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No Quorum For Integrity Meeting In Parliament Monday

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The Central Committee meeting of Parliament, which was scheduled to be held on Monday to discuss among other issues, the draft National Ordinance for the establishment of an Integrity Chamber, did not go ahead due to the lack of a quorum.

Seven members supporting the coalition government signed in for the meeting.

There were three MP's who were also off island namely MP's Meyers, Maurice Lake and Leona Marlin Read more

Ten Seat Majority lacks Quorum for Central Committee Meeting.

style="text-align: center;">Three MPs Supporting Government Off island --- Opposition did not sign in.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The Central Committee meeting called on Monday to discuss the draft ordinance to establish the Integrity Chamber could not be held on Monday since three of the ten Members of Parliament supporting the government of St. Maarten were not present for the meeting.
Member of Parliament Franlin Meyers, MP Leona Marlin-Romeo and MP Maurice Lake sent in their notification of absence because they are all off island.
At the meeting on Monday were seven of the ten members majority, they were leader of the UPP MP Theodore Heyliger, MP Silvio Matser, MP Johan Janchi Leonard, MP Tamara Leonard, MP Cornelius de Weever and MP Lloyd Richardson.
Inside the chamber were the Members of Parliament sitting on the opposition benches who did not sign in to form the quorum Read more

EXCLUSIVE: Maurice Lake Jumps back in order to take up VROMI Minister seat --- Where would this leave Minister Claret Conner? – Reliable Sources.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament Maurice Lake seems to have gotten exactly what he wanted from the leader of the United Peoples Party in order for him to remain a member of the United Peoples Party and to keep the shaky coalition in-tact.
SMN News learnt that MP Maurice Lake wanted to remain in his position as the Minister of VROMI when the UPP/De Weever coalition was formed but his party leader Theodore Heyliger allegedly denied him his request stating that he did not do what he "Heyliger" wanted him to do while he was a Minister Read more

Prime Minister given Two Weeks to gather Information on SMHDF.

>PHILIPSBURG: --- The National Alliance Faction in Parliament has given Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs two weeks to gather all information regarding the St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation if not actions will be taken against the Prime Minister for failure to provide information to Parliament.
In the continuation meeting held on Tuesday Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs informed Parliament that he did not receive the information they requested from the St Read more

Plenary Session of Parliament scheduled for Tuesday about the St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The House of Parliament will meet in a public plenary session on March 24. This session is the continuation of the initial session that was held on December 22, 2014. On March 11, the meeting was called, but due to a lack of a quorum,, it could not continue and is now being reconvened.

The plenary session is set for Tuesday at 2.00pm in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelmina Straat #1 in Philipsburg.

The agenda point is the request to the Governments Accountants Bureau SOAB to carry out a forensic investigation into the operations of the St Read more

style="text-align: center;">Saunders Welcome Sign not paid for --- procedures were not followed.

PHILIPSBURG:--- There seems to be more in the mortar than in the pestle when it comes to the construction of the FBO section at the Princess Juliana International Airport. SMN News learnt that the Fixed Based Operations (FBO) project that have to be constructed at the Princess Juliana International Airport is creating more problems even though Taliesin Construction legally won the bid. According to information provided to SMN News some five companies were invited by PJIAE to submit their bids for the project Read more

Lake debunks talk about breaking UP

PHILIPSBURG--"Untrue and baseless" is how United People's (UP) party Member of Parliament (MP) Maurice Lake described rampant "rumours" in the community about him being "involved in a plot to throw down government and send home the Cabinet of Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs."

Since Friday, there has been persistent talk that spun into blogs about Lake breaking with this party over differences Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:----  United People's (UP) party Member of Parliament (MP) Hon. Maurice Lake says the social media rumours and the story in a daily newspaper over the weekend where it mentions that he is involved in a plot to throw down government and send home the Cabinet of Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs as untrue and baseless.

MP Lake who is currently off island says that he was informed about the rumours that started on Facebook and later moved to the blogs.

