SXMElections.com

Mental Health Foundation Says "Thank You" To Stakeholders And Generous Sponsors

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - On Saturday October 18, 2014, the Mental Health Foundation organized a Reception which this year focused on the Foundation's very loyal stakeholders and generous sponsors.

The event was organized to honor and thank those who provide the Mental Health Foundation with continuous support and who are part of the reason why the MHF is where it is today.

The Cocktail party was honored by the presence of the Prime Minister Sarah Wescott-Williams and the Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor Cornelius de Weever, by representatives of various stakeholders and sponsors such as SZV, Ennia, Ministry of Public Health, White and Yellow Cross Foundation, Nagico, General Practitioners, Ministry of Justice, SMMC, Samenwerkende Fondsen, Social Services, Health Inspectorate, WIEMS, SJIB, Court of Guardianship, Rotary Clubs of St Read more

Mosquito fogging starts November 1

PHILIPSBURG--Mosquito fogging throughout the country as part of a regular vector control programme is set to commence on the Western part of St. Maarten on Saturday, November 1. A complete schedule is set to soon be published in the Government Information Page (GIP) of both daily newspapers outlining dates, times and neighbourhoods.

During the spraying, residents should open all windows and doors, but stay away from them. Items such as cooking and eating ware, fish tanks and bird cages should be covered,

The announcement was made by Collective Preventive Services (CPS), a government agency under the Ministry of Health Care, Social Development & Labour VSA Read more

>GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- The Collective Preventive Services (CPS), a government agency under the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development & Labour, hereby announces that as part of its regular vector control program, mosquito fogging throughout the country will commence on Saturday, November 01 in Cupecoy, Low Lands, Maho Reef, Beacon Hill Airport Road, Simpson Bay, Pelican Keys, Simpson Bay Yacht Club and Welfare Road.

Residents are advised to continue to take measures at home and at their business to mitigate mosquito breeding such as the Aedes Aegypti mosquito.

Minister of Public Health, Social Development & Labour Hon Read more

Mosquito Fogging To Start November 1

GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – The Collective Preventive Services (CPS), a government agency under the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development & Labour, hereby announces that as part of its regular vector control program, mosquito fogging throughout the country will commence on Saturday, November 01 in Cupecoy, Low Lands, Maho Reef, Beacon Hill Airport Road, Simpson Bay, Pelican Keys, Simpson Bay Yacht Club and Welfare Road.

Residents are advised to continue to take measures at home and at their business to mitigate mosquito breeding such as the Aedes Aegypti mosquito.

Minister of Public Health, Social Development & Labour Hon Read more

Committee For Action Plan On Integrity Reports: Parliament Calls On Governor Not To Execute Instruction

St. Maarten – The Parliament passed a motion yesterday that calls on governor Drs. Eugène Holiday “not to yield to the measure of instruction formulated by the Dutch government” and to instruct the government to establish a committee that will “study, evaluate and recommend” an action plan based on the findings of three integrity reports that are currently on the table.

With this motion, the Parliament sent a message to The Hague that it will not stand for interference in its internal affairs Read more

Hopefully a new trend

Dear Editor,

Anyone who follows what happens in the world of politics would be surprised if Theo Heyliger is really serious about becoming Prime Minister or, for that matter, holding any position of which he is not in complete control. That move that he made to publicly ridicule the Prime Minister in the paper of August 27, 2014, was as if he was testing to see how far the Dutch would go as a consequence of his behaviour towards the sitting Prime Minister Read more

Heyliger: I never discussed money or moving for money with any MP

PHILIPSBURG--"No sitting MP in here or none of the ones that were just put out have I ever met with to discuss anything about money and about moving for money in government," United People's (UP) party leader Member of Parliament Theo Heyliger stated in Parliament on Wednesday afternoon.

Heyliger's name has been bandied in the community for some time now as having paid MPs to break with their political parties to join as coalition partners in an UP-led government.

He said he wanted to answer all of the talk about the exchange of money Read more

MPs unanimously reject instruction

~ Motion to be sent to UN Decolonisation Committee ~

PHILIPSBURG--Members of Parliament (MPs) unanimously adopted on Wednesday a motion rejecting the instruction handed down by the Kingdom Council of Ministers to Governor Eugene Holiday for the execution of a boundless and limitless investigation into the backgrounds of candidate ministers, their families, friends, business associates and others.

