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SAFE New Year’s Message 2015.

style="text-align: center;">Stronger together

PHILIPSBURG:--- The Board of St. Maarten/St. Martin Alliance For Equality (SAFE SXM) would like to extend best wishes to everyone as the community continues into the start of 2015.
The organization said that it only looked forward to more events and better things in this upcoming year. While the organization is still a very young one (launched in December 2013), a lot has been achieved in the past 12+ months. Local, regional and international partnerships have been fostered and contact has been made with a number of relevant entities on the island Read more

The grass might be greener on the other side of the fence, but the mangoes in your own backyard are the sweetest: a report on the USM in 2014.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Too often we half-forget the wisdoms of our grandparents and great-grandparents. This of course is lamentable and tragic. It is time that we remember and endorse the other part of our grandmother and grandfather's wisdom notes to achieve wholeness as individuals and as a society.
Most of us are familiar with the saying, "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." We use this colourful expression routinely to state that from our dwelling place, from our little Caribbean island, from where we are standing, what takes place educationally in the overdeveloped countries in Western Europe and the USA and Canada or even the emerging economic powers in Asia, and what people in those countries have materially and we don't because we lack their educational system, is simply extraordinary Read more

The Grass Might Be Greener On The Other Side Of The Fence, But The Mangoes In Your Own Backyard Are The Sweetest: A Report On The Usm In 2014

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Too often we half-forget the wisdoms of our grandparents and great-grandparents. This of course is lamentable and tragic.

It is time that we remember and endorse the other part of our grandmother and grandfather's wisdom notes to achieve wholeness as individuals and as a society.

Most of us are familiar with the saying, "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." We use this colourful expression routinely to state that from our dwelling place, from our little Caribbean island, from where we are standing, what takes place educationally in the overdeveloped countries in Western Europe and the USA and Canada or even the emerging economic powers in Asia, and what people in those countries have materially and we don't because we lack their educational system, is simply extraordinary.

We consider ourselves deprived and long to be there; we dream of having those mountains of things and those degrees that they have Read more

Safe New Year's Message 2015 Stronger Together

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten — The Board of St. Maarten/St. Martin Alliance For Equality (SAFE SXM) would like to extend best wishes to everyone as the community continues into the start of 2015.

The organization said that it only looked forward to more events and better things in this upcoming year. While the organization is still a very young one (launched in December 2013), a lot has been achieved in the past 12+ months.

Local, regional and international partnerships have been fostered and contact has been made with a number of relevant entities on the island Read more

>How blessed we are! For the 10th consecutive year, we are enjoying the freedom and leadership committed to conjointly observing a National Day of Prayer. I am proud to have been part of the Executive Council that in 2005 instituted this day and I thank the different denominations for upholding the tradition unwaveringly.
This we do, respecting the constitutionally enshrined right of freedom of religion of all, but also respecting the premise and preamble of the same constitution, our unified belief in the Almighty.

I truly believe that a government should have its ears to the ground and respect the individual freedoms of all, but ultimately it should be the norms and values that the majority of us hold dear that should set the tone.
The National Day of Prayer in addition to its religious connotation, is also an opportunity for reflection and for resolution.
Consciously, this day is held at the beginning of the year, giving ourselves another opportunity for resolve and recovery, and the will to stay the course.
Neither as a member of Parliament nor as a citizen, it is to me to judge any-one else, but rather to provide guidance and to stand up for the values we hold dear as a community Read more

ESPN to broadcast NAGICO Super 50

CUL DE SAC--ESPN and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) have signed a four-year deal to broadcast the NAGICO Super50.

The deal takes effect from this year when the NAGICO Super50 bowls off in Trinidad and Tobago on January 15.

NAGICO, with headquarters on St Read more

Parliaments agree on dispute arrangement

~ Consensus reigns at IPKO ~

THE HAGUE/ORANJESTAD--The Parliaments of Aruba, Curaçao, St. Maarten and the Netherlands closed off a very successful Inter-Parliamentary Consultation of the Kingdom IPKO in Aruba on Friday.

Consensus was reached on several topics, including establishing of a dispute arrangement "geschillenregeling" for the Kingdom, the broadening of the request for advice of the Council of State on applying of Regulation of the Governor by the Kingdom Council of Ministers, use of Dutch study financing in the Caribbean region and repayment of study debts in local currencies of Dutch Caribbean countries.

