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Court Upholds Teatt Order To Close Down District 721

PHILIPSBURG--The Court of First Instance has upheld a recent decision by Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Grisha Heyliger-Marten that closed down District 721, at least until the nightclub on Welfare Road gets a new operational licence. Read more

World Tourism Day Awards 2024 In St. Maarten

GREAT BAY, St. Maarten — Honor to Whom Honor is Due:For World Tourism Day 2024, eight individuals who have significantly contributed to the development of tourism on the island were honored by Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport, and Telecommunication Grisha Heyliger-Marten, along with the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau Read more

Grisha Meets With Cma-Cgm Over Transshipment Issues

GREAT BAY, St. Maarten After reports that CMA CGM, a leading ocean freight company, decided to re-route its transshipment operations from Pointe Blanche to Guadeloupe, Minister Grisha Heyliger-Marten took action.

During her official trip to a yachting conference in Monaco, the St. Maarten government minister met with Jean-Baptiste Lumineau, Director of Finance and Infrastructure, at the companys headquarters in France Read more

Min Heyliger-Marten Unannounced Visit To Small Businesswomen Avillion

GREAT BAY, St. Maarten Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication, Grisha Heyliger-Marten (3rd R), last week paid an unannounced visit to the small businesswomen housed temporarily at the Pavillion at the old Government Administration Building area while work on the Soualiga Market gets off the ground on Backstreet Read more

Mp Ottley Urges Minister To Move Vendors To Clem Labega Parking Lot

The tent in the distance is the temporary home of the Philipsburg Marketplace vendors.

PHILIPSBURG--United Peoples Party (UP) Member of Parliament (MP) Omar Ottley is urging Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (TEATT) Read more

Grisha Weighs In On Viral Taxi Driver Video, Invites Visitors Back To The Island

GREAT BAY, St. Maarten The video of an incident involving a taxi driver (Taxi 53) and some visitors, which went viral on several media platforms on Monday, September 2, 2024 was immediately brought to my attention, said Grisha Heyliger-Marten, Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT).

I instructed the relevant departments of my Ministry to investigate the matter thoroughly Read more

Port Set To Achieve Major Milestones In Home-Porting And Cargo Operations

PHILIPSBURG--Port St. Maarten is fully committed to becoming a greener port, aligning with the maritime industry's goals for zero emissions by 2030 and net-zero by 2050, Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Grisha Heyliger-Marten revealed to Parliament on Thursday.

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Taxi Driver In Viral Video Suspended For 30 Days, Visitor Invited Back To Island

TEATT Minister Grisha Heyliger-Marten

PHILIPSBURG--The video of an incident involving the driver of taxi 53 and some visitors, which went viral on several media platforms on Monday, September 2, was immediately brought to the attention of Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Read more

Operation Starts To Relocate Beached Vessel Island Scout

VROMI Minister Patrice Gumbs and TEATT Minister Grisha Heyliger-Marten overseeing the relocation of the vessel on Wednesday.

PHILIPSBURG--Authorities on Wednesday began the major operation to relocate beached vessel Island Scout from the waters near the site of the former Great Bay Beach Hotel, where it got stuck during the passing of tropical storm Ernesto.

The vessel is being moved to Port St Maarten and eventually out of St Maartens waters.

Government had issued a Ministerial Decree on Thursday last in which a 48-hour notice was issued to the owner of Island Scout Read more

Port St. Maarten Forecasts Over 1.5 Million Cruise Tourists In 2025

Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Grisha Heyliger-Marten (right) with Michele Paige, CEO of Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association.

 PHILIPSBURG--Port St. Maarten Group (PSG) anticipates a significant increase in cruise tourism, projecting that over 1.5 million cruise passengers will visit the island in 2025 Read more

Election Poll Estimates Pfp, Dp, Na To Retain A Majority Of Their Voters

Eugene Hoogstad

PHILIPSBURG--Some 83 per cent of those who voted for Party for Progress (PFP) in January said they will vote for the party again in the upcoming snap election, the highest percentage in the recent poll by independent researcher and consultant Eugene Hoogstad.

The Democratic Party (DP) is the second highest in the polls results at 71%, while National Alliance (NA) came in third at 68%.

Unified Resilient St Read more

Grisha: Businesses Near Pjia That Fail To Remove Billboards Before Storms Will Be Liable For Damage

PHILIPSBURG--Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Grisha Heyliger-Marten issued a firm caution on Wednesday to businesses that have wooden billboards near Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) and fail to remove them before a storm.

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Groundbreaking For New Marketplace Next Week, Says Grisha

GREAT BAY, St. Maarten Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication, Grisha Heyliger-Marten, has announced that the groundbreaking for the new Marketplace will now be held here next week.

The ceremony was postponed due to the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto on Tuesday.

The storm, which packed winds of about 60 mph, destroyed the tarpaulin covered stalls the vendors were using while waiting to be moved to a pavillion that was being erected at the location of the old Government Administration Building.