Parliament is not in agreement with the instruction from the Kingdom Council, because the screening of candidate ministers is "not flawed Read more

Motion Passed Unanimously by Parliament on Instruction Given to Governor on Screening Procedures.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament Leona Marlin Romeo withdrew the motion she submitted on Wednesday after several discussions were held (caucusing) with the members of parliament sitting on the opposition benches so that the parliament of St. Maarten could form a consensus in dealing with what they describe as a posterity issue. The motion submitted by MP Lloyd Richardson was completely amended based on article 58 Read more

Analysis: Screening Of Candidate-Ministers Seems At Odds With Constitution

St. Maarten / By Hilbert Haar – Screening? What screening? Nobody has asked this simple question yet, because everybody has been either busy and confused, or excited and angry about the humongous cloud of dust the Kingdom Council of Ministers created with its instruction to Governor Holiday for additional screening of candidate-ministers. One may well wonder which instruments the experts Minister Plasterk wants to send to St. Maarten have at their disposal to find something so wrong with one of the candidates that this will give reason to ban them from becoming a minister.

St Read more

Ministry Of Health Briefs Key Members Of The Council Of Ministers About National Preparations For Ebola

GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – On Wednesday representatives from the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour (Ministry VSA) met with key members of the Council of Ministers to brief them about the national preparations for Ebola.

Dr. Virginia Asin, Head of the Collective Prevention Services (CPS) from the Minister of Public Health can be seen (left) briefing Prime Minister Hon. Sarah Wescot-Williams (2nd from left) and Minister of Public Health Hon Read more

Christopher Emmanuel says he was offered US $2M for his seat

~ Lloyd, de Weever deny being paid ~

PHILIPSBURG--National Alliance (NA) Member of Parliament (MP) Christopher Emmanuel said on Monday that he had been offered US $2 million for his parliamentary support as he stressed the point that St Read more

St. Maarten creates its own problem --- MP Emmanuel said he was offered $2m to jump ship and join the UPP.

style="text-align: center;">St. Maarten needs to fix its own house before trying to cross the ocean

PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament Christopher Emmanuel unleashed an unexpected bomb on the floor of Parliament on Monday afternoon during the urgent meeting of Parliament that was called to discuss the instruction given to Governor Eugene Holiday Read more

Icon Mike Ferrier Resigns From Democratic Party

St. Maarten – Mike Ferrier has terminated his membership of the Democratic Party out of disappointment over the way party-leader Sarah Wescot-Williams handled the defection of her number 2 candidate Cornelius de Weever to a coalition with the United People’s party and the subsequent decision by Wescot-Williams to follow suit.

“I cannot subscribe to abandoning all that we campaigned on and claimed to stand for prior to August 29, 2014, by joining a government that has been given life by a person, or a couple of people from within our DP-ranks who seem to be driven only by power, greed and self-interest,” Ferrier – who was the party’s public relations officer – writes in a letter to Wescot-Williams dated last Friday, October 17 Read more

De Weever Demands That Dutch Mp Andre Bosman Retracts Slander

St. Maarten – Minister of Public Health, Social Affairs and Labor Cornelius de Weever has summoned Dutch VVD-parliamentarian André Bosman in an open letter – written by his attorney Jairo Bloem – to retract his statement that UP-leader Theo Heyliger paid him for signing a coalition agreement with the UP.

Four different newspapers – Today, the Telegraaf, the Amigoe in Curacao and the Daily Herald – quoted Bosman on September 30 as saying, “Heyliger simply paid De Weever.”

The statement “lacks factual basis,” Bloem states in the letter, “and they are slanderous and defamatory towards client.” The attorney labels the statement as untruthful, grievous and deliberately slanderous, based on an article in the civil code and writes that it amounts to slander based on the penal code.

“I furthermore note that your contentions do not serve any general interest Read more

Parliament Meets On Dutch Govt. Instruction To Governor Monday Afternoon (Full Audio Now Included!)

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The House of Parliament of St. Maarten met in an urgent plenary session on Monday.

It was the first meeting of the newly elected Members of Parliament since the August 29th parliamentary elections, and the swearing of the lawmakers on October 10th.

