SXMElections.com

Lake wants to raise fees on remittances

PHILIPSBURG--Increase the one-per-cent foreign exchange levy to five per cent for remittances to bring in more government revenues, suggested United People’s (UP) party Member of Parliament Maurice Lake in the Central Committee meeting of Parliament on Thursday.

“Everybody must pay their fair share, and this is one way to tap into this sector, where hundreds of thousands, if not millions, leave the country annually for other islands or countries,” Lake said in the meeting dealing with the draft 2015 budget Read more

William agrees with CFT’s lower budget assessment

PHILIPSBURG--National Alliance (NA) leader Member of Parliament (MP) William Marlin says his party agrees with the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT estimate of the draft budget. CFT has tagged the budget at NAf Read more

Best ‘worried’ about situation at SMMC

PHILIPSBURG--Inspector General Dr. Earl Best says he is "worried" about the situation at St. Maarten Medical Center and believes that government and stakeholders should get together to address the issues facing the medical facility sooner rather than later.

SMMC General Director Kees Klarenbeek last week pointed to the dire financial straits affecting SMMC that potentially threaten the future health of the institution if not remedied soon. Klarenbeek had said SMMC was operating in the red, with its accounts some NAf Read more

De Weever weighs in on counterpart policy

PHILIPSBURG--Independent Member of Parliament Cornelius de Weever on Wednesday weighed in on the "Counterpart Legislation," which the St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) has warned the government against implementing.

De Weever, who noted that the policy is actually a law, said in a press release that "the ministry" had applied the law in one case Read more

Member of Parliament De Weever defends Counter Part Policy.

>GREAT BAY:--- Independent Member of Parliament Cornelius de Weever is defending the Counterpart Legislation, which is a law and not just a policy.
MP De Weever explained that the ministry used the law in one case. "The company took us to court and government lost because according to the judge we did not have a policy on how the law would be used so the labor policy department wrote the Counterpart policy in consultation with the Social Economic Council and the Tripartite Committee.
"One business owner of this tri-partite committee volunteered to have this Counterpart Policy applied in his company," said MP De Weever Read more

Member Of Parliament De Weever Defends Counter Part Policy

GREAT BAY, St. Martin - Independent Member of Parliament Cornelius de Weever is defending the Counterpart Legislation, which is a law and not just a policy.

MP De Weever explained that the ministry used the law in one case.

"The company took us to court and government lost because according to the judge we did not have a policy on how the law would be used so the labor policy department wrote the Counterpart policy in consultation with the Social Economic Council and the Tripartite Committee.

"One business owner of this tri-partite committee volunteered to have this Counterpart Policy applied in his company," said MP De Weever Read more

Frans joins UP-led coalition, gets Justice Ministry portfolio

PHILIPSBURG--The United People's (UP)-led coalition again has the support of ten Members of Parliament (MPs) as of Monday morning when United St. Maarten (US) party leader MP Frans Richardson signed on to the coalition.

Richardson signed on with the "100 per cent support" of his party's board Read more

MPs emphasise need for information from govt

PHILIPSBURG--Parliament wants timely information from government when such is requested, especially on matters being handled in the Inter-Parliamentary Kingdom Consultation IPKO. This need was highlighted by United St. Maarten Party Member of Parliament (MP) Frans Richardson on Friday.

His recommendation was supported by other MPs in the debriefing meeting of Parliament's Permanent Committee on Inter-Parliamentary Affairs and Kingdom Relations held in Parliament House Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The National Alliance said on Wednesday afternoon that Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs is clearly not in control of his cabinet, at the least, not as far as how to deal with Parliament.
During his first visit to Parliament the honorable Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs said that one thing he had learnt during his term as a State Secretary in the Government of the Netherlands Antilles was, that when a Minister or State Secretary is called to Parliament, you drop everything and appear before Parliament.
He said that because of this experience he had made sure to be in Parliament, even though he had just been sworn in a few days before.
Either the Prime Minister has not been able to convince certain Ministers or he had not yet discussed this with them.
The faction of the National Alliance said that a Central Committee meeting had been convened with Minister of Finance Martin Hassink on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd quarterly reports Read more

Na Calls On Finance Minister To Respect Parliament And Attend Meetings

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The National Alliance said on Wednesday afternoon that Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs is clearly not in control of his cabinet, at the least, not as far as how to deal with Parliament.

During his first visit to Parliament the honorable Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs said that one thing he had learnt during his term as a State Secretary in the Government of the Netherlands Antilles was, that when a Minister or State Secretary is called to Parliament, you drop everything and appear before Parliament.

He said that because of this experience he had made sure to be in Parliament, even though he had just been sworn in a few days before Read more

NA call for MP Matser’s ‘immediate’ resignation

PHILIPSBURG--The "immediate resignation" of United People's (UP) party Member of Parliament (MP) Silvio Matser has been called for by the National Alliance (NA) Board.

The call, issued Tuesday, comes a week after the Court of First Instance sentenced the first-term MP to 24 months, 18 of which were suspended, on three years' probation and 240 hours of community service, for tax evasion Read more

The grass might be greener on the other side of the fence, but the mangoes in your own backyard are the sweetest: a report on the USM in 2014.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Too often we half-forget the wisdoms of our grandparents and great-grandparents. This of course is lamentable and tragic. It is time that we remember and endorse the other part of our grandmother and grandfather's wisdom notes to achieve wholeness as individuals and as a society.
Most of us are familiar with the saying, "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." We use this colourful expression routinely to state that from our dwelling place, from our little Caribbean island, from where we are standing, what takes place educationally in the overdeveloped countries in Western Europe and the USA and Canada or even the emerging economic powers in Asia, and what people in those countries have materially and we don't because we lack their educational system, is simply extraordinary Read more

The Grass Might Be Greener On The Other Side Of The Fence, But The Mangoes In Your Own Backyard Are The Sweetest: A Report On The Usm In 2014

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Too often we half-forget the wisdoms of our grandparents and great-grandparents. This of course is lamentable and tragic.

