Editorial, Uncategorized - Posted by admin on July 21, 2014
The airport shooting in Curacao has put Curacao’s Justice Minister Nelson Navarro in overdrive. With a live broadcast speech on TV, he announced tough measures to increase the safety of the island’s population. Navarro announced that the measu
The shooting at the airport in Curacao seems to be related to a war between two gangs. Where gangs are involved, drugs usually are not far away. In this sense, the shooting adds an argument to the debate about the legalization of drugs. If gangste
The police are opting for a careful approach towards possible violations of the rules for the placement of political campaign material on public roads. It is of course always better to talk things over than to strong-arm citizens into obedience. S
It is amazing how suddenly politicians from all walks of life bend over backwards to commend the police for a job well done, and how they suddenly come out of the woodwork with their concerns about crime after almost four years of silence. There a
Our political parties are ignoring the rules the Ministry of Justice has issued for the election campaign practically across the board. We have seen billboards at roundabouts, flags on the Prince Bernhard Bridge and banners on streetlight poles.
Aruba’s Prime Minister Mike Eman has reverted to the near ultimate measure in an attempt to convince the kingdom that his island is entitled to decide about its budget without outside interference. Until the budget is signed, or until I am no lo
Another coalition government or one-party rule? Those the options are currently going around in the minds of our politicians. The UP is after an absolute majority – and therefore one-party rule. Others are not so sure. DP-leader Wescot-Williams
We do not doubt the good intentions of the St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation, but we do question its wisdom and prudence. Our front-page story about the cleaning lady who has been waiting since May 5 to be paid for her services shows tha
The statements made by the Prime Minister about the Council of Ministers left us both disturbed and surprised. That there is the possibility under our chosen system of government for ministers to not know what the other is doing once their budgets ha
Editorial, St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on July 4, 2014
The Public Prosecutor’s Office has been unable to take a decision about the criminal prosecution of former Public Health Minister Maria-Buncamper-Molanus for the past three-and-a-half years, and it continues to leave this question in limbo. This
The speech at by Didacus Jules at the Governor’s Symposium hit a nerve, especially when we consider that most crime on the island is committed by the young, in particular young males. The education system here, and across the region, is failing to
In 2012, the National Alliance had apparently no problem whatsoever with plans for the financing of a megalomaniacal $100 million Justice Park its Justice Minister Roland Duncan wanted to push through Parliament. The project fell over the insane f
Two issues need greater clarity and Vromi Minister Maurice Lake is the one who is currently responsible for providing that clarity. One issue involves the land deal with the Vorst family who recently dropped their court case against the state. For
Pavlov reaction We’re not very sensitive to remarks foreign countries make about our behavior, but this one deserves a bit more than average attention. The American Trafficking in Persons report observes that authorities in St. Maarten display a
The frustration of former PSS-director Denicio Richardson about the government’s decision to appeal the court ruling that would have given him close to a quarter of a million dollars in compensation for all the injustices he has been put through, i
The individual responsibility of ministers as we know it in our current system is a seriously flawed concept. When St. Maarten was an island territory, the members of the Executive Council had a shared responsibility. If a majority of commissioners o
The candidacy of Emil Lee on the list of the Democratic Party is right now just that – a candidacy. But Lee has already brought his flavor of accountability and integrity to local politics before the first ballot has been cast. Long before he ma
We tend to overlook our Spanish speaking counterparts in the Caribbean, and even view them as somehow not “Caribbean” for some odd reason. Yet the Spanish speaking Caribbean accounts for over 70% of the region’s population when you just factor
There has been a spell lately of corporate and volunteer group donations to worthy causes and individuals, especially to the Art Saves Lives summer program about to begin shortly, and this can only be a good thing. We also read with interest the dona
Shareholder representative Sarah Wescot-Williams remained evasive when this newspaper asked about the bad decisions of the supervisory board of directors of Postal Services St. Maarten (PSS) that led to a court ruling that will cost the taxpayer clos
Independent MP Patrick Illidge is right about one thing: Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte was dead wrong with the reason he gave for not wanting to receive him at a reception in The Hague earlier this month. Illidge now claims he chose the path of
UP-leader Theo Heyliger presented a razor-sharp analysis of telecom provider TelEm in Parliament yesterday. It felt a bit like the wakeup call the company desperately needs. For a company that is required to act fast in a highly competitive and fa
That the economic inspection department, in coordination with other government agencies, decided to surprise a large hotel and resort in Cupecoy with a control of their business standards is good news. We have all sorts of gurus coming to the island
When the police force sent out a press release earlier this week asking possible witnesses of the robbery at the Scotiabank in Simpson Bay to come forward we had a double feeling about this request. First of all, it should not be necessary for the
The utility relief program for seniors Gebe is offering remains somehow shrouded in a veil of secrecy. The registration form does not give a single indication about the requirements seniors have to meet to qualify for the program. As it stands now, a
Minister de Weever’s announcement about the indexation of welfare payments comes at an appropriate moment – days before seniors mark the World Elderly Abuse Awareness Day this Sunday. Financial aid from the government, combined with the old ag
Words are cheap as we all know, and they are the weapon of choice for any politician worth her (or his) salt. This is why we absorbed with interest statements Prime Minister Wescot-Williams made to journalists in New York last week. Remarks that s
Editorial, St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on June 8, 2014
Hurricane researchers Phil Klotzbach and William Gray have delivered their predictions for the 2014 hurricane season. Gray started his Tropical Meteorological project at Colorado State University three decades ago and there is no doubt that the resea
Yesterday’s court decision not to impose community service on a young burglar because he lives in Guadeloupe and there is no guarantee that he will do the work, is a missed opportunity to shape cross-border cooperation between French and Dutch side
The Council of Ministers met last week with a man named Craig Baptiste who supposedly is working on a project to increase the hub function of the Princess Juliana International Airport. But who is this man? Portrayed in a DCOMM press release as so
Things move slowly, bot move they do. One may well wonder why draft legislation to establish a Bureau for Intellectual Property in the Netherlands Antilles floated around for almost fourteen years before somebody woke up and took action. In Curacao,
The 2014 budget was cut to the bone, as Finance Minister Martin Hassink expressed it this week and it looks like 2015 will become another tough year. State revenue will increase with a projected 1 percent to around 431 million guilders, but the pl
There is a big difference between being right and getting what you are entitled to. An American woman who works as a sales associate in St. Maarten found that out – after many others before her – when she sought admittance by right to the territo
The risk of reputation damage for the bank carries more weight than Francesco Corallo’s companies’ interest in having bank accounts. That ruling from October of last year signaled the end of a 16-year relationship between Atlantis World Managemen
Editorial, St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on May 23, 2014
When Princess Beatrix leaves Sint Maarten this afternoon, her departure will truly mark the end of an era. Given the princess’s age (76) chances are slim that she will visit our country again in the future, no matter how very welcome she is here.
