Member of Parliament George Pantophlet says that he is not satisfied with the efforts made by government in looking for other alternatives to cover the Budget deficit instead of increasing the Turn over Tax from 3 to 5%. Sitting down 1 day with all the stakeholders would have been the responsible thing to do. Facts are that the stakeholders were not consulted as is being noticed by their complaints appearing in the media. Also more clarity is still needed as to why the 77 million guilders that remains from the 182 million guilders deposited on the Central Bank by the Dutch government for payment arrears cannot be used to reduce the Budget deficit. The purpose for this debt relief was to give the inhabitants of St. Maarten a good starting position. And beginning the year 2011 with tax increases is not what the people had in mind. The Member of Parliament wants to know what happened to dividends from government owned companies such as the Harbor, the Juliana International Airport and Gebe N.V and Telem. If agreements were signed between government and these companies indicating why they are not paying dividends then this should explained to the people of St. Maarten with solid facts. After all these are companies owned by the people of St. Maarten. There are statements circulating that the harbor and the airport are sitting on millions of guilders. If accessing these funds will have negative financial consequences on these government owned companies this too should be proven. If not dividends should be paid. Government should not be looking for the easy way out. Happy New Year from the government of St. Maarten.

Member of Parliament George Pantophlet

Although-, the Christmas season is normally a very festive one-, and is currently right upon us-, there is a very 'uncanny' feeling sitting like a 'cloud of malediction' on the 'Friendly island'.
Too a large extent-, it has to do with a complete distrust of Government-, law-enforcement- and the justice system in 'Country St. Maarten'-, just a few months after the long heralded '10-10-10'.
Many people seem to believe that there is a kind of 'conspiracy of sorts' involving the earlier mentioned institutions supported by certain sections within the media.
There is however-, a very clear difference in terms of who in the media world seems to be concerned about the rule of law-, and about right of the people of the island to know what is going on in their country.
In that regards-, we must admit-, that kudos are most definitely in place for the TODAY-newspaper-, and the smn-news.com website.
By reading the these outlets-, and in particular the many blogs in the smn-news.com site-, one can realize that there is a very strong scary perception growing among many residents on the island-, as well as skepticism of the relevant institutions.
A very good case in point.
The recent scandals involving Minister Maria BUNCAMPER-MOLANUS and her husband-, as well as drug smugglers (See attachment TODAY, December 16, 2010, Suspected drug smugglers about to escape justice)) seem to confirm a long held belief that the law-enforcement-, the justice-system-, are being held hostage' and controlled (?) by corrupt Government officials-, as well as by organized criminals.
That this perception is serious-, is more than an understatement.
The fact that institutions like the Governor's-office-, the Prosecutors-office-, the office of the OMBUDSMAN-, and of the president of Parliament-, the Prime-minister are simply not speaking out on the apparently-, very blatant case of corruption by minister Maria BUNCAMPER-MOLANUS, is only fueling the speculation that there are all 'linked together' one way or the other.
In other words.
One can not escape the impression that-, they all seem to have something on each other-, and therefore will sacrifice justice simply to 'save each other's hide'.
In the meantime-, the country is being held hostage.
Worse yet.
Many juveniles-, are becoming even more frustrated because they are oftentimes picked up for the tiniest of infractions-, or even without hard evidence.
On the other hand-, with so much evidence being made public on the internet for all to see and read about the BUNCAMPERS-, they are still walking around maintaining their 'honorable'- titles-, salaries and perks.
It seems that now St. Maarten has officially become the latest 'BANANA-REPUBLIC' in the world-, and within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Although the Dutch Government for understandable reasons-, might not (yet) want to 'intervene'-, the US-government might not be so pleased with having such an 'open 'haven for crime and terrorism', smack in its own back-yard.
Still-, we will give St. Maarten some time to regain the confidence of the people-, by making sure that lady Justice remains 'blind' as to whoever might have perpetrated any crime.
However-, it has been done before-, and can be done again.
Bring down the 'Higher supervision hatchet' on the island-, if those n charge fail to guarantee justice..

Drs. Leopold JAMES
President SNBF/ Association L' Esprit de Concordia

Dear editor it is sad to see what StMaarten has become. I taught that our new country will be in a mode to practice good governance leading with example of how people should have respect for the rule of law. My question is to the parliament of country StMaarten. Do you all have confidence in minister Maria Buncamper Molanus? If you do after all allegations that are brought against her let the people of StMaarten know. And if you do not have confidence in her, then apply your power giving to parliament according to the constitution which state in chapter 3: THE GOVERNMENT AND THE MINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY. Paragraph 2 until 4 which read as follows.
2. If a minister no longer enjoys the confidence of the Parliament, he or she shall surrender his or her office.
3. More detailed rules concerning paragraph 2 of this article may be imposed under national ordinance.
4. The Parliament may not approve such a draft national ordinance and may not decide
upon a reading of such a draft except with the approval of two thirds of the votes of the
sitting members.
Let me go further StMaarten Constitution chapter 3 article 32, paragraph
3. The ministers are answerable to the Parliament.
In legal term the constitution did not say guilty of any wrong doing, it said straight forward enjoys confidence, that is having to do with your past presence and relations to circumstances you are involve with consistently.
Then an investigation should be done and after proven not guilty then you have rights to return to your job. Minister of Justice Roland Duncan task is to make sure the constitution of country StMaarten is uphold and enforce to every person living in StMaarten.
Another failure of position is the ombudsman, I will let the constitution defend it self.
Chapter 5, article 78 paragraph 2.
§ 3. Ombudsman
2. The Ombudsman shall undertake investigations, if requested to do so or on (his or her own initiative), into the conduct of administrative bodies of the Country and of other
administrative bodies designated by national ordinance.
Up to now the ombudsman has not do nothing. Are these people competent for the job or do they have the courage to protect justice. Ladies and gentlemen of StMaarten our government protects corruption, do you know you can email or inform the Kingdom parliament if StMaarten parliament is not functioning proper or they fail to do their job.
Log on to http://www.houseofrepresentatives.nl/ click on contact via email and let your concerns be registered.
The people of StMaarten are the last line of defense for country StMaarten when our government protects corruption.

Yours sincerely

Paul Rogers

Dear editor;

The calm of our government and our parliament leaves much more questions than answer surrounding Minister Maria Buncamper Molanus ordeal.
I recall all politicians were eager to ask the people of StMaarten for our vote with the intention of representing us in our government.
Now that we need representation to clarify these very serious allegations of corruption, it appears that the entire government and parliament has caught amnesia.
Correct me if I am wrong, every government land that is sold must be register in the cadastre, then it must go through a notary, then the executive council and the governor at that time must ad their signature for approval for the process to take place. It appears that all of our legal process has fail or I will say intentionally fail the accord of good governance. This act of silence give 2 negative atmosphere to country StMaarten, one it can be seen as incompetence or willful corruption. How ever you turn it, it is negative. I believe it is willful corruption, and if I am wrong then I challenge the Minister of Justice Roland Duncan to do his job in the right manner. I also call on the president of parliament of Country StMaarten Drs Gracita Arrindell to use her constitutional power and make inquiries to see if any fowl play was done. Remember Drs Gracita Arrindell the ministers is answerable to parliament. I am calling on all the new parliamentarians, like Mr.' Laville, Mrs., Meyers, Mr. pastor James Dr. Richardson to be counted as new blood in making real change for StMaarten. Remember your first honor is to serve the people of StMaarten before any political party. I also expect Prime Minister Wescott to take the high moral road and ask the minister Buncamper Molanus to step aside and be temporary replace until clarity is giving on this matter. It will be wise also if the new ombudsman or Lady Mrs. Nilda Lynch brings the people of StMaarten information on what is taking place on StMaarten. Furthermore if our new government does not know how to handle this matter, then Minister Roland Duncan and Prime Minister should ask help from the Kingdom government to assist in this matter. Because transparency will prove you are following the norm of good governance and will give the people of StMaarten confidence in their government. I do know one thing for sure if any other Member of Parliament or ministers in government is involve now is the time to clear yourself, for intentionally obstructing justice is punishable by law.
This is the calm before the storm, if the parliament of StMaarten does not defend the people's interest, they to will feel the vengeance of the people of StMaarten for willfully blindness and obstruction of justice. The people of StMaarten must use all means necessary to restore trust and respect for the rule of law, and all though I do not like to bring in Holland to solve our problem, I believe more than ever now is the time to bring in the second chamber of the Kingdom parliament. Our government was very vocal in instituting turn over tax on us, but now that they have to clean up their mess, it appears they have caught amnesia. Something got to give, some people must be punished or else we will be label a banana republic. Let me make my self crystal clear no person in government is above the law. Let our courts system function proper and render justice on the evidence that is presented. We need to take our country out of the hand of corrupt politicians, if they are not guilty go back to your position but if your guilty let prison be your house of worship.

Yours truly,

Miguel Arrindell

Government is coming at us with a budget, throwing numbers and blames, left and right and a few low blows. We will never know the truth behind the numbers, because none of us will see detailed information. So I figured I would throw a few numbers back at them and maybe some of mine may make sense and they may try working with them. By us, I mean the mass that will ultimately pay the burden of the taxes. It's interesting to read that the president of the Chamber of Commerce reports that business can live with the additional TOT for a year. Was there a referendum that showed that opinion as the prevailing one?

Here are a few ideas that may make some sense. And they can all be improved upon to make more sense and be implemented. You don't have to burden the mass with additional taxes. Look for other ways to balance your budget. To do this, you cannot look ONLY at 2011. What happens after 2011? Will you miraculously be able to balance future budgets?

A novel way to deal with the budget is by borrowing the 2011 short fall from the taxpayers, Problem is, before we lend you the money, you MUST show us a decent projection of income and expenses. You must prove that there is really a way out of this financial crisis. If you can do that, then you can come up with a crisis tax.
That crisis tax can be 5% of gross salary from the workers and 2.5% of sales from the business, That can be for a 3-year period, IF the situation requires it. After that 3-year period, you pay it back over a 4-year period with a 5% interest to offset possible devaluation. The worker, who paid Fls. 3000 over the 3-year period, would get Fls. 3,150 in tax reductions over a 4-year period.

Additionally, change the Turn Over Tax to a Consumption Tax. I believe that government could raise more money and the mass will not be burdened as it is now.
Let me try to explain Importer buys an item for $100 He sells it to reseller for $140 plus 5% sales tax. ($7 sales tax goes to government) Reseller sells it to consumer for $200 plus 5% tax (of that $10, $7 stays with reseller for what he already paid to government and remaining $3 goes to government) In this case, reseller does not have to raise his prices to the consumer and the consumer ultimately pays the tax. All services that are now subjected to TOT would be subjected to the 5% consumption tax.

Clifton R. Wilson

Without the slightest of any doubt.
If it were up the the majority of the public-, the days of minister Maria BUNCAMPER-MOLANUS woudl have long been numbered.
The woman does not enjoy an once of sympathy-, nor respect to put it plainly.
She comes across to most people-, as a greedy-, power-struck politician-, disguised with a very pretty face.
A face effectively used to lure-, simplistic voters-, mostly of Haitian background to vote for her-, and to carry large posters on their buses-, which according to reports she owns anyhow.
Considering herself as not just another politician-, she 'elevated' herself to another 'class'.
Consequently-, the lady effectively capitalized on her photogenic 'pose'- to transform herself into some 'Santa Maria'-, or 'Tia Maria' of sorts.
However-, even within her own DP party-, the lady is very much disliked-, and even reviled.
Some referred to her a the 'cancer eating the DP-party from inside out'.
So the question is
despite all the above-, and much more-, why isn't 'Tia Maria' history ?
Why isn't she yet walking around in handcuffs ?
Many who have not even come close to what she has done to the country-, would have long time be thrown in jail-, and possibly even have been found guilt before their trial.
The answer is very simple.
'Tia Maria' could have only told those who asked her to resign-, that she would only do that AFTER her party-leader-, and Prime-minister Sarah WESCOT-WILLIAMS would do so first.
Catch on ?
Of course.
'Tia Maria' has the Grime-minister by her *****-,meaning hostage.
Her thinking is that of organized criminals.
I will not go down by myself.
If I am forced-, I will take down 'the whole gang' along with me.
Meanwhile-, the public whom they have sworn to serve-, is being used as a rag-doll.
In addition-, democracy-, and justice are been completely made mockery of.
To make the conspiracy more compelling-, and complex-, is the very unclear role of the entire parliament of 'Country St. Maarten'.
Especially of Justice Minister Mr. Roland DUNCAN-, the Governor, drs. Eugene HOLIDAY-, president of parliament-, drs. Gracita ARRINDELL-, and Ombudsman-, dr. Nilda LYNCH-ARDUYN.
Thus-far-, they have simply left the public in the cold-, while collecting their huge salaries.
However-, we will give them sufficient time to respond-, and work towards a complete investigation of this long-lease saga of Minister Maria BUNCAMPER-MOLANUS.
In the meantime-, we advise the authorities not to believe-, that they will be allowed to run this country as their little 'plantation', because they might live to regret such.

--
Drs. Leopold JAMES
President SNBF/ Association L' Esprit de Concordia

Honorable president of Parliament of Country St. Maarten, drs. Gracita ARRINDELL

After hearing the out-pour of heart-wrenching cries of the people-, with a sense of the highest urgency-, our St. Martin grassroots movement-, hereby makes a demand on you-, to immediately open a parliamentary investigation on all the circumstances surrounding the reported sale of Government long-lease land-, by minister Maria BUNCAMPER-MOLANUS-, and her husband-, Mr. BUNCAMPER.
I can assure you-, that under the current-, very stressful social atmosphere-, to think that this particular act of greed-, and show of power-, will be 'business as usual'-, might turn out to be a very grave under-estimation-, with potentially very serious-, and uncontrollable social consequences.
It is absolutely unimaginable-, that Government-, on the one hand-, can even consider taxing the public more-, for its own mis-management-, corruption-, lies-, and deceptions-, while on the other hand-, members of the same Government are using their office-, to enrich themselves-, their families-, as well as their cronies.

Leopold James

How is tolerance defined today? • Can tolerance and truth co-exist? • What is the effect of tolerance? • What does the Bible say about tolerance?
We are living in a time of hyper-tolerance. The world teaches that not only is it good to tolerate adultery, abortion, divorce, fornication, homosexuality, sorcery, idolatry, and dishonesty, it is often considered morally courageous. Since the world is Satan's kingdom, it only makes sense that he would convince people they should tolerate what God does not. What does not make sense is that Christians are adopting this idea of tolerance. Not too long ago, the verse most believers knew and quoted was, For God so loved the world.... Today, the verse most believers know is, judge not lest you be judged. Not too long ago believers knew where to find John 3:16 and the context in which it was written. Today, believers who quote judge not lest you be judged don't have a clue where it can be found nor the context in which it was written. Not only is it ignorant to quote this verse out of context, it also proves a believer can be motivated to please the world by adopting and even promoting this idea of tolerance.

Definitions

"Tolerance" is defined as, "the capacity for or practice of recognizing and respecting the opinions, practices, or behavior of others" In other words, if you have the ability to respect others' opinions, practices or habits, and behavior, you are by definition tolerant. And such tolerance, as it has been defined and traditionally understood, is a virtue. But that is not how tolerance is taught and understood today. By adding the word "sin" to the definition, today's tolerance has become something which is detrimental rather than helpful. It is not simply the opinions of others on politics, for example, which we are supposed to tolerate, but their opinions on what is or is not sin. Tolerance isn't limited to someone's habit of, say, nail biting but applies to their sinful habits as well. Today, it is not only good to respect different behavior but sinful behavior as well. This identifies the foundational problem with this new understanding of tolerance. It puts the power to determine right or wrong in the hands of people rather than God, when, in fact, it is God who decides what is right and wrong (Deuteronomy 5:32).

Truth

Acceptance, belief, and practice of today's view of tolerance require a rejection of truth. Truth is the way things actually are. To violate the way things are is disastrous. For example, if it's true that jumping off a high Tower will kill you, then it can't be true that jumping off a high tower will not kill you. Therefore, it is disastrous to tolerate jumping off of a high Tower. God said there are certain rules and standards which are true for everyone. If there are no rules or standards which apply without exception to everyone, then everyone gets to decide for himself the rules which apply and truth is lost. For the majority of Christians, this is already happening.

The courage to preach truth

In the two gospel accounts, Christ compares the sin of one group of people to the sin of another. With reference to His disciples, Christ says, and whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake off the dust of your feet. Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Day of Judgment, than for that city (Matthew 10:14-15). The sin of both will not be tolerated. Actually, Christ is describing His degree of intolerance.
In closing and I continue to say until the churches in StMaarten has the courage to teach and preach not to tolerate sin our country StMaarten will never be bless. This is my last message for this year 2010. May God be with you have a merry Christmas and a happy new-year. Remember our only master is Jesus Christ the son of God who can save us from our sins and give us everlasting life.

Yours truly
Miguel Arrindell.
Phone 5237327

The following is in response to and article in the Daily Herald-, of Monday-, November 29-, 2010 in regards to the outcome of a Swiss referendum to expel convicted foreigners.

Characteristic for death is that everything is 'frozen in time'.
On the contrary,- the most characteristic feature of life is change-, adaptation.
Biologists for instance-, are very familiar with the concept of homeostasis.
This concept simply means that all life-forms have the desire-, and 'built-in' ability to maintain-, or work towards a state of equilibrium-, or dynamic balance by making the adaptions necessary within their systems.
This is key to survival of any organism.
However-, if we carefully look at it-, the same concept exists within the our society as well.
Especially-, in developing a country-, it plays a very important role.
For instance.
There is a time to allow for a 'building boom-',
Or to encourage people to be naturalized-,
Or to encourage immigration-,
Etc.
This applies of course-, when a country's carrying- capacity is 'underutilized'.
But alas-, what is the actual situation on the 'Friendly Island' ?
Not only has our carrying-capacity in terms of infra-structure etc. reached its 'breaking-point'-, but perhaps worse than that-, so has the 'tolerance-capacity' of the native-, and legal population.
In this case-, it is time to apply our ability to adapt-, and to activate our 'social homeostasis'-, in the expectation to survive as a people.
As such-, the example of Switzerland-, and of more countries as well-, could be seen as a necessary evil.
Therefore-, the time has come to apply reverse-processes such as 'reverse' thinking-/policies-/laws
Like what you ask.
Well just think about it.
Time to undo-, to retract-, to revoke-, to de-...all what was taken for granted for so long.
Just like we can grow our development-, we can 'ungrow' it (make time for quality-development)
Just like one can come- to our island, one should be also able 'uncome' or to leave,-.
Just like one can be naturalized-, one can also be de-naturalized (Ask Geert WILDERS)
Just like one can be 'born-here'-, one can be 'unborn here' and 're-born' elsewhere.
Just the thinking of these real possibilities-, could have an incredibly humbling impact on those who come to the shores of others-, and after having got what they wanted-, feel that now no-one can do them anything anymore-, even if they commit crime- and/or disrespect the laws-, and people of the host-country.
Upset ?
Don't worry.
Those with an 'added value' should not fear of course.
But-, for those elements with bad intentions-, this could well be a 'wake-up' call to get their acts together-, or be deported.... 'tout suite'.

Drs. Leopold JAMES
President SNBF/ Association L' Esprit de Concordia

Time and again, St. Maarten voting population has been deliberately misled deceived and betrayed by self-serving political agendas. This time constitutional change in addition to an inherent high cost also brought an obligation to competently manage the economy. History on St. Maarten has thought us that popularity has always overshadowed the importance of proper economic planning and sound political management. Ideally, to appropriately address the financial situation, these deceitful politicians have to cut their own salaries to the level of minimum wage, seize their house, property and businesses before starting any taxing on the public. For government to simply assume that increasing taxes on the working class without considering their personal political responsibility is unacceptable. An additional tax devoid of a calculated honest explanation about the consequences of such is to add insult to injury. Conservatively, Government needs a forty percent annual revenue increase to secure a sustainable future for the country. There just isn't enough room in any part of our economy to reasonably absorb a twenty percent cost of living adjustment. Therefore, I submit that the political leaders be held personally liable for the poor irresponsible experiment with the future of St. Maarten people. The people trusted their livelihood, the quality of their very existence in reckless political guidance. We need realize that running a country is not a roulette game to speculate with. Gambling with the life of a nation is a very serious and dangerous crime. Inevitably such a crime must be punishable with the highest price possible. Deliberately leading a country into an economic disaster is not to be taken lightly. Ironically, the perpetrators of this economic holocaust have given themselves a raise with no shame of being over paid. Perhaps, none of the political leaders are able to make the same type of salary for the same level of detrimental service in any part of the private sector. For Parliament to be selfish and careless about people's quality of life even to the point of burdening future generations is to set a regrettable precedent and precarious mistake. The government must make it vividly clear what exactly is the mysterious plan to balance the 2011 budget now long before December 15th, 2010. And tell us the consequences for not meeting the constitutional agreements with Dutch government. Uncertainty about the future does not promote economic confidence and stability. One suggestion that could spark some hope in public trust is a joint economic summit with all socio-economic partners of both sides of island. Since both sides of St. Maarten are showing signs of very poor political leadership. Joint economic planning is a must! One thing is for sure, there is no option for none accountability. Certainly the price of shortsightedness or the lack of bold vision is becoming very high.

Mr. Eldridge van Putten
Social & Political Activist

Dear excellency, drs. HOLIDAY,

Your kind-, but very urgent attention-, and appropriate action is requested regarding the following.
There are reasons to believe that at present-, there is a suppression of freedom of expression taking place in 'Country St. Maarten' under all kinds of pretexts.
We are very concerned-, that such has the potential to lead to very undesirable social consequences in an already stressed-out society.
Although-, certain individuals have in the recent past warned that the financial reality of the island-, sooner of later would result in a serious budget deficit-, those in charge denied such.
Worse yet-, the people of the island were misinformed into believing that the new 'Country status'-, would result in a better financial situation for them.
Now-, the Government is in fact preparing the people for even tougher financial conditions that they already are experiencing.
At the same time-, the salaries and benefits of those in charge-, who were responsible for misinforming the public-, is very comfortable to say the least.
That the public is 'livid'-, and wants to have the opportunity to debate these issues via talk-shows etc-, is an understatement.
Simply-, because if ever there was a public debate necessary to discuss culpability-, accountability-, alternative solutions etc-, it is now.
Therefore-, we urge you to make good use of the power vested in your office-, to call upon those in the media-, to allow for a mature debate on issues like this-, and to consequently avoid pent up emotions to be expressed in undesirable ways.
We all remember what took place in Greece-, Great-Britain-, France-, Ireland etc.when masses took to the streets.
There is absolutely no logical reason to believe that the same-, or worse could not happen here on the 'Friendly island'-, because even a very peace-loving people can be provoked into violence.
It can not be accepted that in reality 'Country St. Maarten' simply means a de-facto 'Banana Republic'.
In ending Excellency-, our advance thanks for your attention-, and we anxiously look forward to your wise-, and expedient response-, in the best interest of freedom of expression for the citizens of 'Country St. Maarten'.
Meanwhile-, we have hereby discharged ourselves of our civil duty to inform you of the sentiments which are brewing within the community you bear the ultimate responsibility for.

drs. Leopold JAMES
President St. Martin grassroot movement.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Finance Hiro Shigemoto announced on Tuesday that creditors on Sint Maarten who have outstanding invoices with the former Netherlands Antilles Federal Government for services and goods delivered up to October 9, 2010 for which no payment has been received, are hereby requested to submit their declaration along with their invoices to the Finance Department, Government Administration Building at the Clem Labega Square.

Creditors are also requested to submit their banker and bank account number where payments can be made based on the invoices submitted.

Previously, the former Federal Government use to make payments by check or cash on the island. This won't be the case now and that is why all creditors would have to submit a bank account number so the former Director of Finance can transfer the monies from Curacao.

The paper work should be submitted to the attention of the following persons at the Finance Department, Head of Finance Bas Roorda or Cassandra Royer-Wilson.

For those who have the information digitally, you can send this via email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

If the information is not submitted you run the risk of not receiving payment.

Minister of Finance Hiro Shigemoto met with Curacao's Minister of Finance George Jamaloodin and his advisors among which the former Federal Government Director of Finance last Friday who informed him about the aforementioned.

Philipsburg:--- The production plant that supplies GEBE with water ran into difficulty on Wednesday leaving about half of the Dutch side of the island without water.
GEBE commercial manager Steve Duzanson said that Airfin had some difficulties at the production plant causing the water shortage throughout Wednesday. Some schools ended school early on Wednesday due to the water shortage. The GEBE manager said the effects of the water shortage did not come directly from the utility company. SMN News learnt that the water tank in Cay Hill went down rather quickly causing air to enter the water lines. SMN News also understands that whenever Airfin gets backs its production capacity to normal it will take GEBE maintenance men at least four hours to get the excess air out of the lines. Up to late Wednesday afternoon several areas in Philipsburg were still out of water.

PHILIPSBURG:--- President of Parliament Drs. Gracita Arrindell announces that the national Parliament will be meeting in public session on Thursday, December 09 at 2.00pm in the A.C. Wathey Legislative Hall.

The two agenda points are the list of incoming documents and the election of a Second Vice President for the Parliament.

The second agenda point has been added to the agenda at the request of Senators Patrick Illidge, Romain Laville and Roy Marlin.

The four parliamentary factions represented in the Parliament of Sint Maarten are, namely the United Peoples party (UP), Democratic Party (DP), Independent Member of Parliament Patrick Illidge and the National Alliance (NA).

"The grim reality facing the federation of St. Kitts and Nevis has finally been exposed for all to see. The smokescreen of "its working", "we have weathered the storm", "debt is good for development" and other such ridiculous platitudes has been blown away by the harsh economic storms wrought by disastrous fiscal mismanagement." These are the sentiments of St.Kitts-Nevis Opposition Party Deputy Political Leader the Hon. Eugene Hamilton. Hamilton made the statement in light of the austerity measures announced by the Prime Minister during the recently concluded parliamentary budget debate presentation.
"After years of fiscal irresponsibility and wanton spending the country has now emerged battered and bruised washed up on the doorstop of the IMF," Hamilton Lamented
The budget appears to be a carbon copy of the austerity measures that the IMF recommended in its Public Information Notice just last month. According to Hamilton it is hard to imagine a government as bankrupt as ours having any latitude at all in choosing which IMF measures to accept or being able to reject any. Thus the very similar nature of the measures announced to those recommended by the IMF
Economists have declared that with a National Debt that reaches 196% of GDP at the end of this year St. Kitts and Nevis is completely at the mercy of the IMF with absolutely no power to bargain, not even for the price of our lands.
"Our sad and dire economic situation has precipitated the IMF to recommend the selling of our lands," said Hamilton . "As any sensible person knows when the seller is desperate for cash the buyer has the power to haggle down the price. Who knows how low this Labour government will be forced to go to hand over our patrimony only to in turn hand over the proceeds to our creditors" Hamilton continued.
Hamilton further opined "This is an ignominious state to be in and this is no accident. This economic and consequent social disaster is the direct result of the corrupt policies of Prime Minister Douglas and his Labour government."
"The prime minister claims that the National Budget is $2.6 billion so we can accept that it is at least that amount. The question then is; how much will these harsh measures ameliorate this situation. How much can this Labour government gain from raising electricity rates, reintroduced Unincorporated Business Tax, VAT, raising social services levy, removing the subsidy from gas, defunding UWI students, eliminating civil service jobs and the other austerity measures?" Hamilton questioned
"An even more pressing question is whether the increased revenues will even go where it should. A significant portion of the National Debt is the result of corruption; of inflating infrastructure contracts, of imaginary consultancy fees, of a reserve contingency fund for which there is no accountability, of nepotism and waste in statutory corporations and of plain old theft. Will our increased taxes simply be funneled to Lex Consulting LLC?" HAamilton continued
Hamilton concluded "Does anyone really believe that a government that has proven singularly incapable of managing an economy will suddenly be able to? No, I think that the rose coloured glasses have finally been removed and as a people we are resigned to a near future of even more bitter pills but for how long?"
The government recently announced steep increases for electricity, increases for the Housing and Social Development Levy and an end to many duty free concessions effective January 2011. Prime Minister Dr Denzil Douglas said the measures were aimed at tackling the massive $3 billion national debt.