It is time that we remember and endorse the other part of our grandmother and grandfather's wisdom notes to achieve wholeness as individuals and as a society.

Most of us are familiar with the saying, "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." We use this colourful expression routinely to state that from our dwelling place, from our little Caribbean island, from where we are standing, what takes place educationally in the overdeveloped countries in Western Europe and the USA and Canada or even the emerging economic powers in Asia, and what people in those countries have materially and we don't because we lack their educational system, is simply extraordinary.

We consider ourselves deprived and long to be there; we dream of having those mountains of things and those degrees that they have Read more

MP: SMMC should complete study to justify tariff increase

PHILIPSBURG--Independent Member of Parliament (MP) Cornelius de Weever said on Thursday that St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) should finalise the tariff study, which he said would justify any increase of tariffs at the medical institution.

De Weever, the former Health Minister, said SMMC only recently participated in a tariff study. A tariff study is currently being carried out by ACSION with SMMC. De Weever claimed that the study is being delayed, because SMMC "is not providing the financial information in a timely manner."

He made the statements in reaction to comments made by St Read more

Independent Member of Parliament De Weever reacts to SMMC article.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Independent Member of Parliament Cornelius de Weever is disappointed with the manner in which the Director of St. Maarten Medical Center Kees Klarenbeek addressed the issue of the current tariffs at the SMMC, which had been addressed by MP De Weever when he was Minister of Public Health since November 2011.
MP De Weever stated that the SMMC has been declared a central hospital just like SEHOS, whereby the tariffs were increased and included additional services which were not previously offered by SMMC such as cardiology Read more

Independent Member Of Parliament De Weever Reacts To Smmc Article

GREAT BAY, St. Martin - Independent Member of Parliament Cornelius de Weever is disappointed with the manner in which the Director of St. Maarten Medical Center Kees Klarenbeek addressed the issue of the current tariffs at the SMMC, which had been addressed by MP De Weever when he was Minister of Public Health since November 2011.

MP De Weever stated that the SMMC has been declared a central hospital just like SEHOS, whereby the tariffs were increased and included additional services which were not previously offered by SMMC such as cardiology Read more

SMMC in dire financial straits, books in the red

~ Low tariffs, unpaid bills smothering hospital ~

CAY HILL--St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) is experiencing dire financial straits, which potentially threatens the future health of the institution if not remedied soon.

SMMC General Director Kees Klarenbeek told The Daily Herald in an exclusive interview on Thursday that the institution is currently operating in the red, with its accounts some NAf Read more

Ludmilla De Weever to be Appointed Minister of VSA --- Reliable Sources. (UPDATED)

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The UP/De Weever/LRM coalition will soon appoint the Minister of VSA (Health, Labor and Social Affairs.)
SMN News was reliably informed that Member of Parliament Cornelius de Weever has shuffled the pack again since his uncle Petrus Leroy De Weever failed the screening Read more

Ludmilla De Weever to be Appointed Minister of VSA --- Reliable Sources.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The UP/De Weever/LRM coalition will soon appoint the Minister of VSA (Health, Labor and Social Affairs.)
SMN News was reliably informed that Member of Parliament Cornelius de Weever has shuffled the pack again since his uncle Petrus Leroy De Weever failed the screening Read more

Editorial - Not if, but how

Mention of the counterpart policy in Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs’ New Year’s speech has led to several reactions. The idea for such a mandatory regulation when employing expatriates has been contested from the start, because of the feared detrimental effect on the local business community.

Then again, that the policy would be part of the incoming cabinet’s plans was to be expected, especially as now-independent (former DP) parliamentarian Cornelius de Weever had cited the intention to leave such out of a governing programme for the originally envisioned NA/US/DP combination as his main reason to “jump ship” and support a UP-led coalition instead Read more

Ferrier wants PM to explain how counterpart policy will be applied

~ 'It will stifle economic growth' ~

PHILIPSBURG--Businessman Michael Ferrier is looking forward to an explanation from Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs on how the counterpart policy will be applied in St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- As the yearly challenge comes around to select the person of year, this year was not as challenging as it was in the past years, simply because the candidate that was selected made the headlines both locally and internationally more than any other person on St. Maarten. While being in politics for half of his life, during the entire time he was in opposition for a mere 18 months.
That person is none other than Theodore Heyliger who had over 18 years to make this sunshine city really shine Read more

Answers Will Have To Wait Until Mid-January: Parliament Wants Clarity About Housing Foundation

St. Maarten – Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs answered the call to appear in Parliament as the acting minister of public housing within 72 hours after he was sworn in on Friday. Members of Parliament appreciated that, even though Gumbs sent them on their way with a flea in their ear, after listening to questions about the chaos of the St. Maarten Housing Development foundation for more than two hours.

The minister brought to mind the words he spoke on Friday in the constituting meeting where his team officially took over the reins: “The country needs tranquility, stability, civility and prosperity.”

Furthermore, Gumbs noted: “Integrity has been a buzz word this year Read more

Wellness on Wheels (WOW) Programme Officially Launched.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- In celebration of the Wellness on Wheels Programme that is expected to kick off in 2015 on January 28th, Collective Prevention Services at the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labor (VSA) hosted a short ribbon-cutting ceremony last week Wednesday in front of the Government Administration Building.

A few words were given by Dr. Virginia Asin Department Head of CPS, R.M. Willemsberg Deputy Director/Chief Operations Officer, and Honourable Minister of VSA Cornelius de Weever Read more