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Enviro conference draws small crowd

BELAIR--Despite the constant talk and emphasis on tackling the country's rapidly-growing garbage mountain, a half-day environmental conference, hosted by Island Vision Foundation, on "Waste Management: Sustainability, Markets, and Initiatives for Small Islands" was sparsely attended at Belair Community Centre on Friday afternoon.

Democratic Party leader Member of Parliament (MP) Sarah Wescot-Williams opened the conference Read more

Govt losing head tax on inter-island vessels

PHILIPSBURG--Government is losing an estimated US $600,000 annually from non-collection of the US $6 head tax from inter-island vessels. This figure was shared in Parliament on Tuesday, by United St. Maarten (US) Party Member of Parliament (MP) Frans Richardson. He gathered that figure from the industry.

Vessels operating especially ferry services to the neighbouring islands are getting away "scot-free" from making the payment of US $6 a person, because government does not have any collection mechanism in place to monitor and collect the fee.

This collection, in particular for Simpson Bay Lagoon where most of the traffic originates, should be carried out by Simpson Bay Lagoon Authority Corporation (SLAC), an entity of St Read more

Parliament establishes an ad hoc Integrity Committee

PHILIPSBURG--With integrity continuing to be the buzz word in St. Maarten, Parliament established its ad hoc committee on integrity Tuesday, but not without much discussion on the membership.

The establishment of the committee was recommended by Democratic Party (DP) leader Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams in a written proposal in January Read more

Slavery commemoration not in immediate danger

THE HAGUE--Funding for the annual commemoration of the Dutch slavery past in Amsterdam on July 1 is safe, at least for the next four years, said Minister of Education, Culture and Science Jet Bussemaker on Tuesday, denying media reports that the subsidy would end as per 2016.

Chairman of the National Institute for the Dutch Slavery Past and its Legacy NiNsee Franc Weerwind said in an article of the newspaper het Parool on Monday that the commemoration was on shaky grounds for 2016 and beyond because the Dutch Government planned to terminate the 50,000-euro annual subsidy after 2015.

Weerwind criticised the reported move by the Dutch Government Read more

Govt envisages lowering workers pay on sick days

PHILIPSBURG--Government is considering amending the current policy to lower compensation paid to workers on their sick days as a means of combating absenteeism.

In response to questions on this subject from Democratic Party (DP) Member of Parliament (MP) Sarah Wescot-Williams during the public plenary session of Parliament on the 2015 budget, Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs said the point of departure is that employees would get only a percentage of their salary paid to them when on sick leave.

"This can range from, for example, 90 per cent as of the second or third day of being sick, to for example 70 or 80 per cent after having been sick for a longer period," Gumbs said Read more

Parliament wants restart of Curaçao friars abuse probe

THE HAGUE--The Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament wants State Secretary of Safety and Justice Fred Teeven to persuade the Curaçao Government to reinitiate the investigation into the sexual and physical abuse of children by the Friars of Tilburg in Soto, Curaçao in the 1960s.

The move by the Second Chamber comes after various regional media in the Netherlands reported last Saturday that the investigating committee under the guidance of attorney-at-law and former Judge Ronald Koeijers wasn't active and in fact only existed on paper.

According to the regional newspapers, which published the story of the press agency de Persdienst, the committee has not followed-up on reports filed by several persons who said they were abused by a handful of friars at San Fernando, a boarding school in Soto for young orphans and children from broken families.

The newspapers, among others Brabants Dagblad and de Gelderlander, told the story of "Johnny," a 62-year-old Curaçao man whose real name was not disclosed Read more

Nigerian opposition candidate urges calm after election postponement

ABUJA--Nigerian opposition presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari called for calm in the country and cautioned against any violence following the election postponement, which he said was engineered by the ruling People's Democratic Party.
  Foreign powers are closely following events in Africa's biggest economy and have voiced concerns there could be a repetition of violence that followed 2011 elections when 800 people died and that a delay would stoke unrest in opposition strongholds.
  The poll will pit incumbent Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP against former military ruler Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in what is likely to be the most hotly contested election since the end of military rule in 1999 Read more

MPs to hear from Connor about harbour issues Tues

PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies and its operations will take centre stage at a Central Committee meeting of Parliament with Tourism and Economic Affairs Minister Claret Connor and Finance Minister Martin Hassink on Tuesday, February 10. The meeting, requested by the National Alliance (NA) and Democratic Party (DP) on February 10, starts at Parliament at 2:00pm in Parliament House.

The agenda for the meeting covers issues related to the harbour group, the past and future impacts of the company on the country, cruise passenger head tax, Dock Marteen (Deher) marina project; causeway Turn over Tax payment, cranes, dividend and payment for the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association Conference (FCCA).