GREAT BAY:--- Honorable Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams on the occasion of International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development, would like to congratulate all Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) on the work that they do, Wescot-Williams said in her message issued on Sunday.
The United Nations (UN) General Assembly invited Governments to observe annually December 5 as International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development, and urged them to take measures to heighten awareness of the important contribution of volunteer service, thereby stimulating more people in all walks of life to offer their services as volunteers, both at home and abroad.
The international theme for the day is: "Share the Story: Volunteering for the Millennium Development Goals-MDGs."
"Our island nation has a diverse NGO field that has been volunteering their time and effort, some for decades, based on (com) passion and dedication for their fellow human-beings. These individuals are champions in their area of volunteerism and I would like to congratulate them for the work that they do for our community's day in, day out.
"The various organizations that exist play a role in the promotion of the MDGs and their contribution makes a positive impact on our national development as a society.
"The journey of NGOs has been challenging yet rewarding. Starting out as small groups of like-minded individuals, NGOs have become an active voice in the community and it is promising to see how they have grown and some taking a leading role in matters that affect us all.
"NGOs are true catalysts that play valuable roles in the socio-economic development of any country. I would like to encourage other members of our society to get involved in volunteerism by joining one of the many community organizations that make a difference on the island," Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams, who is also responsible for the country's MDG program, told the Government Information Service (GIS).
Sint Maarten is committed to being a global partner, and as such needs to comply with UN conventions and treaties with MDGs being one of the major global efforts to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality and empower women; reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensure environmental sustainability; and develop a global partnership for development.

ST. MAARTEN (Dec. 3, 2010) – Royal Resorts Caribbean, management company for Pelican Resort Club and Pelican Marina Residences, is sponsoring Kingdom Day with a Toys for Tots program in support of St. Maarten's underprivileged youth. Royal Resorts is continuing this vital program, first launched in 2008 for the children of St. Maarten who would otherwise go without that special Christmas feeling and the joy of giving (and receiving a toy for Christmas). This year's Toys for Tots program will take place at the Pelican Resort Club on Dec. 15.
"On the initiative of Royal Resorts Caribbean, the management company, Pelican employees and timeshare owners express their support by giving to the children in our community and we commenced the Toys for Tots program in 2008," said Jules James, general manager for Pelican Resort Club, pictured below with the children at last year's annual event.
"As we are all aware, Christmas is a time where people from all around the world spend time with family and friends and show they care by sharing gifts. With Royal Resorts Caribbean's support, we are able to put smiles on the faces of little children who would not ordinarily receive any gifts for the Christmas holiday season.," he added.
More than 60 children from foster homes and other children's organizations will be invited to Pelican Resort Club. With several employees serving as volunteers, the children will be treated to an afternoon of gifts, snacks and fun. As always, Santa Claus will be on hand to present the gifts ranging from educational materials and clothing to dolls, board games and sports equipment such as basketballs, footballs and volleyballs.
The event will be held on Pelican's tennis courts with large inflatable games for the children to play, followed by snack time and the gift presentation.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Representatives of the Sint Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA) led by President Emil Lee paid a courtesy visit to the President of Parliament Drs. Gracita Arrindell earlier this week.

Topics discussed during the meeting were the proposed increase in Turn over Tax (ToT) and the 2011 budget.

Arrindell also explained to the SHTA board the process of handling the national budget for country Sint Maarten under the new system and the procedure to handle the draft ordinance for the proposed increase in ToT.

"It was an informative exchange of views and ideas and we both recognized the importance of meeting on a regular basis.

"I am also encouraging other groups within our community to visit Parliament where we can also exchange information. It is important that we have an open and transparent relationship with all groups as Parliament is the peoples House," President of Parliament Gracita Arrindell said on Thursday.

During the courtesy call, board members signed the official guest book.

Philipsburg:--- The coalition government that was formed just over two months ago would now have to swear in a new Minister of Health and labour to replace Minister Maria Buncamper Molanus who resigned on Thursday night after she was confronted with a motion of no confidence presented by the National Alliance Faction.
Buncamper Molanus and her husband have been making the news these past three weeks when media reports showed that the Buncampers sold the economic rights of long lease land granted to them. The Minister from the Democratic Party was asked by her party as well as by their coalition partners to resign after the scandal broke but she refused saying she did nothing wrong and resigning would be admission of guilt.

Member or Parliament and faction leader of the National Alliance William Marlin outlined the ongoing saga regarding the sale of the economic rights for a parcel of land the Minister and her husband received from the former executive council in which she was a commissioner. Marlin also explained to the members of parliament that he had authorized several persons who owned heavy equipments to fill in land on Pond Island to park their heavy equipments with the intention to grant them long leases for the land they filled in. Marlin said by the time he left government the subdivision plan for Pond Island was not ready but several departments of VROM knew of the agreements he made with the businessmen. He further explained that Minister Maria Buncamper Molanus and her husband Claudius Buncamper a section head at VROM knowingly and intentionally took away the land from Elmer Mardenborough when they obtained their first lease for the island. Marlin said not only did the Buncampers take away the land but they subleased the land on that same day to St. Maarten Building Supplies. Marlin said when the Buncampers acquired the long lease they sold the economic rights to the property to ECO GREEN for a whopping three million dollars. ECO Green he said was established just three days prior to the sale of the economic rights. Marlin said it is clear that the Buncampers scheme was to enrich themselves instead of representing the people of St. Maarten when she was elected to public office.
Minister Maria Buncamper Molanus in addressing parliament said what was done to her family this past three weeks was inhumane and while she is accused of money laundering and forgery she still does not know what crimes she committed. Buncamper Molanus in the second round made her position available.
Marlin then said this was déjà vu because the Minister faced a similar situation in 2008 and she resigned and was subsequently re-appointed. Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams then confirmed that Minister Buncamper Molanus has tendered her resignation and that the coalition would deal with it appropriately. At that point Marlin said his faction would withdraw the motion presented to parliament in the hopes that the coalition government would do the honourable thing and sign in a new Minister.


The Parliament of Sint Maarten, in its meeting of today, December 23, 2010, considering;

• That the objective of politicians seeking public office, and politicians holding public office, should never be with the intention and or objective to enrich themselves, through decisions of the government they form part of.
• That in the period of January 2008 through January 2009, Mrs. Maria Buncamper-Molanus was a member of the Island Council of St. Maarten and also served as a Commissioner in the Executive Council of St. Maarten.
• That during above mentioned period, the Executive Council of St. Maarten in its resolution #129 of February 14, 2008, granted a parcel of land of 4623 m2, further described in Certificate of Admeasurement 230/2007, in long lease to Mrs. Maria Buncamper-Molanus and her spouse, Claudius A. Buncamper.
• That the annual "canon" for the parcel of land was set to Naf. 18.492,00.
• That the Deed was passed at the offices of Notary Gijsbertha on April 1st, 2008.
• That on April 10, 2008 the Deed was registered in the Public Registers of Sint Maarten in Register C, Volume 244 number 8.
• That on December 19th, 2008 Mrs. Maria Buncamper Molanus and her spouse Claudius A. Buncamper, sold the Economic Ownership of mentioned parcel of land to Eco Green for an amount of 3 million US Dollars, with a down payment of $1.631.297.00 and monthly installments of $18.750,00 as of January 1, 2009.
• • That on this same date, December 19th, 2008, Eco Green signed a commercial lease agreement with St. Maarten Building Supplies for the lease of mentioned property.
• That Eco Green was registered at the Chamber of Commerce of St. Maarten on December 16th, 2008, 3 days before the sale and purchase agreement was signed.
• That it is clear, that Mrs. Maria Buncamper-Molanus and her spouse, Claudius A. Buncamper, had significant financial gain through obtaining a parcel of land in long lease, of which they sold the economic ownership for 3 million dollars, 8 months later.

Resolves;

• To condemn the actions of Mrs. Maria Buncamper-Molanus, who presently serves as Minister of Public Health and Labour, as described in the considerations mentioned above.
• To declare that the actions of Mrs. Maria Buncamper-Molanus, described above were not in keeping with the principles of good governance and transparency.
• That Minister Maria Buncamper-Molanus, therefore, no longer enjoys the confidence of the Parliament of Sint Maarten.

And goes over to the order of the day.
Copies of this motion to be sent to:
The Governor of Sint Maarten.

Philipsburg:--- Minister of Justice Roland Duncan and Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams confirmed on Wednesday that they met with the President of the Collectivity of St. Martin Frantz Gumbs on December 24th. Minister Duncan described the meeting as fruitful. Duncan said some of the highlights of the meeting were that they have agreed to relax the mandatory passport requirement to enter St. Maarten via the Princess Juliana International Airport. Duncan said they have decided to relax the passport for entry for a period of six months which would give them enough time to deal with the matter.

The justice Minister said French residents and or citizens who are holders of Dutch side Drivers licenses would also be able to renew their licenses. The issuance and renewal of these drivers license will be for a period of one year which would enable both sides government to arrange and structure the matter. One of the hindrances facing the French side residents and or citizens who holds Dutch Drivers license is that they are not able to transfer their Dutch license for a French license if these licenses are expired. Also present during that meeting was head of the Census Office Leona Marlin Romeo.
Another agreement reached during the Christmas Eve day meeting is that the two sides would begin the execution of the Franco/Dutch treaty. Duncan said the Franco/Dutch treaty has been agreed upon a few years ago after years of discussion. He said the treaty calls for joint controls at the airports which mean that there will be French Immigration officers at PJIAE and Dutch Immigration officers at Grand Case (L'Esperance) Airport.

Philipsburg:--- Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams confirmed on Wednesday that she is yet to receive the official resignation letter from Minister Maria Buncamper Molanus and as such she could not submit it to the governor's office. Asked by SMN News if her party or faction has chosen a candidate to replace the Minister when she decides to resign the Prime Minister said they have not yet started such a process and as such the screening cannot take place.
The Prime Minister further explained that now that St. Maarten is no longer an island territory the part where a commissioner stays on until her successor is appointed is no longer the case in country St. Maarten. Asked how long does the office of the Prime Minister intend to wait on Minister Maria Buncamper Molanus to submit her resignation letter, the Prime Minister said there is no specific amount of waiting time but she suspects that the Minister would submit her resignation during the course of the day on Wednesday or Thursday.

Asked if she misinterpreted what Minister Buncamper Molanus said on Thursday evening during the Parliamentary debate when she said she made her position available to parliament. Prime Minister Wescot Williams said she already explained her interpretations to parliament and she also believes that everyone deserves dignity and respect even in politics thus she expects the formal proceedings of the resignation letter to be on her desk within short.

Presidential hopeful of the PNC and respected women and youth activist, Dr. Faith Harding has issued a passionate appeal for all stakeholders to contribute to the positive development of all orphans and those affected and infected with HIV/AIDS stressing that no child or person affected by HIV/AIDS should continue to face stigma and discrimination.

Dr. Harding who believes that she can take the PNC to victory at the 2011 elections in Guyana has declared her intentions that should be entrusted with the responsibility of leading her party to the polls that added his party's voice for the immediate ending of stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS. She pointed out that in a civilized and mature society ending stigma and discrimination are the primary pillars in reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS. This, Dr. Harding stressed that she remains confident that the fight against HIV/AIDS can be won noting that there are some amount of successes achieved thus far globally in addressing the disease.

Dr. Harding who said that she will formally announce her presidential bid sometime in December zeroed in on what she said is the situation in Guyana. She noted that there is an urgent need for a genuine multi-sector approach to the fight against HIV. Dr Harding said that while she feels that there are some positive efforts being made and achieved by the Ministry of Health she firmly believes that more can and should be done as it relates to HIV/AIDS. "In must admit that I think that the Ministry of Health is attempting to make some efforts however frankly there is still a whole lot mote that is critically needed," Dr Harding said.

Dr. Harding who herself has been over the years doing a number of voluntary work with children and women and also in the area of HIV/AIDS pointed out that its pivotal for the Minister of Health, Dr Leslie Ramsammy and his ministry to remain in the lead role in confronting HIV. "I must stressed that Guyanese throughout this country must be able to feel a sense of pride and faith that as a country that we can succeed in effectively and efficiently addressing this epidemic which has the ability to threaten our own existence," she said.

The PNC presidential candidate also issued a passionate appeal to other stakeholders to play a meaningful role as well. The former PNC Government Minister noted that while Government should be the front leader's stakeholders also has a responsibility in ensuring that collaboration and cooperation is achieved so as to win the battle. "Today I join with my team in calling on all stakeholders to recognize that they too have an important role to play in this fight as well thus civic society should also see themselves as a major player," Dr Harding said.

Dr Harding reiterated that her group joins with others in noting the importance of confidentiality when addressing this issue stressing that he would like to see a high level of mature political leadership in the fight against HIV. She said that petty political differences should be set aside so as to properly deal with the concerns and issues affecting the people of the beautiful country of Guyana.

Dr Harding who is known for her aggressive and continuous community service stressed for the PPP/C administration to demonstrate more commitment and willingness thus investing in putting together carefully thought out programmes so as to properly prevent and control HIV. "I would like the current administration to take note of the effects of HUIV/AIDS in Guyana and what it continues to do to our population primarily among women and children. I therefore call on the Honorable Minister of Health Dr Ramsammy and his Ministry to join with us in being an effective advocate for the elimination of stigma and discrimination of persons living with the disease," she said.

Dr Harding also called on her colleagues who she said would like her be contesting for the presidential bid and the National AIDS Secretariat to join hands in helping to forge stronger relationships with members of civil and private sector society. "I appeal to my colleagues to not lose sight of the urgency and importance in ending stigma and discrimination while I commend the National AIDS secretariat on the work that they are doing to be cognizant that more needs and should be done." Dr Harding noted that the private sector and civil society including the faith-based organizations needs to be commented and applauded for what they have and continues to do dubbing their efforts as being 'very impressive leadership".

She also pointed out that her group while seeking to garner the presidential bid strongly believes that to enhance any level of partnership that in playing a key role in preventing and controlling HIV/ AIDS it must be taken to a new level. This, Dr Harding said will see her team working closely in ensuring that they can continue working in garnering social support to families affected by HIV thus helping to ease some of the difficulties and challenges faced.

"While I can admit that I wholeheartedly seek the presidential bid for the PNC I remain passionate and committed as a politician to lead from the front and therefore urge the others to do likewise as we have a social and moral responsibility to reduce stigma and discrimination. We must also strive to provide tangible assistance in whatever way that we can," she declared.

Dr Harding added Grant added that there is much to reflect on this year's theme which is 'Universal Access & Human Rights' stressing that there is much for the people of Guyana to assessed and certainly be proud of. She expressed confidence that the public is interested in making a new start in championing the cause of people living with HIVAIDS. "As I seek to garner the presidential nomination of my dear party I am confident and assured that once elected to office that there is a lot that will be done for those infected and affected by the disease. As such, I take this opportunity to commend those working in whatever capacity in helping to reduce stigma and discrimination as I firmly believe that there is much more that can be done especially from the Government level".

"I therefore use this opportunity to call on all in recognizing the importance of committing to a worthy and important cause as together we work towards the reduction of stigma and discrimination," Dr Harding said in a passionate appeal.

Cole Bay:--- Dignitaries and members of the general public attended the 50th anniversary celebration of the Windward Islands Bank in the parking lot at the Port de Plaisance. Among those that attended the social event was Governor of St. Maarten Drs. Eugene Holiday and his wife Marie Louise, Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams, Senators George Pantophlet, Johan Janchi Leonard a Roy Marlin. Well wishers and members of the business community were out in large numbers celebrating with the staff and management of the Windward Islands Bank.

The bank's director Jan Beaujon presented a basket to the first teller of the Windward Islands Bank Ms. Ruby Flanders. A speech prepared by Ms. Flanders was read out by her daughter who is also an employee of the WIB.

Jacky Rom, a British children's book author, gave two presentations to the cycle two, years three and four classes from M. Genevieve de Weever School, on Tuesday, December 14th. Rom just published her second of a series of five books. The books feature a girl named Starr who is active in the entertainment field.

Rom provided interactive presentations where she asked the students to mime different situations, practice a tongue twister, and answered questions from the students. The school purchased books for the class teachers to read aloud to the students.

Everyone is looking forward to her third book.

GREAT BAY (GIS):--- The Department of Civil Registry had another information evening at the Philipsburg Cultural and Community Center on December 9 to provide relevant and valuable information to the public in matters regarding the civil registry. There were about 90 persons and some 10 children at the information session.
Head of the Census Office Leona Marlin welcomed all persons and provided an introduction.
"Thank you all for coming. We hope to give you information regarding the Department of Civil Registry on the different tasks or functions that we do at the office. We will provide you with details on birth certificates, passports, registering of addresses, among other topics. Please feel free to ask questions. We have some form for you to see and if need be to fill out and bring them by the Civil Registry office. Thanks again for coming."

The officials explained about several important issues regarding the civil registry.

"There are persons that are registered on the French side with one type of information and on the Dutch Side, with another type of information. This inaccuracy or inconsistency will sooner or later catch up the culprits. In the end, persons will be charged for lying on official government documents. It is a crime," the official said. "Information has to be consistent across the board."
Another point that the office wanted to bring across was that people at times are not sure what to do or how to go about or what type of information they should be requesting because of the technicalities involved; therefore, when the Civil Registry clerk ask for information, please do so and not get upset. We are here to help you, the official said.
For example, there are several types of registration forms, so depending on what the form will be used for or to whom the form will be given, depends on what type of registration form the clerk will need to give to that person. So we ask questions to better assist the client.
There are various types of identifications, namely, Drivers licenses, Passports, and Identification cards—all have to be of a valid date, the official said. So if someone comes in with an expired date on the id they are using at the office, then that piece of ID is no good; and therefore the Office of the Civil Registry cannot conduct any business with this person with a non-valid identification.

The official also talked about legal addresses.

If changing of address, you have to bring in a GEBE bill or a permission letter from landlord, his/her id, and signed. Once you are 18 years you have to declare your address, whether living under your parents' house or not.
Civil Registry is not the immigration department. So persons should come to register the child just after they are born so as to get a birth certificate. It is the child's right, and the parent's duty.
If mother doesn't want the father to acknowledge the child, then the father could go to court to have the acknowledgement happen.
For passports of children, both biological father and mother, whether married or not, and child have to be present when requesting said passport and when picking up said passport.
Don't wait till last minute to get or renew passport. Under normal circumstances, passports take two weeks.
The officials wanted the public to know that there are specific countries that the civil registry department receives a lot of false documents.
When people use these, by law the front office has an obligation to report said fraud and call in the police to arrest the person. The clerks, the civil servants from the civil registry are well trained, they go through training just about every week for detection of false documents, to know the laws better, etc. so the public is urged not use dabble in falsification of documents. They will get caught and they will be arrested.
Also some people have gotten false passports or gotten passports under dubious circumstances, this can be reverse. Once it is caught, this person may go to jail.
If a person tries to defraud the Civil Registry, it is the law that the civil registry clerk reports the incident. And as such, the police will come and lock up this person immediately.
For more information please visit the Civil Registry Department or visit www.sintmaartengov.org.

On Friday November 19th Dr. Nilda Arduin presented 5 copies of her the the Constitution of St . Maarten made simple to Philipsburg Jubilee Library director Mrs. Monique Alberts. In this booklet published by the EWA foundation the constitution of the new country St Maarten is explained in non technical terms. Mrs. Monique Alberts thanked Dr. Arduin for the booklets on behalf of especially the younger library users who will certainly benefit from this publication. She expressed her hope that EWA will keep up the good work by producing more educational publications about our country.

Citizens and Friends of Sint Maarten,

Season Greetings,

It is the time of the year where many people gather with a family and friends to celebrate the birth and legacy of Jesus Christ.

Many are blessed to have food on the table and a safe shelter. There are also many who are in want of a meal or in need of a decent roof for their families.

Let us make this holiday season one of sharing with those who without any fault of their own, do not have a plate to feast from, or those who does not have a place to stay.

During these special days, let us take some time out for our young ones, our elderly and those who are physically challenged, abused and neglected.

Allow me to share with you a biblical verse I came across that inspires me, which I thought fitting for this season;

"Do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brothers. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart. Then, because of this the Lord will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to."

Let us all reach out to the children's homes, hospital wards, senior citizens homes, safe haven, schools, and community centers, and give generously during this holiday season.

Be Blessed

Merry Christmas

Gracita R. Arrindell, President of Parliament Sint Maarten.

Great Bay:--- There are only a few days left before the deadline expires for students to submit applications for study financing for 2011. The deadline is December 31, 2011 and according to a Notice issued by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports & Youth Affairs, "No applications will be accepted after the closing date."

The Notice, signed by the Acting Head of Study Financing, Mr. Quincy Harrigan, further states that the applications should be brought in to the Department of Study Financing at the Vlaun Building in front of the Post Office in Philipsburg. Office hours are from 8:00AM to 5:00PM.
"Applicants must ensure that their applications are duly filled in and complete and that all the necessary attachments are submitted with the applications," the Notice concluded.
In another related release, the Ministry is inviting "New applicants for study financing as well as transfer students desirous of studying in the United States in 2011" to an information session at the PMIA Hall on Backstreet on January 6, 2011. The session will begin at 5:00PM and is expected to last no more than 1½ hours.
According to Harrigan, "Representatives of the United States Consulate on Curacao will be present to provide information and answer any questions that applicants may have with reference to applying for a student visa to study in the United States of America."

Philipsburg:--- The police have arrested a man from St. Lucia identified as J.L.N who allegedly forced an entertainer to have unprotected sex under the threat of a knife in his hotel room. Police Spokesman Ricardo Henson said the victim identified as S.A.P.S from the Dominican Republic filed an official report on Tuesday December 28th with the Detective Department stating that she is an entertainer at a popular night club on the island.
The woman told police that on that same night at approximately 02:00 am she made an agreement with a customer at the nightclub to spend the night with him at his hotel for which she would she be compensated.
The woman said when they were at the hotel the situation got out of hand and she was threatened with a knife and a bottle by the client and forced to have unprotected sex. She told police that her life was threatened if she did not cooperate. According to the victim, she was repeatedly forced to have unprotected sex until 06:00 am. At one point, the victim succeeded in getting her hand on a knife and attacked the suspect. A confrontation took place between them at which time she wounded the suspect with the knife. The suspect then pushed out of the hotel room. The police was immediately informed of the incident. The suspect with initials J.L.N. from Sint Lucia was arrested shortly after in his hotel room and taken to the Philipsburg Police station. The Detective Department is busy investigating this case and the suspect is in custody.

As the President of MISOPLWHA an OECS based non governmental organization which stands for Media In Support Of People Living With HIVAIDS I am very happy to once again to attempt at garnering support as we celebrate yet another World AIDS Day today.
It is very important to note that since 1988, the day December 1st has been a day of bringing messages of compassion, hope, solidarity and understanding about AIDS to every country in the world. We within the Caribbean has been no different with many of us reflecting on relatives and friends who have died while trying to mobilize support as we desperately seek to reduce stigma and discrimination which continues to be the greatest fight in curbing the rapid spread of the disease.
As such, it is noted that each year there is a particular theme chosen for Word AIDS Day, and for this year, 2010 it is 'Universal Access & Human Rights.'
I, however beg my media colleagues primarily and every person out there to not to forget to wear their red ribbon. We must know that wearing the ribbon is a symbol of ending stigma and discrimination. There is no need for me to remind my media colleagues throughout the OECS about the power and unbelievable influence of the media and therefore ending stigma and discrimination should be a battle that we should seek aggressively to pursue.
I want to state that the ribbon is an international symbol of AIDS awareness that is worn by people all year round, but particularly around World AIDS Day to demonstrate care and concern about HIV/AIDS, and to remind others of the need for their support and commitment.
It is important to note that women now represent about the half of the people living with HIV. However, today the majority of persons who become HIV-positive and who die of AIDS in developing countries are women. It was pointed out that several factors which are rooted in social relations and women's economic realities contribute to the fact that women now are becoming infected at a faster rate than men.
MISOPLWHA strongly believes that sexual relations between young women and older men are frequent, in particular in arranged marriages which are very prevalent in countries like Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. Often, the older husband helped the girl's family financially. These intergenerational marriages increase the risk for the young women to be infected with HIV, because according to UNAIDS statistics older men are more likely to be HIV-positive and to infect their young partner. Moreover the risk of infection for young women is greater because the lining of the neck of the womb is not fully developed.
MISOPLWHA believes that the media in the respective countries have a vital leadership role to play in changing attitudes through their newspapers, radio, televisions, websites and blogs in the modern days of communication and the wider community at large. Responsible and aggressive journalists when covering health issues more in particular HIV/AIDS should be diligently sought after thus ensuring that issues such as gender inequality in the context of HIV/AIDS can be effectively publicized.
I however would like to urge my fellow colleagues to join with this organization in pursuing the following; Unions should pursue several lines of action, among them:

• Effectively address the low status of women as the main means to combat violence against women and girls
• Support HIV- positive women and children
• Through our influence as media practitioners to strive towards campaigning for financial assistance to be provided to HIV- positive workers in order for them and their families to have access to treatment or to encourage workplace medical facilities to diagnose and treat STIs which increase the risk of transmission of HIV
• Provide information and education for men which includes sexual and reproductive health

I want to stress that women are especially exposed to the consequences of HIV/AIDS. As I indicated earlier that UNAIDS statistics have stated that AIDS exacerbates the unequal division of work and responsibilities. Retracing the traditional domestic role of women indicates that girls and women are more likely to provide care for the sick relatives and they will have the double burden of contributing also to household income.
As such, this situation reduces the educational opportunities for girls and young women and limits their opportunities to achieve financial independence. Many persons are of the view that HIV/AIDS doesn't affect them but I beckon to warn that in developing countries, when their partners die of AIDS, women often find themselves without any financial security, economic opportunities or social protection. HIV-positive women face a similar situation. Many of them are stigmatized and abandoned because of their disease. When they are sick and forced to leave their economic activities they lose their precarious livelihood.
Research continues to show that women are more likely than men to be stigmatized, ostracized and destitute. HIV/AIDS-related discrimination among media practitioners can pose enormous challenges to those living and or affected by the disease thus I end by appealing to all to use our roe as media colleagues and members of society to help in ending stigma and discrimination. This is very important if we are going to succeed at curbing the spread of this very powerful disease.
I thank you and sincerely trust that for those not on board that they will seek at making their contribution in a positive and meaningful way.

PHILIPSBURG:--- President of Parliament Drs. Gracita Arrindell, says that there are detractors out there who are attempting to create news and sensationalize news rather than focus on the issues of the country.

