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Grisha: Again, Ipko Has Proven Our Main Focus Should Be Amending The Kingdom Charter

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — In a press statement released on Monday March 6, 2023, evening, Member of Parliament, Grisha Heyliger-Marten elaborated on her statements made during the IPKO which took place in Curaao last week.

During her opening remarks at the IPKO, Heyliger-Marten expressed her discontent and impatience with the fact that, as she participated in her fourth IPKO, the discussion about changing the Kingdom Charter seems to be avoided.

Despite the fact that all governments within the Kingdom continue to complain about its structure and deficient articles, nobody seems to want to address the problems, Heyliger-Marten stated during her address.

We keep beating around the bush IPKO after IPKO, without making any changes for the betterment of the lives of our people Read more

Pfp Submits Draft Lb-Ham To Prime Minister

MP Peterson: Parliament changing Election Ordinance would be rats minding the cheese

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten Via a letter penned by Member of Parliament Melissa Gumbs, the Party for Progress faction in Parliament submitted a draft LB-HAM (national decree containing general measures) to Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs on Thursday, 23 February 2023, prior to leaving for the IPKO session Read more

Duncan, Gumbs And Heyliger-Marten Call For Urgent Public Meeting On Heritage Preservation

Philipsburg, Sint Maarten — On Wednesday, January 25, 2023, Independent Members of Parliament S. Ludmila Duncan and Grisha Heyliger-Marten, as well as Party for Progress (PFP) Member of Parliament Melissa Gumbs submitted a request for an urgent public meeting on the matter of heritage protection.

Following the recent demolition of the ruins at Diamond Estate in Cole Bay and the outrage by persons in community, the Members have moved quickly to request a public meeting to discuss the incident but more importantly the regulations that would prevent such from occurring again in the future.

The Minister of ECYS and the Minister of VROMI have been requested to come to Parliament to debate the current legislation and policies regarding the preservation and management of heritage as well as to provide updates on the current work of the Monument Council and the long-awaited Monument Fund.

What is extremely disappointing is that this year marks the 160th Anniversary of the Proclamation of Emancipation Read more

Heyliger-Marten Questions Suspension Of Kadaster Director, Actions Of Supervisory Board

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — Independent Member of Parliament Grisha Heyliger-Marten has requested an urgent question hour on recent developments at Kadaster.
In a letter addressed to President of Parliament Bijlani on Wednesday, Heyliger-Marten requested a question hour with the pertinent Minister(s).

During a question hour, which is a public meeting of Parliament usually held on Mondays, the Minister or Ministers invited, give direct verbal answers to questions posed by Members of Parliament.

In her letter to the President of Parliament, MP Heyliger-Marten stated that it had been
brought to her attention that the Managing Director of Kadaster was recently suspended by the Supervisory Board of Kadaster.

Considering the fact that the Supervisory Board is appointed by the Government, that
Kadaster is responsible for executing national legislation, I requested the President of
Parliament to urgently submit twelve (12) questions related to the Directors suspension to the pertinent Minister(s), Heyliger-Marten said.

When I first heard the rumors about the suspension, my initial thought was that I hope that, if true, this was not another case of a local professional being victimized for political or other reasons, simply for doing his job, Heyliger-Marten stated in her press release.

So in order to establish exactly what happened, when, and why, I decided to immediately
request clarification from the Government, who appointed the Supervisory Board.

I recall that during the PJIA Holding Company saga, Government had indicated that laws,
rules and regulations, including the Corporate Governance Code had been violated by the
former Managing Director of PJIA Holding Read more

Grisha To Min Justice: Respect ParliamentS Role And Take Your Responsibility

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — On Thursday, MP Grisha Heyliger Marten urged Minister of Justice Anna Richardson to desist from trying to downplay the importance of Parliament and from speaking in condescending tone and owning up to her administration’s failures to carry out tasks as promised.

The MP was responding to Richardson’s comments that people are playing with the feelings of justice workers in relation to their legal status and compensation, which she made during Wednesday’s LIVE Press Briefing Read more

Heyliger-Marten Calls For Lawful Kingdom Relationships At Congress In The Hague

THE NETHERLANDS / SINT MAARTEN — In an address delivered at the 32nd InterExpo Congress in the Hague last Thursday, independent Member of Parliament Grisha Heyliger-Marten called on drastic structural reforms to the Kingdom Charter in order to bring it in full compliance with international law.

The theme of the Congress was Equivalence within the Kingdom of the Netherlands Read more

Grisha Tells President Of Parliament Not To Risk CountryS Lifeline

~Stop tip-toeing around airport saga~

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — Independent MP Grisha Heyliger-Marten on Tuesday advised Chairman of Parliament Sidharth Bijlani to stop stalling, protecting and tip-toeing and immediately convene the requested urgent meeting on the Princess Juliana International Airport before the country loses its most strategic asset due to weak and subpar management Read more

Three MpS Request Urgent Meeting On Status Of Telem

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — Members of Parliament Solange L. Duncan (Faction Duncan), Melissa Gumbs (PFP), and Grisha Heyliger-Marten (Faction Heyliger-Marten) recently sent a request to the second Vice-Chair of Parliament William Marlin for an urgent public meeting on the status of TELEM.