"There are individuals who sit in front of a computer everyday with nothing to do and try to create news by telling fibs that are untrue Read more

MP Maurice Lake Grievances goes deeper than anyone would imagine – VORST Estate is only a tip of the Iceberg.

style="text-align: center;">Building Permits not Signed by Acting Minister of VROMI --- Reliable Sources

PHILIPSBURG:--- The situation at the Ministry of VROMI is not only disturbing to the former Minister Maurice Lake now Member of Parliament whom it is said tendered his resignation from the United Peoples Party prior to leaving the island Read more

Up Mp Lake Says Social Media Rumours Untrue And Baseless. Lake Remains Loyal To Coalition

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – United People's (UP) party Member of Parliament (MP) Hon. Maurice Lake says the social media rumours and the story in a daily newspaper over the weekend where it mentions that he is involved in a plot to throw down government and send home the Cabinet of Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs as untrue and baseless.

MP Lake who is currently off island says that he was informed about the rumours that started on Facebook and later moved to the blogs.

"There are individuals who sit in front of a computer everyday with nothing to do and try to create news by telling fibs that are untrue.

It is sad that many people go based on hearsay and social media chatter which are fabricated for amusement, but at the same time it creates uneasiness amongst the populace Read more

MP Maurice Lake pulls Support from Current Coalition --- All MP’s have major issues with UP Leader Theo Heyliger.

style="text-align: center;">Prime Minister plans to dissolve Parliament early next week to stop formation of another Government. Reliable Sources.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Several fractures in the United Peoples Party/ De Weever/ Marlin- Romeo and US coalition seems to be beyond repair that Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs have decided that he will send a Landsbesluit to the Governor of St Read more

Editorial: Creating Jobs

Members of Parliament love talking about creating jobs for the people. The latest cry is coming from MP Maurice Lake, the former Minister of Vromi, who urges the government to create work for local contractors.

It sounds sympathetic – no question about it – but when governments create work they are most likely whipping up jobs out of thin air that do not really exist Read more

Up Mp Lake Calls On Up Lead Government To Make Job Creation A Priority

St. Maarten –  “It is high time that Government and Parliament start empowering our local people to be tops where it concerns jobs and other relevant areas in the country,” UP MP and former Vromi Minister Maurice Lake said yesterday while contending that since his tenure as Vromi Minister not much is happening within the districts.

The UP MP has issued a call to the UP lead government to make use of local contractors in the various districts when it comes to district community improvement Read more

EXCLUSIVE: MP Leona Marlin seeking to appoint Aunt’s Husband as Minister of TEATT.

style="text-align: center;">Henry Lynch is expected to become Chief of Cabinet – Government in Shambles – Reliable Sources.

PHILIPSBURG: --- Member of Parliament Leona Marlin- Romeo is expected to appoint the husband of her aunt Ernest Sams, a pensioner from GEBE as Minister of TEATT. SMN News has been reliably informed that MP Marlin- Romeo contacted two other persons who declined the offer. Those persons are the former wife of MP Maurice Lake Marla Shemont who is currently working at the Tourist Office citing that her family does not agree for her to take up the position Read more

First Meeting Ad Hoc Committee Integrity: Code Of Conduct Suddenly A Priority For Parliamentarians

St. Maarten – Thirteen years after former Lt. governor Franklyn Richards proposed it for the first time to the Island Council, the ad hoc committee Integrity of parliament met yesterday and named establishing a Code of Conduct for parliament a priority.

“I believe it is a priority for parliament to have a Code of Conduct,” committee-chairman Cornelius de Weever said.

The committee’s meeting was off to what felt like a reluctant start – the objective of this first meeting being to set the perimeters for the committee’s activities and responsibilities Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--– United People's (UP) party Member of Parliament (MP) Hon. Maurice Lake would like Government to make use of local contractors in the various districts when it comes to district community improvement.

"As a duly elected representative of the people, I have a lot of persons approaching me that are not working, and not much is happening within the districts since I left office as the former Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (Minister VROMI) almost three months ago Read more

Mp Lake Calls On Government To Use Local Contractors In The Different Districts

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – United People's (UP) party Member of Parliament (MP) Hon. Maurice Lake would like Government to make use of local contractors in the various districts when it comes to district community improvement.

"As a duly elected representative of the people, I have a lot of persons approaching me that are not working, and not much is happening within the districts since I left office as the former Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (Minister VROMI) almost three months ago Read more

Chin Cactus no longer in a deplorable state

SUCKER GARDEN--Residents of Chin Cactus Road and Chin Cactus Drive can now enjoy long-awaited and much-needed improvements made to the roads, which had been in a continuous deplorable state that became increasingly frustrating.