"I felt it necessary to address a couple of things that have been published online which do not hold any water. The media has a responsibility to publish correct, factual information. Once you stray away from that premise, you are doing a disservice to the St. Maarten community who expect better.

"First of all, I have the full backing of the United Peoples (UP) party faction in parliament. They realize the situation that our nation is facing and are ready to deal with those issues in order to move our island nation forward and make us stronger and better.

"The relationship with the leader of the UP Party Theo Heyliger is excellent and he realizes that we must stay the course just like the entire UP faction in order to deal with the issues facing the nation. Being overwhelmed and at loggerheads is far from the truth. We were elected by the people to do a job. It has only been a little over seven weeks that we have been on the job, and within that space of time we have been laying the ground work so the work can begin on a local and regional level.

"A coalition government was formed and we are ready to work with the Council of Ministers in the coming weeks and months to address matters of national concern, the first one being the approval of a balanced 2011 budget," President of Parliament Gracita Arrindell said on Thursday.

With respect to parliament having a representative at Saba Day national celebrations on Friday, "It was agreed by Leader of the National Alliance (NA) William Marlin that Senator Louie Laveist would represent the Parliament of St. Maarten. An official advice was prepared and presented to parliament," Arrindell said on Thursday.

Philipsburg:--- More hiccups at the parliament of St. Maarten left the two member delegation from Parliament who was supposed to attend the Saba Day festivities on Friday stuck on St. Maarten. SMN News has been reliably informed that the two member delegation namely Johan Janchi Leonard from the UP faction and Roy Marlin from the Democratic Party faction could not travel to Saba on Friday because they did not get the tickets from government to travel. The source said that the general secretary (griffier) of parliament Franklyn Hanze left the island on Thursday for Curacao before making sure parliamentarians got their tickets and other relevant documents to leave. While it is customary for Hanze to leave the island on Friday and return on Monday SMN News learnt that the griffier has parliamentary business to conduct on Monday which would require him to return to St. Maarten on Sunday, thus he took his extra day on Thursday when he left.
SMN News managed to see Senator Roy Marlin on Friday and when asked why he did not leave for the Saba Day celebration Senator Marlin said other matters came up. SMN News also confronted the faction leader of the United Peoples Party Romaine Laville who said he is investigating the ticket issue to see what went wrong and who was responsible for not having the tickets ready for the Senators to travel.
SMN News also understood that most of the senators are busy querying their salaries and the deductions that were made last month end. At the parliamentary meeting on Tuesday many senators were seen discussing their payslips and the deductions that were made. One senator said there was a 47% wage tax deducted while others got a 50% wage tax deduction. SMN News further learnt that some of the senators met with the head of personnel affairs on Thursday to inquire about the deductions that were made on their first pay check.

Philipsburg:--- The leader of the National Alliance faction in the parliament of St. Maarten has submitted a request for a meeting of the parliament where the Minister of Finance Hiro Shigemoto must attend. Senator William Marlin told SMN News that during that meeting the finance Minister will be questioned on the increase of TOT from 3% to 5%.
Just last week Friday the Minister of Finance Hiro Shigemoto said the council of ministers had approved the balanced 2011 budget. Shigemoto said his Ministry was forced to make several cuts and increasing the TOT from 3% to 5% to balance the budget as required by the CFT. Government he said had until December 15th to submit the 2011 budget for approval. The Minister said the budget was sent to the council of advice for their approval.
The increases are to go into effect as of January if passed by the parliament of St. Maarten.

Philipsburg:--- Minister of Labour Affairs Maria Buncamper-Molanus confirmed on Wednesday that the formalization of the appointment of the labour mediator has been completed. Having the responsibilities, as established in the Federal Ordinance regulating Labour disputes and the accompanied resolutions, Mr. Derrick Holiday has been appointed as Labour Mediator for St. Maarten his first contract will be for the duration of one year says the Minister.
The mediator's responsibilities include supporting parties during collective labour agreements negotiations, analyzing and mediating in disputes, providing solutions, organizing referenda and advising on policy matters.
The mediators function within the policy department of labour.
Both mediators will be formally introduced at a meeting with stakeholders which will be announced at a later date.
"I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Mr. Holiday and look forward to working with him. As was announced earlier Mr. Lopes has been requested to continue for a period of six months also as mediator, during that period he would guide the new mediator Mr. Holiday in the carrying out of his function". Together the gentlemen will also tackle whatever backlog exists as far as the responsibilities of the mediator is concerned.

PHILIPSBURG:--- President of Parliament Drs. Gracita Arrindell, extends her deepest sympathy to the family and friends who perished after a boating incident near the British Virgin Islands (BVI) about a week ago.

A boat carrying over 30 persons allegedly of Haitian nationality went aground on a reef in Tortola, BVI, leaving eight persons dead including two young children.

It is alleged that the vessel left the island with the persons onboard. An investigation is currently on-going and several persons on Dutch Sint Maarten have been arrested and are helping law enforcement with their enquiries while a number of locations have been searched.

Senator Gracita Arrindell says that a review of the human smuggling law is needed in order to see what changes can be made so persons will think twice before violating the law.

Human smuggling is not a new phenomenon. Criminal networks which smuggle human beings for financial gain increasingly control the flow of migrants across borders. It is acknowledged that the smuggling of people is a growing global phenomenon. It is not only a trans-national crime, but also an enormous violation of human rights.

"Sint Maarten will not tolerate its territory being used for the facilitation, transportation or illegal entry of a person or persons across an international border, in violation of one or more countries laws," President of Parliament Gracita Arrindell said on Sunday.

Philipsburg:--- The bankruptcy that was filed for the Christian Kingdom Cooperative by the Central Bank is scheduled to be heard on Monday in the Court of First Instance. SMN News learnt that CKC plans to file a counter claim against the Central Bank for failing to have the necessary insurance in place to secure its creditors.CKC is asking for the Central Bank to be held liable.
CKC plans to object against the demand of the bankruptcy of CKC as well as a counterclaim, which they intend to explain in the "verweerwschrift".

Objection #1:
CKC appealed the "intrekking" of their license at the LAR judge. They also believe that until that matter is settled, it would be imprudent to proceed with the bankruptcy hearing.

Objection # 2:
According to the "toelichting" to art. 37 of the Lansverordening toezicht bank-en kredietwezen, (LTBK) two things must happen for bankruptcy to occur. (a) The capital must be negative, and (b) the portfolio must be wound down or transferred, or the bank must be believe that a transfer of the portfolio is not feasible. With the bank's cooperation, they are busy attempting the transfer their portfolio to a sister credit Union out of Nevis. This means that the transfer of the portfolio still remains a possibility, and as such, the conditions for declaring bankruptcy have not been met.

Objection #3:
Members have agreed to conversion option, whereby some US$280,000 has been promised by members to be converted to equity, thus reducing negative equity. They anticipate raising enough such conversions to totally erase the negative equity of US, 395,000.

CKC counterclaim:
In the event that the court, in spite of the objections, still proceeds to pronounce the bankruptcy of CKC, the following counterclaim is submitted by CKC:
Pursuant to art. 39 of the LTBK the central bank was supposed to have a deposit guarantee system in place. This was supposed to have been done since 1995 when the LTBK was introduced. As the bank has failed to implement the said deposit insurance, CKC holds the bank liable for covering 100% of member deposits . As the court can see in "verweerschrift" the Dutch Central Bank insures accounts up to 100,000 Euros, per account, with no limit to the number of accounts a depositor holds.
As Antillean Law follows closely Dutch law, CKC have every reason to believe that the
Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten should have implemented a similar system, which would have allowed depositors to place their deposits in such a manner that they would be 100% covered by the deposit insurance scheme. This could be easily accomplished by each member opening multiple accounts, with each accounting not holding more than the amount guaranteed.

In summary request the court -as far as the bankruptcy request is concerned- to:

1. Reject the bankruptcy petition of CKC
2. Put in on hold until the LAR case has been settled, or until the issue of the portfolio transfer has been settled.

In the matter of our counter claim which is conditioned upon the bankruptcy being pronounced, CKC request to court:

1. Find the Central Bank liable for 100% of member deposits.
2. Move the case to the normal docket for further proceedings.

Philipsburg:--- Members of the coalition government the United Peoples Party and the Democratic Party held a meeting at Parliament Building on Monday to discuss the 2011 budget as well the media reports concerning the leased land that was sold by Minister of Health and Labor Maria Buncamper-Molanus. While the meeting held on Monday was for all of the coalition partners the leader of the Democratic Party Sarah Wescot Williams and Maria Buncamper Molanus did not attend.
SMN News has been reliably informed that tempers flared during the meeting on Monday because all members of the coalition government in parliament are angry at Buncamper Molanus. The members it is understood are more concerned about possible money laundering and tax evasion investigations since the person who bought the economic value of the leased land is a pensioner.
Sources say that the members of parliament are totally embarrassed at the situation. However, they have decided to allow their coalition partner to deal with Buncamper Molanus before parliament takes action. SMN News also learnt that leader of Democratic Party Sarah Wescot-Williams met with Buncamper Molanus on Monday evening.
Several phone calls to the president of parliament went unanswered on Monday as SMN News attempted to get a comment from her.
In the meantime, President of the Democratic Party Michael Ferrier confirmed that his party is presently discussing the matter pertaining to Buncamper Molanus internally. Ferrier said the discussions are not yet over and he would not be making any statements until the discussions are completed.
Leader of the National Alliance William Marlin also confirmed that his faction has sent a letter to the chairlady of parliament requesting that she add another agenda point to the meeting they requested last week to discuss the 2011 budget and the increase in Turn over Tax. Marlin said the second agenda point is to discuss the alleged selling of leased land by Minister Buncamper Molanus and her husband Claudius Buncamper.
In the meantime, Prosecutor Bart den Hartigh confirmed that some documents were sent to the prosecutor's office but they have not yet decided if and when criminal an investigation would begin. "Our office still has to study the documents that were sent to us and we would have to determine if a criminal investigation has to be conducted." Hartigh said.

SIMPSON BAY:--- Authors Gerard van Veen and Felecita Williams will sign copies of their newest books at Van Dorp bookstore on the airport road, Simpson Bay, according to Mrs. L. Carty of Van Dorp.
Felecita and Gerard will be in the store on Saturday, December 18, 10 am-2 pm.
Holiday shopping for readers and youngsters in the family will get a sophisticated touch at Van Dorp this Saturday, said Jacqueline Sample, president of House of Nehesi Publishers (HNP).
"Having an author-autographed book to present to a family or friend who cherishes reading or who you would like to see get interested in reading a little more, is a unique style," said Sample.
Senior writer van Veen will sign copies of his Hakuna Matata and Other Travel Stories and any of his previous titles that may be available at the store.
One of the nation's newest authors, Felecita, returns for a second weekend at Van Dorp.
Williams said that she was "so surprised" last Saturday when asked to autograph a copy of her autobiographical Because of Prayer for her former MPC teacher who happened to drop in at Van Dorp and saw the author at the book signing table.
Both books were published by HNP.
"Attractive, quality and affordable 'Made in St. Martin Gifts®' for family, friends, co-workers, and visitors have long been a holiday treat from House of Nehesi. This year, teaming up with book industry partner Van Dorp for book signings is another way to reach out to the island's people and to our visitors with an original touch of the St. Martin experience," said Sample.
"Bring the kids, meet and talk with the authors at Van Dorp, get your gift books autographed, and have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year," said Sample.

GREAT BAY:--- Nutrition is the process of being nourished by eating food which is used for growth and daily activities.
Good nutrition which comprises of an adequate, well balanced diet combined with regular physical activity is the cornerstone of good health.
Poor nutrition can lead to reduced immunity, increased susceptibility to disease, impaired physical and mental development, and reduced productivity.
Every individual should empower themselves this holiday season to attain the best possible health throughout life.
Our bodies use vitamins and minerals that we need to be healthy.
The Collective Preventive Services (CPS) would like to see the nation making the best health choices for themselves. It has been well established that healthy lifestyle practices need to be introduced early in a child's development in order for them to become life-long habits.
This holiday season CPS would like everybody to eat healthy, act healthy and think healthy. Working is important, but a balance must be struck with exercise and eating healthy.
Happy Holidays – eat healthy, act healthy and think healthy.

Philipsburg:--- President of the St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) Stuart Johnson (right) and Treasurer of the foundation Erno Labega (left) met with Managing Director of Scotiabank, Elie Bendaly last week. Scotia has been one of the foundation's premier partners for years, annually covering the cost for the official Carnival schedule of events, posters and uniform shirts. Bendaly expressed his appreciation for the foundation being able to meet with him much earlier than previous years. He also said he would be exploring the possibility to having his employees wear Carnival t-shirts every Friday during the Carnival period and would, as he has in the past, encourage businesses and the entire community to decorate for Carnival. The SCDF continues its early preparations for Carnival 2011 by meeting with sponsors, service providers and other stakeholders. The meetings will intensify after the Christmas holidays.

To the People of Sint Maarten,

Christmas is, for many, a period of hope and a time of spiritual renewal. Thus as we celebrate Christmas and close off 2010 let us take time out to reflect on what brought us to this point as a people. Let us be thankful that we live in Sint Maarten with all that it have offered and still has to offer. In doing so I call on you to activate the true Sint Maarten spirit and values as expressed in the creed, "The Friendly Island". As I make this call I urge you, as individuals and as a people to be mindful of the less fortunate, both among us and abroad, and to continue to care and share as manifested towards our Haitian brethren earlier this year.
Let this Christmas be a moment to reinvigorate our core values as a kind, caring, and sharing Sint Maarten people. Let us, mindful of the peaks and valleys of life, apply these values and our proven resilience, to face and overcome challenges. Resilience as have been demonstrated on various occasions and in particular in response to natural disaster.
Both characteristics of the St. Maarten people; friendly and resilient, which guide us in everything we do, combine to remind us that we are a strong people. Combine to remind us that a strong people in the spirit of Christmas, is a people with hope; is a nation with hope for something better.
As our young nation and new country looks back upon the events of a constitutionally historic year, and forward to the next, I call on all to reaffirm our commitment to uphold our core values and the principles of freedom, equality, solidarity and justice, upon which our nation was founded. In reaffirming my commitment I shall work on the promotion of "excellence in governance to serve the people of St. Maarten".
Christmas will remain, for many, a time when family and friends come together to celebrate and share the joy we feel and to hope for something better.
Marie-Louise and I wish you all a joyous, safe and peaceful Christmas.
May God bless you.

The Governor of Sint Maarten
Eugene B. Holiday

GREAT BAY:--- The Collective Preventive Services (CPS) and the Government Information Service (GIS) in a collective public service message is urging motorists not to "Drink and Drive," during the up-coming holiday weekend. The emphasis must be on keeping our roads safe.

We have to all reduce tragedy on the roads. The onus is on the one behind the wheel. You have a responsibility. Pay attention while driving by being discipline and not impatient. Also select a designated driver if you plan to have a couple of drinks.

There will be much partying going on over the holiday weekend at bars, restaurants and nightclubs. In order for every Sint Maarten family and visitors to be able to enjoy themselves, those driving on our roads club hopping need to be their brother's keeper by paying attention to those who may have had a little too much to drink.

Friends don't let friends drive drunk. Let us all have a safe weekend going into the New Year without having any road tragedies due to driving under the influence.

You also have the option of taking a taxi cab home or to your hotel if you are not able to drive. Don't become a danger to yourself and other road users.

The following appeal is part of the CPS in conjunction with the GIS Safe Holidays program.

Philipsburg:--- On Tuesday December 28th at approximately 08:40 pm several Zero Tolerance patrols were sent to the Fort Willem area where again residents complained about gunshots being fired in that area.
All streets of the Fort Willem area were immediately blocked off by the Zero Tolerance teams. On the scene, investigating officers got information that the possible suspect in this shooting had run into his apartment after this incident. A search of the apartment was carried out by police however, the suspect had already fled the scene. During a search of the apartment a revolver Smith and Wesson Cal. 38 Special with one bullet in the barrel, a box containing 50 bullets of the same calibre of the brand Remington and an air pressure rifle were found and confiscated.
No one has been arrested as yet in this case. The investigation in to this case as well as the recent cases that took place over the last two days is still ongoing.
In unrelated news a man was robbed on Back Street on Wednesday December 29th. Police Spokesman Ricardo Henson identified the victim as G.P from the United States of America who is also a crew member on board the cruise ship "Ruby Princess" that was in port on Wednesday. The victim approached the police bike patrol on Back Street and told them that he went to the end of Back Street to purchase drugs. The man told police that a young man approached him and offered to sell him the drugs and lured him into a house. While in the house the victim told police that he was attacked by three other men one of which was armed with a handgun. Henson said the victim was threatened and robbed of his personal belongings. The police bike patrol accompanied the victim to the spot where the incident occurred and the suspects had already fled the scene. Henson said the victim was taken to the Philipsburg police station for him to file an official complaint but at some point he walked out of the police station without giving police an explanation.

Philipsburg:--- Attorney at law Remko Stomp has officially submitted a request for asylum for the nine Cubans that were arrested three weeks ago.

Attorney Stomp who represents the Cubans said he has delivered the signed Asylum requests from the Cubans today at the Government building.
Pending their request Stomp has sent a letter to the Minister of Justice Roland Duncan stating that the situation of the Cubans (among them young women) at the police station is becoming unbearable and has demanded their immediate release.

According to Stomp, there are no indications that a short term solution is in sight for the Cubans. Deporting them back to Cuba is no option for they have clearly indicated that they want asylum. That means that they fear prosecution once they return, Stomp said.

"I have indicated before that Government could ask for assistance with this matter from bigger nations with more resources. The US for instance but also Holland that has committed itself notably last year to intensify its support and cooperation in the field of immigration. Fact is that nothing seems to be happening and my clients are sitting in the dark, occupying space that is seriously needed at this point and time on St. Maarten. Therefore they should be released and wait for Government to find a proper solution and I am willing to assist with that."
This is obviously not a standard immigration case St. Maarten does not want to see many Cubans land on our shores if it is known that they can get asylum here.
Stomp said he indicated to the Minister that he expects to see his clients out of the police-cells before 12 noon this Wednesday December 1.
The attorney at law said that should the Minister not comply with his request then he would have no other choice but to file an injunction in the court of instance for his clients release since this case cannot go on like this.
Attorney Stomp said the Minister made a public statement a week ago saying that the prosecutor's office cannot deport these Cubans because they have no authority based on the law to make such a decision. Stomp said since then he has not heard anything from the Minister.
In an invited comment Minister Duncan said the statement he made about the prosecutor's office is based on the law and international treaties. He said he did not receive the asylum request from the Cubans even though he made a public announcement. Minister Duncan said should the Cubans submit a request for asylum he will do whatever is necessary to assist them. He said he has his own convictions for Cubans based on what has happened in the past, reasons why he felt that they should not be deported. However, the Minister said he has no intention to force anyone to stay here and if the request is not submitted then they would be deported.

Philipsburg:--- The parliament of St. Maarten ratified the decisions taken by the central committee to appoint two members each of the Parlatino committees on Tuesday.
The following are the committees and its appointed representatives:

• Economic Affairs, Social Debt and Regional Development Commission (Senators Jules James and Frans Richardson).
• Citizen Safety, Combat and Prevention of Narcotics, Terrorism and Organized Crime Commission (Senator Johan Janchi Leonard and Senator George Pantophlet).
• Education, Culture, Science and Technology and Communications Commission (Senators Silvia Olivacce Meyers and William Marlin).
• Health Commission (Senator Ruth Douglas and Petrus Leroy De Weever) it should be noted that Dr. Lloyd Richardson was also nominated but he receded when the chairman of parliament wanted to take this to a vote. Dr. Richardson made a gentleman's agreement with the chairman stating that he will act as a replacement for the first two years if any of the two appointed senators are unable to travel, while he will take the latter two years over from De Weever.
• Human Rights, Justice and Prison Policies Commission (Senator Johan Janchi Leonard and Senator Patrick Illidge are the nominated appointees). Again Dr. Richardson was also presented by the National Alliance but he receded from the appointment based on the gentleman's agreement with the chairman of parliament.
• Gender Equity Childhood and Youth Commission (Senators William Marlin and Senator Frans Richardson).
• Agriculture, Cattle Raising and Fishery Commission (Senators Patrick Illidge and Hyacinth Richardson).
• Environment and Tourism Commission (Senator Roy Marlin and Senator Jules James).
• Labour, Social and Legal Affairs Commission (Senators Romain Laville and Lloyd Richardson).
• Energy and Mines Commission (Senators Romain Laville and Louie Laveist).

The Parliament of St. Maarten also ratified the members of the permanent committees of parliament on Tuesday.
The following are the appointed senators who will sit on the following committees:

• The committee of Housing and Spatial Planning, Environment Infrastructure (Senators Romain Laville, Patrick Illidge, Roy Marlin and William Marlin).
• Committee for Justice (Senators Patrick Ilidge, Johan Janchi Leonard, Petrus De Weever, and George Pantophlet).
• Committee of Finance (Senators Silvia Olivaccce_Meyers, Roy Marlin, Patrick Illidge, and Frans Richardson).
• Committee of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (Senators Jules James, Petrus Leroy De Weever, Patrick Illidge, and Frans Richardson).
• Committee for Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Affairs (Senators Silvia Olivacce Meyers, Petrus De Weever, and Louie Laveist).
• Committee of Health Care, Social Development and Labour (Senators Petrus De Weever, Romain Laville, and Lloyd Richardson).
• Committee for Kingdom Affairs and Inter-parliamentary Relations (Senators Roy Marlin, Ruth Douglas, William Marlin and Patrick Illidge).

Parliament also approved on Tuesday that two persons from Parliament will be travelling to Saba on Friday for Saba Day, they are Senators Johan Janchi Leonard and Roy Marlin. The deputy chairman of parliament Petrus De Weever suggested that the four factions in parliament caucus to select a candidate that would represent each faction in parliament at the Saba day celebration.
Senator Frans Richardson said the National Alliance will not nominate any of the senators since they consider that to be a waste of money for four people to represent parliament.
Senator Richardson said his faction would leave that to the people in parliament who are eager to travel.
Furthermore, senators are not representatives of factions instead they are representing parliament. Richardson also expressed concerns at the advice the newly appointed griffier is offering to the president of parliament. He said he worked with Franklyn Hanze for years and he the best suited candidate for the position. However, the mistakes he allows the president to make is uncalled for. Richardson said should these kind of mistakes continue he would have no other choice but to take a turn at Hanze since he is a well paid advisor and griffier to the parliament of St. Maarten.

Richardson expressed his frustration at the financial decisions parliament are taking while they do not have a budget. He said parliament has to put on paper how many people they intend to hire and what are the necessities of parliament rather than approving trips overseas. Senator Richardson said the finance department will not add a budget for St. Maarten parliament in its 2011 budget if they do not get a draft budget from parliament. He made clear that the draft the president of parliament found when she took office was not a finished document and that more work needed to be done on the draft for it to be presented to the Finance Minister and the department of finance.

Marigot: --- Former board members of the Office du Tourisme Josianne Artsen Fleming, Noreen Brooks and Maude Gibs can breathe a sigh of relief from the judgement they recently received from the Appeals court of Basse Terre. The three women were condemned by the court of first instance when attorney at law Aude Richards implicated them in a case in which his brother Alex Richards was involved.
The trio was condemned for the abuse of the court system on March 3 2007 to pay Euros 2,500 and Euros 3,500 plus the legal fees the Office du Tourisme endured some four years ago to prepare the case against the tree women. The case was appealed by all three of the board members immediately after the verdict was rendered and on November on 18th 2010 the appeal court issued its findings.
The former President of the Office du Tourisme Romeo Fleming had fired Alex Richards when he was accused of plagiarizing Nievre Tourism plan and presented it to the former commune as St. Martin's plan.
In the verdict of November 18th the court ruled that from the preliminary investigations conducted they have sufficient charges against attorney at law Aude Richards.
The decision further reads that to have, between SAINT MARTIN AND BASSE TERRE, in the department of Guadeloupe, during the month of February 2007 and until March 13, 2007, in any case on national territory and the statute of limitations has not yet passed, by using fraudulent practices, in this case by making Noreen BROOKS, Josiane ARTSEN, Maud GIBS and Eric PAUL believe that they were instituting legal proceedings through Maître Jean Marc FOY, the appointed lawyer, by making these persons give him documents, by paying the bailiff's fees, by participating in the drafting of the writ and the preparation of the file, attempted to deceive the judge in chambers of BASSE TERRE, to cause him to authorize a deed making obligation or discharge, in this case a judgment favorable to the desired purpose, the said attempt manifested by a beginning of execution, in this case the referral to the court by issuing of the subpoena, by personally paying the bailiff's fees, having only missed his effect on account of a circumstance beyond his control, in this case, the decision of rejection taken by the judge in chambers,
Facts mentioned and punished in articles 121-5, 313-1,313-3, 313-7, 313-8 of the penal code.
Upon these grounds the court rule that they order that the case be referred to the criminal court and Richards must be judged in accordance to the French laws.

In consequence, the court ordered that the file for these proceedings, together with the present order, be transmitted to the Public Prosecutor of the Republic.
The court also informed Mr. Richards that he has been indicted and he must report to the public prosecutor if he changes his address during the formal investigation by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt until the final judgement is rendered in this case.

They also inform Richards that any subpoena, notification or signification will be considered made to his person.
Several efforts made to contact Attorney at law Richards for a comment on the decision on Wednesday has proved futile as he could not be reached by telephone.

Great-Bay:--- On November 30, 2010, a delegation of concerned St. Martin persons met with Mr. Lars WALRAVE, Representative of the Dutch Government in St. Maarten.
The delegation consisted of independent social activist Eldrige van PUTTEN-, Albert ADAMS ('Jesse')- and Leopold JAMES of the grassroots St. Martin nation building movement.
During the meeting a number of very pressing issues were discussed pertaining to the current social economic situation of the island.
Parties agreed to keep these contact-meetings on a more regular basis in order to apprise each other of issues of concerns-, as well as possible solutions.

GREAT BAY:--- Every parent's number one concern this holiday season should be to make sure that whatever it is you buy for your child this year, it's safe.

Every year Collective Preventive Services (CPS), an executing agency within the Ministry of Public Health, reminds the public of safety during the holidays. This is part of its calendar of health observances which pose an opportunity to highlight and creates awareness on preventive actions to ensure a healthy life style within our community.

There are preventive actions that can be taken to ensure safety for you, your family and even community. Before purchasing or giving any gift, particularly one intended for a child, double check to make sure it does not pose a hazard by reading the safety conditions attached to the gift.

Here are some safety tips for holiday season shopping: select toys suitable for a child's age, abilities, skills and interest level; for infants, toddlers, and all children who still mouth objects, avoid toys with small parts, which could pose a fatal choking hazard.

Avoid toys that have sharp edges and points, especially for children under age eight; do not purchase electric toys with heating elements for children under age eight; read the labels that give age and safety recommendations and use that information as a guide in your holiday shopping.

One of the most important gifts of all to give a child is time spent with you as a parent this holiday season.

Health facilities in Curacao were impressed by the Mental Health Foundation's (MHF) initiative and execution of an exchange trainee program held there which was co-financed by Samenwerkende Fondsen.

The objective was to gain more insight into Curacao's organizational set up and development concerning mental health treatment through visitation of several mental health bodies.

