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Sarah Wescot: New Hospital On Gov’T’S Agenda

St. Maarten News —The construction of a new hospital is one of several projects in the pipeline for the current government, according to President of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams. At press conference yesterday, Mrs. Wescot-Williams explained that there will be an announcement of the names of the companies who have won the bid for the new hospital Read more

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Dp Condemns ‘Racial Antics’ In Parliament

St. Maarten News – Leader of the Democratic Party (DP) Sarah Wescot-Williams has condoned racial comments in parliament and is calling for leaders of political parties to speak out. “Call it whatever you want, but I cringe every time I hear Members of Parliament (MPs), who think it’s the popular thing to do, in parliament express the kind of exclusionary language we are hearing from these MPs more and more,” Wescot-Williams said in a press statement issued Sunday Read more

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Franklin Meyers (Up): “Coalition Left Mp Lake Totally Out In The Cold”

St. Maarten News – Member of Parliament Maurice Lake and his appointed Vromi-Minister Angel Meyers were left totally out in the cold yesterday afternoon when the majority of Lake’s coalition members failed to show up for a parliament meeting to pass a law brought by the MP’s minister, United People’s party deputy leader MP Franklin Meyers said in a press statement.

“This is a very clear case of actions speak louder than words and the action in this case is a resounding vote of no confidence in MP Lake’s minister and a total lack of support for the MP himself Read more

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Reform Measures Could Go To Parliament Next Week

St. Maarten News – Parliament President Sarah Wescot-Williams expects to receive the draft legislation to adjust the political system this week or next week Monday the latest. If the draft arrives on time, parliament has a slot open to handle it next week, the last week of meetings before the summer recess.

The government’s proposal intends to take the angle out of ship jumping, by taking away the right from ship jumping parliamentarians to form a majority with the opposition Read more

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Timeshare Legislation Ready For Handling

St. Maarten News – The timeshare ordinance and the ordinance to establish the Timeshare Authority have been submitted to parliament, President Sarah Wescot-Williams said yesterday. The legislation is now ready for handling in the central committee and in parliament, but Wescot-Williams did not indicate whether this would happen before the summer recess that begins after next week.

The legislation offers protection to consumers, bankruptcy protection Read more

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St. Maarten Residents Call For Action To Solve Dump Problems

Minister Emil Lee (second from right) listens to the concerns about the landfill. To the left is Andy Wescot; Wycliffe Smith of the Christian party is just visible next to him. Photo contributed

St Read more

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Little Opposition To 2016 Draft Budget

MP Tamara Leonard: “I feel like we have to take a hit too.” Photo Today / Milton Pieters

St. Maarten News – The parliament seemed to be going in record tempo through the debate about the draft 2016 budget yesterday. By 6.35 p.m. all speakers had put in their two cents in the first round; only nine MPs used their right to address the issue Read more

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Plasterk About Dispute Regulation “Kingdom Cannot Deviate From Decisions, Unless …”

St. Maarten News:  The Kingdom Council of Ministers cannot deviate from an advice issued by a dispute regulator, unless such a deviation is properly motivated,” Kingdom Relations Minister Ronald Plasterk said at a press conference yesterday at the end of his visit to St. Maarten. With this statement, Plasterk seems to come back from his earlier stance that the Kingdom Council of Ministers should always have the last word in disputes between the countries in the kingdom.

The only issue that separates Plasterk and the Caribbean autonomous countries St Read more

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Dp-Leader Wescot-Williams About Constitutional Court:  “A Comforting Thought To All Citizens”

St. Maarten – The President of Parliament, DP leader Sarah Wescot-Williams was present at the Courthouse on Friday morning to observe the proceedings in the two cases put forward for the consideration of the Constitutional Court Read more

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Minister Jacobs Welcomes Moot Court Team Back Home

St. Maarten News – Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Silveria Jacobs was on hand at the airport with many supporters to welcome the local Moot Court Competition team that returned from the Netherlands on Saturday night with a third place finish out of 16 teams from around the world.  

The St. Maarten team consisted of students: Tatia Brunings, Manaar Mohammed, Hilda Soares and Hailey Greaux of St Read more

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“Electoral Reform Is A Race Against Time”

St. Maarten – Bringing about electoral reform that is applicable to the September 26 elections is “a race against time,” DP-MP Sarah Wescot-Williams said at a party press conference yesterday afternoon.

“The proposals I made to parliament will be part of the research,” the DP-leader said Read more

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Wescot-Williams (Dp): “First Get The Hospital  On A Good Footing”

St. Maarten – “It is important to know where we stand. Before we start about a new hospital, the St. Maarten Medical Center must be on a good footing,” DP-leader Sarah Wescot-Williams said at a press briefing yesterday afternoon Read more

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Broader Scope For Constitutional Court Under Consideration

St. Maarten News – DP-MP Sarah Wescot Williams is entertaining thoughts about broadening the scope of the Constitutional Court. The delegation of Curacao circulated a draft-initiative proposal from the Pais-faction during the recently held Inter-Parliamentary Kingdom Consultation (Ipko) in St Read more

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Local Financial Training Institute In The Making

St. Maarten – The Central Bank is working on plans for an institute for financial education in St. Maarten, DP-MP Wescot-Williams said yesterday, adding that she is pleased with this, as she proposed the idea in 2014 when she was the country’s prime minister.