All delegation leaders were highly positive about the level of talks in Aruba this week and the willingness to cooperate and to find solutions for pressing matters in the Kingdom Read more

style="text-align: center;">Coverage of the Caribbean's Marquee 50-over Competition Starts January 15

ESPN Caribbean has acquired exclusive media rights to bring live coverage of the region's elite One Day International (ODI) tournament, the NAGICO Super50, to the Caribbean audience until 2018. The agreement commences with this year's edition, held once again in Trinidad and Tobago, from January 15 to 25 Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament George Pantophlet believes that our faith in God has a lot to do with what our future holds for us as a people. There are many religions in the world and he will not go into that discussion. If we look at the year 2014 he feels that one can agree that it was one of the most difficult years in all aspects of life Read more

Cuba will attract more tourists with US deal, needs to modernize

HAVANA--Salsa music and cigar smoke swirl round the grand courtyard of Havana's famous Hotel Nacional, and guests enjoy stunning views out over the "Malecon" seafront promenade and the ocean beyond.

But inside, many of its rooms are shabby and musty, the WiFi is costly and weak, customer service is often indifferent, and the food, while plentiful, is generally dull. Although Havana is loaded with charm, great music and architectural jewels, there is a shortage of quality hotel rooms and restaurants, hire cars, taxis and other services.

Tour operators hope a fledgling detente between Cuba and the United States, announced last month, will lure hundreds of thousands of U.S Read more

style="text-align: left;">PHILIPSBURG:--- NAGICO Insurances recently made a donation to Daniel Tariq Doran, a young local student who has been drafted to play with the Sussex County Cricket team in England.
This donation, which was personally handed over by Chairman of the NAGICO Group; Mr Read more

Economic Affairs Minister Claret Connor: “Service Levels And Standards Are Important Principles”

St. Maarten – The government will share many ideas and initiatives to trigger tangible economic growth in the first few months of 2015 and most of these initiatives will be done in collaboration with the private sector and non-governmental organizations with a strong focus on service, Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs Claret Connor states in a press release issued last night.

Echoing UP-party-leader Heyliger, Connor states that he looks forward to starting his tenure with renewed passion and vision “that will hopefully effect sustainable economic growth for our country and a better quality of life for all Read more

New Year’S Address Prime Minister Gumbs: Government Wants To Implement Controversial Counterpart Policy

St. Maarten – In his inaugural New Year’s address, Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs has indicated that his government will make work of implementing the controversial counterpart policy and that it will tackle the gray economy. Gumbs’ address is first and foremost a message that holds the promise of an incorruptible government that takes ingerity serious and that intends “to carry out the majority of the recommendations” from the three integrity reports, produced by the General Audit Chamber, the Bob Wit-committee and PricewaterhouseCoopers Read more

Economic Affairs Minister Claret Connor: “Service Levels And Standards Are Important Principles”

St. Maarten – The government will share many ideas and initiatives to trigger tangible economic growth in the first few months of 2015 and most of these initiatives will be done in collaboration with the private sector and non-governmental organizations with a strong focus on service, Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs Claret Connor states in a press release issued last night.

Echoing UP-party-leader Heyliger, Connor states that he looks forward to starting his tenure with renewed passion and vision “that will hopefully effect sustainable economic growth for our country and a better quality of life for all Read more

Arnell: ‘We need to reduce labour cost in hotel sector’

MARIGOT--President of the St. Martin Chamber of Commerce Jean Arnell disclosed he has asked the Minister of Overseas Territories George Pau-Langevin to look into creating a sector policy to reduce labour costs, specifically in the hotel sector.

"She is committed to it, together with the tourism minister," Arnell indicated. "For example the ratio of labour cost to sales in St. Martin is 48 per cent and in France it's 34 per cent. We're looking at reducing that ratio to make our hotels more competitive in this region where we are competing against other destinations that have a significant number of flights from the continental USA.

"That's where unqualified labourers registered at the unemployment office will find work when we build more hotel rooms, and around that more jobs will come from the related service sectors."

Arnell said it is essential to build more high-end hotel rooms for stay-over tourism and market the cruise ship companies more to capture a slice of the two million cruise ship passengers coming to the island.