Members of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams (DP), Silveria Jacobs and George Pantophlet (NA) requested answers to be provided orally in the meeting by the ministers on the "outcome between the harbour and Bobby's Marina" and if government had given the harbour the exclusive right of development for the area that the company claims in its case against the Deher's development.

Also, the MPs want to know when Parliament will receive the harbour's 2013 financial report, whether government promised to contribute to the FCCA conference and what did government actually contribute Read more

Housing board snubs Parliament

PHILIPSBURG--The Supervisory Board of St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF) "declined" an invitation to meet with Members of Parliament (MPs) today, Monday, about recent developments at the foundation, says Democratic Party (DP) leader MP Sarah Wescot-Williams.

The invitation for the closed-door session was extended based on discussions in a closed- door session last week with foundation's management team members, who are on suspension due to alleged irregularities Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- As stakeholders, government included, desperately seek ways to mitigate the effects of the Caravanserai timeshare debacle, all eyes are on some type of protection for the consumers, those who bought timeshare from developers and property owners.
Clearly what we have now in terms of legislation does not sufficiently offer this protection, otherwise we would not be in the situation we are in today.
This latest fiasco from the timeshare buyers' perspective, continues to gnaw away at the image we desperately try to maintain and build on as a country Read more

Central Committee Meeting requested by DP and NA Factions about Port St. Maarten.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The Central Committee of Parliament will meet in public session on February 10 at the request of the Democratic Party (DP) and National Alliance (NA) factions.
The Minister of Finance Hon. Martin Hassink and Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications Hon Read more

Central Committee Meeting Requested By Dp And Na Factions About Port St. Maarten

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – The Central Committee of Parliament will meet in public session on February 10 at the request of the Democratic Party (DP) and National Alliance (NA) factions.

The Minister of Finance Hon. Martin Hassink and Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications Hon Read more

DP, CPA, OSPP still to submit donation list

~ Candidates urged to submit info by Feb. 13 ~

PHILIPSBURG--The Democratic Party (DP), Concordia Political Alliance (CPA) and One St. Maarten People Party (OSPP) have not yet submitted their donation registers for the August 29, 2014 Parliament Election to the Electoral Council Read more

D66, PvdA opposed on St Maarten intervention

THE HAGUE--The Dutch Labour Party PvdA and the democratic party D66 have contradicting views when it comes to the proposed intervention by the Kingdom Council of Ministers to tackle integrity violations in St. Maarten.

The PvdA is of the opinion that intervention by the Kingdom Government in the case of St. Maarten is merited because the country has offered insufficient redress to effectively deal with integrity violations in government.

PvdA Member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament Roelof van Laar made this clear during a public debate in The Hague on Thursday evening, organised by the Committee Kingdom Relations and the Kingdom Youth Parliament.

Member of the Second Chamber Wassila Hachchi of D66 condemned the extreme measure of the Kingdom Council of Ministers to start the procedure to impose a General Measure of the Kingdom Government ("Algemene Maatregel van Rijksbestuur AMvRB") to establish an Integrity Chamber for St Read more

Mp Sarah Wescot-Williams: “This Is A Slap In The Face Of St.Maarten”

St. Maarten – “Nothing Sint Maarten has done with respect to tackling integrity issues has made any difference for Minister Plasterk and his colleagues in the Dutch cabinet,” Democratic Party MP Sarah Wescot-Williams states in a press release, adding that an article-51 measure amounts to imposing higher supervision.

Wescot-Williams notes that Kingdom Relations Minister Plasterk “has been fencing with the measure for a long time” thereby “making it appear as if St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Mr. Emil Lee, who ran number 4 on the DP list in the August 2014 election, has been appointed by the Democratic Party as Parliamentary faction advisor for socio-economic matters in general and tourism in particular.

During the campaign, Emil was a strong advocate for open government and integrity Read more

Sarah: Integrity efforts made no difference to Dutch plan

PHILIPSBURG--Describing the Dutch government's actions to impose Article 51 to tackle integrity issues in St. Maarten as a slap in the face of St. Maarten's government and a slap in the face of St. Maarten, Democratic Party Member of Parliament (MP) Sarah Wescot Williams said sidelining elected representatives of the people of St Read more

Record number of parties contest election in Statia

ST. EUSTATIUS--A record number of six parties will be contesting the March 18 Island Council election in St. Eustatius. All parties presented their lists of candidates at the Civil Registry on Monday, among them newcomers Statia Liberal Action Movement (SLAM) and a nameless party headed by former Commissioner of Finance Glenville Schmidt.

All candidates' lists were presented to Merlene Hudson-Elliott, who also verified the credentials.

