SXMElections.com

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

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Nagico Sponsors Police Brochures

St. Maarten – Nagico sponsored 10,000 brochures to the Community Police Officers of St. Maarten on Thursday morning, to assist with their crime prevention efforts.

CEO of Nagico Insurances Dwayne Elgin made the presentation to representatives of the police force; community police officers; inspectors Steven Carty and Arcella Leonard Read more

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Emil Lee: “Cuba Will Be An Interesting And Competitive Factor”

GREATBAY—St. Maarten’s tourism product, as well as that of the other Caribbean islands, may be negatively impacted by the new Cuban/American relationship, according to former director of the St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association and current president of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, Emil Lee.

The CHTA president noted that after being closed off to US residents for tourism and business for the last fifty years, Cuba will now be “a competitive and interesting” factor Read more

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The Road To The Gumbs I Cabinet: “Peddling Seats To The Highest Bidder”

St. Maarten / By Hilbert Haar – When Governor Drs. Eugene Holiday administers the oath of office to the five ministers of the Gumbs I cabinet this afternoon, it marks the end of a tedious process that started during the night after the parliamentary elections on August 29. How did we get where we are today? A review.

To avoid any misunderstandings, the governor also administers the oath to the minister plenipotentiary today – but that is not a ‘real’ minister – it is the representative of St Read more

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New Book To Be Launched On St. Maarten By Julio Romney

St. Maarten —A new book–St. Maarten: Our Constituent State Constitutional Framework– will be launched shortly by political analyst and science researcher Julio Romney.  Romney, who attended several schools in his early years on St. Maarten, went on to study in Canada where he pursued a double major in economics and political science at the University of Winnipeg.

The content of the publication includes the constitutional framework and elaborates on the Charter of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Constitution of St Read more

Chamber Of Commerce Elections

St. Maarten —Thirteen persons have been nominated for the three vacancies that exist on the board of the Chamber of Commerce and industry and votes will be cast today to decide the new board members. The election process will begin at 8:00am.

The nomination period ended Tuesday. “For the large business sector, five (5) persons postulated themselves, and for the small business sector, eight (8) persons postulated themselves. For the large business sector, there is one (1) vacancy, and for the small business sector, there are two (2) vacancies on its board of directors,” a press release from the chamber states.

The Election Committee consisted of Franklin Brison, Cleophas Richardson, Myrna Lynch, and Charles Benders Read more

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Housing Foundation Board Member Elston Fos Speaks: “Lake Knew What Is Going On”

St. Maarten – Four candidates for the three vacant positions on the supervisory board of the Sint Maarten Housing Development Foundation withdrew their candidacy this weekend “for fear of their lives,” attorney Jairo Bloem stated in a press release issued yesterday on behalf of the foundation.

It is the next step in an ugly situation that developed last week with a report that the managing director of the foundation, Henry Lynch had been suspended. Next thing anyone knew, someone attempted to shoot board member Elston Fos Read more

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Cornelius De-Weever Says: “Bring Back Our Professionals”

Great Bay—St. Maarten graduates and professionals in Holland must, according to Minister Cornelius de Weever, be encouraged and motivated to return to the island to use their expertise and knowledge in building their country.

The Social development and labor minister is urging local businesses to participate in Flinx Recruitment Expo Dutch Caribbean (FRED) June 4-June 7, 2015 in the Netherlands, Rotterdam.  “We need to bring our graduating and graduated students back to St Read more

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Editorial: Not Helpful (Vague Press Statement From Minister Lake)

Vromi-Minister Maurice Lake is apparently not aware of the finer details of the articles of incorporation that regulate the St. Maarten Housing Foundation. That leads to public statements that are at odds with reality – and nobody stands to benefit from that.

The foundation’s board should have five – not seven, as the minister claims in a press statement – members and as long as there is at least one member left, that board is legal.

Another point is of course that the board should take action without delay (meaning: immediately) once there are fewer than five board members Read more

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Minister Lake Misreads Articles Of Incorporation: Chaos At Housing Foundation

St. Maarten – The actions by a lone board member of the St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF) to request the government’s accountants bureau (Soab) to carry out a forensic investigation, and also into the purchase-to-pay process and remuneration process is premature, Vromi-Minister Maurice Lake states in a press release.

“I was not aware of this process Read more

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“The People Have Had Enough”: Priest Demands A Firm Discount On Utility Bills

St. Maarten – According to media reports, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has announced that oil prices have fallen to an all-time low of $58 a barrel. Governments and energy companies all over the world have passed on this savings to their consumers,” Lenny Priest, leader of the extra-parliamentary political party OSPP writes in a press release. “What will it take for our government and Gebe to provide relief to the people in the form of a 40 to 50 percent reduction in the fuel clause on our electricity bills? After all, our monthly electricity bill consists of energy consumption and the fuel clause Read more

Harbour Holding’S 2013 Financial Statements Show: Royal Rewards And Remarkable Loans

St. Maarten / By Hilbert Haar – Kingdom Relations Minister Ronald Plasterk wants to include the risks government-owned companies pose to St. Maarten in the assessment of the country’s budget by financial supervisor Cft. The Harbor group of Companies has always been reluctant to open its books for the government. This newspaper obtained a copy of the harbor’s 2013 financial statements and of the 2014 budget forecast.

The picture that emerges from this rich source of data is confusing and impressive at the same time Read more

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Minister Cornelius De Weever Resigns From The Democratic Party

St. Maarten —Minister Cornelius de Weever yesterday officially severed ties with the Democratic Party by officially informing the leader of that party and care taker Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams that he is resigning from the party.