The meeting request includes three main agenda points, which are:

The original SOAB report of 2021 on TELEM Update on the financial status and overall fiber to the home project. The state of affairs related to the concerns about the working environment at TELEM as expressed by the Telecommunications Union.

Since the previous update, over one year ago, there has been little to no update or movement on Telem’s fttH project Read more

Grisha Grateful For Majority Support To Remain President Of Parliament

Philipsburg, Sint Maarten — In a short press statement released on Monday morning, President of Parliament, MP Grisha Heyliger-Marten expressed her appreciation for the majority of Parliament supporting her to continue as President of Parliament.

I am very thankful and honored to have received majority support from my colleagues to continue my work as President of Parliament, Heyliger-Marten stated after the meeting Read more

President Of Parliament, Mp Grisha Heyliger-Marten Reflects On Ipko In The Hague

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — President of Parliament, MP Grisha Heyliger-Marten provided an overview of the main topics discussed during the IPKO held in the Hague from September 27th -30th, 2022. In her closing statement at the IPKO, Heyliger-Marten said that the Sint Maarten appreciated the deliberations and looks forward to continuing the dialogue and coming to concrete actions on the topics discussed.

All delegations came up with suggestions or solutions to the topics discussed Read more

United St. Maarten Party Submits A Law To Curb High Unemployment Rate Among Young People

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — On Thursday September 22nd 2022, the Leader of the US Party Mrs. Pamela Gordon-Carty accompanied by party President Mr. Cecil Nicholas and Secretary Mr. Khalil Revan presented a new law to curb the high rate of unemployment amongst young people to the Chairlady of Parliament MP Grisha Heyliger Marten.

The US Party Leader Mrs Read more

United St. Maarten Party: Proposed Child Sex Abuse Law Amendments Needs Immediate Attention

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — On Sunday August 14th, 2022 the board of the USP lamented that proposed amendments to the child sex abuse law submitted to parliament by its leader Pamela Gordon-Carty needs to be prioritized and passed.

On March 11th, 2022 proposed amendments to strengthen child sex abide laws was presented to the Chairlady of Parliament, MP Grisha Heyliger-Marten by the leader of the United St Read more

Pop Heyliger-Marten Commends Dutch MpS Wuite And Simons For Presenting Historic Motions

~The path is now clear for finalizing the decolonization process~

In a press release issued on Sunday night, President of Parliament Grisha Heyliger-Marten stated that the die has been cast when it comes to finalizing the decolonization of the six islands in the Dutch Kingdom.

Heyliger-Marten made her comments in relation to the motion passed in the Dutch House of Representatives on July 7th, which called on the Government of the Netherlands to enter into consultations with the Caribbean islands with a view to organizing a Kingdom conference in 2023 between the Governments of the Netherlands and the six Caribbean.
This motion is comparable to one that was passed in the Dutch Senate in 2016, the so-called de Graaf motion of 2016 Read more

Pfp: Vromi Minister Is Playing Stalling Tactics To Avoid Accountability

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — Party for Progress (PFP) Members of Parliament (MPs) Melissa Gumbs and Raeyhon Peterson are not surprised by the deliberate stalling tactics played by the Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (VROMI) Egbert J Read more

Gumbs, Peterson: President Of Parliament Does Not Speak For Pfp

~ Letter to Prime Minister is a masterclass in being tactless ~

Philipsburg, Sint Maarten — Party for Progress (PFP) Members of Parliament (MPs) Melissa Gumbs and Raeyhon Peterson on Wednesday, April 28, 2022, distanced themselves and their faction from the statements made by President of Parliament Grisha Heyliger-Marten in a recent letter to Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs.

Gumbs expressed her frustration with the continued misuse of the position of the President of Parliament, adding that letters sent by the President of Parliament give the impression that the words and sentiments are on behalf of the entire Sint Maarten Parliament.
The President of Parliament is trying to shield herself by acting as if she is only sending the letter in her capacity as a lone MP, Gumbs commented, However, much like when former President of Parliament Brison blundered in his letter to the Central Bank, this is again an instance of not recognizing that, when you are the President of Parliament, your words reflect and often give the impression of being representative of the entire Parliament.

Moreover, in parts of Heyliger-Martens letter, the wording itself gives the impression of a unified Parliament standing behind its President Read more

Heyliger-Marten Inspired And Encouraged By Expressions Of Support At Eurolat

~Meetings in Argentina opened many doors for Sint Maarten on international level~

PHILIPSBURG Right after having represented Sint Maarten at the International Workshop of Scholars and Parliamentarians in Patagonia, Argentina, President of Parliament Grisha Heyliger-Marten attended the EUROLAT General Assembly plenary sessions in Buenos Aires.