"This was something new and they truly enjoyed sharing their knowledge with us in Curacao" says Angie Stelk, MHF's Faraja Coordinator.

The 6 staff members of the Mental Health Foundation's Faraja Center who completed their trainee exchange program included: The Faraja Center's 4 Psych Aides - Abdule Wattley, Gladys Labady, Benjamin Jones, Shamaika Gario - Faraja's maintenance and driver, Baldwin Peterson along with Coordinator Angie Stelk.

To ensure that the Center continued its daily operations, the group left the Island on a rotating schedule between October 17th and November 14th which allowed half of the staff to receive training and the other half to keep the center running

In Curacao, they visited 3 Psychiatric clinics (Sonrisa, Klinika Capriles and Paaz), 2 drug and rehab Institutions (Fundashon Maneho Adikshon and Brasami) and a Clinic for the mentally and physically challenged (SGR- Fundashon Verriet).

At each Establishment, The Faraja Center's Staff members were greeted by a representative of the establishment and given a detailed tour. However, it was at Sonrisa's establishment that MHF's Staff was allowed the opportunity to be involved in daily activities with clients for a period of two weeks.
Sonrisa is a small organization on Curacao that offers guided living and daily daycare activities to clients with psychiatric problems much like what the Faraja Center offers.

"We learned a lot while over their" says Angie Stelk "We were able to learn different methods of treating our clients as well as other ways to execute plans and tasks. Mental health is an ever developing field and it is important for us to know of the latest treatment and management techniques."

Besides the warm reception and exchange of ideas, the program and Sint Maarten's MHF left a notable impression on the Establishments visited. In addition to that they were amazed by MHF's capability to handle clients with multiple diagnoses.
"I think we started something" says Shamaika Gario "The staff of the institutions visited liked the concept of this program and are eager to come to Sint Maarten and visit our foundation."

The Mental Health Foundation would like to thank the Samenwerkende Fondsen who graciously funded this program and made it possible.

Philipsburg:--- The Minister of Tourism Franklin Meyers has informed the attorneys representing Head of the Tourism Bureau Regina Labega and her assistant Edward Dest that he has decided to lift the suspension for the two civil servants and they shall return to work on Friday morning at 8.am.
Attorney at law Jairo Bloem told reporters that he received the information from government hours before the injunction case was to be called on Thursday. Bloem said the prosecutor's office also confirmed that government had filed a criminal complaint against Labega and Dest on November 25th with the prosecutor's office but no criminal investigation has been launched.
The attorney at law said the prosecutor's office also informed him that his clients are not suspects at this time and as such they are not entitled to information sharing. Bloem said the Minister also expressed willingness to compensate his client the sum of Naf.1, 500 each for the injunction procedures they initiated against government in the administrative courts. Bloem further explained that he is busy preparing another letter to send to government requesting more information that led to the episode of his clients being suspended forthwith on November 5th.Should government fail to provide clarity by next Wednesday then the two civil servants would see what other route they would take so that they can be taken out of the dark where the investigation and criminal complaint are concerned.

Giving some feeding back on how the episode started Bloem said on November 5th 2010 his clients were suspended with immediate effect and that they were asked to remove their belongings with them. Bloem said on that day government did not provide his clients with any explanation, no facts neither circumstance was provided to them that led to their suspension. He said a broad allegation was made saying that the suspension concerned a civil violation of their duties. He said on November 9th his clients sent government a letter requesting detailed clarification. On November 16 the Minister responded by saying he needed more time to gather the information while he sent the letter to the relevant department for advice. Bloem said his clients agreed to give the Minister the extra time he requested so that he could provide the justification or an explanation as to what was taking place. Bloem said from the very inception his clients said that they felt that government had made a big mistake and that with time clarification was going to be provided to rectify the situation. Bloem said because of this his clients gave the Minister an additional five business days to come up with the justification but the Minister never responded to their letter. Bloem said the following day his clients filed an injunction in the administrative courts so they could be reinstated back to work if the justice system could not find any reason to not reinstate them.

Bloem further explained that up until Wednesday at 2pm he did not receive any information neither documentation was provided to for the court case scheduled for the following day. Bloem said very late on Wednesday he received an email from government attorney with an attached letter confirming that a criminal complaint was filed on November 25th. He said it appeared as if government was trying to use that letter in the injunction case slated for Thursday. Bloem said he then made contact with the prosecutor's office to clarify when the complaint was filed and they also asked that the prosecutor share information with him if his clients were considered as suspects. Bloem said he informed the prosecutor that his letter was very vague and that if used in the court procedures then it could have brought on a negative effect for his clients. Furthermore, he believes that it is prudent that they bring clarity on the two questions he posed since in his opinion answering his questions will not bring about harm for a possible criminal investigation. Later Bloem said he received an email notifying him that the suspension has been lifted and that his clients should report back to work on Friday morning. He said the Minister also informed him that the penal investigation will continue and the Minister reserves the right to take any other action if necessary in the future. Bloem said that shortly after that he also received an email from the prosecutor's office informing him that there is no criminal investigation taking place and that the only procedure ongoing was the civil one. Bloem said that government's lawyer even asked if his clients were willing to withdraw the court procedure slated for Thursday. He said since the Minister expressed willingness to compensate his clients if they withdrew the court injunction.
Bloem said he is amazed at the way how the Minister handled this matter by suspending the civil servants then after three weeks to file a complaint with the prosecutor's office, then a week later lift the suspension. He said his clients are still in the dark on the facts and circumstances that led to where they are today. However, they are willing to go back to work for the people of St. Maarten. Bloem said both clients' wants to know what led to this especially if they were doing things wrong unknowingly. Furthermore, both Bloem and his clients are wondering why the SOAB was not called in to investigate the accounts prior to the type of actions that were taken.
Responding briefly to questions both Labega and Dest said they are eager to get back to work and they both admitted that it is not a good feeling to know that criminal proceeding are also hanging over their heads.

Cay Hill: --- Tensions at the St. Maarten Medical Centre got out of hand on Friday morning between Dr. J. Bocher and Dr. Michel Petit. According to Dr. Petit who was seen leaving the Philipsburg Police Station where he filed an official complaint against Dr. Bocher said that at around 9am on Friday Dr.Bocher approached him and poked him while hurling insults at him. Dr. Petit said that he was physically assaulted by the bone specialist of the St. Maarten Medical Centre simply because he filed a report with the medical inspector over a year and a half ago about some irregularities taking place at the St. Maarten Medical Centre. Dr. Petit further explained that the specialist in question has someone in the operating theatre who is not a registered doctor or surgeon performing operations on people. Dr. Petit said he even expressed his concerns in the media while he filed an official report over a year ago with the medical inspector and nothing was done to rectify the irregularities. He said it appears now that St. Maarten has achieved its country status some changes are about to take place and it appears as though that is frustrating people. Dr. Petit said he personally saw the person who is not a registered doctor or surgeon in the operating room working on patients and if his allegations are wrong then Dr.Bocher should sue him or take him to court. He said while he did not react violently to the 74 year old doctor on Friday he already warned police that should this happen another time he will take matters into his own hands.
In the meantime, Director and President of the board of St. Maarten Medical Centre Dr. George Scot said the hospital has began a fact finding mission into determining exactly what took place on Friday morning between the two specialists.

Philipsburg:--- The news broken by finance Minister Hiro Shigemoto on the increase of turn over tax from 3% to 5% to balance the budget is not sitting well with many residents especially the workers on St. Maarten. During a man in the street conducted by SMN News some of the workers felt that government should go after those companies and corporations that owe government monies.

Carl Richardson a former employee of Eastern Caribbean Cellular said he believes that government should go after these corporations whom he said is using St. Maarten tax system to their own benefit. Richardson gave an example on the Pelican Resort who recently declared bankruptcy while owing government millions in taxes. Not only that they did not pay their taxes but they fired a number of locals who have been working there for years. Richardson said Pelican was allowed to build a newer resort next door to the old one and they brought in foreign labour. Richardson said government has to become proactive and to force the management of the new Pelican to pay up its back taxes since the owners are the same. He said government must stop the tax breaks to corporations that are just changing hands to their own benefit. Richardson said the 5% TOT will not be borne by the businesses instead it will be passed on to the consumers. Another view for most residents is that government should ensure that the resorts pay up the 5% room tax they are collecting on government's behalf.
Ingrid Davis a vendor at the Philipsburg market place also shared the same opinions when it came to the increase of taxes. Davis said she recently wrote a letter to the Minister of Economic Affairs asking him if government is willing to reduce taxes for the local entrepreneurs. Davis said the bigger companies on St. Maarten are given a five year tax break when they set up shop here while vendors and other locals have to begin paying taxes the day they receive their licences. She said locals have no place to go when business is bad and government should look for ways to cushion its own people. Davis said should government continue with its plans then a number of smaller businesses will close their doors.
In the meantime, banker Jan Beaujon of the Windward Islands Bank said he felt government did well in balancing the budget. Beaujon said while the increase will affect people especially when purchasing certain items, he believes that if good governance is to take its course on St. Maarten then a proper budget has to be in place with the necessary controls. Beaujon said that while these measures are difficult especially when cuts and increases are made it is better when it's done early. The well known banker also feels that St. Maarten has a difficult year ahead but the nation he said is strong and resilient, they have been through major hurricanes and rebounded.
While the advisor to the United Federation Union Willy Haize feels that government should hold the Dutch government responsible. "It's time for Holland to shape up or else our people would have to shape them up." Haize said.
Haize said as is, only a part of the population will be paying taxes especially low income earners. He said government would have to increase the cost of living allowances for workers to cope with their day to day expenses. The unionist said he understands that government did not have much time on their hands and increasing TOT was an emergency measure. However, he felt that government must include the tripartite when making these decisions. Haize also called on government to muscle up and to go after the bigger businesses so they too can pay their dues.
Businessman Arthur Luguisse said it has been years now that people have been talking about the TOT mostly because most of the revenues derived from TOT went to Curacao and not St. Maarten. Luguisse said the United States has a huge deficit and the people there are against the increase in taxes since it serves as a deterrent. However, if the increase is meant to fill the budget deficit then government should reduce the TOT when they reach their target or peak. Luguisse said sometimes things just have to happen even if it's not in ones interest. Right now St. Maarten has to be looked at as a country and it must be able to position itself where it can make a difference.

Philipsburg:--- The Minister of Public Health, Maria Buncamper-Molanus is pleased to announce the temporary appointment of a General Health Inspector, dr. Theodorus J.W. Braeken for the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour.

The Minister informs that Government has been trying for a while to fill critical vacancies, whereas the vacancy for a General Health Inspector falls here under.

The possibility for temporary assistance has been made possible via the 'Experienced Young Pensioners' project temporarily financed by USONA. Hence based on the successful results of this project, we have been able to select and appoint dr. Theodorus Braeken to temporarily fill this critical function as General Health Inspector for the Ministry of Public Health, for the period November 29, 2010 until January 31, 2011.

The Minister asserted that in view of the appointment being a temporary (urgent) assignment, at present an agreement of collaboration with the Inspectorate of Public Health in The Netherlands is in process and preparations on the selection of a candidate is being made aiming for February 1st, 2011 as commencement date.

The Minister is also pleased to announce that the temporary appointment will not have any financial consequences for Government, since this is a temporary project being financed by USONA.

Philipsburg: -- The prosecutor's office will start an investigation into the alleged vote buying that involves two police officers a VKS officer and a civil servant the moment they get more human resources from the Lands Researche (Federal Detectives). Press Prosecutor Rienk Mud said the case was already discussed with the federal detectives and when the detectives are appointed they will begin a fact finding investigation to determine if there is need for prosecution.
Already police internal affairs conducted their own investigation late September when the story broke inside the police station. The findings of the police internal affairs were submitted to the prosecutor's office whose job was to decide how to move forward with the case.

Virgin Island Search and Rescue (VISR), has recovered two more bodies, a child and an adult, believed to be linked to the illegal Haitian immigration catastrophe bringing the total number of dead to eight.
The bodies are believed to have surfaced at the same location of the crash. Police and other officials are presently investigating the find and an official public announcement is expected to be made within short.
The coroner is scheduled to view all recovered bodies today while a forensic pathologist is expected in the Territory on Friday to conduct post-mortem examinations.
An official of the Haitian Consular in the Bahamas is expected to arrive in the Territory today.
Meanwhile, just yesterday the search team had discovered an additional body as rescue agencies continued search efforts after a boat carrying mostly Haitian immigrants ran aground on a reef off Brandywine Bay around midnight Sunday.
Virgin Islands Search and Rescue recovered the body of a male from the seabed near the site of the wreckage.
Monday morning, five bodies were recovered from the water and near the scene of the wreckage – two females, one male and two children. Among the survivors are 14 males and 11 females. Some 21 detainees are being held at the Detention Centre at Balshum Ghut while four have been hospitalized.
Yesterday morning RVIPF convened a meeting, which included Police investigators, St. Maarten law enforcement officers and representatives from Her Majesty's Customs, Immigration and the Ministry of Health.
Among the matters discussed were provisions for immigrants to connect with families in Haiti or in St. Maarten and to receive health and other welfare accommodations and preparations for repatriation of bodies and survivors. Police are also arranging for a meeting with members of the BVI Haitian Association.
The Ministry of Health and Social Development through the BVI Health Services Authority completed a preliminary health assessment of the detainees specifically to detect the presence of the cholera disease. The Ministry maintains that there were no known risks to the general population as none of the detainees are exhibiting signs or symptoms of the cholera disease. However, the Ministry will continue to monitor the situation and is working closely with other agencies to ensure the safety of the public. A comprehensive health assessment will be completed today.
All general procedures to safeguard health are to be maintained among officers in contact with the detainees.
Local investigators are working closely with the St. Maarten law enforcement authorities to identify those responsible for the illegal human trafficking and to bring them to justice.
Further, Her Majesty's Customs, Virgin Islands Search and Rescue and U.S. Coast Guard were part of the early efforts to rescue individuals from the waters around the wreckage and to detain those that had made it on to shore.
A 25-foot fiberglass boat which is believed to have transported the group has since been removed from the scene and is now at the Police Marine Base.
The Governor and Premier have both been notified of the situation and have been briefed on the conditions of the detainees and any possible threats to the BVI public in light of the cholera epidemic in Haiti.
On this situation, the Governor has stated that his office has been in contact with the Haitian government to brief them on this incident.
In addition, the Ministry of Health and Social Development along with the BVI Health Services Authority are collaborating on health issues related to the detainees and are taking all necessary precautions to safeguard the BVI public. Presently, there are no known risks to the general population as none of the detainees are exhibiting signs or symptoms of the cholera disease. However, the Ministry will continue to monitor the situation and are working closely with other agencies to ensure the safety of the public

(BVI Online News)

Philipsburg:--- Labour Minister Maria Buncamper Molanus announced on Wednesday that her Ministry is currently working on some more amendments to the labour policy. The Minister said those amendments should reach her office by Friday this week. Areas of the policy to be amended are the age limits, timeline, the three year aspect of the policy and the process itself. The Minister said the idea is to also look at the processing time because they are of the opinion that the procedure can be more efficient.

The Minister said persons applying for work and residency permits have to duplicate the procedures with documents. The Minister said there are cases where documents are expiring because one process took longer than the other. She said government is going further in examining the policy rather than making some cosmetic changes. The focus she said is to create more jobs for locals while following the labour regulations.
Buncamper Molanus said her Ministry is yet to discuss with the justice Ministry as to how they would proceed with the BTA procedure. However, she said that this is something that has to be done since it is her intention to make sure people who were registered are not treated unfairly.
In the meantime, the Minister said that while the management of the St. Maarten Medical Centre would have to deal with the incident that took place at the hospital involving two specialists, her Ministry via the inspector of health is looking into the matter where it is alleged that unregistered persons are practicing medicine at the St. Maarten Medical Centre.

Philipsburg:--- Minister of finance Hiro Shigemoto in press release said the following regarding the 2011 budget.

"We have attained the status as Country St. Maarten. We should all celebrate this momentous accomplished feat. And we must also understand that as a new country, we must now be capable and efficient in financing the needs of our Government and our communities. Nobody likes paying taxes, particularly in times of economic hardship. But as St. Maarten emerges from the global crisis and builds itself as a new nation from scratch, new structures must be adopted and difficult choices must be made.

Balancing the budget
Since the emergence of the new Government into office, vigorous efforts have been put into place to balance the 2011 budget, which was initially prepared by the former Government. Numerous issues concerning the budget have been identified, and have revealed the 2010 budget to be not as solid as it was portrayed. For example, one major issue was the use of advanced portions of the Netherlands Antillean's assets ("boedelscheiding") of Nafl. 15 million to cover the gaps in the 2010 budget. This was an incidental benefit, therefore it should not have been used for the budget deficit. In summation all these 2010 budget issues that had to be addressed were the equivalent of Nafl. 47 million. When St. Maarten wanted to make the 2010 budget as a Country budget, it was stopped dead in its tracks and St. Maarten had to revert to an Island Territory budget which was artificially balanced. This would have helped to prepare St. Maarten for a transition into country status which was illogically (especially from an administrative perspective) planned for 10/10/10.

It must be stated that the basic costs for running a country are much higher than running an Island Territory. And this is partly due to the number of added tasks as well as agreements made with the Netherlands that the new Government must deal with. The costs associated with these new tasks were about 30% higher than anticipated. The former Federal Government failed to provide a sufficient budget and did not make the necessary funds available to invest in the workforce, knowledge base and infrastructure on St. Maarten; they also failed to address the operational costs properly. Our resolve in dealing with this insufficient resource scenario had to unavoidably be to raise the annual budget. Only after resolving the inherited burden from the previous Government, we could put into place new plans of action we see as vital for good governance, which rightfully increases our costs. The sum of all the costs for the new Government of putting new plans to work, deal with the old burden, and run the country for 2011 is of Nafl. 445 million. Please note that the new policies of the current Government are not yet incorporated in this emergency budget of 2011.

The Government put forward great efforts to improve public expenditure management by taking cost-cutting measures, such as implementing a cost of living increase of 2% in 2011 and 3,3% in 2012 instead of increasing straight to 5,3% in 2011, which results also in a decrease in back service debt for the pension premiums associated with this cost of living increase over 2011. Despite these efforts, there is still a budget deficit which can only be erased by income generating measures. Due to the short timeframe to submit a balanced budget by 15th December this year, the Government must adopt emergency measures which can generate a substantial amount of revenue and be implemented by January 2011. We have considered plans of action to introduce new taxes, such as sales tax, gaming tax or duties on cigarettes and alcohol. We have also considered changing the whole tax system by shifting from direct tax to indirect tax. These measures are certainly worth looking into, but at the moment have proven to be not feasible within the given time frame. Furthermore, other suggestions like increasing the time share tax or abolishing certain tax exemptions to broaden the tax base will not generate the amount of revenue the Government has planned for. Thus, in order to balance the budget, an increase of the Turn over Tax (ToT) with 2% is a necessity.

The answer to the question of why the Government did not start earlier in making the necessary tax reform, is that the competence and authority to make tax policy and write tax legislation were in the hands of the former Central Government. Only when after 10/10/10 and attaining country status, that responsibility has been transferred to St. Maarten and only then were we able to establish our own Department of Fiscal Affairs within the Ministry of Finance. Furthermore, the previous Federal Government of St. Maarten did not submit any proposals or requests to the former Central Government to change the tax legislation for St. Maarten. Should that had been done, we wouldn't likely be in the present urgent position where we are forced to take measures such as the increase of the ToT. But now is not the time to look back, we must approach the future with diligence and positive action. An enormous challenge is put in front of our young nation and failing to tackle the budget deficit quickly will lead to serious complications and failures which could result in the intervention of the Kingdom Government with higher supervision. This would be a catastrophic result, one none of our people desires and most certainly our new Government.

Our communities have expressed their concern and have raised valid questions with regard to the increase of the ToT. They fear that this measure may have an effect on the buying power of the consumers, in particular those who already have little to spend. We have addressed these concerns with the deserved attention. That is why the Government has introduced particular exemptions for basic commodities for goods such as sugar, milk, eggs, baby food, rice, beans, potatoes, grain and flour, which are currently taxed with 3% ToT. These mentioned items among others of vital importance will be completely tax exempt. This approach will cost the Government approximately Nafl. 10 million on an annual basis, but it is a necessary investment that must take place in order to compensate for the increase of the tax burden.

Our current tax situation
As in many democratic countries, the tax system of St. Maarten is based on the principle of voluntary compliance. In other words, this system relies on individuals and entities to adopt their responsible position and honorably to calculate their tax liability correctly and successively report their income freely and voluntarily, followed by filing a tax return on time. Unfortunately, many of our inhabitants and businesses misinterpret the definition of voluntarily and feel it is optional or that the tax law doesn't apply to them. While some of our inhabitants and businesses honor their responsibilities because they understand their role in society and the necessity to pay the costs of our common goods and our mutual well-being, there are many others who are avoiding their duties mostly due to low tax morale, incomprehensible tax system and weak tax administration enforcement.

In the past, the Federal Government failed to implement the necessary steps to improve tax compliance, mainly because as an Island Territory of the Netherlands Antilles, St. Maarten received the needed funds from the Netherlands to pay the costs of the public expenditure. Furthermore, some politicians have even used this lack of tax enforcement as a selling point and presented St. Maarten as a tax haven in order to attract foreign investors.

The times have changed and St. Maarten no longer has the luxury to ask the Netherlands to bail us out or give us a loan every time we are running out of funds. Becoming a country means we now have to act with pride and acknowledge and assume the responsibility of our actions, decisions and policies also to encompass the obligation to report, explain and be answerable for the resulting consequences of those actions, decisions and policies. Accountability, transparency and good governance are the key factors and foundation to build our young nation. Now is the time to finally do something about tax evasion practices (efforts not to pay taxes by illegal means) and bring justice to those citizens and businesses that have consciously avoided paying their taxes, and fairness to those who have been in compliance. As I have been quoted saying: "For many decades, St. Maarten has been home to many form all over the world, and has provided countless economic opportunities for all of its inhabitants. Now St. Maarten as an emerging country in challenging times needs its inhabitants to be resolute, resilient, steadfast and contribute back to its development into a band new nation."

Our vision and approach
The Government has established several task-forces to respectively reform the tax system, update the database of taxpayers and efficiently enhance the enforcement capacity of the tax administration. With this collaborative approach we will tackle the non-compliant tax behavior and ensure that all our citizens and all our companies are paying their fair share. I realize that this issue has been paid much lip-service in the past, but it simply has to be done now, and it will be done under this administration.

Many empirical studies and international country surveys on the growth of the informal economy have concluded that the direct tax burden, the complexity of tax legislation and the lengthy and complex administrative procedures are the key factors discouraging individuals and businesses to operate in the formal sector. Our current tax system, which is inherited from the former Netherlands Antilles, is quite complicated and has a narrow tax base and relatively high direct tax rates (e.g. Wage tax, Income tax and Profit tax).The existing tax system is also full of loopholes, designed by clever well-connected lobbyists on behalf of well-heeled interests and individuals. It's a tax system that makes it too easy for some citizens and businesses to dodge their responsibility, while ordinary St. Maarteners pick up the slack. It's a tax system that makes it possible for tax payers to hide behind legal structures associated with the neighboring islands and using intermediate companies of their own as billing companies to create false invoices in order to lower their tax liability and, as a result, keeping the prices of the products in St. Maarten artificially high.

With the tax reform, the Government is going to put an end to these harmful tax evasion practices, closing the loopholes and making it more profitable for companies to create jobs here in St. Maarten. By doing so, we will save taxpayers millions of guilders: money that can be reinvested in St. Maarten and reduce the budget deficit, cut taxes for our businesses that are playing by the rules, provide relief for hard-working families and, most of all, restore fairness to our tax code by helping ensure that all our citizens and all our companies are paying what they should. The new tax framework of St. Maarten will be simple, efficient and fair.

To ensure that our tax administration have the necessary tools to enforce the law, we will put in place an unprecedented effort to upgrade and strengthen our enforcement capacity. Compliance strategies, such as penalties, audits and prosecutions will be applied consistently on an escalating basis of severity. Further steps are being taken to reach a level of transparency in which the database of taxpayers will be as accurate and complete as possible through exchange of information between the tax administration and other governmental and semi-governmental entities like the Chamber of Commerce, Immigration, Census, Cadastre and GEBE. To combat international tax evasion schemes, St. Maarten will be working jointly with the tax authorities from the neighboring islands by requesting their assistance in the assessment and the collection of taxes, but also by seeking their tax data regarding, among others, bank accounts, beneficial ownership, companies and properties of our taxpayers to cross-reference with our data.

Joint effort
Achieving financial health for St. Maarten through raising the tax burden on the people hasn't been an easy choice. It is only fair that the citizens and businesses who pay taxes, demand a more responsive and accountable government and transparency in the way public resources are raised, allocated and managed. Establishing a dialogue between the Government, our people and business community to understand each other's standpoint and expectations, is of the utmost importance and at the top of our list. In the tax reform process, the Task-Force Tax Reform will be inviting the representatives of the business community, social partners, interest groups and other stakeholders to share their vision on the possible tax framework of St. Maarten. A special forum will also be created on the website of www.sintmaartengov.org where all citizen of St. Maarten can post their valued ideas and suggestions regarding the ideal tax system.

Becoming a country in these challenging times is not an easy task and it demands our joint effort, solidarity, mutual understanding and unfortunately also some sacrifices for the greater good. As Martin Luther King declared, "The ultimate measure of man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenges and controversy."

