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Prime Minister Wescot-Williams Attends Opening of the Oualichi Women’s Soccer Association Female High school competition.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Caretaker Prime Minister the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams attended the opening of the all-female high school competition organized by the Oualichi Women's Soccer Association on Saturday at the Raoul Illidge Sport's Complex. The Prime Minister opened the matches and wished the students much success and further encouraged the Women's Soccer association to build the sport of Women's Soccer on the island Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Caretaker Prime Minister the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams joined the Indian Community in attending the Diwali Celebrations held this past Saturday at the Belair Community Center. Diwali or Divali also known as Deepavali and the "festival of lights" is an ancient Hindu festival celebrated in autumn every year. Wescot-Williams stated that it was a pleasure for her to be able to share a cultural experience with the Indian Community of St Read more

style="text-align: center;">All Members of the Democratic Party did not support her decision but respected it as Leader of DP

PHILIPSBURG:--- Almost three weeks after signing an agreement with formateur Theodore Heyliger, leader of the Democratic Party Sarah Wescot Williams finally broke her silence on Monday at a press conference held at the House of Parliament Read more

Prime Minister Wescot-Williams Stresses The Need To Support Mental Healthcare At Mental Health Foundation Function

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - While attending a recent function in benefit of the Mental Health Foundation, caretaker Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams again stressed the importance for the Mental Health Foundation; "As I have expressed in the past we have a Mental Health Foundation doing extremely good work but one that is faced with its challenges.

Government subsidizes the Foundation but indeed the needs of the organization are great.

"There are a lot of issues that are faced by people on a daily basis; some persons can conceal this state but others not.

More can be done on St Read more

Prime Minister Wescot-Williams Attends Diwali Celebrations

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Caretaker Prime Minister the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams joined the Indian Community in attending the Diwali Celebrations held this past Saturday at the Belair Community Center.

Diwali or Divali also known as Deepavali and the "festival of lights" is an ancient Hindu festival celebrated in autumn every year.

Wescot-Williams stated that it was a pleasure for her to be able to share a cultural experience with the Indian Community of St Read more

Seniors discuss concerns, National Development

BELAIR--The St. Maarten Seniors and Pensioners Association (SMSPA) held a well-attended seminar on the "Rights of the Seniors" on Thursday, where special attention was paid to their involvement in the National Development Plan (NDP), progress in the rights of seniors since a number of international acts and plans had been passed, progress towards the Millennium Development Goals and their feedback.

In her official opening address, caretaker Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams started off with discussing overall rights as per the constitution adopted after 10-10-10 Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- On Saturday October 18, 2014, the Mental Health Foundation organized a Reception which this year focused on the Foundation's very loyal stakeholders and generous sponsors. The event was organized to honor and thank those who provide the Mental Health Foundation with continuous support and who are part of the reason why the MHF is where it is today. The Cocktail party was honored by the presence of the Prime Minister Sarah Wescott-Williams and the Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor Cornelius de Weever, by representatives of various stakeholders and sponsors such as SZV, Ennia, Ministry of Public Health, White and Yellow Cross Foundation, Nagico, General Practitioners, Ministry of Justice, SMMC, Samenwerkende Fondsen, Social Services, Health Inspectorate, WIEMS, SJIB, Court of Guardianship, Rotary Clubs of St Read more

Mental Health Foundation Says "Thank You" To Stakeholders And Generous Sponsors

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - On Saturday October 18, 2014, the Mental Health Foundation organized a Reception which this year focused on the Foundation's very loyal stakeholders and generous sponsors.

The event was organized to honor and thank those who provide the Mental Health Foundation with continuous support and who are part of the reason why the MHF is where it is today.