The EUROLAT is a multilateral parliamentary assembly, consisting of 75 members from Latin-American and Caribbean regional parliaments, and 75 members of the European Parliament.

During the sessions, formal decisions are taken on operational matters including appointments, the approval of the budget, and the adaptation of resolutions Read more

Heyliger-Marten Reiterates Need For Soab Audit Documents On Telem

“Urgent letter of complaint sent by SMCU”

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — Concerns over several yet to be addressed issues at St. Maarten’s flagship telephone Company TELEM between staff and management, still have the attention of President of Parliament the Honorable Grisha Heyliger-Marten, who has sent a second request to Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs reminding her of the September 29, 2021 request for the SOAB Audit documents of TELEM.

Since the first wave of complaints reached Parliament, Member of Parliament for the United People’s Party MP Heyliger-Marten took notice of the employees’ concerns and insisted that Government provide information.

On Tuesday the Court of First Instance in St Read more

Mp Heyliger-Marten Calls Michel HymanS Dismissal Unceremonious And Unacceptable

PHILIPSBURG “It is unceremonious and unacceptable that Michel Hyman’s 28-years of service to the Airport and Country was erased in only three days without proper investigation,” stated an utterly displeased Member of Parliament, the Honorable Grisha Heyliger-Marten, in a press release issued Sunday.

She has dispatched a letter to Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs and Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (TEATT) Roger Lawrence requesting them to attend a Public Meeting of Parliament on March 28 at 2:00 PM at which point she expects answers for the questions that the people of St Read more

United St. Maarten Party Submits Proposed Amendment To Strengthen Child Sex Abuse Laws

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — On Friday, March 11th, 2022, the leader of the US Party Mrs. Pamela Gordon Carty accompanied by party President Mr. Cecil Nicholas presented proposed amendments to strengthen child sex abuse laws to Chair Lady of Parliament MP Grisha Heyliger-Marten.

St Read more

Grisha Concerned About Heavy-Handed Approach Of Recent Joint Immigration Controls

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — Chairlady of the Justice Committee in Parliament MP, the Honourable Grisha Heyliger-Marten, has sent nine questions to the Minister of TEATT, Justice and VSA asking for updates on the benefits of recent internationally publicized controls on local businesses.

On Tuesday evening, MP Heyliger-Marten also sent a press release to local media expressing severe concern over the “heavy-handed approach” the Ministries took during their recent controls to crack down on illegal activity on the island.

While she agrees that controls are necessary, she worries that the approach leaves many patrons of the establishments where Inspectors from the respective ministries and Uniformed Officers carried out the controls in a state of “shock and fright.”

“Having grown up in these circles, I have a broad and in-depth understanding of matters related to immigration on St Read more

Grisha Looks Back At Constructive Parlatino Meetings

~ Mutual cooperation and support between members needed to combat poverty ~

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — President of Parliament, the Honourable Grisha Heyliger-Marten, returned recently from her first Parlatino meeting with news of support from member states for Caribbean Dutch territories in their pursuit for full democratic rights.
She attended several presentations during which she networked and generated support for St Read more

Grisha Sets The Record Straight On Missing Dossier

~Hints at possible Parliamentary inquiry at PJIA~

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten President of Parliament, the Honourable Grisha Heyliger-Marten, says the revelation of the existence of a “potentially damning” dossier on PJIA may well shed light on shortcomings at the top levels of the Government-owned Company,
The document will be formally booked into Parliament early this week, and Parliamentary officials indicate that this time around, the PJIA dossier will follow the proper channels for accepting official documents.

If the alleged contents are factual, uncovering these truths can result in swift action to remove any impediments to the long-awaited rebuilding of the Airport.
“The contents of the PJIA dossier might provide even more reasons for an urgent Parliamentary inquiry in the interest of transparency and good governance Read more

Pfp Against Efforts To Silence Mps, Rush Through The 2022 National Budget

~ Faction proposes to extend debates into Parliament recess ~

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten With only one week left before Parliament goes on recess, Party for Progress (PFP) Members of Parliament (MPs) Melissa Gumbs and Raeyhon Peterson are spearheading a proposal for MPs to continue working well into the holiday season.

The late submission of the countrys 2022 budget is the reason for the proposal Read more

Grisha: Less Talk And More Action To Protect Women

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — Faction Leader for the United People’s Party in Parliament, the Honourable Grisha Heyliger-Marten, says by the first quarter of 2022, she will introduce and, where necessary, improve legislation to help eradicate violence against women.

She made the statement in a press release issued Wednesday to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women set by the United Nations as November 25th each year.

One of those goals is extending the amount of time given by law for victims of abuse to come forward and report the crime Read more