Philipsburg:--- The daughter of a well known businessman Reggie Pantophlet has decided to break her silence now that the media has exposed the Buncampers dealings with leased land.
According to information reaching SMN News, the former executive council of the National Alliance and Heyliger granted long leases to three other persons for properties on Pond Island (Sucker Garden). Lands that Reginald Pantophlet filled in early 1997.
According to our sources, a long lease was granted to Island Concrete N.V. (409/2008), Eugene Richardson (407/2008) and Caribbean International Maritime N.V. dba as Intermar (408/2008). The latter is the step father of the former commissioner of Public Works now Minister Theo Heyliger.
Records obtained from the Kadaster' s Office showed that Eugene Ezechiel Richardson obtained long lease from Government for section 407/2008. The long lease was registered on June 1st 2010, while the long lease was executed on May 25th 2010 before Notary Gijsbertha. Island Concrete received their long lease for 409/2008 which was registered on December 24th, 2009 while the lease was executed on December 4th 2009 before notary Gijbertha. For the section 408/2008 the property remains under the name of the Island Territory of St. Maarten.
Angele Bell-Pantophlet told SMN News that she has been going to the office of deputy Prime Minister (Former Commissioner) Theo Heyliger's for years to obtain a long lease for the land her father filled in but to date government did not grant them that long lease. Bell-Pantophlet said she met on several occasions with the Minister's executive assistant Maurice Lake who did not provide solutions to the problems. Furthermore, Heyliger's office had referred Bell-Pantophlet to the office of former Commissioner William Marlin for him to resolve the issue when Heyliger resigned from the executive council earlier this year.
Bell-Pantophlet in a letter dated September 2nd 2010 to former leader of government William Marlin stated that she also met with the former head of Public Works Joseph Dollison and Marieke van Zaddelhoef (Head of Domain Affairs) to discuss the sections of land her father filled in and government did not grant him his long lease for all sections. Bell-Pantophlet said Dollison asked her to make an invoice for the cost her father endured to fill in the property so he could send an advice to the executive council for her family to be paid. She said after some time had passed Dollison informed her that government was not in a position to reimburse them for the filling in. So at that point Pantophlet gave government three options namely: (a) grant them the long lease for the land they filled. (b)compensate them for the work they did by filling in the property (c) or grant Pantophlet another area as compensation.
Bell-Pantophlet wrote in her letter that in 1997 her father Reginald Pantophlet went into business with Walter Kosch of Island Concrete. The first plot Pantophlet filled in she said was located in Sucker Garden knowns as (C/A80/1991) located next to Jo Jo's Construction.
According to the letter, government indicated to the businessman that the section in Sucker Garden area was a commercial and residential area and not for industrial business, thus government suggested that they (Pantophlet) fill in another area closer to Arch Road based on his business plans. The letter also states that Pantophlet filled in 6000 square meters plus the second option of 4000 square meters.
Bell-Pantophlet said government granted them a long lease for one section of the land they filled in marked as C/A 80/1991 after several meetings with Dollison. The young businesswoman said to date her father has not been compensated for 4279 square meters of land he filled in. She further explained that while she attempted to see Heyliger on several occasions and she was unable to meet with him until the last day of his election campaign when he showed up at her office. Bell-Pantophlet said during that meeting the UP leader told her he was willing to give her father a plot of land in Simpson Bay as compensation since he could not approach his stepfather and request payment for the land Pantophlet filled in. Heyliger she said told her he was not aware of the land issues and that his executive assistant did not apprise him of the meetings she held with him.
Bell-Pantophlet further explained that since then she did not hear or see Heyliger until December 8th 2010 when he sent her an email informing her that he instructed his staff to look into the issues of the land.
Bell- Pantophlet was not very forthcoming as the deputy Prime Minister she said made a verbal agreement with her and she did not want to jeopardise that agreement. She said that she and her father has been dealing with this issue for years and when she heard long lease was granted to Caribbean International Maritime dba Intermar she attempted to see the managing director/CEO George Pilgrim but he did not meet with her or return her calls.
In an invited comment on this ongoing issue Heyliger said in an email to SMN News that that there is no resolution in government records to show that the Pantophlets had rights to the land.

GREAT BAY:--- The Collective Preventive Services (CPS) which is part of the Ministry of Public Health, says its travel advisory to Hispanola remains in force due to the cholera outbreak.

Persons who plan to visit Hispanola during the holiday season are advised to take preventive measures. Ensure taking vital precautions such as ensuring hygienic food preparation, boiling or purifying all water, and washing hands often with soap and clean water.

The CPS continues to monitor the situation in Hispanola very closely with the assistance of the family physicians and its weekly syndromic surveillance system.

Family physicians are on alert to report any symptoms of cholera especially of persons who have traveled to Hispanola within the seven days of onset.

There have been more than 2000 deaths and over 25,000 hospitalizations and over 60,000 hospital visits in Haiti related to cholera.

Cholera is a bacterial infection spread through contaminated water. It causes severe diarrhea and vomiting that can lead to dehydration and death within hours.

About 75 per cent of people infected with cholera do not develop any symptoms, although the bacteria are present in their feces for seven to 14 days after infection and are shed back into the environment, potentially infecting other people.

Cholera is transmitted through fecal contamination of water and food. In places where there is infrastructure damage, the lack of safe drinking water and poor sanitation and hygiene can increase the risk of cholera, as well as numerous other diarrhea diseases.

Cholera is easily treatable, and if patients are given oral re-hydration salts promptly to replace lost fluids, and they can nearly always be cured.

In a small percentage of people, cholera can cause very severe dehydration potentially leading to death. To minimize the number of people infected, frequent hand washing, personal hygiene, safe water use and food preparation are a necessity.

By taking a few basic precautions, cholera as well as most other food and water-borne diseases can easily be prevented. The main rule is, always be aware of the quality of what you eat and drink when you are traveling to Hispanola.

GREAT BAY (GIS):--- The Honorable Minister of Education Rhoda Arrindell requests the presence of all sports federations and associations to a meeting to review a proposal by Curacao to host alternative games to the Kingdom Games 2011 and to discuss other urgent matters pertaining to the organization and hosting of sports on St. Maarten.
The Minister would also like the input from the sporting organizations regarding the Olympics.
At the meeting, the Minister will speak about her vision, and the future plans in this regard.
The agenda points are: Agreement on alternative games, Date for the event, Number of sports, Rules and regulations, Age group of participants, and Name for alternative games.
Date: Monday December 20th
Time: 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location: Claude Wathey Legislative Hall, Government Administrative Building

GREAT BAY:--- Parents who make use of baby clinic services are advised to note the dates and opening times of the clinic.

The Madame Estate Clinic at the Madame Estate Shopping Center (across from the laundry) is open from Monday through Friday from 8.00am to 12.30pm and from 1.30pm to 5.00pm, except on Tuesdays.

The Cole Bay Clinic, located across from the Charles Leopold Bell School, operates under the same opening hours as the Madame Estate Clinic.

Parents of newborns and of young children are encouraged to make use of the baby clinics in order to ensure that their toddler is growing according to its age.

The same nurses who worked under the While & Yellow Cross when the baby clinic fell under their responsibility continue to administer the medical care services to babies and toddlers under the auspices of the Ministry of Public Health.

Parents should take note that service is no longer offered at the St. John's Ranch.

Those requiring additional information can call Youth Health Care at 542-3003, 542-2078, or 542-3553.

GREAT BAY (GIS):--- A Mutual Arrangement has been signed by St. Maarten's Minister Franklin Meyers and Curacao's Ministers Charles Cooper, both of whom are responsible for their respective Meteorological Offices, for the services of Forecasting and for the appointment of the representation in the World Meteorological Organization.
Minister Meyers welcomed Minister Cooper and his accompanying team and said that the agreement is sort of a brotherhood agreement in the sense that Curacao is still family. After 10-10-10, each country has to do certain things on his own. But because of the time span, it was difficult to acquire all the personnel we needed, so we have come to an agreement with the Met Office in Curacao who will provide the needed services.
Minister Cooper thanked everyone for being there and said that it was a pleasure to be on St. Maarten and representing the Government of Curacao. He said this is the way it should be, working together. On one hand, where one of us need help or are less developed, the other is there. In this case, it is with the Met office. In another case, we need assistance with Tourism, where St. Maarten is well developed. So we are mutually helping each other out. The way it should be in the Dutch Caribbean. And so we can grow together.
Due to the fact that the Meteorological Service of Curacao provides services for all of the former Netherlands Antilles, the details of the actual Cooperation Agreement (CA) will be worked out among in a mixed committee where all parties will be represented. The CA will itemize the cost of the agreement as well as the services that is covered based on ICAO regulation of cost-recovery. However, the current Mutual Arrangement is for a period of 1 year.

Philipsburg:--- Reliable sources have informed SMN News that Minister Maria Buncamper Molanus has indicated via email to Prime Minister and leader of the Democratic Party Sarah Wescot Williams that she is not going anywhere since she did not commit any criminal act. Minister Buncamper Molanus was referring to the sale of the economic value of a parcel of lease land she sold to Eco Green on December 19 2009. The Minister also informed her party leader that she sought legal advice on the ongoing scandal which dominated the headlines for the past two weeks.
Shortly after the meeting, a press release from the President of the Democratic Party Michael Ferrier states that "a meeting was held on Sunday, December 19, 2010, between the Board and Leadership of the Democratic Party regarding issues presently covered by the media relating to DP Minister Maria Buncamper Molanus. During this meeting, the Board took note of the intention of the Minister to issue a Press Release on these issues, which is to appear in Monday, December 20th". 2010. The Board and Leadership of the party have also been apprised of a legal advice sought and received by the Minister on the matters at hand. The Board and Leadership, even before taking note of the content of this legal advice, has taken the decision to hear Mrs. Buncamper-Molanus, not only regarding that legal advice, but regarding the entire matter to ensure that when the time comes, well informed decisions are taken. This meeting will be convened on Monday, December 20, 2010 at 6:30 PM."
In the meantime, while the press release from the Democratic Party states that Minister Buncamper Molanus intended to send out a press release which is to be published on Monday, no such release has been received from the Minister. SMN News placed several phone calls to the Minister's cellular phone but they all went unanswered.

Shortly after SMN News launched this news item a press statement from the Minister was received outlining the legal advice she received from HBN Law.

PRESS STATEMENT
Minister Maria Buncamper-Molanus
Dear Friends,

For the past two weeks my family and I have been subjected to the worst kind of assault humanly possible. Our names and reputations have been dragged through the mud, primarily by articles in the "Today" newspaper.
The reason given?
My Husband Toontje and I, allegedly broke the law by selling government land, given to us in long lease for a profit. Some have even accused us of money laundering.
While on the program "For the Record" with Eddy Williams one week ago, I promised that I would give you, the St. Maarten public, an explanation. I asked the reputable law firm HBN Law for a legal opinion on the matter and have now received their statement, which I will now share with you:
M E M O R A N D U M
Date : December 18, 2010
To : C.A. Buncamper and M.J. Buncamper-Molanus
From : HBN Law (E.R. de Vries)
Subject : Economic Ownership
We are attorneys at law with the Court of Appeals of Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten and Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba and qualified to render the opinions contained in this memo.
For the purpose of rendering the opinions in this memo, we have been provided with the following documents:
- Decision of the Executive Council of Sint Maarten of February 14, 2008, no. 129 (the "Decision") to issue a parcel of land on Sint Maarten, described in certificate of admeasurement no. 230 of 2007 ("Parcel 230/2007") in long lease (the "Long Lease Right") to C.A. Buncamper and M.J. Buncamper-Molanus ("Buncamper");
- Notarial deed of December 19, 2008, drawn up by mr F.E. Gijsbertha, a civil law notary on Sint Maarten (the "Notary"), whereby the economic ownership of the Long Lease Right (the "Economic Ownership") was assigned to Eco-Green N.V. ("Eco-Green"); and
- A Commercial Lease Agreement dated December 19, 2008, purportedly drawn up by the Notary, whereby the Economic Ownership was leased by Eco-Green to St Maarten Building Supplies N.V. ("SMBS").
In this memo we will, at your request, give our opinion on the following issues: Page 2 of 5
A. Is it legally possible to assign the economic ownership of a right of long lease?
B. What is the position of a civil law notary in Sint Maarten legal practice?
C. Can a citizen that employs a civil law notary in Sint Maarten to carry out a real estate transaction rely that the transaction is carried out validly?
D. Do the transactions described above constitute the crime of money laundering?
In issuing this memo we assume, and with your permission rely thereon, that there are no documents, facts or circumstances that are relevant to our opinion in this memo that have not been disclosed to us.
This memo and the opinions expressed herein are based on our knowledge of the law as applicable in Sint Maarten during the relevant period covered by this memo.
A. Assignment of economic ownership
Sint Maarten law does not formally distinguish between the transfer or assignment of forms of ownership, such as an assignment of legal ownership (juridische eigendom) or an assignment of economic ownership (economische eigendom). In legal practice when the transfer of ownership of real estate is conducted, this generally means the transfer of legal ownership of the real estate involved. Also, where article 3:88 Civil Code stipulates the form of the assignment of real estate, the assignment of legal ownership (not economic ownership) is meant.
Nevertheless, it is common practice and commonly accepted that the economic ownership of real estate can be assigned between private parties. Such an assignment of economic ownership is carried out where parties wish to arrange between themselves the change of the economic benefit and risk of real estate from the legal owner to the acquirer of the economic ownership, without actually transferring (the legal ownership of) the real estate. The assignment of economic ownership on real estate therefore in essence is nothing else than an agreement between the legal owner of the real estate and a third party, that from a certain moment on the benefit and risk of the real estate are for the account of the third party.
For the assignment of economic ownership to be valid, it is not required to have the agreement between the parties involved laid down in a notarial deed, nor is it necessary to inscribe such a deed in the public land registers.
The assignment of economic ownership only works between the parties involved and therefore does not change the fact that the legal owner is and remains the holder of the legal ownership rights to the real estate involved. If, for example, a creditor of the legal owner wishes to attach the real estate of the legal owner to recover payment of a debt of the legal owner to that creditor, the holder of the economic ownership of the real estate in question will have to accept that right of the creditor and will only remain with a claim against the legal owner for breach of contract (safe for other arrangements that may have been made between the parties).
Given the above, it is our opinion that it is legally possible to assign the economic ownership of a right of long lease in the afore-mentioned sense.
B. Position of a civil law notary
The Notary, as a civil law notary (notaris) with place of sitting Sint Maarten, is a public civil servant (openbaar ambtenaar) exclusively authorized to pass authentic deeds for all acts, agreements and decisions where the law dictates or parties request an authentic document. In order to be appointed as civil law notary, the person in question has to meet several Page 3 of 5
professional and personal conduct requirements. The notary is generally considered to be a legal expert in the field of real estate transactions.
C. Assumption that a transaction carried out by a civil law notary is valid
Given the position of a civil law notary in the legal system of Sint Maarten, it is our opinion that any citizen that does not have an extensive legal background, may, in principle and in good faith, assume that a real estate transaction carried out by or under the guidance of a civil law notary, is legally valid. In this regard we point out that real estate transactions are generally complicated and there is a public interest in having real estate transaction carried out properly, in particular for legal certainty (rechtszekerheid). This is one of the main reasons why the legislator has made involvement of a civil law notary in the process of transfer or mortgaging of real estate mandatory. As such a citizen without an extensive legal background can generally rely on the knowledge and expertise of the civil law notary and should not be deemed required to second guess the validity of the deeds, agreements or acts of the civil law notary, safe for a manifest error contained therein.
D. Do the transactions constitute money laundering?
The transactions described above are, in essence, the assignment by Buncamper of the Economic Ownership to Eco-Green against a purchase price, followed by the lease by Eco-Green of the Economic Ownership to SMBS. All transactions have been documented and are partly laid down in public documents that have been inscribed in the public registers of Sint Maarten. In order for the transactions to constitute money laundering (in the sense of articles 435a-435d Criminal code Sint Maarten), it is required that the item (good or right) that is being acquired or transferred is derived directly or indirectly from a crime. Given the contents of the transactions described above, they could constitute money laundering only if the Long Lease Right, the Economic Right, the lease, the purchase price or the lease price due or paid are derived directly or indirectly from a crime. We have no indication to believe that to be the case. As such we would not see how the transactions described above could constitute the crime of money laundering.
******
The legal opinion given by HBN law clearly proves that I have done nothing wrong, legally nor morally.
Please allow me in simple English to explain what actually happened.
Based on a request submitted in 1992, my husband and I were granted permission to use a piece of land in the landfill area for commercial use in 2005. This means that the land is to be used for business purposes. This transaction was formalized in 2008 with the issuance of Page 4 of 5
government resolution for the long lease. The purpose of the land is for storage of imported aggregates (construction material such as sand, blocks and cement)
When we were approached by a young St. Maartener Mr. Ivan Havertong, who hails from a decent respectable, community minded family and a very close personal friend of ours, who was looking for commercial property to operate his business, we agreed to work something out with him.
It was a business transaction. He, Mr. Havertong, wanted land to use to operate his business SBS, we, my husband and I, had land for commercial purposes, so if all could be legally formalized, we could proceed.
Notary Gijsbertha was approached and explained what our plans were, and asked if such an arrangement can be legally worked out. He replied yes and suggested the format that is now so severely being critisized. A format widely used on the island by many prominent business leaders, including some who are today criticizing me.
Now let me say something about Eco Green.
Eco Green is a locally established business. Owned and operated by a Sint Maartener from Middle Region. ... Mr. Walters is a long time friend of the Buncamper family. The discriminating remarks made against this good gentleman are sickening. He was described as not fitting the profile of someone having money because he is from Middle Region, dresses simple and does not speak fancy. What is exactly the profile of someone who has money? Must he or she have a particular skin color? What color should their eyes be or what type of car must they drive? Where should they live, Point Blanche? Guana Bay? Pelican?
A blatant insult to the Sint Maarten people, but we laugh and agree because the goal is to take out the Buncampers.
One prominent politician said that Mr. Walters does not even own a wheelbarrow.
My question is did the managing editor of the Today newspaper own a wheelbarrow when he came to Sint Maarten from heaven knows where? Does he or his friends fit the profile of people with money?
Mr. Walters is a respectable Sint Maartener from the town of Middle Region, a town that has produced some of St. Maarten's best and brightest. He made use of a totally legal business opportunity provided to him. He does not have to fit any profile to be able to establish, own and operate any business on this island. This is his island and he has a right, more than some of his critics, to be able to operate his own business here. Shame on those of us who join others, who we have welcomed here without having even owned a wheelbarrow, in criticizing our own local entrepreneurs and exacting that they must fit a certain profile before being able to operate a business here.
This is no longer about the Buncampers. This is about the role of the press in our community. I stand up front, in supporting the press in uncovering any wrongdoing, especially of politicians. I cannot however condone the twisting of stories and inciting the public with as sole goal, the character assassination of three local families who have done nothing wrong.
One of my critics said and I quote "there is a line you are not supposed to cross" unquote. Page 5 of 5
I agree, but he apparently keeps moving that line depending on what he stands to gain from someone who has blatantly crossed that line.
I was asked to consider tendering my resignation. And I have seriously considered it. However it is difficult to accept guilt when you have done nothing wrong.
This type of witch hunting must stop.
Today it is Maria, Toontje, Walters and Ivan all Sint Maarteners who did nothing other than to try to earn a decent living on their island in a totally legal fashion.
Tomorrow it will be whom ............you fill in the blanks.
I hope I have given you the explanation I promised you. And I will continue to work in your interest so that not only those whom we welcome to our shores may prosper, but also those of you from Middle Region, Suckergarden, St. Peters and Capebay without having to necessarily fit any particular profile.

Simpson Bay:--- Managing Director and owner of Rent 4 Less Car Rental Patrick Braithwaite in told SMN News on Tuesday morning that he was awoken by an acquaintance who informed him that his business place was broken into sometime Monday night. The businessman said when he got the phone call he went to his place of business where he discovered five of his cars were stolen, along with all the keys of the other vehicles that remained on the premises.

Braithwaite said the bandits broke into his office and stole a computer, while they ransacked the office and filing cabinets. Braithwaite said the police and detectives visited the scene while he had two teams on the road looking for the stolen vehicles. One of the cars he said was found parked in someone's parking space at Ground Dove Residence Pointe Blanche.
Residents are asked to keep a lookout for the stolen vehicles and not to buy them if they are approached by anyone attempting to sell the vehicles. Persons with information on the stolen items can call Rent 4 Less at 5223839.

The stolen vehicles & items are:

• A Grey Hyundai Sonata - R-296
• A Grey Hyundai Accent - 896 ZAX 971
• A Green Hyundai Accent - 516 ZAV 971
• A Green Hyundai Accent - 518 ZAV 971
• 1 Compaq Laptop
• 1 HP 2010i Desktop with CPU

NAGICO Insurances wall calendar 2011 will focus on highlighting insurance products and services. The Wall calendar is available to NAGICO customers and general public via its network of Agents and Brokers or Head Office on the Cannegieter Street.

Marketing Officer Jimmy Challenger: "NAGICO's 2011 Wall and Desk Calendars have been designed with the input of the Management Team, in particular the Product Managers, with a focus on educating the general public and reminding our customers about insurance products and services available as a whole. While the calendar will fulfill its regular role of helping us to track the days and months ahead, it will also function as an educational medium for all on insurance products and services and protection of one's family via adequate insurance coverage. Each month, with the exception of January, will depict a picture and text message on a particular product. For example, the month of May has been assigned to Life Insurance and February to Auto Insurance. The product messages will provide a general overview of the type of coverage available at NAGICO; however, the full product information and benefits are best received directly from our Agents or Office."

In 2011 one of the primary roles of NAGICO will be to continue to educate the communities in which it operates on financial products and services. The 2011 Wall Calendar is now the second medium, the first being the NAGICO Life Lines newsletter, which is being introduced to continue to highlight the need to provide valuable information on financial planning with an emphasis on insurance products and services.

Philipsburg:--- Minister of Labour and Health Maria Buncamper Molanus is yet to submit her letter of resignation to the governor of St. Martin Drs. Eugene Holiday and the Prime Minister of St. Maarten and Democratic Party leader Sarah Wescot Williams. SMN News contacted Minister Buncamper Molanus on Sunday evening requesting information on her letters of resignation to the Governor and the Democratic Party and she said she has no comment at this time.
SMN News has been reliably informed that the Democratic Party has accepted the public announcement made by Minister Buncamper Molanus on Thursday evening during the parliamentary debate that she has made her position available to the parliament of St. Maarten as her resignation. However, the letter of resignation must be sent to the governor by the Minster which has to be confirmed by the Prime Minister. Minister Buncamper Molanus told the members of parliament she did nothing wrong when she sold the economic rights to a parcel of government leased land for three million dollars.
The Minister said she was also aware of the awkward position she placed on the shoulders of the Prime Minister and their coalition partners. Leader of the National Alliance in his response said that making her position available was "déjà vu" since the Minister who was a commissioner in 2008 did the very same thing when she was caught in a situation of conflict of interest when she accepted $25,000 from TELEM as a donation to her foundation Sky is the Limit, at the time Buncamper Molanus had also appointed her husband to the board of TELEM while she was the commissioner in charge of the government owned company. During that scandal Buncamper Molanus resigned from the executive council but was re-appointed to her position a few weeks later.
Shortly after, Prime Minister Wescot Williams said the Minister tendered her resignation and promised that what took place in 2008 will not happen again since St. Maarten is now a country and things have to be different. The Prime Minister also promised that the coalition would handle the resignation of Minister Buncamper Molanus after the holidays.
Governor Holiday when contacted on Sunday evening said he will deal with the issue at hand on Monday as Sunday was Boxing Day.
Well placed sources within the Democratic Party told SMN News that the Democratic Party had prepared their own motion of no confidence on Thursday to present to parliament against Minister Maria Buncamper Molanus but Member of Parliament Leroy de Weever refused the sign the motion claiming that he did not appoint Buncamper Molanus as a Minister. The source said De Weever said those who opted to make her Minister should be the ones to fire her.
It should be noted that the only two persons that were elected on the Democratic Party slate were Sarah Wescot Williams and Leroy De Weever. SMN News has been reliably informed that the party leader Wescot Williams did not include De Weever in the discussions when she formed the coalition with the United Peoples Party. De Weever also wanted to appoint his nephew Cornelius De Weever as Minister of Health but his proposal was rejected by the party's leader and board.
According to our sources, the motion was prepared by Member of Parliament Roy Marlin who was expecting full cooperation from his colleague in parliament Leroy de Weever. SMN News learnt that the motion could not be presented by the Democratic Party because it its mandatory for any motion or requests of parliament to have at least two signatures.
Furthermore, the leader of the United Peoples Party and their MP's refused to participate in the firing of Buncamper Molanus saying the Democratic Party should deal with their internal problems.
In an invited comment. Leader of the National Alliance William Marlin said he expects the Minister and Prime Minister to submit Buncamper Molanus's resignation by Monday December 27 so that the process of appointing a new Minister can begin. Marlin said that it is the governor who would have to decide if the Minister could continue working until she is replaced. The NA leader said if nothing happens this coming week then the matter would have to go back to parliament.

Philipsburg:--- Minister of Education and Culture Rhoda Arrindell announced on Wednesday that she held a number of meetings with Sports Federations and Associations as well as with groups such as the NAOC from Curacao. Discussions centred mainly on plans for St. Martin's participation in the Alternate Games for 2011 which will replace the Kingdom Games. It has been decided that the Kingdom Games will not be held in 2011 as initially planned. Curacao was going to be the host of those Games.
One important point that emerged from the talks with the Sports Federations and Associations is that all sporting organizations on St. Martin must go through their respective National or parent Associations or Federations when organizing or participating in events if they want government and those Associations and Federations to recognize the events and endorse them.
The Minister said she also met with members of the Board of the Raoul Illidge Sports Complex and of the Sports Upkeep Foundation and urged them to work together under one body to manage all sports facilities on the island.
The Board of the Raoul Illidge Sports Complex expressed some of the immediate needs of the facility which she visited earlier on an inspection tour. Those needs will be addressed shortly.
Education Minister Rhoda Arrindell said that the planned school visits went on very well. She said she was accompanied on these visits by the Secretary-General Mrs. Claudette Forsythe-Labega and her Executive Assistant, Morenika Arrindell.
Minister Arrindell said she listened to the various concerns brought forward by the school authorities. These were mainly about structural and maintenance issues and also about their human resource needs. Some of them mentioned certain projects that had been put on hold but which will hopefully be resumed in the new school year.
The Minister said she promised to address those issues which can be dealt with in the short term and some of these are already being handled by the Ministry. The long term concerns will be incorporated into the strategic planning for the year(s) ahead.
Among the themes that were discussed was the issue of parental involvement in the education process of their children. "We are convinced that this is one area in which the private sector needs to partner with government by being more pro-active. Businesses, for instance, must be able to cooperate in granting time off for parents to attend school meetings."The Minister said.
The tour of the schools also revealed the need for us to go on a recruitment drive of particularly male teachers. Female teachers far outnumber their male counterparts and that imbalance is not good for the overall development of the male students.
Minister Arrindell said she held the final meeting of the regular scheduled deliberations with the WITU last week during which they discussed Teacher Evaluation instruments. "During this meeting we arrived at positive conclusions for the way forward on this, and will proceed accordingly in the New Year. The idea is to use this evaluation to help in identifying the needs of those teachers who may require upgrading, and possibly establish a remuneration system based on performance.
As I said upon taking on this job, there is a lot of work to be done, and we are marshalling all our resources to accomplish the vision and the mission of the Ministry."

Every year the pension and wage limit for Sickness and Accident Insurance (ZV/OV) are adjusted in accordance to the development of the cost of living (price index). The adjustment is based on the increase of price index of August of the preceding year.

The Executive Body Social and Health Insurance in accordance to the law sent a proposal to the government regarding the increase of the wage limits, old age pension and widows and orphans pension. In accordance to the calculations of the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) cost of living for St. Maarten increased by 3.6 %. In comparison the price index for Curaçao increased by 2.3%.

Old Age -, Widows- and Orphans pension

 

The old age pension for 2011 is fls. 829,-- per month. The amounts for widows and orphans pension have also been increased.

For the first quarter of 2011 the amounts paid out to pension recipients will be based on the same amount being paid out by SVB Curaçao  e.g. old age pension fls. 818,-- which is fls. 11,-- less than the St. Maarten pension. The reason for this is that the process to split the St. Maarten pension database from the one of Curaçao has not been finalized. The application used to process pensions PRIS (Pension Registration and Information System) does not have the capability to administrate two different pension amounts. Once the split is finalized, which is planned in the first quarter of 2011, the difference, will be paid retroactively to the pension recipients.

Social Premiums

 

All the social premiums have remained the same as the previous year.

The income ceiling over which AOV premium has to be paid has also been increased to fls. 83.228,--  annually. If you have an income that exceeds the limit you have to pay premium up to this limit. The annual wage limit for Sickness and Accident Insurance is fls. 59.264,40.

The gross wages of employees already in service of the employer is determined on the reference date which is November 1^st of every calendar year. If the wage is less or equal to the wage limit of the next year the employee will remain insured for the whole year for Sickness Insurance notwithstanding any wage changes during the year.

The wage limit does not have any influence on the Accident Insurance taken the fact that all employees are insured but the employer pays the premium up to the wage limit.

