CUPE COY:--- His Excellency, Governor of Sint Maarten, Ajamu G. Baly, hereby informs the public that the 2025 Governor’s Symposium, originally scheduled for Friday, October 10, 2025, has been postponed to Wednesday, October 15, 2025.

This decision follows the official communique issued by the Government of Sint Maarten on October 9, 2025, stating that the Meteorological Department of St. Maarten (MDS) has issued a Tropical Storm Warning for the country, with tropical-storm conditions expected within the next 24 hours.

After consultation with the Office of Disaster Management (ODM), the Government has announced the closure of all non-essential offices on Friday, October 10, 2025, as a precautionary measure.

In light of these developments and to ensure the safety of all guests, contributors, and participants, His Excellency the Governor, together with the 2025 Symposium Organizing Committee, has decided to postpone the event to Wednesday, October 15, 2025.

Governor Baly and the Organizing Committee thank all stakeholders for their understanding and cooperation, and encourage the public to monitor official updates from the Government of Sint Maarten and the Meteorological Department.

Attendance at the Symposium is by invitation only. However, the public is invited to join the conversation virtually via livestream on the Governor’s Facebook page and YouTube channel beginning at 8:30 a.m. Registration for in-person guests will start at 8:00 a.m., and the program will commence promptly at 8:45 a.m.

PHILIPSBURG:---  The government of St. Maarten has issued multiple warnings and advisories as Tropical Storm Jerry approaches the region, prompting preparations for heavy rainfall, strong winds, and hazardous sea conditions. The Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunications (TEATT) has also announced specific guidelines for business operations.

According to the 5:30 PM special weather bulletin from the Meteorological Department of St. Maarten on Thursday, the center of Tropical Storm Jerry was located approximately 175 miles east-southeast of the island. The storm is moving west-northwest at 18 mph with maximum sustained winds near 65 mph. On its current forecast track, Jerry's closest point to St. Maarten is expected to be about 85 miles to the northeast early on Friday, October 10th.

In response to the approaching storm, several warnings are now in effect for St. Maarten:

• A Tropical Storm Warning

• A Flood Watch

• A Small Craft Warning

• Officials anticipate significant weather impacts beginning Thursday evening and continuing through Friday. The storm is forecast to produce rainfall accumulations of 2 to 4 inches, with the heaviest downpours expected from Friday into Saturday. These conditions could lead to flash flooding and rock falls in vulnerable areas. Tropical storm-force winds are likely to affect the island from Thursday night through Friday, and sea swells are predicted to peak near 13 feet.
• Following the meteorological updates, the Ministry of TEATT issued an announcement regarding business operations. All businesses are permitted to remain open until 12:00 p.m. on Friday, October 10th. However, the ministry encourages business owners to use their own discretion and prioritize safety when deciding whether to operate within the permitted hours.
• An additional update will be provided by 9:00 a.m. on Friday concerning the operating hours for essential businesses and guidance on the reopening of all establishments over the weekend.
• Residents are strongly urged to finalize all storm preparedness measures and to stay informed through official government channels. The public, especially those in low-lying and coastal areas, should take necessary precautions to protect life and property. The Meteorological Department will continue to monitor the storm's progress and issue further updates.

PHILIPSBURG (DCOMM):--- Friday, 10 October, marks World Mental Health Day around the world under the theme, “Mental health in humanitarian emergencies.”

World Mental Health Day serves as a powerful reminder that there is no health without mental health, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday. This year’s campaign focuses on the urgent need to support the mental health and psychosocial needs of people affected by humanitarian emergencies.

Globally, crises such as natural disasters, conflicts, and public health emergencies cause emotional distress, with one in five individuals experiencing a mental health condition. Supporting the mental well-being of individuals during such crises is not just important – it saves lives, gives people the strength to cope, the space to heal and to recover and rebuild not only as individuals but as communities.

Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well, and work well, and contribute to their community.  Mental health is a basic human right.

According to the WHO, “That’s why it is essential for everyone, including government officials, health and social care providers, school staff and community groups to come together. By working hand in hand, we can ensure the most vulnerable have access to the support they need while protecting the well-being of everyone. 

“By investing in evidence and community-based interventions, we can address immediate mental health needs, foster long-term recovery, and empower people and communities to rebuild their lives and thrive.

“On this World Mental Health Day, let us intensify our efforts to create a world where mental health is valued, protected, and accessible for all, especially in the face of adversity,” the WHO appealed on the occasion of World Mental Health Day.

Mental health is a universal human right underscoring the importance of ensuring everyone has the right to access quality mental health care and support.

Collective Prevention Services (CPS), a department from the Sint Maarten Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labor, says creating awareness about mental health is part of CPS’ annual calendar of health observances.

For persons who need support, the Sint Maarten Mental Health Organization (MHF) provides psychiatric care services to the population of the country.  Its mission includes prevention to mitigate as much as possible the negative impact of mental disorders on individual’s wellbeing and on society.

For general information on mental health issues, you can call 542-1677 or for a mental health crisis, you can call the crisis line 585-5556 which will be answered by a professional and it’s confidential.