“In Curacao such a program is already in place that started years ago” Wescot-Williams said yesterday Read more

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Ipko: No Time For Debate About Dispute Regulation

St. Maarten News – The Inter-parliamentary Kingdom Consultation (Ipko) did not get around to a discussion about the dispute regulation yesterday. Due to time constraints, chairlady Sarah Wescot-Williams closed the meeting shortly after 4.30 p.m. to allow members of the Dutch delegation to meet unspecified commitments outside of the meeting.

St Read more

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Timeshare, The Sick Cousin Of The Tourism Industry

After many years, legislation remains in limbo

St. Maarten – Trouble in the timeshare industry probably dates back further than December 2010, when the controversial sale of the Pelican Resort caused uproar among employees and timeshare owners alike, but it is a good starting point for getting an impression of the state of this industry and the lack of action on the part of successive governments.

When the Pelican Resort changed ownership in December 2010, the jobs of 182 employees were suddenly on the line Read more

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Former Pm Marcel Gumbs Reacts To Dr. Martha “Not Possible To Revoke Dissolution Decree”

St. Maarten / By Hilbert Haar – “I think that not all the facts were presented to him,” former Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs told this newspaper yesterday in a reaction to the interview with Dr. Rutsel Martha. “He is a good friend and very clever, though somewhat controversial, but his specialty is not in constitutional law.”

Gumbs said that he had acquired advice from three constitutional experts – professors Arjen van Rijn, Tijn Kortmann and Joop van den Berg Read more

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Government About To Collect 13 Million From Casino Sector

Parliamentarians happy with withdrawal increased road tax

St. Maarten – By providing the receiver’s office with a mandate, the government is able to collect 13 million in tax arrears from the casino-sector, Finance Minister Richard Gibson said yesterday afternoon during a meeting of the Central Committee where he, as announced on Wednesday, withdrew the draft law to increase the road tax in 2016.

In a brief introduction, the minister told parliament that he would like to make some changes to the draft the previous government had submitted Read more

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Mp Johan Leonard About The Cause Of Ship Jumping: Our Party Leaders Blatantly Disrespect Their Members

MP Heyliger is still smiling after the severe criticism from his fellow-faction member Johan Leonard (left). Photo Today / Milton Pieters

St. Maarten – The attitude of party leaders is the main reason for ship jumping, United People’s party MP Johan Leonard said yesterday morning in an unexpected sharp attack on UP-leader Theo Heyliger Read more

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St. Maarten Day Speeches Focus On Cooperation

From left: Collectivité President Aline Hanson, Préfète Délégué Anne Laubies, Governor Eugène Holiday, Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs, Chief Inspector Denise Jacobs, Franklin Richards, MP Sarah Wescot-Williams, MP Cornelius de Weever, Justice Minister Dennis Richardson and Education Minister Rita Bourne-Gumbs at the border monument in Cole Bay Read more

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Dp Pushes Again Membership Of Open Government Partnership

DP policy advisor Emil Lee at the summit in Mexico City. Photo contributed

St. Maarten – The Democratic Party is once more pushing the country’s membership of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), an issue it made a core element of its election campaign last year Read more

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“Saying That Elections Will Stop Ship Jumping Is Lying To Voters”

St. Maarten – Parliamentarians bitched and moaned about rules and regulations yesterday all the way until the final vote on the two motions the new majority presented yesterday morning. It was a losing battle for the opposition UP and its faithful independents and in the end, it did not change anything at all.

Independent MP Cornelius de Weever started with an attack on the new president of parliament, Sarah Wescot-Williams Read more

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Dp Criticizes Mp De Weever: “Counterpart Policy Is A Sure Recipe For Massive Lay-Offs”

St. Maarten – “As much as he tries, MP and former Minister OF Public health, Social Development and Labor Cornelius de Weever will never be able to convince anyone that the reason for his defection from the Red-White-Blue coalition in 2014 had something to do with opposition he encountered back then to “his” counterpart law,” Democratic Party MP Sarah Wescot-Williams states in a press release Read more

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President Of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams: “Mps Waste Hundreds Of Guilders”

St. Maarten – “Every half hour wasted by Members of Parliament costs taxpayers nine hundred guilders. (15 x 60 is 900 guilders). This amount is close to what some persons in our community earn monthly after deductions. It equals the school fee for others. For yet others, it equals the monthly cost for day-care,” Democratic Party MP and President of parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams stated after a meeting of parliament did not take place on Monday morning due to a lack of quorum Read more

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