One resident recently contacted The Daily Herald in order to show gratitude on behalf of the community to former Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI Maurice Lake who he said pushed for the repairs to be done, as well as VROMI Maintenance Department Head Claudius Buncamper and Public Works Project Leader Alfredo Pantophlet who were both said to have kept good lines of communication with them and were always ready to assist when needed.

Buncamper explained to this newspaper that VROMI is now getting ready to take over the project as completed by the contractor, after some minor works are finalised Read more

SMHDF finance manager questions investigation

~ Says wrong persons investigating ~

PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF) Finance Manager Emilio Kalmera – in the midst of negative publicity, a court case and questions being posed concerning his credibility – has issued a press statement too long for The Daily Herald to print in its entirety that highlights what he calls questionable actions and says, “The reasoning for all this fiasco is more personal than anything else.”

Amongst other concerns, Kalmera said someone had been assigned to the board on the same day he and his colleagues were suspended; the audit was being carried out and supervised by the wrong persons; and former Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI Maurice Lake had not stopped the investigations by Government Accounting Foundation SOAB.

Kalmera said he wanted to clear the air, especially after the March 11 article in this newspaper with the headline “SMHDF dumps Lynch for financial mismanagement” was published based on a press release by SMHDF attorney Jairo Bloem in which he announced that Director Henry Lynch’s service agreement had been dissolved as of February 4 Read more

Parliament approves 2011 annual accounts

PHILIPSBURG--Parliament unanimously approved the 2011 Annual Accounts of Government on Thursday. The approval comes three years after the period the accounts cover and well past the deadline stipulated by law.

The late tabling of the accounts was due to a severe backlog in the Finance Ministry; that backlog has since been cleared by current Finance Minister Martin Hassink who was at the plenary session of Parliament.

Hassink told the Members of Parliament (MPs) the backlog in the annual accounts is now a thing of the past Read more

Philipsburg- Windward Islands Bank employees received their USM specialized certificate “Towards an Associate of Arts Degree in Business Management for St. Maarten Professionals”.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The University of St. Martin (USM) collaborated with the Windward Islands Bank Ltd. (WIB) to offer its Middle Management employees a set of academic courses with the objective to update their skills in Business Administration, and offer them the opportunity to gain a USM's Associate of Arts degree.
The program for the WIB employees, which consisted of the components, Business and Marketing, Business Communication, Management and Human Resource Management, Accounting and Finance, was held at the training facility of the bank Read more

Wib Middle Management Employees Move Closer To Obtaining Associate Of Arts Degree At Usm

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Windward Islands Bank employees received their USM specialized certificate "Towards an Associate of Arts Degree in Business Management for St. Maarten Professionals".

The University of St. Martin (USM) collaborated with the Windward Islands Bank Ltd. (WIB) to offer its Middle Management employees a set of academic courses with the objective to update their skills in Business Administration, and offer them the opportunity to gain a USM's Associate of Arts degree.

The program for the WIB employees, which consisted of the components, Business and Marketing, Business Communication, Management and Human Resource Management, Accounting and Finance, was held at the training facility of the bank.

The USM instructors of the Hospitality and Business Divisions, Dr Read more

No quorum stalls housing meeting

PHILIPSBURG--The discussion in Parliament about developments at St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF) was stalled on Wednesday after insufficient Members of Parliament signed in for the meeting with ad interim Housing Minister Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs. The meeting will be reconvened at a later date.

Six of the seven United People's (UP) party MPs were not present for the meeting.

Only seven of the 15 MPs serving in the legislature signed in for the meeting Read more

Lynch dismissal letter cites brothel expenditures with SMHDF money

PHILIPSBURG--Former managing director Henry Lynch's violation of the St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation's (SMHDF's) entertainment allowance by more than NAf. 35,000 for the year 2014 included numerous brothel visits.

The full redundancy letter to Henry Lynch, served to him by SMHDF attorney Jairo Bloem on February 4, has come to light via an anonymous source, resulting in the emergence of more details about his actions used to justify the foundation's dissolving of his service agreement.

Details left out of a press release by Bloem based on said letter include examples of wrongful behaviour and excuses that were found not to be credible Read more