The Cocktail party was honored by the presence of the Prime Minister Sarah Wescott-Williams and the Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor Cornelius de Weever, by representatives of various stakeholders and sponsors such as SZV, Ennia, Ministry of Public Health, White and Yellow Cross Foundation, Nagico, General Practitioners, Ministry of Justice, SMMC, Samenwerkende Fondsen, Social Services, Health Inspectorate, WIEMS, SJIB, Court of Guardianship, Rotary Clubs of St Read more

MPs unanimously reject instruction

~ Motion to be sent to UN Decolonisation Committee ~

PHILIPSBURG--Members of Parliament (MPs) unanimously adopted on Wednesday a motion rejecting the instruction handed down by the Kingdom Council of Ministers to Governor Eugene Holiday for the execution of a boundless and limitless investigation into the backgrounds of candidate ministers, their families, friends, business associates and others.

Parliament is not in agreement with the instruction from the Kingdom Council, because the screening of candidate ministers is "not flawed Read more

Motion Passed Unanimously by Parliament on Instruction Given to Governor on Screening Procedures.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament Leona Marlin Romeo withdrew the motion she submitted on Wednesday after several discussions were held (caucusing) with the members of parliament sitting on the opposition benches so that the parliament of St. Maarten could form a consensus in dealing with what they describe as a posterity issue. The motion submitted by MP Lloyd Richardson was completely amended based on article 58 Read more

Analysis: Screening Of Candidate-Ministers Seems At Odds With Constitution

St. Maarten / By Hilbert Haar – Screening? What screening? Nobody has asked this simple question yet, because everybody has been either busy and confused, or excited and angry about the humongous cloud of dust the Kingdom Council of Ministers created with its instruction to Governor Holiday for additional screening of candidate-ministers. One may well wonder which instruments the experts Minister Plasterk wants to send to St. Maarten have at their disposal to find something so wrong with one of the candidates that this will give reason to ban them from becoming a minister.

St Read more

Ministry Of Health Briefs Key Members Of The Council Of Ministers About National Preparations For Ebola

GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – On Wednesday representatives from the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour (Ministry VSA) met with key members of the Council of Ministers to brief them about the national preparations for Ebola.

Dr. Virginia Asin, Head of the Collective Prevention Services (CPS) from the Minister of Public Health can be seen (left) briefing Prime Minister Hon. Sarah Wescot-Williams (2nd from left) and Minister of Public Health Hon Read more

St. Maarten creates its own problem --- MP Emmanuel said he was offered $2m to jump ship and join the UPP.

style="text-align: center;">St. Maarten needs to fix its own house before trying to cross the ocean

PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament Christopher Emmanuel unleashed an unexpected bomb on the floor of Parliament on Monday afternoon during the urgent meeting of Parliament that was called to discuss the instruction given to Governor Eugene Holiday Read more

Icon Mike Ferrier Resigns From Democratic Party

St. Maarten – Mike Ferrier has terminated his membership of the Democratic Party out of disappointment over the way party-leader Sarah Wescot-Williams handled the defection of her number 2 candidate Cornelius de Weever to a coalition with the United People’s party and the subsequent decision by Wescot-Williams to follow suit.

“I cannot subscribe to abandoning all that we campaigned on and claimed to stand for prior to August 29, 2014, by joining a government that has been given life by a person, or a couple of people from within our DP-ranks who seem to be driven only by power, greed and self-interest,” Ferrier – who was the party’s public relations officer – writes in a letter to Wescot-Williams dated last Friday, October 17 Read more

Roland Plasterk Wanted Secret Service Undercover In St. Maarten

St. Maarten – Kingdom Relations Minister Roland Plasterk asked Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams to let the Dutch secret service AIVD operate in St. Maarten under the flag of the country’s own security service VDSM “to carry out the screening according to the criteria set by the minister,” Wescot-Williams wrote in an email to this newspaper.

According to the prime minister this is in essence what the governor now has been instructed to do, “but then on my instruction via the St Read more

Editorial - Better understanding

It appears the incoming UP/DP/Marlin-Romeo coalition plans to fight tooth and nail the instruction by the Kingdom Council of Ministers regarding the screening of nominees to become minister. Today's Parliament meeting probably will lead to some type of action in that sense.

