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>PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot Williams told reporters on Monday afternoon at a press conference that she is of the opinion that the deal with Rainforest Adventure to develop the Emilio Wilson Park is a done deal. "I believe this government has placed their stamp of approval on the project. This is my opinion because there is a lot not said when questions are being posed to Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs regarding this project, however, the people of St Read more

It’s time to pay back, in politics there is nothing call a free lunch.

style="text-align: center;">Two faced or screw faced politicians. Do what you want now and the people will forget after seven days. Now we know why so many people say that all the politicians are alike. Horse trading started after the election in 2010 but has continued even more after 2014 election. There are ship jumpers, church jumpers and now we have party jumpers seeking betterment for themselves. We must establish a Credibility Chamber for most of our politicians to regain some type of credibility before the next election Read more

It's Time To Pay Back, In Politics There Is Nothing Call A Free Lunch

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – It has been rumored for some time that the US party was planning to support the UP led coalition but I had to read it to actually believe it.

Now we can understand why during the election so many voters stick their hands out and say give me something for my vote now. Because after the election the horse trading will continue and all the elected officials are thinking about what and how much they can get for their seat.

It is never about improving the quality of life of the people Read more

Independent Mp Cornelius De Weever Defends Counterpart Policy

St. Maarten —Criticism leveled at the Governments Counterpart policy has resulted in Independent Member of Parliament Cornelius de Weever coming to the defense and making it clear that “the counterpart legislation 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 Read more

Lynch’s attorney requests injunction against Bloem

PHILIPSBURG--According to a leaked legal document, St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF) Director Henry Lynch's Attorney Cindy Marica, in defence of her client, has requested an injunction on January 16 against SMHDF, St. Maarten Housing Finance Foundation (SMHFF) and attorney Jairo Bloem for undue/unjustified suspension, and unrightfully taking a bag and other personal possessions.

In the injunction request to the Court of First Instance, Bloem was also blasted for writing an explanatory press release on the case which Marica called "incorrect" and "unjust." The case has caused "enormous damage" to his reputation, she argued.

The request calls for a public apology and correction, and suggested a penalty of some US $1,000 daily in the case of non-compliance 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

Demand For Report About Bureau Telecommunication And Post: Btp-Statement Exasperates Mp Sarah Wescot-Williams

St. Maarten – Democratic Party MP Sarah Wescot-Williams has reacted rather exasperated at the press release the Bureau Telecommunication and Post (BTP) sent to the media just before the weekend. In the release, the BTP-board denies fraud-allegations and claims that the responsible minister (the now departed Ted Richardson) has failed to provide integrity-researchers with the appropriate information, even though this information is available.

“Events in rapid succession are demanding Parliament’s attention,” Wescot-Williams writes in a press release, “and government is called to respond with equal urgency.”

The DP-MP notes that the BTP has been created by law to execute a public task and that it is considered an independent organization 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

Sarah: Gumbs twisted truth about screening

PHILIPSBURG--"I had nothing to do with the actual screening of the Gumbs Cabinet ministers, and the Prime Minister knows this full well," stated Democratic Party (DP) Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams in a statement Tuesday.

"After all, he was not only informateur, he himself was candidate minister Read more

Dp-Leader Criticizes Heyliger’S Statements On Concession Fees

St. Maarten – Democratic Party MP  Sarah Wescot-Williams questions that United People’s party leader Theo Heyliger has no knowledge of the draft 2015 budget that has been sent to the governor and is from thereon on its way to parliament Read more

Dp Wants Answers About Housing Foundation

St. Maarten – Democratic Party MP Sarah Wescot-Williams has repeated her questions about the Sint Maarten Housing Foundation, wondering when Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs will find the time to answer them 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

Middle class decline looms over final years of Obama presidency

DALTON, Georgia--Barack Obama enters the final two years of his presidency with a blemish on his legacy that looks impossible to erase: the decline of the middle class he has promised to rescue.
  The revival of middle-class jobs has been one of Obama's mantras since he took office in 2009 fighting the worst economic crisis in generations. It was a major theme of his last State of the Union address and is expected to feature in the one scheduled for Tuesday.
  Administration officials said on Saturday the president would propose higher capital gains taxes, new fees on large financial firms, and other measures to raise $320 billion for programs and tax breaks aimed at the middle class.
  Obama's administration can take credit for stabilizing the U.S Read more

Japan opposition Democrats turn to familiar face to try to turn fortunes

TOKYO--Japan's opposition Democratic Party elected former foreign minister Katsuya Okada as its leader on Sunday, turning to a familiar face to try to persuade voters it can again become a viable alternative to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling party.

