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St. Maarten At Funding Mission And Energy Summit Cooperation With French St. Martin Seen As Way Forward

Great Bay, St. Maarten – Cooperation with the French side of St. Maarten is a key component for St. Maarten, in its ongoing rebuilding and development efforts. This is a prevalent sentiment of St. Maarten following its recent attendance of high level meetings held in Brussels.

At the invitation of the Association of the Overseas Countries and Territories of the European Union (OCTA), St. Maarten attended the 3rd Ministerial Energy Summit in Brussels, on December 6th and 7th. Utilizing the opportunity presented by this invitation, St Read more

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Cooperation with French St. Martin seen as way forward

GREAT BAY:--- Cooperation with the French side of St. Maarten is a key component for St. Maarten, in its ongoing rebuilding and development efforts. This is a prevalent sentiment of St. Maarten following its recent attendance of high-level meetings held in Brussels.

At the invitation of the Association of the Overseas Countries and Territories of the European Union (OCTA), St. Maarten attended the 3rd Ministerial Energy Summit in Brussels, on December 6th and 7th Read more

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Successful #Sxmstrong Art Auction Raises  15,000 Guilders Plus For Primary Schools

PHILIPSBURG –  The Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, held an Art Auction on Saturday evening, the 9th of December 2017 at the Conference Room of the New Government Building in Philipsburg.

This project stemmed from the #SXMStrong Campaign which was held in the month of November and was facilitated by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, together with General Affairs and Bearing Point. The initiative was taken to assist the schools after the devastation of Hurricane Irma and all proceeds from the bidding is given directly to the school that created the art work.

Invited guests and exuberant bidders in attendance included 1st Vice-President of the Collectivité Valerie Damaseau, Territorial Council Member Alex Pierre, Chief Advisor to The President Hervé Dorville, the Ombudsman Nilda Arduin, Members of Parliament Claret Conner and Tamara Leonard, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Anastacio Baker, school board representatives, school managers, teachers and students.

Some 12 4×4 foot wooden boards used as easels by primary and afternoon schools featuring creativity and the emotions of the young artists were auctioned Saturday evening in the conference room at the Government Administration Building as part of the Road to St Read more

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Response To Usp

The Democratic Party has been one of the longest serving parties in the history of St. Maarten.  We have had our ups and downs, but we have been there for the people of St. Maarten, now more than ever before. Our main goal was and continues to be, “how can we make our island a better place for the people of St. Maarten”.

To hear a political party, who welcomed the leader of the Democratic Party as the chairlady in one breathe and denounce her in the next, say some of the most unprofessional things is a shame to say the least.  This berating article from the USP board comes as no surprise, because the same lowdown type of message was previously shared in the NA/USP/DP coalition WhatsApp chat.

Yes, the “testicular fortitude” message from the hand of a TEATT cabinet staffer, singling out 2 leaders of the coalition and calling the other (female) leader “spineless” Read more

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The Democratic Party has been one of the longest-serving parties in the history of St. Maarten. We have had our ups and downs, but we have been there for the people of St. Maarten, now more than ever before. Our main goal was and continues to be, "how can we make our island a better place for the people of St. Maarten".
To hear a political party, who welcomed the leader of the Democratic Party as the chairlady in one breathe and denounce her in the next, say some of the most unprofessional things is a shame to say the least Read more

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All is well, that ends well, one could quickly say, following the news that the government of St. Maarten finally signed the agreement with the Netherlands on the border control. However, we are not at the end of this “stand-off”, that started with Prime Minister Marlin’s blunt refusal to even discuss the preconditions set by the Dutch government to the release of reconstruction funds. A lot of valuable time has been lost.
And the government continues to spend money it does not have Read more

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Fellow St. Martiners,

This St. Martin Day is like no other that we have celebrated since this holiday was established jointly by two St. Martin patriots in 1959, the late Dr. Hubert Petit and Dr. Claude Wathey. Their intention, as I understand it, was to bring all the people of the island together, from Great Bay to Marigot, from Middle Region to Hameau du Pont, from French Quarter to Dutch Quarter, and from Simpson Bay to Galisbay, St. Martin people from all four corners of the island, to join hands and hearts together to celebrate our St Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- Recent accusations that Minister Lee is delaying the payments to truckers, heavy equipment operators and workers that are cleaning up the island after hurricane Irma, is simply not correct. The accusations are a shameful attempt to look for a scapegoat that allows them to diffuse blame as well as serving a political objective of tarnishing the reputation of Minister Lee. “I have absolutely no problem paying companies or workers that have participated in cleaning up the island Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- The board of the United St. Maarten (US) party said it is very disappointed in MP Chanel Brownbill for the decision he took despite having stood by him through everything and involved him in even more. Brownbill ran on the slate of the US party in the last Parliamentary Elections.
The board explained that all effort was made to surround MP Brownbill, a new MP, with the assistance and guidance he needs to be successful in Parliament Read more

