and protect workers in the country.

She was responding to statements made by De Weever in a recent press release saying that it was "extremely important" for all parties including trade union leaders to be "honest and substantiate their statements made to the media" regarding the 12 workers who lost their jobs at Coliseum Casino recently Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI) Hon. Maurice Lake said on Thursday that Minister of Public Health Hon. Cornelius de Weever brought it to his attention about tilapia fish in the Rolandus Canal.

Ministry VROMI officials met with the Nature Foundation to find a possible solution with respect to the fish in the canal Read more

Central Committee Meeting of Parliament about August 29th parliament election discrepancies postponed until further notice.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The House of Parliament Central Committee session that was rescheduled for November 24th about election discrepancies has been postponed until further notice.
The agenda point for discussion was the Main Voting Bureau and the Civil Registry Department concerning discrepancies that occurred during and in preparation of the August 29th parliamentary elections.
The discrepancies noted are: at the Prison polling station; usage of foreign identification for voting purposes; discrepancies at specific polling stations in ballot counting; discrepancies of the lack of privacy during the supporting of the candidate list; discrepancies in the information given to political parties as it related to placement of campaign material.
Other points to be brought forward in the Central Committee meeting are: changes in the Electoral Law as it relates to having a structured chronological order; Increase of polling stations in 2014 in comparison to 2010; Implementation of electronic voting; If there any articles that are conflicting with each other?; and if there any articles wrongfully written?
This meeting was been requested by Members of Parliament (MP) Hon Read more

André Bosman Fails To React – De Weever Takes Legal Action

St. Maarten – Member of Parliament Cornelius de Weever will take legal action against VVD-MP André Bosman who did not react to a summons to retract “erroneous, slanderous and defaming statements” before the deadline of last Monday at 5 p.m. On September 30, four different newspapers quoted Bosman as saying, “Heyliger simply paid De Weever.”

The remark refers to De Weever’s decision to withdraw his support for a coalition of the National Alliance and the United St Read more

Customs, Coast Guard updated about Ebola preparedness plan

PHILIPSBURG--The Ministry of Health's Collective Prevention Services (CPS) updated the Customs Department and Coast Guard recently about the country's Ebola preparedness plan.

The two disciplined services were given information about the travel ban that was announced by Public Health Minister Cornelius de Weever on Monday, October 27, as well as the various screening layers that exist prior to a person entering St Maarten Read more

Sarah questions reason for voting discrepancies meeting

PHILIPSBURG--Democratic Party (DP) Member of Parliament (MP) Sarah Wescot-Williams wants an elaboration on the request for a Central Committee meeting on election day "discrepancies" as called for by MPs Leona Marlin-Romeo (independent), Tamara Leonard (United People's party) and Cornelius de Weever (DP) Read more

>GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- Recently Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour (Ministry VSA) Collective Prevention Services (CPS) met with the Customs Department and Coast Guard to discuss preparations related to the Ebola virus disease (EVD).

Customs and the Coast Guard were appraised about the Sint Maarten Ebola Preparedness Plan being worked on by Ministry VSA, the travel ban that was officially announced by the Minister of Public Health Hon. Cornelius de Weever on Monday, October 27, as well as the various screening layers that exist prior to a person entering country Sint Maarten.

The levels of screening entail, exit screening measures from countries affected by Ebola; entry screening measures in the United States of America and Europe and Sint Maarten.

The Customs Department has drafted its response plan since the meeting was held at the end of October and a draft a preparedness plan along with what resources would be required is being awaited from the Coast Guard for CPS to review with respect to how their respective agency would deal with a suspect Ebola case.

All stakeholders were updated about the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) and Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) protocols that are in place for cruise passengers and crew.

Another issue touched upon during the meeting was the inspection of shipping manifest prior to a vessel docking at one of the country's ports.

Present for the meeting were representatives from SXM Airport, Port St Read more

Cps Appraises Customs And Coast Guard About Sint Maarten Ebola Preparedness Plan

GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – Recently Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour (Ministry VSA) Collective Prevention Services (CPS) met with the Customs Department and Coast Guard to discuss preparations related to the Ebola virus disease (EVD).

Customs and the Coast Guard were appraised about the Sint Maarten Ebola Preparedness Plan being worked on by Ministry VSA, the travel ban that was officially announced by the Minister of Public Health Hon. Cornelius de Weever on Monday, October 27, as well as the various screening layers that exist prior to a person entering country Sint Maarten.

The levels of screening entail, exit screening measures from countries affected by Ebola; entry screening measures in the United States of America and Europe and Sint Maarten.

The Customs Department has drafted its response plan since the meeting was held at the end of October and a draft a preparedness plan along with what resources would be required is being awaited from the Coast Guard for CPS to review with respect to how their respective agency would deal with a suspect Ebola case.

All stakeholders were updated about the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) and Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) protocols that are in place for cruise passengers and crew.

Another issue touched upon during the meeting was the inspection of shipping manifest prior to a vessel docking at one of the country's ports.

Present for the meeting were representatives from SXM Airport, Port St Read more