Okada, 61, must try to repair the Democratic Party of Japan's (DPJ) battered image two years after Abe led his conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to power pledging to revive the economy and strengthen defence policies.

"I want to make the DPJ a party that the people believe can take responsibility for a change in government, and fight fairly and firmly with Abe's LDP," Okada told a party convention after his election to the post he held a decade ago.

A mix of former LDP members, ex-socialists and centrists, the DPJ surged to power in 2009 on a promise to focus on consumers rather than big firms and other vested interests Read more

Sarah: Hassink has ‘no choice’

~But to release BTP report~

PHILIPSBURG--The recent call by Bureau Telecommunication and Post (BTP) to government to make publicly available the Government Accountants Bureau SOAB report, appraisal reports and advice on the bureau to put an end to fraud allegations has left Finance Minister Martin Hassink "no choice" but to explain to Parliament the hierarchical structure of BTP, said Democratic Party (DP) Leader Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams in a statement Sunday.

"I eagerly await the Finance Minister's reaction to this sudden outburst by BTP," Wescot-Williams said.

BTP said in a press statement on Friday that neither its present supervisory board nor management "ever took a decision to purchase a building Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Parliament has been asked in an indirect way to give the Government of St. Maarten some time to get its feet wet, but events in rapid succession are demanding Parliament's attention, and government is called to respond with equal urgency.
How else can one explain the sudden outburst by the Bureau Telecommunication and Post (BTP) in the press of Saturday, January 17th?
To understand the anomaly of this and put this matter in perspective, we need to understand the organization of the institution BTP.
This institution is created by law to execute a public task Read more

Sarah still awaits answers about housing foundation

PHILIPSBURG--It has been a month and Democratic Party (DP) Member of Parliament (MP) Sarah Wescot-Williams is still waiting on answers from government, in particular Public Housing Minister Marcel Gumbs, to her questions about whether St Read more

DP to continue with draft timeshare laws

PHILIPSBURG--Democratic Party (DP) will "pick up" the two draft initiative laws on the establishment of a timeshare authority and the regulation of the sector submitted to Parliament in its first sitting by former DP Member of Parliament Leroy de Weever.

DP leader MP Sarah Wescot-Williams informed Parliament Chairman Dr Read more

Sarah questions Dutch Secret Service role in cabinet screening

PHILIPSBURG--The exact role the Dutch Secret Service played in the screening of minister candidates for the Gumbs Cabinet is questioned by Democratic Party (DP) Leader Member of Parliament (MP) Sarah Wescot-Williams in a letter sent this week to Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs.

She seeks answers to the Dutch Secret Service's role in the screening, whether theirs was a one-time involvement, or will this continue for subsequent cabinets and how the service's role is "formalized nationally."

Her request to the prime minister for answers "has nothing to do" with the persons who were subjected to the screening process, but are directed to "the process" used to screen them.

Dutch Minister for Interior Affairs and Kingdom Relations Roland Plasterk was quoted by the media as saying that ministers sworn-in on December 19, 2014, were "subjected with the assistance of employees of the Dutch secret service to an extra-severe screening."

Wescot-Williams framed her questions to the prime minister based on Plasterk's statement and St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Leader of the Democratic Party and Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot Williams has sent a letter to Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs asking for an explanation on the screening of Ministers that were installed on December 19th, 2014 Read more

Dp Faction To Give Attention To Draft Timeshare Ordinances

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Leader of the Democratic Party MP Sarah Wescot-Williams Wednesday confirmed that on Wednesday she informed the chairman of Parliament of her faction's intention to pick up the draft timeshare initiative laws and continue with the process.

According to MP Wescot-Williams, as is the case with initiative laws, the initiators are responsible for the process.

It is also customary that a faction can continue the process, started by one or more of its members, no longer in Parliament, as is the case with these drafts.

I also informed Minister Conner of my intentions and suggested that we meet to plan the way forward with these drafts.

I did so to avoid any overlapping and or doubling of efforts Read more

Mp Wescot-Williams Seeks Information Of Closure Of Screening Process For Ministers

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The leader of the Democratic Party, MP the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams Wednesday expressed concern with what she believes is the none transparent manner in which the screening process conducted by the Governor of St Read more