SLAM is a new name on the ballot. This party will contest the election with current independent Island Council member Millicent Lijfrock-Marsdin at its head Read more

Mp Marlin-Romeo: “Cut Salaries Of Mps And Ministers By 5 Percent”

St. Maarten – Independent Member of Parliament Leona Marlin-Romeo made a good impression in her first address during Tuesday’s budget-debate. To the point and sticking to budget-related issues, the rookie MP fired a torrent of succulent remarks, mostly geared towards areas where she considers budget cuts still possible – and she did not need one-and-a-half hour to get her points across Read more

Parliament adopts ‘skeleton budget’

PHILIPSBURG--Parliament passed the 2015 budget with an 11-4 vote on Thursday night with just two days to spare before the deadline set by the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT.

The budget had to be established in December 2014. Government asked CFT for more time and was given the deadline of January 31.

Voting for the budget were the 10 Members of Parliament supporting the coalition and former coalition member MP Sarah Wescot-Williams (Democratic Party (DP)) Read more

Gov’t instructed to raise fee on money transfers

PHILIPSBURG--Increase or create an international transfer fee to be levied on money transfer services such as MoneyGram and Western Union was an instruction from Parliament to Finance Minister Martin Hassink. The motion was adopted by Members of Parliament (MPs) in the Plenary Session of Parliament dealing with the 2015 budget on Thursday evening.

Thirteen MPs voted for the motion.

MP Sarah Wescot-Williams (Democratic Party) voted against the motion, saying she could not support the piecemeal approach to changing the tax system Read more

SMTA calls for summit, decisive action on Timeshare Ordinance

SIMPSON BAY--"The time for decisive action is now," says St. Maarten Timeshare Association (SMTA) chairman Marcel Javois in relation to the Advisory Council's remarks on the Timeshare Ordinance brought to SMTA's attention recently. The SMTA is calling for a summit on the matter to discuss the best way forward.

"The SMTA has taken keen note of the recent comments and statements surrounding the Timeshare Ordinance. We believe that it is now time for urgent action, with this matter having been on the table for over 18 years," Javois was quoted as saying in an SMTA press statement released January 28.

SMTA said it had "just learned that the Advisory Council is unhappy with the Timeshare Ordinance Civil Code amendments and the Timeshare Authority Ordinance that will assist government and consumers in regulating the timeshare industry being drafted in the English language.

"At the time the laws were drafted for Member of Parliament [MP – Ed.] Leroy de Weever, the initiator of the laws, then-Minister of Justice Roland Duncan, and the supervising expert of the legislation, Judge Professor Jan de Boer, believed that there was ample justification for the laws to be drafted in English as it is one of our two official languages.

"In April of last year, the SMTA met with Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson, who said that many timeshare concepts were so English-specific and given that Holland has only one small timeshare property, that English should be used, but the law should be as a separate national law rather than part of the Civil Code, which needs to be as uniform as possible throughout the Kingdom.

"We understand that the Advisory Council is also not satisfied with using that as a solution.

"Given the late hour and the urgency of the issue as a national priority now that two large timeshare properties are having serious trouble and government has no tools to help, the SMTA hereby calls for an immediate summit to be convened."

SMTA called for the summit to include players that might have input, including current parliamentary initiator of the law Democratic Party (DP) through its leader MP Sarah Wescot-Williams, Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Claret Connor, Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson, the Advisory Council, the Ombudsman, Department of Legal Affairs and the SMTA, "in order to make a plan to get this legislation corrected and, if necessary, translated accurately to Dutch, and passed in the shortest time possible."

As reported in Tuesday's edition of The Daily Herald, the hold-up in the processing of the draft initiative laws to regulate the timeshare sector has come down to a matter of language Read more

Leona: Stop first class travel for MPs and ministers, cut salaries

PHILIPSBURG--A five per cent salary cut and an end to all first class air travel for Members of Parliament (MPs) and ministers were proposed to Parliament by independent MP Leona Marlin-Romeo during the Plenary Session of Parliament dealing with the draft 2015 budget on Tuesday.

Marlin-Romeo, a member of the governing coalition, said if civil servants could do without the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) this year, MPs and ministers should be prepared to take a salary cut.

She intends to formalise her proposals in a motion slated for tabling today, Wednesday, when the plenary session continues in Parliament House at 2:00pm.

Then Democratic Party MP Roy Marlin lobbied for a similar salary cut just over a year ago, but it was withdrawn after he failed to persuade any of his coalition partners to sign on Read more

Advisory Council wants timeshare law in Dutch

PHILIPSBURG--The hold up in the processing of the draft initiative laws to regulate the timeshare sector has come down to a matter of language. The two draft laws are written in English, one of the official languages of the country, but the Advisory Council has requested the law to be re-submitted by the Democratic Party (DP), the initiator, in Dutch.

All of the country's laws are in Dutch and the judicial system, which executes the laws, is almost entirely in Dutch.

DP Leader Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams said at a press conference held in Parliament House on Monday, she intends to take up the law with Tourism and Economic Affairs Minister Claret Connor, when they meet on February 5 Read more