"The economic impact of stay-over visitors is undeniable Read more

Ferrier wants PM to explain how counterpart policy will be applied

~ 'It will stifle economic growth' ~

PHILIPSBURG--Businessman Michael Ferrier is looking forward to an explanation from Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs on how the counterpart policy will be applied in St Read more

>My Fellow Citizens,

Once again another year has come to end and a new year has begun. Over the past year of 2014, it was not without the many challenges, which we had faced. As the people of St. Maarten; we have experienced a lot of setbacks and by speaking out on those issues that had affected us the most; it didn't yield any sort of positive results or outcomes.
The cost of living, here on the island continues to rise with no limit in sight. Those, who are in authority has repeatedly shown no type of effort or indication towards the citizens that any plans would be set in motion for a relief in the coming new year Read more

New Year 2015 Message From The Leader Of The Ospp: Lenny F. Priest

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - My Fellow Citizens, Once again another year has come to end and a new year has begun. Over the past year of 2014, it was not without the many challenges, which we had faced.

As the people of St. Maarten; we have experienced a lot of setbacks and by speaking out on those issues that had affected us the most; it didn’t yield any sort of positive results or outcomes.

   The cost of living, here on the island continues to rise with no limit in sight Read more

A long weekend in…Guyana!

Guyana was not a destination I had ever considered visiting, especially not just for a (long) weekend. But when the opportunity arose, on a Wednesday, to fly to Guyana the next day and stay until the Monday, I didn't have to think about it too long. I was going to take this chance to explore a new country!

Insel Air had kindly invited some journalists on its inaugural flight from St. Maarten, via Curaçao to Georgetown. The schedule was arranged in such a way that the flights connected perfectly, with a minimum waiting time in Curaçao Read more

Editorial - Only together

The choice for Person of the Year may surprise a few. After all, the integrity issue was a big story in St. Maarten in 2014, as were the parliamentary elections and their aftermath plus relations with the Netherlands, each linked in some way and resulting in the additional screening of candidates for the new Gumbs cabinet backed by a UP-led coalition, with five rather than seven ministers taking office in Philipsburg.

However, this newspaper serves both the Dutch and the French sides and they are very much interdependent communities that in practice form one population Read more

Alliance challenges residents to be the change they want to see

PHILIPSBURG--The National Alliance (NA) has issued a challenge to the community to "be the change" that they want to see.

The party also wants to see a renewal in the resolve to collectively take St. Maarten forward. This was expressed by NA Deputy Leader Silveria Jacobs in the party's New Year's message issued before dawn on New Year's Day Thursday.

"I hereby extend gratitude to our father God for safe passage, including all the blessings and challenges of 2014 Read more

Minister Connor: Private sector, NGO’s and service are vital for tangible economic growth.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Tourism & Economic Affairs Claret Connor says that in the first few months of 2015, Government will share many ideas and initiatives to trigger tangible economic growth and that most of these initiatives will be done in collaboration with the Private sector and Non-government organizations (NGOs) with a strong focus on service.

In addressing the public for the first time since being sworn in, the Minister said he looks forward to starting his tenure with renewed passion and vision that will hopefully effect sustainable economic growth for our country and a better quality of life for all.

"As many would agree, any notable advancement for our country and our livelihood, is contingent on our country's economic development Read more

>On behalf of the National Alliance Board and membership, I hereby extend gratitude to our father God for safe passage including all the blessings and challenges of 2014. It is with this same attitude of gratitude that we wish the entire population of St. Maarten a blessed and loving 2015, a year in which we can renew our resolve to collectively take St. Maarten forward.
Heartfelt greetings of Hope, Faith and Perseverance to those who have experienced serious challenges during the past year and praying that the coming year will see us all making strides towards success, happiness, prosperity and the strength to deal with adversity.
May 2015 be deemed the year of Volunteerism, a year in which all persons within our community realizes his/her own responsiblity and ability to affect true change on St Read more

Gumbs: Economy a priority in 2015

PHILIPSBURG--The implementation of "deliberate and integrated policies like the counterpart policy, employability through training and skill building for youth and adults, strengthening workplace compliance and formalization of the informal economy that compliment economic growth and reduce unemployment in order to create sustainable development" are top priorities for the Gumbs Cabinet in 2015.

Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs, in his early New Year's message: "The list of priorities is not a short one Read more