Enclosed you will find the two tables with all amounts and premiums for 2011.

The Director of the Executive body Social and Health Insurance St. Maarten would like to inform the general public of the new pension amounts. These new amounts will be effective as of  January 1, 2011.

 

Old age pension (AOV).

Pension amount (max)            fls.  829,--

Allowance for spouse (max)   fls.  568,--

General Widows, Widowers Pension (AWW).

 

--  to 39 years              fls.   383,--

40 to 48 years             fls.   502,--

49 to 57 years             fls.   629,--

58 to 59 years             fls.   829,--

Orphan’s pension..

                                                 Half Orphan              Full Orphan.

0    to     9  years           fls. 278,--                      fls.   303,--

10  to   14 years            fls. 303,--                      fls.   332,--

15  to   24 years            fls. 332,--                      fls.   382,--

The Director of the Executive body Social and Health Insurance St. Maarten would like to inform the general public of the premium percentages and new maximum wage limits. These new amounts and rates will be effective as of January 1, 2011.

Premium percentages. Premiums(in percentages of income).

AOV                 13%                 Employer’s contribution                     7.00%

Employee’s contribution                     6,00%

AWW                 1%                 Employer’s contribution                    0,50%

Employee’s contribution                    0,50%

 

OV                   0,5 - 5%           The premium  depends on the risk

class your company is categorized in,

and must be paid by the employer.

ZV                    12,5%              Employer’s contribution                     8,3%

Employee’s contribution                     2,1%

Government’s Contribution                 2,1%

Premium- income/wage AOV/AWW limit per year fls.  83.228,--

Maximum Wages ZV and OV:

Per day (6-day workweek)                                                   fls.          189,95

Per day (5 day workweek)                                                    fls.          227,94

Per week                                                                                fls.       1.139,70

Per month                                                                              fls.       4.938,70

Per year                                                                                  fls.     59.264,40

Cessantia payment: fls. 40,00 per employee per year

Philipsburg:--- Prime Minister of St. Maarten Sarah Wescot Williams drafted a resolution and fired labour and health Minister Maria Buncamper Molanus. SMN News has been reliably informed that the Prime Minister sent Minister Buncamper Molanus a letter on Thursday informing the Minister that effective January 1 she is no longer a Minister, making the Minister's last working day to be Friday December 31 2010.
The source said Minister Bucamper Molanus also submitted a letter to the Prime Minister on Thursday afternoon informing her that she has now made her position available to the Council of Ministers. Last week Thursday, Minister Buncamper Molanus said she has made her position available to the parliament of St. Maarten when they were discussing the latest scandal involving the Minister and her husband Claudius Buncamper.
Minister Buncamper Molanus and her husband who is a senior civil servant sold the economic rights of a parcel of government land to which they were granted a long lease. The contested parcel of land was leased the out the same day government granted the Buncampers the long lease to St. Maarten Building Supplies.
At the time, the executive council granted the Buncampers the long lease Maria Buncamper Molanus was a commissioner and part of the executive council. The Buncampers later sold the economic rights to that property to Eco Green for three million USD. Eco Green was established three days prior to the sale.
Currently the prosecutor's office is investigating the Buncampers. Just recently the Prime Minister was asked to submit all documents relating to the granting of the long lease to the Buncampers.
The prosecutor's office has indicated that they will inform the media and the general public by mid January if there are sufficient grounds to prosecute the Buncampers.

Philipsburg:--- The St. Maarten Job Kiosk is the new online employment website that has been recently launched to accommodate the needs of persons seeking employment on St. Maarten and neighboring islands. The need for this type of on-line service is long overdue and we are happy to provide this free service to jobseekers. With Country St. Maarten still in infantile stage we need the diversity of skills, educational background and services of our people in every sector of the community – working together to build our island's economy.

We have graduates still abroad that want to come back home but are afraid of not being able to find a good job once they return home. This is where the Job Kiosk comes in – to bridge the gap between St. Maarteners abroad wanting to return home to work and local employers looking for staff with credentials that cannot be obtained locally.

The Job Kiosk will be working collaboratively with Government, employers and other local entities in a joint effort to alleviate local unemployment, especially among young adults. Our aim is that of getting the right people in the right jobs. Every industry is represented in the Job Kiosk so no person able and willing to work will be left behind.

Job Seekers are encouraged to register, search jobs, get employment tips and submit their resume online for free job matching if they so desire. Employers are invited to register, post jobs and request matching services as needed. All services to employers are temporarily free of charge for a duration of three months post-launch. The matching services for employers consist of pre-screening and matching of suitable job candidates. This service will eliminate or greatly reduce the overflow of job applicants not meeting the basic or specific requirements of a particular job vacancy. Employers may also post jobs anonymously and even opt not to show direct contact information.

The website is currently in a functional "no frills" format, still under development, and will be improved over the next several months. Although this is a local employment website, we are no substitute for the Department of Labor. We strongly encourage persons seeking employment on St. Maarten to register with the Department of Labor. We may be able to provide linkage services with the Department in the future, but for now we encourage jobseekers to make it a point to register as this is the procedure and first step in increasing their chances of legally finding suitable work on the island. The Job Kiosk can be found at www.jobkiosk.org and is the second local project sponsored by the U.S.-based non-profit organization - Swaby Academy.

Philipsburg: --- SMN News has been reliably informed that the leaders of the coalition government formed by the United Peoples Party and the Democratic Party are at loggerheads. The source said the UP leader and leader of the current government Theo Heyliger is not in favor of some of the actions that are taken by the Democratic Party leader and Prime Minister of St. Maarten Sarah Wescot-Williams. SMN News further learnt that the Prime Minister is making decisions that would affect the entire country and is allegedly not informing her coalition partner who has the most seats in government. One of those decisions the Prime Minister allegedly made was to give the Dutch government assurance in Holland during her last visit there that the 2011 budget will be balanced before the December 15th deadline.
SMN News further learnt that the Prime Minister did not inform Heyliger neither the Minister of Finance who travelled to Holland one week later to seek an agreement with the Dutch government to allow St. Maarten to have an unbalanced budget for at least three years.
On Tuesday, the council of Ministers in their weekly meeting discussed the budget of 2011 and the amount of cuts that would have to be made for the budget to be balanced. One source said the budget still has to go to the council of advice for a decision to be taken. They said that the way things stand St. Maarten can be in deep trouble because if the cuts are made then developing country St. Maarten would be impossible. "Cutting monies from all the Ministries will definitely affect hiring and having the various infrastructures in place for St. Maarten to build its country. Furthermore, if the National Alliance was in government they too would have had to deal with this mess the source explained. We are doubtful that the NA would have been able to solve this problem but I would like them to bring forward their proposals on fixing the budget."
SMN News learnt from well place sources that the coalition government has been requesting assistance from the former commissioner of finance Xavier Blackman to see if he is able to find a solution to the budget dilemma. The 2011 budget has a deficit of 130M guilders while St. Maarten has to make the budget amendments from October 10th to December 31 2010 for the 2010 budget.
SMN News learnt that while several persons have approached Blackman in the name of "country sake" the Minister of Finance is yet to contact him personally for advice. Blackman during his term in office as finance commissioner made the news almost every day about the stance he held with the CFT who was dictating what St. Maarten should and should not do with its budget. The constant confrontation with the CFT earned Blackman a vote of no confidence by the Democratic Party in the island council. SMN News further learnt that Blackman would under no circumstance assist the current government with the budget dilemma since they did not appreciate his hard work and diligence in preparing a realistic budget for St. Maarten.
In the meantime, the Parliament of St. Maarten also has to submit its budget to the Department of Finance. While Parliament is making decisions that will have financial consequences for St. Maarten, the President of Parliament is yet to sit down with the MP's to draft its budget. Currently Parliament does not have its own finance department and formulating a budget would have to depend on the expertise of the senators. Senators from the opposition openly expressed their concerns on the amount of financial decisions that are taken by parliament without having a budget in place. One senator was overheard saying that St. Maarten did not need to be part of Parlatino this year. This she said could have waited until 2011-2012 when there is a budget. Another senator agreed saying that St Maarten will be part of ten committees where two members would be in each committee. Parliament also took a decision on Tuesday to send a delegation of two to Saba for Saba day on Friday. While the President of Parliament had taken her own decision to travel to Barbados to attend the funeral of Barbados late Prime Minister. "All of this will affect the finances of parliament and the president of parliament already brought in her campaign manager to work in parliament. The question is who will pay him and from which budget" the senator asked.
The National Alliance faction refused to send a representative on behalf of their faction to Saba saying that it's a waste of monies. The persons that are assigned to go abroad do not represent the factions in parliament instead they are supposed to be representing parliament. SMN News also learnt that the United Peoples Party senators are at loggerheads with the President of Parliament Gracita Arrindell. The source said Arrindell is not following the advice of her faction and that one of the senators already indicated to her campaign manager Terrence Rey who is working in Parliament that the UP faction will replace her in the near future. SMN News further learnt that at least two senators from the UP faction and one from the DP faction in parliament wants Arrindell to get rid of her Public Relations officer and office manager Dorothy Lake fearing that she would leak information to the leader of the National Alliance William Marlin. SMN News learnt that the DP faction wants the position for the Prime Minister's sister Olga Williams who worked in Parliament of the Netherlands Antilles for a number of years. It should be noted that Lake is a civil servant whose salary is guaranteed, she worked under the former commissioner of education and now Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams in the education department and former commissioner of culture now senator Louis Laveist in the culture department before working as special advisor to William Marlin when he led government for 15 months.
SMN News also learnt that the President of Parliament already indicated to the leader of the United Peoples Party Theo Heyliger that he is a Minister and not an MP and that he should not meddle with the affairs of Parliament.
In the meantime, SMN News understands that the current situation has the leader of government and Minister Theodore Heyliger overwhelmed since according to the source Heyliger is not getting anything to move forward. The source said that Heyliger already made open remarks that he regretted forming a government so quickly without thinking about the consequences that follows.
When contacted for a comment the Minister and leader of government Theo Heyliger did not deny neither confirm the statements. He said he did not want to stir up trouble.

Philipsburg:--- The honourable Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams said that the committee that was put together to look into the matters facing WINAIR has submitted their reports and she is expected to meet with the members of the committee to discuss the proposals they offered. Wescot Williams also said besides meeting with the members of the committee she intends to meet with the management of WINAIR to discuss the current situation of the company which she said needed urgent attention.
The Prime Minister promised that when the discussion is over she will release more information to the media on the status of WINAIR. However, she admitted that WINAIR is facing some serious financial problems.

TELEM SEEKING PARTNERS DISCUSSIONS TOOK PLACE---PM.

The Prime Minister also announced that she has met with the board representatives of TELEM where she was briefed. The Prime Minister said the company's restructuring can continue and TELEM has already held discussions with possible strategic partners. She said although progress has been made, the process is yet to be completed. The concept of the partnership has already been worked out the Prime Minister said and with that in place the negotiations has taken place with potential partners for them to team up.

Philipsburg: --- Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams responding to questions posed by SMN News on the 2011 budget discussions during the Council of Ministers press briefing on Wednesday confirmed that the Council of Ministers will be continuing the discussions on Thursday. The Prime Minister said that the discussion began on the draft budget. She said there were several proposals which include the increasing of revenues and cutting cost. While not divulging how government will be increasing revenues SMN News learnt that the Turn over Tax will be increased to 5%. Wescot Williams said the finance department made a presentation to the council on the proposals. Wescot-Williams further explained the two coalition partners would have to discuss the budget and they would propose measures pertaining to the budget.

The idea she said is for everybody to understand how they are seeking to have a balanced budget to present to the CFT by the deadline. The Prime Minister said that St. Maarten chose to become a country which brings certain responsibilities that government are prepared to bear. However, these responsibilities require more finances. She said St. Maarten still needs to continue making its case with all of the projections that have been made some which dates back to the year 2000. Some of these matters she said do have financial consequences that St. Maarten could have foreseen. The Prime Minister said based on that alone it is extremely difficult for St. Maarten to present a balanced budget for the year 2011. Government she said was prepared to announce or even discuss if necessary any measures even if unpopular but they would have loved to have the time necessary to negotiate and to look at possible alternatives before a decision is taken. She said whether those measures would have been just cost cutting or generating more revenues. Wescot Williams said St. Maarten is stuck with the law that governs the financial operation of St. Maarten. The Prime Minister said that "government is not letting up on the constant remarks that are being heard." She said that there are issues surfacing now that were made during the financial and constitutional agreements for the island to become country. In a follow up question the Prime Minister when asked to elaborate on the issues that are now surfacing she said that one would expect that when the transfer of services from the federal government took place the books would have also been turned over to the government of St. Maarten. She gave an example of the Postal Services of St. Maarten where a company is now set up here but the agreements are still to be finalized while that service is requiring monies from the government of St. Maarten. Wescot Williams said the matters pertaining to the employees that were transferred to St. Maarten was to have a final agreement where St. Maarten would have taken over the employees starting with a clean slate on October 10. However, she said that is not the situation today since there are several outstanding matters that have to be settled. The employees would have a valid claim and they could only take their cases to their new employer which is the government of St. Maarten.

The Daily Herald reporter Judy Fitzpatrick took top honours in the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Caribbean Populations Award in the print media for 2010.
She was presented with the UNFPA's top 'Platinum Award' certificate during the awards ceremony at the Trinidad Hilton Hotel on Tuesday night.
The award was presented for the four part investigative series: Gambling with life; buying medication on the black market which was published in The Daily Herald in March.
Jamaica Gleaner placed second in the print category with a Gold Award and Trinidad Guardian third with a Silver Award.
Close to 60 entries were received from journalists in Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Grenada, Belize, Barbados, Suriname and St. Maarten.
The entries were judged by an international panel of judges: Chief Judge Director of the Caribbean Institute of Media Communication (CARIMAC) University of the West Indies, Mona campus Dr. Canute James; Director of the Center of Communication Studies at the University of Guyana Dr. Paloma Mohamed; veteran Caribbean journalist Tony Best, who now resides in New York and the Communication Adviser to UNFPA for Latin America and the Caribbean region.
Other journalists honoured were Belizean Jules Vasquez (Platinum television), Jamaican Carol Francis (Gold television), and Janelle Chanona (Silver television). Sheryl Johnson was the only winner in the radio category. She received a Silver Award. Judges felt no other radio entry met the criteria for awards.
The National Women's Commission of Belize, a non-government organisation, won a cash award for its work on gender equality, equity and women's empowerment in that country.
UNFPA partners in Trinidad and Tobago such as parliamentarians and representatives from the Government, diplomatic corps, business community, non-governmental organizations, academia, health service providers, community, religious leaders, and the media attended the ceremony.

Philipsburg:--- The St. Maarten Lions Club is finalizing preparations for their Annual Lions Christmas Bingo Spectacular, which is being held this coming Saturday, December 4th at the Celebration Palace on the Bush Road.

According to Bingo Committee Chairman Lion Tony "Toontje" Buncamper, "the evening promises to be very exciting for the public with great prizes which the St. Maarten Lions Club is providing".

The club will call 39 bingo games for overloaded goody baskets, airline tickets on American Airlines, Liat, and Winair along with various dinner vouchers and other constellation prizes. The final grand prize for the evening is the Santa's Bag which is 1000 guilders.

The gate of the venue will opens at 6:30pm in order for the public to obtain their bingo cards and the first bingo game will be called at 8pm sharp by Lion PDG Wally Havertong.

Drinks, food and snacks will be on sale all night and the general public are urged to purchase their tickets as soon as possible from any Lion member or at the door where there will be a limited supply of tickets.

All proceeds raised from the Lions Christmas Bingo Spectacular will be used for worthwhile projects for the community of St. Maarten.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Finance Hiro Shigemoto, announced on Thursday that the Council of Ministers finalized its Deficit-Reduction & Recovery Program," as part of the process for "a better way forward and for a brighter future for all."
The country had a budget deficit according to the Committee of Financial Supervision CFT of Naf.130 million. Based on the Consensus Kingdom Law on Financial Supervision for Curacao and St Maarten, St. Maarten has to present a balanced budget by December 15, 2010. In the past under the status of Island Territory, previous governments missed many deadlines and we do not want to follow that trend as a country, Minister of Finance Hiro Shigemoto said on Thursday.
"Since October 12, 2010, Government started a review of the national budget and this has been an on-going process. Government must demonstrate that we can handle our own affairs and that we are willing to pay for the services that are required to provide a certain level of quality of life for our people.
"These are difficult times; difficult times are all around. If you have been watching the news of late, you will see that various countries especially in Europe have had to implement austerity measures in order to cope with the impact of global economic-financial crisis. Even in our region (Barbados, St. Kitts and The British Virgin Islands) island nations have had to increase taxes (Barbados increased its Value Added Tax from 15% to 17,5%) in addition to introducing new taxes. We are in the same boat, but our situation is much more difficult. We as country are not able to borrow money to cover our budget deficit (general fund), therefore we have to cut expenditures and increase revenues to balance our budget.
"We do not have anybody to bail us out or give us a loan. Becoming a country has its responsibilities and obligations and we now have to be able to make it work and we can do that as a nation with everybody onboard in this national effort. There is light at the end of the tunnel and things will get better.
"After inheriting a multi-million guilder deficit from the previous National Alliance led-government, we have the responsibility to solve the problem rather than throw up our hands in despair. We have a duty to you the people to fix the wrongs and restore balance to the country's finances," Minister Hiro Shigemoto pointed out on Thursday.
The Minister added that during his and Vice Prime Minister Theo Heyliger's working visit to Holland last month, an effort was made with Kingdom Government representatives and others to seek leeway in having a budget deficit for a certain period that would allow the country to implement cost cutting measures and collect outstanding monies from the former Netherlands Antilles Central Government.
The Dutch Government representatives were adamant that St. Maarten would have to balance its budget. To understand the situation at hand one needs to be able to understand what the budgetary situation was then, where we were, and where we have to get to with the figures, and prior to becoming a Country and what the projected situation looks like now that we are a country.
"If you take the deficit as reported by the CFT at Naf.130 million then you take the corrections that St Maarten has made in rebuttal to the advice prepared by the CFT you get the following picture:
"Naf.130,000,000.00 deficit minus a correction of Naf.9,000,000.00 as revenue from moving the monies from the Capital Investment chapter for Cooperative Economic Initiative (SEI) then one also has to move the income over to the general fund, thereby creating a correction of Naf.9,000,000.00. In its advice, the CFT counted the plan of approach for Justice twice thereby creating a second correction this time at Naf.15,000,000.00.

"The third correction deals with the loans for study financing (Naf.4,000,000.00) being removed from the capital investment chapter and the final correction on the estimation of the CFT on the expenditure side dealt with a typo of Naf.3,600,000.00 whereby the CFT meant to type Naf.400,000.00 but typed Naf.4,000,000.00. The total amount of corrections on the expenditure side brings down the deficit to the sum of Naf.98,400,000.00.
"There were also corrections on the income side of the budget which in St Maarten's opinion were too conservatively estimated. For example, the CFT estimated the collectible amount for wage tax at Naf.11,500,000.00 too low. Our collected revenues for wage tax thus far indicate that for 2010 the amount of wage tax St Maarten collected is in line with what was collected in 2009.
"The estimation of St Maarten for all major taxes including wage tax in 2011 was based on the revenues collected for 2009. So this correction was made thereby increasing the wage tax back to the 2009 levels (Naf.+11,500,000.00). The CFT also estimated the revenues for Turn over Tax (ToT) very conservatively. This again was corrected back to the 2009 level by adjusting the revenues for ToT by Naf.5,000,000.00 upwards. These corrections made by St Maarten then brings the deficit down to Naf.81,900,000.00.
"First and foremost has been the effort of Government to reduce expenditures prior to the consideration of any income-generating measures. Cost cutting measures will impact all ministries of government at this early stage of country status to the tune of close to Naf.36 million. Certain investments and additional personnel will be put on hold for at least a year. In this process, none of the civil servants will lose their jobs or see a reduction in salaries". Government will also focus on creating a safety net and improve services for the public.
"The government decided on several cost cutting measures totalling Naf.35,900,000.00 in the areas of Social Security Bank SVB insurance for family members of employees in the private sector, Education, partial freezing of personnel salaries, and additional measures. This was no means an easy task, yet it was absolutely necessary to be able to balance the budget. These cuts were the absolute amount that could be made in order to trim what little fat there was in the draft budget 2011. It is important to also mention that there aren't any new policies included in this draft budget.
"The governing program is not included either in the present budget. This draft budget can be called an emergency budget which is full of sacrifices we have to make as an emerging country which started with a deficit in human capital, necessary capital investments and other deficits in services.
"St Maarten used to generate as an Island Territory within the Netherlands Antilles approximately Naf.265,649,559 income. The additional revenues that came along with becoming a Country within the Kingdom are Naf.116,266,666, together this totals Naf.381,916,225.00. The total costs of the Island Territory of St Maarten in 2010 stood at Naf.282,000,000. The costs associated with the extra tasks that St Maarten took over as a country was Naf.105,862,832.00.
"In addition to this an additional amount of Naf.22,500,000.00 in personnel costs was added to the budget as a result of the indexation of the civil servants salaries in 2011 and the back service for pension premiums which would be owed if the indexation of 5,3% would be added to the salaries of civil servants in 2011," Minister Shigemoto explained.
The total budget of the Country St Maarten for 2011 stands at Naf. 444,942,925.00 after cost cutting measures of Naf. 35,900,000.00 and income generating measures of Naf.46,000,000.00, and as a result, the deficit of Naf.81,900,000.00 is then reduced to a balanced budget.
The income generating measure of increasing the turnover tax from 3% to 5% is not across the board. Basic commodities such as bread, milk, rice, eggs, sugar, flour, chicken, baby products, grain, beans, flour, fruits, and greens will be exempted from Turn over Tax. At the other side of this increase lies the improvement of government services offered to the public at large. Government has an obligation to improve its services to the public.
"There is no other responsible way than the implementation of a Deficit-Reduction & Recovery Program. It is clearly a time to come together and show solidarity to our new country. For many decades St Maarten has been home to many from all over the world and the country has provided countless economic opportunities for all of its inhabitants.
"Now St Maarten as an emerging country in challenging times needs its inhabitants to be resolute, resilient, steadfast and contribute back to its development into a brand new nation. St Maarten is a unique place and while it is exposed to a common problem throughout the world (World economic/financial crisis), it is also challenged in its new development into a country. St Maarten must build a nation at a time when the economy is down, with sparks of improvement. It must build from scratch its capital, human and otherwise. It must have a balanced budget while not being able to borrow to do so. The light at the end of the tunnel is signified by the resilience of our people.
"Clear and credible measures are needed to deal with the fiscal deficit. Failing to tackle the deficit quickly will lead to serious problems and the possible intervention of the Kingdom Government with "higher supervision," no one desires and certainly not the government.
"We have studied the financial situation of the nation very diligently taking into consideration global economic growth, our own economy at this point in time, and the benefits of taking action, and most importantly measures that won't seriously impact our own fragile economic recovery. We do not want to burden the nation with a whole set of new income-generating measures, however we only have a small window of opportunity to pass our Deficit-Reduction & Recovery Program by the December 15 CFT deadline, and the Council of Ministers is very confident that we will be able to meet the aforementioned date," Minister of Finance Shigemoto said on Friday.

Philipsburg:--- The victim of an armed robbery identified as J.R.P. from Romania residing on the island filed an official report with the detective department stating that on Friday December 3rd while walking on the Welfare road in the vicinity of St Maarten Cars in Cole Bay, he was attacked by two unknown black men riding on a scooter. The passenger of the scooter put a knife to his throat and threatened to harm the victim if he did not cooperate.
Fearing for his life the victim cooperated with the robbers. His wallet containing U.S. $ 140,- and his Nokia cellular telephone were stolen from him. The victim was also stripped of all his clothing and was left naked on the street. After committing this act the suspects took off on the scooter. The Detective Department is investigating this case.

Police on Friday intercepted some robbers who were busy breaking into several homes on Marconi Street Cole Bay.

On the scene the investigating patrols arrested two men from the Dominican Republic with initials Y.C.J and V.V., a third suspect fled the scene when the patrols arrived. The suspects were caught in the act after they had broken into two separate homes. The suspects had prepared to take several electrical items from these homes. The suspects were taken to the Philipsburg police station where they remain in custody for further investigation. The vehicle the suspects used was also confiscated for further investigation.

Holland House Beach Hotel in Philipsburg hosted for the second time Canadian model Rachel Bigras who was two weeks on the Island to do photo shoots with St. Martin based photographer Jean Jarreau for the new French women perfumes "TINTAMARRE Jour ®" and "TINTAMARRE Nuit ®".
The perfumes are fabricated in the French Cote d'Azur fragrance city of Grasse, by one of the most famous perfume houses for Jean Jarreau Cosmetics.
The "Tintamarre ®" perfumes and a line of cosmetic skin care products will be launched in the beginning of December next year (2011) during an International presentation at Holland House Hotel.
Model Rachel announced during a brief appearance at the hotel with General Manager Paul Boetekees that the perfume company decided to donate 1 US dollar from the on line sales of each flacon to the St.Maarten Nature Foundation and 1 US dollar to the French side Reserve Naturelle de Saint Martin.
The cosmetic line products will become available for purchase on the web site www.Tintamarre.com immediately after the official launching in December 2011and in perfume stores around the world.
Contrary to all other perfumes that are currently available, marketing people at Jean Jarreau cosmetics and "Tintamarre ®" perfumes in France will not have one specific model as the "face" of their products but will work with many models to appear in promotion and advertising campaigns.
Some of the models are recognizable "famous" models while others are not yet established in the top or are even "beginners".
Some twenty other models are scheduled to come to St.Maarten/St.Martin to do photo shoots for the cosmetics line.
A video commercial will be produced here on the Island by a local company in the spring and will involve the day sail classic vessel Passaat, helicopter and chase boat filming and underwater shots at the Island of Tintamarre.

Additional information will become available soon in www.Tintamarre.com

Philipsburg: --- Workers of the Eastern Caribbean Cellular are becoming weary and have begun questioning whose interest the court appointed trustee is defending. The workers who were officially terminated on November 18th said they had an appointment with the trustee and its representative on Monday but the trustee they said canceled the appointment without even notifying them.

When the workers showed up at Lexwell law firm they were met at the entrance by an employee who informed them that the meeting has been canceled and new date will be set next week. Carl Richardson said the workers need the six weeks salaries that are owed to them. ECC workers he said received their last salary on October 7th and they were officially terminated on November 18th. Richardson said the trustee has to also make sure they get their severance pay. As for the workers, many of them are without medical and only recently they were able to file for unemployment and other benefits at the labour department.

Richardson said it has been ten weeks now since the ECC workers took home monies and the Christmas season is approaching. He said ECC workers have families and they need to provide for them. Richardson further explained that the workers are asking for salaries they are entitled to. Furthermore, the workers want to see the court appointed trustee and not the trustee's representative. Richardson said while they were told that a meeting can be held as early as Wednesday they are going to ensure they meet with trustee who would have to say when the payments are going to be made.
Asked if the other telecommunication companies on the island have offered ECC workers employment Richardson said the other companies were never interested in ECC workers. He said those companies were interested in ECC customers which they got.

Philipsburg:--- Tax Advisor Mr. Max Pandt recently gave a lecture to the Members and guests of the St. Maarten Lions Club during the club's monthly guest speaker evening at the Lions' Den in Suckergarden.
The topics for the evening were the role of the College Financieel Toezicht (CFT) and direct and indirect taxes.