Minister De Weever ran on the DP’s ticket in the August 2014 elections but secretly formed a coalition with the UP party shortly after the elections while the DP had publicly announced that it has signed an agreement and was forming a coalition with the US and NA Read more

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Premiers Of Former Netherlands Antilles Boycott Kingdom Day

WILLEMSTAD – The Prime Ministers of Curaçao, Aruba and St. Maarten are boycotting the celebration of Kingdom Day. They refuse to travel to Amsterdam to attend the traditional Kingdom Concert in the presence of King Willem Alexander.

According to a reliable source in The Hague the three prime ministers of the three islands are so angry at the Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte they have stated that they will not be present. This is especially painful because next Monday an anniversary celebration will be held Read more

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Council Of Ministers Meets With Nv Gebe   

St. Maarten—The government owned water company being managed by NV Gebe, will contribute NAf 5 million to the 2014 budget of the Government of St. Maarten as agreed by parties at a meeting yesterday of stakeholder representatives.

The Council of Ministers met with the representatives of N.V. GEBE yesterday to discuss the contributions of the Water Company to the Government of St Read more

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Opinion: Sensible Decision (Write-Off Tax Debts Pre 2006)

The Council of Ministers took a sensible decision by leaving a policy that takes all tax debts from 2006 and earlier years off the books in place.

Former Finance Minister Roland Tuitt published the policy in May 2013. It triggered a remarkable advice from the Social Economic Council (SER) that claimed that the policy left more than 4.5 billion guilders in taxes uncollected Read more

Nature Foundation Helps Remove Wrecks From Lagoon

GREAT BAY–The St. Maarten Nature Foundation took part in the wide-scale cleanup of the Simpson Bay Lagoon spearheaded by Vromi Minister Maurice Lake and his ministry, in collaboration with the St. Maarten Marine Trades Association. The logistics were jointly organized by the Nature Foundation and the SMMTA.

During the cleanup the Nature Foundation focused on the removal of wrecks and major garbage on the lagoon Read more

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Plans Little Bay Include Open Beach-Access

St. Maarten – Karis Development NV obtained a building permit for the construction of seven apartment buildings in Little Bay, between Little Bay Pond and the beach. The permit department at the Vromi-Ministry approved the permit on October 20. The building site became the center of a controversy earlier this week, after the landowner closed off public access to the beach. The gate has since then been reopened, but public concerns about free access to the beach persisted.

Vromi-Minister Maurice Lake showed the building plans yesterday to reporters Read more

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Cps Appeals To Garages And Tire Shops To Help Stop Mosquitoes

St. Maarten – The Collective Preventive Services (CPS), is appealing to garage owners and tire repair shops to take measures to remove mosquito breeding sites from their establishments and to maintain on a daily basis control measures to eliminate any standing water on their premises.

Accumulation of rainwater in tires provides breeding space for mosquitoes that carry the dengue/chikungunya-causing virus. According to the CPS, Minister of Public Health Cornelius de Weever, ‘Get Checked” campaign, is in line with the appeal for residents, and business owners, to check-in and around their homes, and businesses in order to reduce breeding sites of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, and make them mosquito-free zones.

“The design of tires makes them ideal breeding sites for several species of mosquitoes, some of which are very important vectors of disease.  Since they are easily filled by rain and collect leaf litter, they provide an ideal incubator for mosquito larvae Read more

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Rueben Thompson; “Enforcement Is The Problem”:  Beach Policy Exists Already For More Than Twenty Years

St. Maarten – The Executive Council of the Island Territory of St. Maarten established already twenty years ago a beach policy. In August 2014, acting Island Secretary Rafael Boasman and Lt. Governor Dennis Richardson signed off on this policy, which basically establishes that beaches have to be freely accessible for the public.

“The Executive Committee of the Island Territory of Sint Maarten hereby makes known that they have established a policy concerning the use of beaches,” the document, that contains a summary, states.

“The beaches must be useable for everyone, both local residents and tourists alike, for recreational purposes Read more

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Police Officers Graduate From Leadership Course

St. Maarten – Around twenty team leaders and acting team leaders of the police force received on Friday certificates for the leadership course they took last summer. David McGregor, the senior trainer at the UTS Training and Development Center (TDC), issued the certificates.

The officers learned the technicalities of leadership and the structure of communication skills, and how to manage and support their team members into making their working days as productive and challenging as possible.

TDC, the management team of KPSM and, from a distance, Angela Dekker of USONA, the organization that financed the management development training congratulated the graduates Read more

Lake Calls For Volunteers For Simpson Bay Lagoon Clean Up

St. Maarten—A clean up of the Simpson Bay Lagoon is scheduled to take place this Saturday December 6 and Vromi Minister Maurice Lake is calling on the marine community, organizations, businesses, volunteers and students to come out and support this clean-up.

 

Minister Lake’s initial appeal for a coastal clean-up of hurricane related debris in the lagoon due to the passing of Hurricane Gonzalo, was publicly stated early November and the St Read more

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“The Initiative Is Up To The Caribbean Islands” – Dutch Parliament Divided About Commonwealth

THE HAGUE – The Netherlands cannot force the Caribbean islands to change the Kingdom into a Commonwealth. In spite of this, the Second Chamber reflected yesterday on a plan (from the Socialist Party and the VVD) to do this, Jamila Baaziz reports on Caribisch Netwerk.

VVD and SP say that they are in particular after ‘clarity and a vision’ and that they want to kick-start the discussion with their initiative memorandum. But PvdA, Christian Union, CDA and D66 do not want to exclude any option Read more

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Lloyd Richardson Elected Chairman Of Parliament

St. Maarten – Parliament elected Dr. Lloyd Richardson of the faction of the United People’s party yesterday morning as the successor of Sarah Wescot-Williams as its chairman Read more

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