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~ Members of Parliament should begin telling the truth ~

PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of VROMI Christopher Emmanuel lashed back at Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot Williams on Wednesday during the weekly Council of Ministers press briefing Read more

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MARIGOT:--- President Daniel Gibbs announced since taking office in April 2017 that the wreck of the boat El Maud in Galisbay would soon disappear. Scheduled well before Hurricane IRMA, this public contract was awarded last July to the Dutch company Koole BV for € 395,000. Work began in mid-October and is now complete.
The ship El Maud ran aground 100 meters from the shore, about 4.5 meters deep, during the passage of Hurricane Lenny, in November 1999 Read more

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Curacao's Economy Shrinks In The First Quarter Of 2017.

WILLEMSTAD, Curacao:--- The Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten reports that the economy of Curacao during the first quarter of 2017 with an estimated 0.9% has shrunk compared to the first quarter of 2016. The economic downturn in the first quarter of 2017 was accompanied by higher inflationary pressures, mainly as due to an increase in gasoline and electricity prices. Inflation increased 0.0% in the first quarter of 2016 to 1.7% in the first quarter of 2017.

The analysis by sector in the Bank's first quarterly report of 2017 shows that the shrinkage of real Curaçao's GDP was mainly due to a decline in activities the private sector Read more

ORANJESTAD, Aruba:--- The Board of financial supervision Aruba (CAft) considers the compliance with the budgetary norms for 2017 and later years crucial in decreasing the government debt of Aruba and making the public finance sustainable. This is what Raymond Gradus indicated during his first visit to Aruba as CAft chairman. For 2017 a strict supervision is essential to comply with the projected measures to reduce the financing deficit. Considering the results of the first half year, CAft is concerned about the disappointing income and increasing expenses Read more

WILLEMSTAD, Curacao:--- During its visit to Curaçao, the Board of financial supervision Curaçao and Sint Maarten (Cft) indicated that the implementation of the 2017 budget was under great pressure. Revenue enhancing and tax mitigation measures are necessary to prevent a budget deficit in 2017. Challenges are related to lagging tax revenues en social funds premiums and the control of expenses. In addition, the stimulation of the economy is an important challenge.

Probable positive closing of 2016 budget
The year 2016 appears to have closed with a positive result on the ordinary service, on account of incidental windfalls Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister The Honorable William Marlin of Sint Maarten releases the following briefing on the infrastructure, along with words of thanks. Please note that all was current at press time and is subject to change as work and talks progress.

ROADS
Main roads are cleared and work continues on inner roads to the districts.

ELECTRICITY / WATER
Several districts have received electricity and water thus far Read more

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MARIGOT:--- The president of the Collectivité of Saint-Martin, Mr. Daniel Gibbs, wishes to make a statement about the situation on the island since the passage of Hurricane IRMA, on September 6th, 2017.
Phase 1 of the post-hurricane organization consisted in managing, on the one hand, the urgency in terms of taking care of the wounded, sick or distressed, but also the tourists by organizing the evacuation from the island Read more

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Exclusive: An Assessment On Healthcare On St. Maarten.

SZV funds being drained; Bricks and Blocks will not improve the Quality of Care on St. Maarten.

PHILIPSBURG:--- In this article SMN News will go into details to highlight the current status on quality of Healthcare on St. Maarten and what the Minister of Public Health Emil Lee has done thus far to change the gloom and doom facing the people of St Read more

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Human Remains Discovered After 12-Year Search For American Student In Aruba

ORANJESTAD  –  There is another twist to the mystery surrounding the disappearance of American high school graduate Natalee Holloway following the discovery of human remains in this Dutch Caribbean territory.

Holloway, 18, was with friends on a post-high school trip to Aruba in 2005 when she vanished, leaving her loved ones wondering for years what happened to her.

For years, speculation has swirled around Joran van der Sloot, a Dutch national last seen with the Alabama teen at a tourist bar on the island.

With the discovery of the remains, Holloway’s father, Dave Holloway, and private investigator T.J Read more

ARUBA:--- Twelve years after Natalee Holloway's disappearance on a graduation trip to Aruba, her father is hoping a recent discovery will yield a major break in the case of what happened to his daughter.