For years some countries/entities within the Kingdom of the Netherlands have experienced substantial and structural problems in the area of government finances, which have had far reaching consequences. For this reason it was agreed upon between all countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands to install the CFT.

Mr. Pandt explained that there existed one CFT prior to the dismantling of the Netherlands Antilles. Presently there are 2 CFT, one (1) for Curacao and Sint Maarten one (1) for the BES islands, the latter of which Mr. Pandt is currently a member. Mr. Pandt elaborated on the role of CFT which is to supervise compliance with agreements that were made between the Netherlands and the respective countries/entities within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The role of the CFT is particularly aimed at controlling the budgetary process and improving financial management of the respective countries of the former Netherlands Antilles. The CFT also ensures compliance with international standard rules regarding performance of members of Board of Supervisory Directors of government owned companies.

CFT is an independent body of all countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands and periodically reports to the Kingdom Council of Ministers.
On the topic of direct and indirect taxes Mr. Pandt elaborated on the difference between direct and indirect taxes, and the fine line between the two taxes. An example given by Mr. Pandt was the turnover tax which is a direct tax however in practice gained the resemblance of an indirect tax given the fact that this tax is often passed on to the consumer.

Our progressive tax system was elaborated upon by Mr. Pandt. A healthy discussion took place amongst Mr. Pandt and the members and guests of the St. Maarten Lions Clubs with regards to finding a balance between the need to generate more income versus implementation of different taxes whilst maintaining our progressive tax system.

NAGICO's End Year Agent's Conference will be held this Friday at the Belair Community Center, under the theme: "Mine Your Business". Special guest speaker Mr. Garth W. Thomas, a Financial Planning & Customer Relations Facilitator will give a two part presentation to support the theme. The first part will cover the Art & Science of Building a Clientele - mining your business techniques which when applied accurately should ultimately result in increased sales from existing clients and/or attract new business. The second part of his presentation will include a case study.

The conference will commence at 9:00 am sharp and will also include presentations from Underwriting & Product Managers Mr. Dwayne Elgin and Mr. Roger Balkissoon, who together will highlight NAGICO's new product developments. Next year's Corporate Wall & Desk Calendar will be officially introduced at the conference by Marketing Officer, Jimmy Challenger. To close off the day, NAGICO's Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Imran McSood Amjad will lead his team of Executive Directors in an interactive discussion highlighting the future of NAGICO – as a leading insurance company in the North Eastern Caribbean.

Marketing Officer Jimmy Challenger: "Getting the most share of a client's purchasing power set aside to buy a product or service requires companies to "Mine Their Business". In other words, to get the customer's gold and silver value, requires sufficient mining. This includes proper management of client data, listening to the customers to identify their needs, taking initiative towards providing multiple solutions which lead to cross-selling and ultimately increased sales revenues. Friday's "Mine Your Business" Conference will help set the stage for what's to come in the near future to all NAGICO jurisdictions, including: The British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Antigua, Dominica, Montserrat, the ABC islands, Dutch St. Maarten, St. Eustatius, Saba, St. Kitts, Nevis and soon to be opened French St. Martin Office.".

GREAT BAY (GIS):--- Every year, the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau along with the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association host their annual Holiday Gift Program. This year, the event took place on December 8 at the Sister Borgia Elementary School located on Cannegieter street in Philipsburg.

The Principal of the school and the Tourism department official welcomed the young audience and got them excited.
Teacher Betty warmed up the children by singing Christmas carols with the young students, after which the Disney characters surprised the crowd.
All classes from K1 to the sixth grade students, totaling about 100, came up to the characters, got a hug, a high five, or a fist bump/St. Maarten boops and then were given a gift by one of the Disney staff members.
The students were highly excited and pleased to receive a gift and to spend some time with the Disney characters that were present: Mickey and Mini Mouse, Daffy Duck, Goofy, the Chipmunks, and Stitch.

...

On December 9, the Governor of St. Maarten Eugene Holiday and French Prefet Jacques Simonnet on the French side had a meeting to discuss current matters.

NAGICO has been serving the population of Saint-Martin, French and Dutch for nearly 30 years. At a time when no insurance company were established on French Saint-Martin, NAGICO catered to the needs of the local market by providing affordable products and supporting the population in rebuilding the island after disasters such as Hurricanes Luis, Marie-Line, Lenny...
In addition to its core business, NAGICO has significantly contributed to the local community -supporting educational, cultural and sporting projects, thus creating public value.
In order to adhere to the laws of the Republic of France and offer the required guarantees to French Saint-Martin residents, NAGICO embarked on the process of obtaining an insurance license to operate in France. Since obtaining our license in February 2010, our competitors have attempted to stain our corporate image by all means: press releases, contacting banks, lobbying the local authorities (State, Collectivity, Chamber of Commerce...), Correspondence to the regulatory authority ACP... WE ARE HIGHLY COMMITTED TO PROVIDING AFFORDABLE PRODUCTS AND QUALITY SERVICE TO THE RESIDENTS OF FRENCH SAINT-MARTIN.
We are hereby confirming that our new policies will be written in French and will strictly adhere to ALL legal requirements of the French Insurance Code.

Philipsburg:--- The St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association has sent a letter to the president of parliament as well as to all members of parliament and the Prime Minister condemning the increase of Turn over Tax to balance the 2011 budget. The following is a copy of the letter that was sent to parliament and the Council of Ministers.

Further to the announcement of the proposed 66% TOT increase (3% to 5%) in the media, the following:
Based on consultation with SHTA members, the Foundation Tax Committee and government coalition faction leaders, the SHTA finds the proposed increase in tax is unacceptable as a quick-fix method to balance the 2011 budget in order to avoid possible higher supervision without government exhausting all efficiency and austerity measures.
For years the SHTA has advocated that the coming of change to Country St. Maarten offered an opportunity to reengineer government to an efficient apparatus and to get its financial administration in order. In fact the public sector has had 10 years to prepare a new public apparatus and tax system for Country St. Maarten.
Option B of the 2000 referendum was sold to the people as a revenue generating option for the island since the money sent on an annual basis to Federal government was deemed more than sufficient to govern the country.
Since the economic downturn in late 2008, the SHTA has requested some sort of economic stimulus from the Public sector to be put in place and to date no relief has been received, thus leaving the Private sector to manage its own resources in order to survive and unilaterally protect St. Maarten's economic base.
As proposed, this measure at the very least would create spiraling inflation resulting in an increase in cost of living. Furthermore a shift to off-island purchasing thereby damaging local industry and potentially shrinking local tax base eliminating any potential tax increase.
In the event that Parliament would ratify the earlier decision made by the Council of Ministers, SHTA strongly advocates for the additional 2% to be placed in escrow for a period of 6 months only. The funds collected would be released with tri-partite consultation and on the following conditions:

1. Reengineer tax system and have tripartite consensus on a draft system by June 30, 2011 for following implementation January 1, 2012
2. Activate SER by January 31, 2011
3. Improve compliance focusing on unregistered and non-paying businesses and individuals
4. Ensure that St. Maarten is legally represented on the CFT and 'Vereffenings committee' by December 31, 2010.
5. A review of the current TOT legislation prior to January 1 2011 encompassing at least the following points:
   
   • Make TOT 100% deductable from profit tax

   • Reintroduce fiscal unity
   • TOT receivables on sales system up to Dec 31, 2010 need to remain at 3%
   • Review the present exemptions
   • Eliminate the multiplier effect

Over the years, SHTA has been and will continue to be a proactive responsible social partner and will strive to work together with Government and organized labor in effectively addressing the many challenges that face us all as country St. Maarten.

Philipsburg:--- Gynaecologist Dr. Michel Petit has sent a letter to the Prime Minister of St. Maarten Sarah Wescot Williams and the media asking that that an independent committee be installed to investigate the discrepancies at the St. Maarten Medical Centre. Dr. Petit is also calling on the Governor of St. Maarten to step in and to resolve the ongoing issue at the SMMC.

In his letter Dr. Petit said 18 months ago he accused management of the SMMC of knowingly allowing someone who is not a surgeon to perform surgical procedures at the Medical Centre. This he said has been going on for the past two years.

He said during the same period he also reported this matter to the local press and when Dr. Scot was asked he responded to the allegation by saying it was an internal matter.
Dr. Petit said he also spoke to former Minister of Health Patrick Illidge who requested an investigation by the health inspector.

The well known gynaecologist said the only person who was contacted on this matter was the medical director Dr. George Scot and no one from the operating room personnel neither Dr. Petit was contacted on his allegation. Yet Dr. Theo Braken concluded there was no wrong doing at the SMMC therefore the situation did not change.
Dr. Petit said two weeks later he made another complaint at the department of public health indicating that the same person was performing operations while he is not a surgeon or doctor.
Dr. Petit said a new investigation was initiated by Dr. Cornelius De Weever, the acting health inspector but his term was short lived since Dr. Theo Braken took over his tasks.
Dr. Petit said based on his knowledge Dr. Braken spoke with Dr. Jack Bocher the orthopaedic surgeon working at the SMMC on December 6th 2010. A meeting was also scheduled between Dr. Braken and Dr. Petit for December 9th which was held in the presence of Dr. Cornelius De Weever.
Dr. Petit said he was surprised when he received a copy of a letter from Dr. Th. Braken which was addressed to Dr. George Scot dated December 8th clearing the St. Maarten Medical Centre of any wrong doing. Based on this revelation Dr. Petit concluded that both investigations carried out by Dr. Theo Braken are biased and he should be disqualified from this task.

The Mental Health Foundation organized an informative session with key health professionals and stake holders in and out of the mental health field on Monday December 6th 2010.

The purpose of this session was to introduce current developments in Mental Health, current developments in Psychopharmacology and the use of medication protocols.

The main speakers for the evening were Dr. Erik Hoencamp and Dr Judith Haffmans who are being hosted by the MHF from November 28th to December 11th in an effort to establish a corporation agreement which would link MHF with Parnassia Bavo Groep in the Netherlands.

"The idea is to keep mental health treatment as simple and efficient as possible within the context of Sint Maarten by collaborating to enhance patient care and financial feasibility" says Dr. Hoencamp.
Dr. Erik Hoencamp is a Professor in Clinical Psychiatry in Leiden Netherlands and also serves as Director of 'New Business' within the Parnassia Bavo Groep. He received his PHD on the basis of his thesis entitled 'Depressed Outpatients, Efficacy and Predictability of Response of Three-phase-treatment strategy'.

Dr. Judith Haffmans is a Clinical Pharmacologist and chronobiologist. She is also a professor at the University of Leiden, a member of the Medical Ethics Review Committee and has published many research articles.

Since their arrival, they have been conducting psycho-education sessions with the clients of the MHF. In addition to that, interactive sessions were held with the MHF Staff on Ambulant Care, Crisis Intervention, Admissions Procedures, e-Therapy and e-Health. They have also given recommendations for safety Measures and Protocols for the MHF's new building.

The new system called e-therapy and e-health, which will be made available by Parnassia Bavo Groep, is an innovative way that MHF can provide optimal care to patients from their home. "This introduces a whole new concept of care by providing basic guided support for specific treatments" says Dr Hoencamp" This would allow clients to receive treatment and encouragements via the web"

This subject also was part of the presentation on Monday at Divi little Bay, where the doctors stressed on the importance of close cooperation between key stakeholders on Sint Maarten.

Organizing mental health care within the context of transition and financial restraint is a challenge with many opportunities to create a simple efficient health care system that suits the needs of Sint Maarten.

"The impression of MHF is positive" says Dr. Hoencamp "It is important now to find a new structure that would benefit Sint Maarten"

The Mental Health Foundation would like to thank the speakers, Dr. Erik Hoencamp and Dr. Judith Haffmans, the participants of the event for their feedback and Divi little Bay for their contributions.

Philipsburg:--- Member of Parliament George Pantophlet has sent a letter to Minister of Finance Hiro Shigemoto asking questions based on article 62 of the Constitution of Country St. Maarten. The following are the questions sent to the Minister:

1. When will the Budget 2011 be presented to Parliament?
2. How much funds is owed to St. Maarten by the former Netherlands Antilles government?
3. How much funds is owed to St. Maarten by St. Maarten creditors and who are those creditors?
4. Were funds deposited on the account of the Central Bank for St. Maarten by the Dutch?
5. If so, how much was deposited and what was the amount spent on?
6. If no funds were spent, why not?

Philipsburg:--- The Police Special Robbery Unit over the weekend have been quite busy investigating several armed robberies and at least one attempted armed robbery.
A man with initials S.H.P. filed an official report with detectives stating that on Friday evening at approximately 09:00 p.m. while walking on the boardwalk he was suddenly attacked from behind by two unknown men and forced to the ground. A third man came and stole his wallet containing some cash, credit-cards, identification card and his Black Berry Bold II phone.

Another man identified as D.A.Q. filed an official report with detectives stating that on Friday evening at approximately 10:15 p.m. while on his way home from work and walking on the Simpson Bay road he was almost ran over by a white car. The car stopped at which time two young men jumped out. A fight immediately broke out between him and these two men when they demanded money from him. Two other suspects stepped out of the car got into the fight. The victim continued struggling at which time the suspects tried to him push into the trunk of the car, however that did not succeed. The suspects then fled the scene in their car and not being able to steal anything from the victim.

A man with the initials L.M.M. stated that on Friday December 10th at approximately 10:30 p.m. while standing and talking to a friend outside of Carolina Bar on the Soualiga road, he was approached from behind by two unknown men at which time one of the men pulled his gold chain from his neck. The suspects then took-off running through street next to the tennis court.

A man with initials O.T stated that on Sunday December 12th at approximately 01:30 a.m. while driving through Mullet Bay in his car, his path was suddenly blocked by another car. Four men jumped out of the suspected car and attacked him. He was pulled from his car, thrown to the ground and severely beaten by these men. They robbed him of his Cellular telephone, his vehicle and U.S. $ 400 in cash. The vehicle was later found abandoned.

On Tuesday afternoon December 14, 2010, the board of the Sint Maarten Seniors and Pensioners Association (SMSPA) met with Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labour Mrs Maria Buncamper-Molanus. The meeting was held at the request of the SMSPA, to introduce the boardmembers of the legally established association and to request the support of the Minister to end the discrimination that senior citizens and pensioners in Sint Maarten are experiencing.
The old age pensions for instance in Sint Maarten are still under poverty level. Poverty is a violation of the human right to a descent standard of living. When we look at the old age pensions on the French side of Sint Maarten and the old age pensions in the Netherlands (1000 Euro), the poverty pensions in Sint Maarten of 800 ANG are in violation of the non-discrimination principle, the equal rights that the Kingdom government has to guarantee citizens throughout the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The health care level and the health care packages in Sint Maarten are still not equal to the basic health care level and the health care package of the Netherlands. This is a violation of the right to the highest attainable standard of health care that the Kingdom government has to guarantee throughout the Kingdom, so also in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. SMSPA has commended the St. Maarten Government however, as a step in the right direction has been taken with respect to the plans to establish a basic health care package which is equal to that of the Netherlands as part of the National Health Insurance system.
Furthermore the sickness insurance premium that retirees of private and public sector in Sint Maarten have to pay to be insured with SVB and FZOG (10% of their monthly pension) is still five times higher than what non-retired workers insured with SVB or BZV (2%) have to pay from their monthly salary. This is also a violation of the non-discrimination principle among workers based upon age or upon their activity status.
The board of the SMSPA has all understanding that the government of country Sint Maarten only now is responsible to help the seniors to realize all their human rights, but made it clear that government of Sint Maarten has now become part of the Kingdom government with their representative the Minister Plenipotentiary in the Hague.
To realize all human rights of the seniors before 2012, is a commitment made by the Kingdom government delegation in Madrid in 2002 by signing the International Action Plan on Aging.
The board of the SMSPA recommended the government of Sint Maarten to demand from the Kingdom government all the necessary political, economical, social, cultural and financial support to achieve this objective before 2012 and to comply with the human rights guarantee that is the responsibility of the Kingdom government.
Referring to the International Action Plan on Aging (Madrid 2002)and the Regional Strategy to Implement the International Action Plan on Aging for Latin America and the Caribbean (Santiago de Chile 2003) the board of the SMSPA urged the Minister to formalize and implement a National Action Plan on Aging for Country Sint Maarten and to guarantee the involvement of the SMSPA in preparation, decision making and implementation of all policies which could affect seniors living in Sint Maarten. The board of the SMSPA will submit their proposals to be included in such a National Action Plan on Aging for country Sint Maarten and will come up with suggestions for a structured dialogue to guarantee the bottom up approach which governments have adopted in the aforementioned intergovernmental meetings.
The board of the SMSPA requested for a policy that government should make more use of the knowledge and the experience of the seniors and pensioners in the society. Pensioners for instance can still contribute to the development of society. Especially now that Sint Maarten has become a country, a lot of human resources to build up the country are needed.
The minister committed to a follow up meeting with the SMSPA in the beginning of next year to respond to the issues brought up by the SMSPA.

GREAT BAY:--- Youth Health Care (YHC) whose offices are located at the Vineyard Office Park, is encouraging parents to visit the office during the school holiday season to see if their child's vaccinations are up to date.
Parents and guardians are encouraged to visit the YHC during office hours every day in the afternoons or during school breaks to keep track of the status of their child's vaccination schedule.
YHC has changed its vaccination schedule and all children between four and nine-years of age will now get their second Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine at four years of age.
The DTPolio vaccination will continue to be given when the child is nine-years of age.
Other changes in the vaccination schedule apply to children between two and 12 months of age.
Parents are reminded to make sure that their children between the ages of 0-17 are up to date with their vaccinations which are necessary in order to reduce the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases.
DTP, MMR and catch-up Hepatitis B vaccines will be given to children who are not up to date.
Immunization is a way of protecting children against serious vaccine preventable diseases. Once a person has been fully vaccinated, their bodies can fight those diseases if one comes into contact with them.
Parents should bring along with them their child's vaccination booklet/card. If you are not sure of the status of your child, you should contact your general practitioner, paediatrician, or YHC for children up to four years of age.

GREAT BAY (GIS):--- On December 16, the Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic, and Telecommunication, staff members of the Secretariat of the Council of Ministers and the Staff members of Minister Meyers' office were given a presentation by former State Secretary and Member of Parliament in the Antillean parliament, Mr. Marcel Gumbs, in the Claude Wathey Legislative Hall.
Acting Secretary General of the Ministry, Mr. Miguel de Weever, said that the intention is to provide the Department Heads, policy advisors, the Secretariat of the Council of Ministers and staff members of Minister Meyers' office with information about the new legislative system of Parliament so as to assist in their work.
Gumbs provided information on the specifics questions: "What is parliament?" and "How does it work?"
Gumbs explained the details on the Parliament, Legal instruments, Charter of the Kingdom, Cooperation Regulation, "Staatsregeling" Constitution, Voting Regulation, Organizational Structure, Secretariat of Parliament, Rights of Parliament, and Leadership of Parliament. There was a question and answer session afterwards.
Gumbs has served in parliament in one capacity or another, from Observer to Member of Parliament to State Secretary of Justice, since 1983.

Philipsburg:--- On Friday December 17th a three man delegation from Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police force consisting of Deputy Commissioner Stafford Liburd, Inspector Franklyn Belgrove and Seargent Travis Rogers paid a courtesy visit to the Sint Maarten Police Force. The Acting Chief of Police, Commissioner Carl John received the delegation open heartily and together with the Head of the Detective Department Miss Denise van Geertruij-Jacobs and other management team members sat down for talks. During this visit a presentation was given by the delegation with regard to drugs, gangs and other serious criminal related activities taking place on those islands and how these situations are being dealt with.
The presentation given was very informative, after which Commissioner John also gave an explanation of the present situation on Sint Maarten and expressed his concern about crime on Sint Maarten. The talks ended well and both parties are definitely looking forward to a very close working relationship in the future to combat any type of criminal activities in the region.
On Saturday the delegation left for Anguilla to pay the authorities there a courtesy visit.

Philipsburg:--- Three members of parliament from the National Alliance faction, namely faction leader William Marlin, George Pantophlet and Dr. Lloyd Richardson have dispatched a letter on Sunday evening to chairlady of parliament Gracita Arrindell. A copy of the letter sent to SMN News states that on December 9th, the faction of the National Alliance requested for a public meeting of Parliament to be convened to discuss: The decision of the Council of Ministers to increase the Turn Over Tax to 5%.

In accordance with the Rules of Order the meeting has to be convened within 14 days, as such, no later than December 23rd upcoming. Also, Members of Parliament are to receive the notification for the meeting at the least 4 days prior to the meeting. Today is Monday December 20th, and we have not received any convocation as yet.
The undersigned, members of the National Alliance faction, hereby request for another point to be added to the agenda of said meeting.

• The involvement of Minister Maria Buncamper Molanus in the sale of the Economic Rights of a parcel of Long Lease land.

The members further request that both Minister Maria Buncamper Molanus and Prime Minister Sarah Wescott-Williams be invited to the meeting to answer questions.

Philipsburg:--- The Zero Tolerance team of the police force of St. Maarten is making headway in cleaning up the island of criminals while providing a safer holiday season. Police Spokesman Ricardo Henson said the Zero Tolerance Team were busy with intense traffic controls last weekend.
Henson said between Friday December 17th and Sunday December 19th a total of 172 fines were given to traffic offenders. Six persons were arrested in connection with the drug laws, four persons for their illegal status on the island and three persons were arrested for public violence. Illegal gathering on the so called "blocks" were broken up and a total of 30 vehicles were towed. These controls will continue indefinitely.

Philipsburg:--- Minister of Labour and Heath Maria Buncamper Molanus held her grounds on Monday evening when she met with the board of the Democratic Party to discuss the sale of the economic rights of a parcel of land she obtained by long lease. Sources close to the DP board said that Buncamper Molanus maintained that she did not do anything illegal when she made the three million dollar deal with ECO GREEN N.V which was established three days prior to the transaction that was done on December19 2008. SMN News has been reliably informed that every member of the DP board told the Minister that she has to resign since the so called land deal has left a bad image on the Democratic Party and their coalition government. According to our sources if the Minister remains persistent, then the Democratic Party would have take the matter to parliament for the Minister's dismissal from office.
Shortly after the meeting on Monday evening the president of the Democratic Party issued a press release stating that the Democratic Party has concluded its internal discussions and has agreed to discuss the matter with their coalition partner. It is expected that the coalition meeting will take place on Tuesday December 21st. The party president said the Democratic Party also reserves the right to further comment until after their coalition meeting.

Philipsburg:--- On Tuesday morning between 09:00 and 10:00 am police and detectives responded to the Philipsburg landfill after they received a call informing them that a woman identified ad Patricia Brooks (41) years of age who collects empty bottles on the dump had accidentally been ran over by a garbage compacter and as a result had suffered severe damage to both legs. Police Spokesman Ricardo Henson said the paramedics were sent to the scene where the victim was given first aid, after which she was immediately transported to the St. Maarten Medical Center. Henson said the victim succumbed to the injuries she sustained from the accident.
The police traffic, detective and forensic department are busy investigating this case to determine exactly how this accident took place.
Press Prosecutor Rienk Mud said the victim in question was warned on several occasions to stay away from the dump (landfill). Mud said based on information his office received the victim was chased away on a number of occasions but she kept going back to look for items that are of value to her. Mud said the victim died of internal bleeding.

Philipsburg:--- The prosecutor's office is conducting an exploratory investigation into the facts of what really took place on December 19th 2008 between Minister Maria Buncamper Molanus, her husband and ECO GREEN N.V. According to press prosecutor Rienk Mud, the prosecutor's office needs more information and documentation to get a clear picture of what took place. Mud said this is necessary for them to ascertain if there are enough grounds of suspicion to start a criminal investigation.
The documents already presented to the prosecutor's office still leave some questions unanswered.
Depending on how quickly the needed information is presented, thereby taking into account that the holiday season is near, the prosecutor's office expects to be able to draw conclusions by mid January 2011.

In the meantime, the Democratic Party and its coalition partners from the United Peoples Party met on Tuesday to discuss the Buncamper affair. President of the Democratic Party Michael Ferrier said they indicated to their coalition partners that the DP has asked the Minister to do the honorable thing and resign. However, the Minister felt that resigning would be an admission of guilt while insisting that she did nothing wrong.
Ferrier said that right now the matter has been placed in the hands of the collation partners who would have to take the next step. That next step is to take the matter to parliament where a motion of non-confidence will be presented against the Minister.

Philipsburg:--- The Managing Director of Windward Islands Airlines Edwin Hodge responded to an article that was posted on SMN News earlier this week. Below is the letter:
Management took notice of the article on your website published on Thursday December 16, 2010.
As the managing Director, part of my duty is to travel for business meetings and to attend certain conferences, hence said trips are justified. I do not travel first class or stay in the luxurious hotels. Moreover, for the traveling I mainly use company business tickets with the airlines we have agreements with, solely for the purpose to keep cost as low as possible.
WINAIR's financial performance has been poor for quite some time, which is due to low fares and high operating cost which is known to all. Further to the high operating cost, no one is mentioning that is we hadn't raise the employee salaries to a standard they should be, we could have been profitable and not able to maintain employees. Management had no help from its owners and consequently made decisions, such as reducing destinations and again increasing same, to improve the company's financial performance, however this did not materialize positively.
With regards to the victimization and discrimination, this is absolutely not true. No matter who the employee is they are permitted to speak their mind. I would have had several entities on my case if this was indeed the case. However, I must say that of course management cannot and will not please all the employees all the time. If I was pleasing everybody then it is prudent to say that all employees have their way, be it that they are wrong or right.
Concerning the pilots, this is also far from the truth; hence I strongly believe this is also manufactured by a disgruntled pilot or another employee.
Routes: WINAIR has grown to 11 destinations over a period of 50 years, some routes more successful than others, but with competition and the general economic conditions in particular periods, WINAIR has decided to cancel certain routes and consequently restart same if necessary. However, this is not done in an ad-hoc manner. This is done taken the traveling public into consideration. Based on the advice from a consultant hired by the Dutch Government and follow up discussions, WINAIR shall cut back on the new routes, Montserrat and Barbuda.
Regarding the Prime Minister's comments, the company needs restructuring but this is not only now. It has been a long time in the making that WINAIR needs restructuring; hence there is a mandate from, the new owners to definitely restructure the company to make it stringer and consequently expand or work with a larger group to keep cost as low as reasonably possible. What this means? Could be several ways, but it is too early to elaborate as the committee is not yet finished with their plans.
Management is doing everything in it power to improve the company's performance.

GREAT BAY:--- The Civil Registry Department is low on Identification Card (ID) materials. The department won't be issuing anymore cards unless it's an emergency.
The department regrets this inconvenience and asks the general public for their patience and cooperation. Persons who need additional information can contact the Civil Registry Department at 542-2457.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The judges for the GEBE Christmas Lighting Competition will soon be visiting the participating Christmas Displays this evening to determine the winners of the 2010 GEBE Christmas Lighting Competition.
This year's judges are radio and television personalities that will be judging their interpretation of Christmas. Judging for St. Maarten will be Elektra from Laser 101, DJ Biggers from SOS Radio, Fernando Clark, Samuel Allen of St. Maarten Island Time and Altagracia William of AVS News.
A total of 12 homes are participating in the lighting competition on St. Maarten and 11 in Saba. The panel of judges will judge the displays on five different criteria, namely creativity, first impression, special effects, traditional display and use of energy saving technology. The winners will be announced in January 2011.
GEBE is also encouraging her residents to go out and enjoy the many lighting displays. Plus they can help to determine which display is most popular. You can vote for your favorite display and one prize will be determined solely by the popular vote. The popular vote prize is $500 shopping certificate at a supermarket of your choice will be given to the display that receives the most votes either in the online poll at www.nvgebe.com/christmas. Voting closes December 31, 2009 at midnight.

