The feature speaker at Sunday’s National Day of Prayer Apostle Aster Allen has urged the nation to sever ties with the past. That’s a broad statement to make and many will have their own interpretation of what past behaviors and attitudes they wi
St. Maarten's Governor drs Eugene Holiday has used his New Year’s address to amongst other things call for the University of St. Martin to begin offering a law program. He’s not the first person to do it. Former Minister of Constitutional Affairs
Last year, the inter-parliamentary consultation’s presidium decided in a meeting that was held in The Hague in June, that the deliberations would be “public in principle.” This year, the consultation is held for the first time in St. Maarten,
Tax Attorney and Board member of the Board of financial supervision (Cft) BES Max Pandt has actually thrown out an interesting suggestion that we’re sure will inspire a hot debate in the country. For in the land where undivided property is still an
Justice Minister Rolando Duncan will probably liken this newspaper to some of the civil servants he has issue with because we point out that he has decided to give an instruction or set up policy without following the complete legal process. We know
When we published a Central Bank report back in April of last year that predicted flat or negative economic growth for 2011, Vice Prime Minister Theo Heyliger said that he was not convinced the numbers in the report were correct. Earlier in the year
We are coming to the end of 2011 and people stand at the moment where they review what has been done in this year and where they are going in the next one. One thing we’d ask each of our readers to look at though is how much did you invest into t
The fact that the Harbour Group of Companies is considering not sponsoring the fireworks in Philipsburg after we ring in 2012 is an indictment against businesses in Philipsburg, who have not grasped the opportunity that was presented to them because
Aruba has taken the right approach to handling fireworks. At least they’ve taken a step in the right direction by testing some of the stock on the first day of sales. Their cautious and proactive approach has already shown that the fuses on some of
The dated nature of the figures laid aside, the new report by the French Information Desk on Overseas Territories reveals how one side of this island – despite its struggles – continues to feed the other. Yes the French Side continues to some ext
It is still way too early to state that St. Maarten is coming out of the economic recession that the entire world continues to grapple with, but there are definitely reasons to be hopeful that the island and the region will climb out of the position
We can imagine there is glee at the return of fireworks sales to the public. We’ll be the first to admit that we’re split on the issue as some in our office are happy they’ll be able to use self bought fireworks to ring in the New Year with fam
Some politicians are really good with excuses, especially when they feel they are being painted black. In fact one can summarize that politicians can eloquently justify using tax payer money for personal reasons. The latest examples are the statem
In line with the rather vague presentation Thukela spokeswoman Sandra Papale served in parliament yesterday, the Thukela partnerships description of its intended activities in its proposed International medical center are equally vague. In a
The Living Statues Festival has proven to be such a valuable addition to St. Maarten’s entertainment mix that there is already interest from the French side to take part in the event, in case it comes back next year. And come back it should. The
It is rare that our court pronounces a life sentence but on Wednesday Judge. mr. M. Keppels sent two suspects to jail for life. One of the convicts is just 20 years old – and his life is already over. When his sentence comes up for review for the f
Justice Minister Roland Duncan is not in an enviable position. He has too many criminals to deal with and not enough cells to house them. The latest move to reserve fifteen places in the new block of cells in the police station as an extra House of
Union leaders are surging back into the limelight as the year draws to a close. The list of issues that they are bringing up is long and each has its particular nuances that can be expounded on in many an editorial. The resurgence of unions especia
Editorial, St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on December 12, 2011
Critics of Jules James and the fact that he is both a Member of Parliament and the Managing Director of the managing and owner company of Simpson Bay Resort now have the right conditions and the right moment to call for him to resign from the legisla
It is hardly surprising that quite a few of the members of parliament do not want to have controls on rent prices considering that many of them are themselves landlords. While we agree that free market policies are great, we also believe that setting
What we have learned from our communication with Common Court President Lisbeth Hoefdraad is encouraging in the sense that the distribution of appeals cases at the court is pretty much a random process. Chance is the main factor, the President wrote
We are bold enough to repeat here the advice National Alliance Member of Parliament Hyacinth Richardson gave Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor Cornelius de Weever in a recent parliamentary debate: Stop travelling all over the pl
St. Maarten is getting a lesson in advocacy and the teacher is the staffers of Simpson Bay Resort and Marina and the Villas at Simpson Bay Resort and Marina. The lesson they are giving the nation is in how to sustain a movement. Think back to seve
A general public meeting of parliament on the functioning of the Corporate Governance Council and its letter dated October 25 to the body resumes today, with the prime minister in attendance. She is expected to reply to various questions posed by MPs
The Simpson Bay Resort saga is dragging on to such an extent that one is tempted to forget that this is about people, about jobs and about the livelihood of many families. The legal wrangling has now reached the point whereby the independence of t
For the second time this year seemingly different interpretations of the law have handed the Wifol union and its members at Simpson Bay Resort and Marina victory in the Court in First Instance and then defeat on appeal. This clearly shows that the la
A proposal launched by Apolonia Violenus, a St. Maarten student in the Netherlands for her and her fellow students to be able to vote in the country’s parliamentary elections strikes us as interesting proposition. We also find that there are very f
Editorial, St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on December 1, 2011
The tragic saga of the new government building has always been shredded in a cloud of mystery. On October 18, the Court in First Instance ruled in the multi-facetted disputed between developer RGM and St. Maarten. The fact that the developer basicall
St. Maarten and Curacao have found each other in a proposal to look at putting end dates to the Consensus Kingdom Laws. Aruba is also willing to help them by serving as mediator with the Netherlands. This unity among the Caribbean countries that are
The race for spots on the board of the St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce have taken on a new tone. What was once an event confined to business circles has now spilled into the wider public. It also has a bit of the feel of a political campaign where ca
A call by political activist Eldridge van Putten for Jules James to resign as a member of parliament is dead on arrival for sure. And there is good reason. The majority of his colleagues “refuse to throw him under the bus” and he himself seemingl
Article 10 of the country’s constitution guarantees every one living here the right to not just have, but to air their own opinion. An interesting discussion can now emerge as to how this freedom is exercised. We make this point based on a state
We welcome the seizures of counterfeit items that has taken place on Wednesday and Thursday. At the same time we urge authorities to use this opportunity to increase controls so that these items don’t even make it to the shelves in the various stor
Senseless is a good word to describe pulling a gun and shooting another person for money. In the moment it may feel good, but in even the short term it does not resolve the core issue that two people are facing. So really Police Spokesman Ricardo Hen
Occupational Health and Safety seem to have taken on a new prominence and in one day we run a story about staffers here from three key ministries learning about the subject and another about people forced from their jobs because of issues in the work