Dave Holloway and private investigator T.J. Ward announced on TODAY Wednesday that an 18-month investigation has led them to discover human remains that are being DNA tested to confirm if they are Natalee's.

"When we determined these remains were human, I was shocked,'' Holloway told Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie Read more

Parents’  Time Is Worth The Sacrifice.

The Democratic Party would iike to extend a warm welcome home to those who spent the summer abroad and  extends best wishes to all students,  teachers, staff of learning institutions island-wide,  and surely to parents too,  for the new academic year. 

We believe that parents play an important, perhaps the most important role in this equation. We do so with  genuine appreciation and respect for all that parents must sacrifice and do to ensure their children’s  success, sometimes working two,  even three jobs to pay school fees, books, uniforms and more; not to mention after-school care and activity costs, which increase if the child engages in some sport or form of art (sports gear, musical instruments etc.).

Of the expressions of God’s steadfast and abiding love here on earth, that of a parent is surely one of them.   From it we learn that sacrifices and investments made for all those who come behind us is the very definition of civilization.  

Good teachers confess to faithfully picking up where the parents leave off, child after child,  day after day.   Yet in conversations held in confidence, we hear them say that they work even better with students whose parents take the time to give them individual and personal assistance.  Why?  They say they know for sure that those students will always have an extra push and those parents keep a keen eye on their child’s progress or their challenges. 

Even 30 minutes of uninterrupted one-on-one time spent by a parent with their youth on homework or any other activity , not only strengthens the bond, but is  critical to their development and  an ‘unspoken’ agreement in “co-labor” that the youth will uphold.  

It may be that they resist at first, believing that you will not continue,  or they  prefer to command their own space Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- The Democratic Party would like to extend a warm welcome home to those who spent the summer abroad and extends best wishes to all students, teachers, staff of learning institutions islandwide, and surely to parents too, for the new academic year.
We believe that parents play an important, perhaps the most important role in this equation. We do so with genuine appreciation and respect for all that parents must sacrifice and do to ensure their children's success, sometimes working two, even three jobs to pay school fees, books, uniforms and more; not to mention after-school care and activity costs, which increase if the child engages in some sport or form of art (sports gear, musical instruments etc.).
Of the expressions of God’s steadfast and abiding love here on earth, that of a parent is surely one of them Read more

Breaking News: Remains Found In Galisbay And Belair Are Identified

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – Reliable information reaching 721news reported that the two remains found in Galisbay and Belair belongs to two missing persons in the “Mars” case. According to information reaching 721news, families were notified by police about the findings.

The body found in a container on the port of Galisbay on the French side, and the one in Belair have been positively matched – through DNA identification – to the two missing men Luis Diaz-Sarante and Edwin Rosario in the “Mars” case.

On Monday, December 5, 2016, Luis David Sarante-Diaz also known as “Blanco” and Edwin Rosario Contreras also known as “Eggy,” were last seen during the afternoon in the vicinity of Simpson Bay Resort.

In a previous press release, Police Spokesman Ricardo Henson said, “These two men were never seen or heard from since the disappearance Read more

THE HAGUE:--- On Monday, July 31st, 2017, Minister Doran-York addressed the 34 Sint Maarten students after their in The Netherlands.
The same as last year, the Minister saw to it that the Cabinet was well represented while forming part of the welcoming team at the Airport.
Also present from the Cabinet were Deputy Minister Hasani Ellis, Cabinet Director Irene Simmons along with other members of the Cabinet waiving the Sint Maarten's Flag as the students exited the arrival hall.
Minister Doran-York addressed the students during an introductory meeting at the Steinberger Hotel, where they were transported to, immediately after their arrival.
The Minister and her staff are looking forward towards officially welcoming the students to the Cabinet upcoming Friday, August 4th where they will be addressed by Deputy Minister Hasani Ellis.
Below is the text of the address of the Minister Plenipotentiary Henrietta Doran-York to the students on Monday.

"First of all, I would like to thank the organizing body of this event, the USC, (Unified Sint Maarten Connection) for the invitation to address you here today Read more

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Pond Island - St. Maarten’s incumbent telecommunication provider, TelEm Group, has posted a profit for the year 2016. The actual figures have been presented to the company’s Supervisory Board of Directors and the Government shareholder in recent weeks for their consideration and review and are not being made public at this time.
The announcement was made to TelEm Group personnel in a brief internal announcement Friday, in which Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mr. Kendall Dupersoy, and Chief Financial officer (CFO) Mrs Read more

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