Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
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Political Statement Minister Cornelius De Weever
PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - My fellow St. Maarteners, with all of the rumors and innuendo circulating, I want to inform you formally on a decision that I have made and some of the reasoning behind it.
On Tuesday afternoon, I informed Honorable Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams that I will be taking up my seat in Parliament instead of serving as Minister and serve the people of St Read more
De Weever prefers serving as MP, no longer wants to stay a minister
PHILIPSBURG--Incumbent Health Minister Cornelius de Weever has informed Democratic Party (DP) leader Sarah Wescot-Williams that he wants to serve as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the new government and no longer will be continuing as Minister of Health, Labour and Social Affairs as was originally the case.
De Weever was elected to Parliament on the DP slate in the August 29 election Read more
New coalition said imminent
PHILIPSBURG--Widespread but unconfirmed reports on Wednesday indicated that a new coalition government with a one-seat majority is in the making between the United People's (UP) party with its seven seats and Democratic Party (DP) candidate and incumbent Health Minister Cornelius de Weever.
It could not be ascertained whether De Weever has severed ties with DP, as up to early yesterday Wescot-Williams said she had not been informed of such, although he had indicated that he no longer wanted a ministerial post and would retain his parliamentary seat (see related story).
According to reports, De Weever has agreed to form a coalition with UP Read more
Holiday starts new consultations after end of ‘Marlin’ formation
PHILIPSBURG--Governor Eugene Holiday started new formation talks on Thursday after United People's (UP) party leader Theodore Heyliger submitted a signed "coalition agreement" for the governing period 2014-2018.
The agreement was signed by UP's seven elected Members of Parliament (MPs) and Democratic Party (DP) MP-elect Cornelius de Weever.
Holiday said in a press release that in view of these developments, National Alliance (NA) leader William Marlin had informed him that the majority in Parliament necessary for the formation of the planned NA/DP/US Party coalition government no longer existed Read more
Audi and Caribbean Auto break ground for $500,000 showroom
COLE BAY--Audi Latin America and Caribbean Auto broke ground for the construction of a US $500,000 new Audi dealership in St. Maarten on Thursday.
The dealership will be located at 153 Union Road Cole Bay, near Caribbean Auto. The centre will be Audi's St. Maarten/St. Martin dealership in the Caribbean region and will help strengthen its relationship with current and future four-ring customers.
"It's wonderful having a global company like Audi bring its quality-engineered vehicles to the island Read more
Rumors Run Amok In Local Politics: Coalition May Fall Apart With De Weever’S Departure
Editorial - Better now than later
It seems the formation of a new government might not go as smoothly as expected after all. Although “formateur†William Marlin (NA) presented Governor Eugene Holiday with his report and the incoming NA/DP/US coalition’s governing programme yesterday, DP leader Sarah Wescot-Williams confirmed that her party’s number two vote-getter Cornelius de Weever had indicated meanwhile that he preferred to occupy his seat in Parliament rather than remain Minister of Labour, Health and Social Affairs as intended.
This creates a problem, because DP quickly will have to choose another nominee to become one of its two cabinet members, while the names of all seven candidate ministers already had been submitted Read more
No Quorum for Budget Debate --- UPP, De Weever, Illidge Absconded.
Pastor Smith urges incoming coalition govt, ‘make it work’
~ Governing programme finalised ~
CAY HILL--The incoming coalition partners have completed the governing programme and will be presenting it to formateur William Marlin today, Wednesday. Marlin is expected to report to Governor Eugene Holiday on the formation of the new government on the deadline today.
St. Maarten United Ministerial Foundation (SMUMF) President Pastor Wycliffe Smith, who met with the coalition leaders and their representatives as they finalised the document at Bearing Point yesterday, urged the coalition to "make it work."
He said a coalition of three was much more challenging than a coalition of two, noting that in this case the margin was thin as there was just a one-seat majority Read more
PHILIPSBURG:--- The people of St. Maarten is facing yet another problem with the formation of a government they voted for. While three of the political parties that received the majority votes when combined were busy forming a broad based government which had to be finalized on Wednesday September 24th, 2014, Minister Cornelius de Weever has decided that he will put his own interest and the interest of his families first instead of the people of St Read more
CAY HILL:--- Several Pastors from various churches came together on Tuesday afternoon and prayed for the three leaders of the three political parties that came together to form the coalition government for 2014-2018. The short but powerful prayer service took place at Bearing Point in Cay Hill where several persons including nine persons appointed by the three political parties have been working on the Governing Program for the next four years.Pastor Wycliffe Smith the main organizer of the event said that the churches have been praying throughout the election period, on Election Day and even up to today as the political parties worked on forming the new government they have been praying Read more
TelEm, Digicel sign financial information-sharing contract
POND ISLAND--St. Maarten Telephone Group of Companies TelEm and regional telecom company Digicel are said to have signed an agreement to share financial information and pursue further talks. The agreement is said to be a precursor to possible merger talks between the two companies.