The purpose of the plenary session was to discuss the instruction of the Minister of Internal Affairs and Kingdom Relations given to the Governor of Sint Maarten to postpone ratification of the country decree in the appointment of the Ministers and Prime Minister.

During the meeting on Monday afternoon, which was requested by Members of Parliament the Honorable Franklin Meyers, the Honorable Tamara Leonard and the Honorable Silvio Matser, Members of Parliament denounced the instruction given to the Governor.

Whilst speaking on the floor of Parliament, the Honorable Silvio Matser noted that the instruction given was an attack on democracy.

Member of Parliament, the Honorable Leona Romeo Marlin stated on Monday on the floor of parliament that the instruction as is given by the Dutch government degrades our parliamentary system, our Council of Advice and even our Governor.

Meanwhile, Member of Parliament of the National Alliance, the Honorable George Pantophlet reminded his colleagues the Dutch are here, and that the question is how we get them out of here.

Meanwhile, speaking on the floor of Parliament, the Honorable Christopher Emmanuel made it clear that St Read more

Editorial - For a change

The Kingdom Council of Ministers has given Governor Eugene Holiday an instruction not to install any new cabinet members until there are sufficient guarantees regarding their integrity. This is to be determined by applying a more stringent screening, for which the Dutch Government will appoint a team of experts to assist the governor.

The highly unusual and unprecedented move has to do with a 2010 vote-buying case involving the UP party and developments since this year's elections held at the end of August Read more

Friendly or Fantasy Island?

Dear Editor,

Some people may call St. Maarten the Friendly Island while others will call it the Fantasy Island but giving the recent political turmoil and political confusion I choose to reserve the right of giving it the appropriate name at the end of this article but not until I express my views on this topic.

Let us for a moment first view the phrases expressed by some of our political leaders and then the phases they allow our island to go through in order to have a better understanding on what island we are living on.

Our good "Samaritan" or leader of government Sarah Wescot-Williams struck the nail on its head when she boldly chose her political phrase Read more

Ferrier resigns from DP, against Sarah supporting UP coalition

~ Richelda feels deceived, doesn't support Sarah ~

PHILIPSBURG--Former President of the Democratic Party (DP) and candidate in the August 29 parliamentary election Michael Ferrier has tendered his resignation from DP over the move by party leader Sarah Wescot-Williams to join the United People's (UP) party-led coalition.

DP candidate Richelda Rodriguez-Emmanuel in an email responding to Ferrier's resignation said she still couldn't "get over the feeling of anger, deception, disappointment and disbelief" to put in any form of communication Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Former President of the Democratic Party Michael Ferrier submitted his resignation to the Leader of the Democratic Party Sarah Wescot Williams Read more

After 55 Years Of Support, Mike Ferrier Opts To Resign From Dp Party St. Maarten

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Former DP stalwart Micheal Ferrier in a letter dated October 17th 2014 and sent to the board of the party, their 15 candidates who ran in this years Parliamentary election and to key supporters, announced his decision to resign.

This decision comes after 55 years of support for the party and more recently, his diligent support for its leader MP Sarah Wescot-Williams.

The reason given for his decision is that he believes that the leader with her decision to join the UP/de Weever coalition government has taken the party along a different path than it had collectively chosen prior to the elections on August 29th 2014.

He stated in his letter that he understands the reasoning behind the need to be in government in the interest of the people of St Read more

Population Ageing Trends High on the Agenda for Social Development.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The Symposium on Ageing held last week Wednesday acted as the first step in spreading the awareness about the challenges of an ageing population and letting the public know that this issue is high on the agenda of the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development, and Labour (VSA). Based on the feedback from the audience at the symposium, Social Development is headed in the right direction when it comes to identifying the key priority areas St. Maarten is dealing with due to an increase in the ageing population Read more

Editorial - Sooner rather than later

That just about anything is possible in local politics was proven again over these last few days, as DP leader Sarah Wescot-Williams and US Party number two candidate Leona Marlin-Romeo signed up for the incoming UP/De Weever coalition Read more

Sarah elected as the new President of Parliament

~ Marlin-Romeo VP, De Weever second VP ~

PHILIPSBURG--Democratic Party (DP) leader Member of Parliament (MP) Sarah Wescot-Williams was elected President of Parliament during a plenary session on Friday.

United St Read more