It will be interesting to see what position the prospective opposition fractions take in this matter Read more

Editorial - For a change

The Kingdom Council of Ministers has given Governor Eugene Holiday an instruction not to install any new cabinet members until there are sufficient guarantees regarding their integrity. This is to be determined by applying a more stringent screening, for which the Dutch Government will appoint a team of experts to assist the governor.

The highly unusual and unprecedented move has to do with a 2010 vote-buying case involving the UP party and developments since this year's elections held at the end of August Read more

Friendly or Fantasy Island?

Dear Editor,

Some people may call St. Maarten the Friendly Island while others will call it the Fantasy Island but giving the recent political turmoil and political confusion I choose to reserve the right of giving it the appropriate name at the end of this article but not until I express my views on this topic.

Let us for a moment first view the phrases expressed by some of our political leaders and then the phases they allow our island to go through in order to have a better understanding on what island we are living on.

Our good "Samaritan" or leader of government Sarah Wescot-Williams struck the nail on its head when she boldly chose her political phrase Read more

Plasterk: Genuine guarantees of government integrity needed

THE HAGUE--The Kingdom Council of Ministers approved a proposal of Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk on Friday to give the governor of St. Maarten an instruction to refrain from signing the decrees to appoint the members of St. Maarten's next government until it has been proven, through an additional, more stringent screening, that the members of the Cabinet are persons of complete integrity. This is what Plasterk told the media in an interview after Friday's meeting.

St Read more

Sarah: Gov’t will resist instruction to Holiday

~ Says move 'absurd' ~

PHILIPSBURG--Caretaker Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams has condemned the move by the Dutch Government to issue instructions to Governor Eugene Holiday to thoroughly screen incoming ministers from the United People's (UP) party-led coalition.

In an invited comment on Friday Wescot-Williams said government "will resist" this latest move by the Dutch government Read more

Kingdom govt orders tougher screening St. Maarten ministers

By Suzanne Koelega

THE HAGUE--The Kingdom government has ordered a more stringent screening of St. Maarten's incoming Council of Ministers. The Kingdom Council of Ministers decided on Friday to give St. Maarten Governor Eugene Holiday an instruction to hold off on the appointment of the ministers and prime minister until it is absolutely certain that they are in the clear.

The Dutch government will appoint a team of experts to assist the governor with the screening, announced Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk after the meeting Read more

Ferrier resigns from DP, against Sarah supporting UP coalition

~ Richelda feels deceived, doesn't support Sarah ~

PHILIPSBURG--Former President of the Democratic Party (DP) and candidate in the August 29 parliamentary election Michael Ferrier has tendered his resignation from DP over the move by party leader Sarah Wescot-Williams to join the United People's (UP) party-led coalition.

DP candidate Richelda Rodriguez-Emmanuel in an email responding to Ferrier's resignation said she still couldn't "get over the feeling of anger, deception, disappointment and disbelief" to put in any form of communication Read more

Second Chamber backs St. Maarten instruction

~ A very necessary move, says majority ~

THE HAGUE--The liberal democratic VVD party, the Labour Party PvdA and Socialist Party (SP) representing a majority in the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament fully support the decision of the Kingdom Council of Ministers last week Friday to order a more thorough screening of St. Maarten's candidate ministers.

The instruction that the Kingdom government gave to St. Maarten Governor Eugene Holiday to hold off on the signing of the appointment of the members of the new Council of Ministers until an additional integrity screening has been completed with the assistance of Dutch experts, was "highly necessary," said Members of the Second Chamber André Bosman (VVD) and Ronald van Raak (PvdA).

Member of the Second Chamber Roelof van Laar said that during the handling of the draft 2015 Kingdom Relations budget on October 1, he already called for an in-depth investigation of the indications of vote-buying in St Read more

Van Miltenburg, Sarah meet at SXM Airport

PHILIPSBURG--President of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams met with President of the Dutch Second Chamber of Parliament Anouchka van Miltenburg at SXM Airport on Friday. Van Miltenburg was on her way to Saba for the start of a tour of the six islands.

Accompanying the Dutch Second Chamber of Parliament President is Secretary General J.E Read more