It is unclear at this point what will happen with the partnering talks TelEm already had underway with United Telecommunication Services (UTS).
St. Maarten is entitled to between 12 and 25 per cent of UTS' operation as a result of the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles Read more
‘Champions of Peace’ march through town
PHILIPSBURG--A rally dubbed "Champions of Peace" was held on the afternoon of September 19. Participants marched through the streets of Philipsburg and held a small presentation at Clem Labega Square, which served as the beginning and ending point.
Students of various schools participated in the rally. Still dressed in uniform, they formed small groups holding banners for the march.
Offering kind words and touching on the significance of acting as "champions of peace," Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams addressed the crowd briefly, as did Jorien Wuite on behalf of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Affairs and Marcellia Henry on behalf of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
Addressing the crowd, Henry shared a poem called "I dream of a world of peace" by a Nepalese high school student before sharing a reflection on whether peace is really possible or an ideal concept Read more
MPs concerned about TelEm-Digicel accord
PHILIPSBURG--Members of Parliament (MPs) have expressed concern about the signing of a financial information sharing contract between the St. Maarten Telephone Group of Companies TelEm and regional telecom company Digicel.
Democratic Party (DP), National Alliance (NA) and Independent MPs Frans Richardson and Patrick Illidge expressed concerns during a meeting of the Central Committee of Parliament on Friday, to handle amendments to the 2014 budget.
Neither United People's (UP) party MPs nor independent MP Dr Read more
Editorial - Solid enough
The names mentioned in today's paper as the reported candidates for the various positions of the incoming NA/DP/US-party coalition inspire confidence. The screening process will have to determine whether they all qualify in the end, but for now the apparent nominees certainly sound adequate.
It was already clear that NA leader William Marlin would be the next Prime Minister in charge of General Affairs, while the party's number three candidate and top vote-getter Silveria Jacobs had been a "shoo-in" to again become Minister of Education, Culture and Sports.
Whom NA would make its Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Development and the Environment VROMI was not known, but Rodolphe Samuel with his experience as President of Parliament certainly had been among the frontrunners for the job on the party's election list Read more
“Budget Security Service Under Scrutinyâ€
St. Maarten – The contract of the former head of the national security service VDSM, James Richardson, expired a couple of months ago, Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams said at yesterday’s Council of Ministers press briefing. While an ad inviting applications for a successor appeared in local media some months ago, no new head has been appointed yet.
“The process has started, but the budget has to be taken into consideration Read more
Resignation of cabinet Wescot-Williams III.
Prime minister tenders resignation of Cabinet
HARBOUR VIEW--Prime Minister Wescot-Williams has tendered the resignation of the entire Wescot-Williams III Cabinet to Governor Eugene Holiday. The governor, according to a statement from his Cabinet, has informed the prime minister that he will consider her request.
The governor also reiterated his call to the ministers and the minister plenipotentiary in The Hague to continue their duties in the interest of St Read more
Resignation Of Cabinet Wescot-Williams Iii
HARBOUR VIEW, Sint Maarten – Prime-Minister Wescot-Williams submitted a letter dated September 9, 2014 to His Excellency, the Governor of Sint Maarten, drs. E.B. Holiday, making the portfolios of the Ministers and the Minister Plenipotentiary available and tendering the resignation of her entire Cabinet.
This resignation takes place in the light of the Parliamentary elections of Friday August 29th and the current formation of a new cabinet by formateur Mr Read more
Governor Holiday At Opening Parliamentary Year: “There Are Real Opportunities For Economic Growthâ€
St. Maarten – Ravel’s Bolero was once more floating through the parliament building yesterday morning ahead of the official opening of the parliamentary year 2014-2015. What stood out apart from the music was the absence of United People’s party leader Theo Heyliger – who had sent notice – and of Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams who was for undisclosed reasons off island.
Other Members of Parliament who passed on the festive occasions were Jules James, who missed his re-election by a mere three votes, Dr Read more
Motion passed to restrict outgoing ministers’ actions
PHILIPSBURG--A motion calling on Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams to inform individual ministers of the Wescot-Williams III Cabinet "to not make any long-term policy, financial and/or decisions of such a nature as granting lands in long lease, bus and taxi licences, concessions, hiring and placement of personnel in crucial functions" was adopted by a majority of Members of Parliament (MPs) in the closing meeting of the 2013-2014 parliamentary year on Monday.
The motion was presented by MP Roy Marlin (Democratic Party (DP)) and also signed by six other MPs.
The motion further called on the ministers to refrain from making any decision on the waste-to-energy concession or any other decision "that may obstruct or encumber the incoming government from functioning adequately during the next governing term."
The motion also requested the prime minister to inform the individual ministers who are shareholder's representatives of government-owned companies "to instruct management and boards of these companies to refrain from entering into long-term agreements and sign contracts that may negatively affect or bind these companies for a long term."
The motion was presented by MP Roy Marlin after he requested an addition to an agenda of the plenary session of Parliament Read more