My heart really goes out to all the vendors affected by Tropical Storm Ernesto Read more

All Businesses Told To Close, Essential Services Can Open

PHILIPSBURG--In an effort to ensure the safety of the public and employees of businesses during the passing of Tropical Storm Ernesto, Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (TEATT) Grisha Heyliger-Marten decided that all businesses, with the exception of essential services, had to close by 11:00pm Monday night to minimise movement on the public road.

Essential services that can remain open are emergency services; gas stations that service vehicles needed for essential services; pharmacies (concerning the sale of medicines/medical products); hotels and guesthouses, including stores and restaurants located in them; funeral parlours; the airport and the harbour, including the stores located in them.

Public transportation was allowed to operate until 1:00am Tuesday, August 13.

In a national address on Monday evening, Prime Minister Dr Luc Mercelina said the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) had met at midday Monday to assess the current situation and to review national preparations.

Schools are to remain closed on Tuesday Read more

Grisha Grants Ezair Route Authorisation

PHILIPSBURG--The apparent stand-off between St. Maarten and Curaao over route authorisation for EZAir B.V. seems to have come to an amicable solution.

Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Grisha Heyliger-Marten has granted the Curaao airline, EZAir BV route authorisation to fly to St Read more

Both Halves Of The Island To Establish Mou On Agriculture, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry

GREAT BAY, St. Maarten The administrations of both halves of the island are committed to establishing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Agriculture, Fisheries, and Animal Husbandry that will facilitate synchronization of policies, and enhance relationships while facilitating partnerships.

This was agreed upon when Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT), Grisha Heyliger-Marten met last week with Vice President of the Collectivity of St Read more

Heyliger-Marten Wants Nv Gebe To Introduce Special Tariff For Seniors

TEATT Minister Grisha Heyliger-Marten

 PHILIPSBURG--Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Grisha Heyliger-Marten wa Read more

Grisha Wants Gebe To Introduce Special Tariff For All Seniors

GREAT BAY, St. Maarten Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication, Grisha Heyliger-Marten, wants GEBE to establish a special discounted electricity tariff for the islands senior citizens aged 60 and above.

Dubbed Tariff 60, the Minister has asked the utility company to review the current system in which some seniors benefit from reduced rates while others do not Read more

Grisha Holds Talks With Edf On Net Metering

Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication, Grisha Heyliger-Marten (centre) accompanied by Pierre-Yves Gillot, Chef de Service des Iles du Nord (second left) and Otmar Read more

Grisha Holds Talks With Edf On Net Metering

GREAT BAY, St. Maarten Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication, Grisha Heyliger-Marten, recently held exploratory talks with lectricit de France (EDF), the utility company that provides electricity to the northern half of the island.

The discussions centered around net metering, the structure of EDF, current production demand/capacity for the North, interconnection standards, and the impact on feeding solar energy into the grid.

Other topics discussed included net metering rates and compensation structure for excess energy generation, inspection for system compliance, and the permit issuance process, said the minister.

EDF has implemented net metering in territories such as Guadeloupe and Martinique Read more

Spirit Airlines To Explore Code-Sharing Opportunities, Enhance Connections

TEATT Minister Grisha Heyliger-Marten with Spirit Airlines Senior Director of Network Planning Mathew Glover.

~ Water supply, Customs process concerns ~

PHILIPSBURG--Spirits were high when Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (TEATT) Read more

Grisha, Real Estate Brokers Discuss Regulating Sector

GREAT BAY, St. Maarten With so many real estate agents operating in St. Maarten, there is need to regulate this sector of the economy, and Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication, Grisha Heyliger-Marten drove this point home when she met recently with a group of real estate brokers.

It was agreed that a Real Estate Policy would be put in place to regulate the Real Estate Industry based on the following criteria: all eligible real estate companies must have aphysical officein St Read more

Grisha Advocates Return To Previous System Of GovernmentTo Reduce Political Instability

GREAT BAY, St. Maarten Electoral reform should not only address the topic of integrity and so-called ship-jumping; it should first and foremost focus on what appears to be the main cause of political instability on all islands of the former Netherlands Antilles since 10-10-10. This is the opinion expressed recently by Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication, Grisha Heyliger-Marten.

According to the minister, the main cause of political instability is the switch to a dualistic system of Government.

Before 10-10-10, with one or two exceptions, (coalition) Governments on the islands of the former Netherlands Antilles always lasted a full term of four years Read more

Taxi Associations Present Proposal For Tariff Change To Teatt Minister

From left: Andrew Royer of the Dutch Taxi Association, TEATT Minister Grisha Heyliger-Marten, Maya Friday of the Dutch St. Maarten Taxi Association and Glen Emers of Down Town Taxi Association.

~ Want ride sharing initiative permanently abolished ~

PHILIPSBURG--Five taxi associations operating on Dutch St. Maarten have proposed a change to the existing tariffs, according to them, due to the increased cost of living and inflation.

In a letter to Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Grisha Heyliger-Marten, the associations said the proposed amendments to the current tariffs are also to synchronise tariffs with the French-side Taxi Association which is presently in negotiations to increase their tariffs.

We met last week to discuss, among other things, their proposal to change the current tariffs for different districts, Heyliger-Marten said in a press release Read more