For more information, you can call CPS 542-1570 or 914.

Scholar of Comparative Government & Politics, Acknowledging and assessing Sint Maarten's 15 years of autonomy as a constituent state of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, characterized by Parliamentary Democracy, this odyssey can be best described as turbulent and pessimistic in nature. Turbulent and pessimistic in nature bearing in that over the past 15 years some 10 members of Parliament have engaged in the unconstitutional act of declaring themselves as ‘Independent Members of Parliament’; after declaring themselves as independent at least 3 members (on different occasions), joined forces with the opposition party/ parties with the intent to form a new government, affectionately know as ‘ship-jumping’, while the others just sat in Parliament as an independent causing government to fall on 4 occasions, with the most recent instance being one year ago (August 2024); the calling for new/ snap elections 5 times, and; further resulting in the realization of forming 12 governments over the past 15 years. Effectively eroding our autonomous statehood and the efficient function of our Parliamentary Democracy (as a result of the constant declaration of independence and ship-jumping). Notably, there are those who might disagree that the act of members of Parliament declaring themselves as independent members of Parliament is unconstitutional, arguing that Article 61.3 of the Constitution, which states that ‘Members of Parliament shall not be bound by a mandate or instructions…”. Thereto, contending that parliamentarians have a ‘free mandate’ to do as he or she wishes including declaring themselves as independent members of Parliament and ship jumping. Ignoring the ‘imperative mandate’ of Article 47.1 of the Constitution and as further laid down in the Election Ordinance. Which states that the [our] electoral system “is based on a system of list (political parties), not a system of persons (candidates) and “political parties taking part in an election is assigned a number of seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for that political party. Constitutionally, the directives of imperative mandates supersede free mandates, without contradiction. To address the mitigating factors related to the turbulent and pessimistic autonomous statehood outlook of Sint Maarten (i.e., members of Parliament declaring themselves as independent and ship-jumping, thus, constantly causing the collapse of government), there is much talk about amending (or doing away with Articles 59 and 33 of the Constitution. Focusing on curbing or extending the process for the dissolution of Parliament and equally that for the no-confidence vote on ministers, with the hope that this would stop the constant collapse of the government. Notwithstanding the difficulty in making changes to the Constitution, until the Kingdom government signified its agreement (See Article 44 of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands), the amending of Articles 59 and 33 would have little to no bearing on stopping the collapse of government and motivating autonomous statehood. To the contrary, emphasis should be placed on modifying Article 59, Article 96(1) and (2), Article 98 of the Election Ordinance, and Article 2 of the National Ordinance Registration and Finances of Political Parties. And the insertion of an imperative mandate Article in the Election Ordinance, making it abundantly clear that the declaration of independence and ship-jumping shall not be permissible, in accordance with the Constitutionally mandated proportional representation composition of Parliament. On the other hand, there is much belief that the autonomous statehood of Sint Maarten is also seriously affected by its Constitutional governing structure within the Kingdom and referred to as ‘democratic deficit’. Contextually, a democratic deficit is “a situation where the governing body falls short of providing proportional representation to the governed”. At the onset, this seems to be the case for Sint Maarten and the other Dutch Caribbean parts of the Kingdom. However, taking into account the reality that approximately 98.2% of the Kingdom’s population resides in the Netherlands and only 1.8% resides in the Dutch Caribbean, with approximately only 0.2% on Sint Maarten, clearly there is no democratic deficit in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Democratically, one cannot expect a polity of 337.5 thousand people (43.9 thousand in the case of Sint Maarten) to govern a population of 18.6 million. (source: www.worldometers.info) However, there is a ‘Democratic Legitimacy’ issue, which arises “whenever the set of those involved in making democratic decisions falls short of coinciding with the set of those affected by them”. This is indicative of the Dutch Caribbean representation in the Kingdom Council of Ministers, which is the primary decision-making body for the entire Kingdom. Professor Veenendall of Leiden University proposed that by “adding 3 seats to the current 150 in the Parliament of the Netherlands (House of Representatives) would address the so-called democratic deficit. A concept also called for by the Netherlands political parties Groenlinks-PvdA and D66. This is an empty concept. Empty in its application, mainly, because by adding 3 Dutch Caribbean representatives in the (Netherlands) House of Representatives, the Dutch Caribbean parts will be faced with the insurmountable 3 to 150 odds in the influencing and passing of Legislation (that will affect them), and would have absolutely no effect in the Council of Ministers where Kingdom policies are formulated and the decision-making occurs. An alternative scenario would be to allow for the seats in the Council of Ministers to increase from 18 to 27, with the Netherlands seating 18 (67%), Curacao, Aruba, and Sint Maarten each seating 3 members (11% each), where a majority of 22 members (4/5) will be needed to make decisions for the entire Kingdom. As such, no one constituent state can dominate the decision-making process. And so, the alleged democratic deficit, more appropriately, the occurrence of the democratic legitimacy anomaly will be addressed, bringing into perspective Sint Maarten’s autonomy within the Kingdom (of the Netherlands).