NAGICO INSURANCES hereby informs all residents of French Saint Martin whom hold a NAGICO Insurance Policy that as of January 2011 new insurances policies will be issued in the name of NAGICO Insurance Company Limited. NAGICO will automatically deliver a provisional cover note from January 1 to January 31st to all policy holders whom will subsequently receive a new policy with respect to all French legal requirements.

IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE YOUR NEW COVER NOTE BY FRIDAY DEC 31, 2010 PLEASE VISIT OUR FRENCH SAINT-MARTIN BRA NCH OFFICE AT 17 RUE DE
LA REPULBIQUE MARIGOT.

LES ASSURANCES NAGICO, PAR LES PRESENTES, INFORMENT TOUS LES DETENTEURS D'UNE POLICE D'ASSURANCE NAGICO N.V. QU'A COMPTER DE JANVIER 2011, UNE NOUVELLE POLICE D'ASSURANCE LEUR SERA DELIVREE AU NOM DE NAGICO INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED. AUTOMATIQUEMENT IL SERA REMIS UNE ATTESTATION
PROVISOIRE COUVRANT LA PERIODE DU 1ER JANVIER AU 31 JANVIER 2011 A TOUS LES DETENTEURS DE POLICE QUI RECEVRONT, PAR CONSEQUENT, UNE NOUVELLE
POLICE AUX NORMES LEGALES FRANCAISES.

SI VOUS NE RECEVEZ PAS VOTRE NOUVELLE ATTESTATION PROVISOIRE AU 31 DECEMBRE 2010, VEUILLEZ BIEN NOUS CONTACTER A NOTRE AGENCE DE LA PARTIE FRANCAISE AU 17 RUE DE LA REPUBLIQUE A MARIGOT.

Philipsburg:--- The board and leadership of the Democratic Party should get the person they intend to replace Minister Maria Buncamper Molanus with and send them for screening says Minister of Justice Roland Duncan. Minister Duncan in an interview with SMN News said his professional opinion is that the Democratic Party should make sure they have a replacement person on hand so that when Minister Buncamper Molanus submits her resignation she would not have to remain in office until a replacement is found. Minister Duncan said he met with Minister Buncamper Molanus on Tuesday in the council of Ministers Meeting and that he would personally like to meet with the health and labour Minister once more this week or early next week to finalize their discussions on the synchronization of the labour and residency permits.
Minister Duncan further explained that while the people may want Minister Buncamper Molanus to leave immediately he felt she must be given the opportunity to finalize what she was working on while being able to work on a report to pass on to her successor so that government can continue, "Screening can take a week or more depending on who the candidate is that will replace Minister Buncamper Molanus and if the intention is to remove the Minister as fast as possible then the best and most intelligent thing to do is to have the candidate ready so that person too can have a meeting with the ousted Minister who would say what she has been working on these past two months." Minister Duncan said if that happens then the incoming Minister can hit the ground running because he or she knows where Minister Buncamper Molanus left off.
SMN News has been reliably informed that the incoming candidate for the position is Dr. Cornelius De Weever the nephew of Member of Parliament Petrus Leroy De Weever. SMN News also learnt that members of the Democratic Party have contacted Dr. Lloyd Richardson and offered him the position but Dr. Richardson who is also a member of parliament has declined the offer.
In an invited comment, President of the Democratic Party Michael Ferrier said his party is awaiting the promised resignation from Minister Maria Buncamper Molanus before they would begin recruiting a new candidate for her position. Ferrier said up to late Tuesday he was not informed if the Minister has resigned and as such he has nothing new to report.
Minister Maria Buncamper Molanus has been making the headlines for the past three weeks when it was uncovered that she and her husband, a senior civil servant has sold the economic rights to government long lease land for a whopping three million dollars. The Minister once denied ever selling any land when the scandal first broke but on Thursday evening during the parliamentary debate she said she has made her position available even though she does not know what crime she committed. Thursday's motion was the second presented against Buncamper Molanus. The first was presented in 2008 when it was also uncovered by the media she accepted $25,000 donation from TELEM for her foundation the Sky is the Limit, at the time Buncamper Molanus was the commissioner in charge of telecommunications while she was the president of her political foundation Sky is the Limit. Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams interpreted the Minister's public statement 'where she made her position available" as her resignation during the meeting on Thursday. A motion of no confidence was presented against the Minister by the National Alliance faction that was later withdrawn by faction leader William Marlin. In a follow up interview, Marlin said the reason he withdrew the motion of no confidence was because the Prime Minister's statement when she said Minister Buncamper Molanus has reconsidered her options and has resigned. Marlin said motions of no confidence are a last resort that is used to remove sitting ministers.

Fellow St. Martiners,
Residents of our beloved island,

The year 2010 brings to an end the first decade of the 21st Century. It will go down in history as a year of transition and transformations, particularly in the political and constitutional spheres. It is a year in which we have witnessed significant transformational shifts in our political constellation and a whole new constitutional structure which has brought with it additional responsibilities for St. Martin.
Taking stock of what 2010 has meant for us, we can all be thankful first of all, for health and being alive to witness the dawn of a new decade. This was a year that started with a bang, literally and figuratively. The earthquake that destroyed Haiti not only took thousands of lives and inflicted millions of dollars in material damage, but continues even on the eve of its first anniversary to have lingering effects of gigantic proportions.
Disaster was not far from us in 2010, but it eluded us, I believe by some Divine intervention. But as we count our blessings, we must also be mindful of the challenges we face as an emerging nation.

2010 has been a mixed bag in terms of our successes and failures. In the educational field, while we can bask in the exemplary performance of our students in the CXC exams, with the St. Dominic High scoring 97% pass rate while the St. Maarten Academy recorded a 100% pass rate. Why then, with this kind of results, does the notion persist that our educational system is in shambles? The answer or answers may be in the perception of a significant drop in the level of discipline of our students as well as in the much-publicized increase in youth violence both on school premises as well as on school buses.
These are real issues which go beyond the school grounds and open up a critical window into what may or may not be happening at home. Parental responsibility and involvement in the educational process is crucial to finding lasting solutions to these behavioral problems. In the New Year, my ministry will focus even more on how to enhance this involvement by seeking ways to make the PTAs more active participants in the process through a stronger collaboration with the private sector, particularly employers.
Fellow St. Martiners, residents of our beloved island:
One of the priorities of the ministry in the New Year will be to undertake a comprehensive study of the root causes of violence among our youth—including gang violence—with a view to tackling the issue from a scientific and holistic point of view.
But as bad as the situation might be with regards to violence in our schools, I am convinced that we do not give enough credit to the majority of our students who do not have behavioral issues. To them we owe words of encouragement; for their sake, we need to bring the necessary balance to our perspective. They are the ones who make us proud during graduation ceremonies. They are the ones who make us believe in the glorious future of our island nation. What I am saying is that we should not allow the few bad apples to dampen the light of the many good ones.
Teachers hold the key to the success of our students. Professional, dedicated teachers who see their job as a vocation. Molding the minds of our young ones is one of the greatest tasks we are called to perform in the development of our nation. I admit that not all is well with our teaching corps, but in conjunction with the WITU, we are working on improving not only their working conditions, but also their performance and professionalism.
The physical state of some of our schools requires upgrading. The learning environment needs to be brought up to standard in order to produce the kind of results we all desire. Priority attention will be given to improving the physical conditions of our schools, and where it is deemed necessary, new schools will be constructed. However, my focus will be on programs rather than on buildings; programs which will transform the minds of our young ones more than buildings where they will be confined to antiquated methods and the same ineffective approach to learning.
With regards to culture, 2010 has been indeed a year of transitions and transformations. We have had to bid farewell to several leading performers and cultural workers—Playwright/actor/director and film-maker Sir Ian Valz, young dancer Khimouy Antoine, choreographer and dance instructor Cees van Dolderen, poet and folklorist Laurelle "Yaya" Richards, and others who have passed on to greater glory. Their legacy lives on and will surely follow us into the New Year and beyond.
Our cultural workers continue to demonstrate that talent is not bound by size or political status. Dancer Nicole de Weever has spent the entire year on Broadway as a featured star in the Tony Award-winning hit musical FELA! Nicole is not only a delight to watch on stage, alongside the likes of Patti Labelle, but is also on the marquee of the Eugene O'Neil Theater, where the show has been attracting stars and VIP guests such as Denzel Washington, Oprah Winfrey, and Michelle Obama, to name a few all year long. Nicole has already been named a Cultural Ambassador of St. Martin and is surely destined for greater stardom.
On the literary front, Lasana Sekou continues to dominate St. Martin, nay, Caribbean letters like a colossus. His works have not only been translated into Spanish and French, opening up new readerships in places like Mexico, Cuba, and French Guiana, but also have become study material at universities in the UK, Canada, the US, and all around the world. He has taken his poetry to places as far-flung as Turkey, South Africa, and China and continues to produce first-class books through his House of Nehesi Publishers Foundation, one of the leading publishing houses in the region, thus contributing to the development of literature and the discovery of new writers, not only on St. Martin but throughout the Caribbean!
Of course, there are others, like Deborah Drisana Jack, who continue to make a name for themselves in literature and the arts, with little or no government support. Names such as Ruby Bute, Max Phelipa, Mosera, Cynric Griffith, Roland Richardson et al. have turned St. Martin into a center for the Plastic Arts through their dedication and commitment to excellence. I salute them and hold up their exemplary spirit as a banner that distinguishes our artists and our island.
Music is a universal language which St. Martiners speak fluently and with flair. The versatility of our musicians who can play any genre of music with the same artistry and perfection as they dish out calypso or soca numbers is the envy of the whole Caribbean. Isidore "The Mighty Dow" York, the creator of the St. Martin Rumba, moves with ease from singing his popular soca compositions to playing pan and directing the island's premier steelpan orchestra. Dow has taught over 700 St. Martin youth how to play the steelpan, and the fruits of his labor are evident in the stellar achievements of the group "Chrome Tone," currently in The Netherlands where they have been flying the St. Martin flag very high in a musical competition in which our youth continue to excel.
What can be said about the enduring work of the ever so young Tanny & the Boys? They have become musical icons of legendary longevity. King Beau Beau, Emperor Brat, King Timo, Fish the Boss, Mighy Greg, and Mighty Calix, and all the other calypsonians, not to mention such great musicians like Anastacia Larmonie, Connis Vanterpool, Carlyle Barriteau, Nigel Williams, Funk Gumbs, and several others who are offering their talents professionally in distant shores, are all cultural workers bringing fame and glory to our island. Their work, as is the case with the works of multi-talented artists such as Clara Reyes and others show the dynamism of our culture and that the only thing constant about it is change.
In the words of Lasana Sekou, "Culture is borning change/change is borning culture culture/ is borning we is/borning culture culture is borning/we is borning change is borning borning/is borning us."
Fellow St. Martiners:
No nation has ever achieved any meaningful development without this being based on its culture. To develop culture is, therefore, to develop ourselves because culture is who we are. And we are builders, nation builders, laying solid foundations for a St. Martin nation that dares to be more than its geographic size may suggest; that dares to be greater than the sum total of its component parts; greater even than what our forefathers dreamt of. We are builders of a new Caribbean nation who defy the limitations imposed on us by our history because we embrace a destiny that is beckoning on us to rise above the expectations of those who know little about our resilience, and doubt our determination to be much more than they think we can be.
A lot may not seem to be happening in the field of sports, but the potential is there in abundance, waiting to be tapped. And now that we don't have to depend on others for the opportunity to develop our sports, we can indeed look forward to a new era in which the necessary foundation will be laid that would yield sporting champions nurtured on this 37-square-mile nation.
Fellow St. Martiners, residents of our beloved island:
In less than a hundred days in office, it is impossible to bring about all the necessary changes we all are looking forward to. I wish I could wield a magic wand that would transform this island into the nation we are now more conscientiously engaged in building. But block by block, floor by floor, we shall construct this new edifice, each of us contributing his or her own share, until a new St. Martin emerges where we shall be free to pursue our individual dreams with creativity and resourcefulness, with pride and dignity, in peace and unity, with love and dedication.
St. Martin is indeed my home, as Lino sings so beautifully. I'm sure it is yours too. It is an island bubbling with energy and full of promise. We are St. Martiners not only because we were born here, but because we love this island and want to see it becomes a beacon onto others. A beacon of hope; an island of peace and harmony in a tumultuous world. Together, I'm sure; we can make it shine even brighter for our children, and our children's children.
I wish to take this opportunity to wish each and every one of you a very happy and prosperous New Year in good health, and ready to work for the good of our beloved island.
I thank you.

Philipsburg:--- Several persons gathered at the Island Labour Department to receive either a number or document to make their payments at the Island Receivers office on Thursday for their BTA working permit.
Police were called to the scene when the crowd began getting out of control when they were told that the people who received their numbers on Thursday morning would not be attended to and that they needed to go home.
Several angry immigrant workers at the Island Labour Department told SMN News that they submitted their documents at the IND Office (BTA Department) and were told that they must visit the Island Labour Department for another document before they can make their payments for the processing of their permits.
A large crowd of people was also seen at the IND office on Illidge Road on Thursday as several immigrant workers who are working and residing on St. Maarten were trying to legalise their status on the last day of the BTA process.

In selecting ‘Leopold’s top persons for the year-, we looked at a number of criteria such as consistency-, courage-, informative-, empowering-, transcending.
All of these-, in our opinion-, individually-, and certainly collectively contribute a significant ‘added value’ to our community in a variety of ways.

Especially-, when in making this contribution-, the persons took risks of going up against the ‘status quo’-, politically-, and or socially.

History shows,- that people-, who normally take on the established society-, based on a strong principle-, and belief-, never receive any recognition.

Certainly-, they do not ‘receive their flowers’-, while still alive.

That distinction is mostly-, reserved for people-, who obediently conform with the established order,- even when injustice is committed by-, or are condoned by the powers that be.

These men-, and woman of the Year-, with due respect to those who truly are deserving-, are selected based on their ‘popularity-ratings’

In coming to the selection of ‘Leopold’s top 5 persons-, the fact that whether or not the candidate was a supporter-, or critic of Leopold JAMES-, was irrelevant.
Needless to state-, that not everyone will necessarily agree with our selection-, but that can hardly be considered surprising.
Still-, the selections were not easy-, and it is very well possible-, that we might have overseen others-, who otherwise would have deserved our recognition in ‘Leopold’s top 5.
Our number one selection is the ST.MARTIN PEOPLE.

They fall in a category all by themselves.
No one can deny that our St. Martin people-, are transcending to a ‘next level’ of awareness-, and political maturity.
As such-, it is an extremely hopeful sign that St. Martin people no longer accept being taken for granted-, or being governed by incompetent-, corrupt politicians.
Never before-, have we seen-, nor heard St. Martin people confront their political leaders as during this year.
Consequently-, politicians are learning that if they do not properly represent the people-, that there will be consequences.
The disgrace surrounding former minister of Health, Mrs. Maria BUNCAMPER-MOLANUS-, is a clear indication-, that politicians will be held accountable for abusing their office for self-enrichment.
If this trend continues in 2011-, and there is no reason to doubt that-, we might see a new ‘breed of politicians assuming office.
All of this would not have been possible without a very courageous media.
In recent times-, the people of this island-, have been truly blessed by excellently investigative reporting-, on a level never seen before on the island.

With respect to the other media-house on the island-, which really did its job-, without an shadow of any doubt-, both Bibi HODGE-SHAW and Hilbert HAAR, have done an immense service to the St. Martin people-, by having gone ‘beyond ’good reporting

For that outstanding and professional reporting-, for us Bibi and Hilbert are ‘Leopold’s number one persons of the year.

Bibi HODGE-SHAW-, is a very well known-, and recognized hardworking-,investigative journalist-, who is not easily intimated by officials in high positions-, when it comes to get to the ‘bottom’ of the story.
In order to be able to bring first breaking news-, Bibi has taken lots the risks many of her colleagues avoid.
In doing so-, she has for being on the ‘mark’ in most cases-, in terms of the credibility of her report.

Bibi’s website has become one of the most important medium for information relevant to local-, native St. Martiners-, residing on the island-, as well as abroad.
As such-, her site-, is the most accessible-, and sought after platform for those with views not necessarily in line with the socio-economic and political establishment.

By allowing for bloggers to respond to issues-, Bibi has given the common man a very potent means to voice his opinion-, which politicians take very seriously.
Sharing the number one spot with Bibi is-, Mr. Hilbert HAAR-, managing-editor of the TODAY newspaper.
Mr. HAAR and Mr. Leopold JAMES-, have never seen ‘eye to eye’ on most issues in the past.

In addition-, there was no ‘love lost’ between the two of them.
However-, after having been interviewed by Mr. HAAR in connection with St. Martin Day, 2010-, both gentlemen have learned to understand the motives-, and driving forces of each other.
Consequently-, without now being the best of ‘buddies’-, a mutual respect has developed between both of them.
They realize that they both in their own ways-, mean well for this island-, but they acknowledge that they do such from different social-, and cultural background.
Despite their many clashes in the past-, Mr. JAMES, would not be the person he really is-, if he would not have the professional ethics to publicly acknowledge the tremendous contribution Mr. HAAR has been making towards the empowering of the people of the island-, by exposing corruption in Government in a very courageous manner.
In return for dong what few media-houses have ever done-, especially as non-St. Martin professionals-, it is our privilege to select both Bibi and Hilbert as Leopold’s number persons of 2010.

Coming in as number two-, is Mr. Eldrige van PUTTEN-, the island’s most undisputed-, and outspoken activist.
Despite having being consistently ridiculed -, and undermined by certain talk show-hosts-, Eldrige never stopped calling in to get his points across.
In particular-, more than any other person-, Eldrige warned about the financial consequences of the new status for the island’s budget-, when few people believed him.
During the final debates between the political parties-, in the Cultural Center-, Eldrige directly confronted the leaders with deceiving the public on the real financial status of the island. Most people in the audience-, felt that Eldrige was out of place-, and creating fear for the new status.
Recent reports on the humongous budget deficit have proven him right.
Our number three-, is none other than Mr. Gerard BIJNSDORP also known as the ‘driftwood artist’-, and ‘Unpaid adviser’ to so many within our community.
Undoubtedly-,Gerard is blessed with a great-, and natural talent to use satire to brilliantly expose what he considers to be wrongdoings within our community.
As such-, he has spared no-one, including Leopold JAMES-, administrator of this site.
Gerard must be credited for having been extremely consistent-, and un-intimidated by his critics.
In particular-, Gerard stands out above most letterwriters-, by having the courage to always identify himself.

For taking responsibility- and accepting accountability for his articles-, Gerard can be considered a ‘role-model’ for many within our community.
Should Gerard-,manage in the future to become more constructive in offering solutions-, as opposed as to mainly ridicule-, nothing will prevent him becoming a real contender for the number one position.
‘Leopold’s number 4 pick-, is Charles, Jeffrey RICHARDSON, leader of the CPA.
For standing up against all odds (money, ridicule, starting from scratch, being abandoned etc) for St. Martiners to come first-, and to preserve the traditional way of life of St Martiners-, which is the embodiment of the spirit of the Treaty of Concordia.

Jeffrey has proven to have enormous political potential as one of the leaders for this island.

Had he been more consistent -, and more reliable as a true transcendental political alternative-, to the many people who sought his continued leadership after the elections-, he would have been a serious contender ‘Leopold’s number one person of the year 2010.
The fact is-, that never-, has there been a more urgent need for a transcending native St. Martin political leader that presently.

A leader-, able to create a completely new ‘paradigm ‘in terms of carving out a very clear-, and compelling direction for a unified island-, and to take the Treaty of Concordia to the ‘next level -, for instance as the very basis for the constitution of a unified St. Martin.
Many thought-, and still think that Jeffrey has the potential to fulfill that role.

Time will tell.
Our number five person of the year 2010 is Mr. Olivier ARRINDELL.

Whatever one might think of this young man-, his potentials-, intellect can not be denied-, and should not be under-estimated.
To his credit-, it must be also admitted that Olivier has matured tremendously-, allowing for his potential to manifest itself-, as opposed to trying to impress people-, ‘ad nauseum’, as he did in the past

As a young man-, Olivier has a great knowledge-,creative intelligence-, and vision of the modern world-, which-, if properly managed can be of a great asset to development of the island.

Should Olivier be able to keep on track-, and to control his ego-, nothing will prevent him from becoming a very powerful factor to deal with.

In ending we refer our readers to our editorial ‘The value of Leopold’s Person of the Year recognition.’

Philipsburg:--- Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC) will be continuing its annual environmental education program by offering free educational presentations for schools, clubs, and community groups from January to March 2011 as part of the Love the Lagoon program. Participants may choose from a wetland themed presentation featuring St. Maarten's pond and lagoon ecosystems or a discussion regarding ocean pollution, otherwise known as marine debris.
Visiting environmental education specialist Linden Rayton will provide hands-on, interactive learning experiences for audiences of all ages. Ms. Rayton is currently an ecology teacher in the United States where she works with a variety of age groups. Her extensive experience both in the classroom setting and in the field will be of great benefit to all participants.
Classroom presentations may be complemented by field trips to nearby wetlands or to conduct marine debris clean-ups. To schedule presentations, call Love the Lagoon Project Manager Rueben Thompson at 545-3009 or email the foundation at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Cape Bay:--- On Tuesday afternoon at approximately 1:45 pm, several police patrols were directed to Accordian Road in Cape Bay for a shooting incident. On the scene the investigating officers learnt from witnesses, that the victim of the shooting had already been transported to the St. Maarten Medical Centre for treatment. The officers also concluded that a shooting did take place at the residence of the victim by the three bullets holes that were left in an aluminium window of the house. The victim from Jamaica with the initials J.S.S. was not injured seriously during the shooting and had only slight bruises to his body. The detectives and Forensic Department are busy with an investigation to determine what exactly happened, why it happened and who are the culprits responsible for this shooting.

In other un-related news, the Police Bike Patrol area conducting some itense controls in the Maho area. As part of the intense controls presently going on with regard to the very busy holiday season and the many visitors to the island, police bike patrols will not only be seen patrolling the Philipsburg area, but also the areas of Maho Reef, Mullet bay, Cupe Coy and Low Lands.
The presence of these officers created an atmosphere of safety and tranquillity for many coming out with their families for the evening.
The putting in of the bike patrol has thus far been very effective. On Monday evening a hit and run accident took place in the vicinity of Sun Set Beach bar. The police dispatch was notified of the accident who immediately informed the bike patrol. Within minutes the suspects of this accident was stopped by the bike patrol. The accident was handled and the suspect had to stand responsible for the damage he caused.

Philipsburg:--- The UFA president and advisor has sent a letter to the Minister of Labour Maria Buncamper Molanus requesting the laws that govern the Government Mediator in order for them to know the rules and regulation of the Mediator and the power of the Mediator. The UFA said in their letter that they would like to have the laws for the labor unions to comply with, especially the rules and regulations and also the policies that govern the Mediator of St. Maarten. St. Maarten never had an official Mediator, for that reason we are requesting the above mention and all details that govern the Mediator of St. Maarten. The letter which was signed by the President of the UFA Francis Ollivachi and the advisor to the UFA Willy Haize reminded the Minister of Labor Maria Buncamper Molanus that there are penal codes penalties and procedures towards the parties before any government mediator and before any extraordinary mediator can be officially appointed.

The UFA also sent a second letter to the Minister outlining some of the issues between UFA and the Acting Mediator Kenneth Lopes. The UFA in their letter said they were having serious problems with the mediator in the past which they said still exists, they said they also sent a letter to the Minister in the past but to date she has not replied.

The UFA said based on newspaper articles they learnt that the Minister was going to appoint a mediator in October which did not happen and just recently she announced that she has extended the contract for the acting mediator for an additional six months.

The UFA states that it was mentioned that the Mediator has called a referendum with GEBE employees concerning the WIHCU and no government mediator name was mentioned in that advertisement. That showed he is guilty of something. He knows that the Health Care union does not qualify to represent the workers and the UFA will participate because the referendum is between Mr. Brooks and UFA's proposal.
The UFA said they have a problem with people who do not respect the the wishes of the workers that is why they requested the referendum.
They said at this referendum the Minister would be able to get a clear picture of the issues they are having with the Lopes furthermore if Lopes loses then he will have to step down as mediator. If Mr. Lopes wins then the UFA advisor Willy Haize will step down.
The UFA went on to say in their letter that if Lopes loses then the Minister would have to step down as Minister of Labour since that would mean that the workers have placed a vote of non confidence in the Minister. "This is all about transparency. Furthermore, we clearly stated that we had a deadlock with Atrium and Goddard catering which was clearly signed by Mr. Lopes." Now how can he mediate especially with those two companies that he has declared a deadlock. Did you investigate the labor problems between the UFA and Acting Government Mediator Mr. Lopes? What were your results if such had been done? You are appointing Mr. Lopes as the Government Mediator without taking consideration if indeed the statement of the workers is correct or not correct.

Based on the above mention UFA on behalf the workers would like a referendum to be held with all the private sector companies to determine if the workers agree for Mr. Lopes to be Government Mediator for St Maarten in order for justice to prevail and in order to establish democracy. In the hearing of UFA and Menzies it was stated verbally that if one party don't agree with Mr. Lopes, the judge said we have to get a neutral mediator and that is why Mr. Philips was appointed as Extraordinary Mediator because the UFA told the courts that Mr. Lopes was not neutral. Then later when the UFA had the injunction against the Federal Government the judge stated that if one party doesn't have confidence in the Mediator then he cannot mediate. You are overruling the court hearing with UFA and Menzies and the injunction between the UFA and the Government of the Netherlands Antilles and the judge has referred us to the Administration court the letter states.

Philipsburg:--- The management of the HIV/AIDS management team made several presentations on December 1 to mark the commemoration of Worlds Aids Day 2010. The theme for this year project leader Suzette Moses said is Universal Access and Human Rights with the sub theme "light for rights."

Moses said for the past two years the focus of the campaign has been leadership but this year they will focus on universal access and human rights while the emphasis for the next year will be placed on the human rights aspects of the joint theme. She said the focus for human rights is particularly timing for St. Maarten as they move to the final year of the red campaign. The intention is to focus on stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS.
Making their presentations on this World AIDS Day were Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams, Minister of Health Maria Buncamper Molanus and the General Secretary Joireen Wuite.

Philipsburg:--- Minister of Economic Affairs Franklin Meyers told members of the media on Wednesday during the council of ministers press briefing that he made a grave mistake when he announced that employers should pay their workers 300% for working on St. Maarten's Day. Minister Meyers said he made a special ministerial decree to allow the stores in Philipsburg to open on St. Maarten's Day due to the economic situation. He said in the decree he said that if employees chose to work they would be compensated 300% however, that was mistake for which he apologized to both the workers and the employers.

He said while he has the power to open the stores through Ministerial decree he has no power on how much workers are to be paid. Meyers said that must be regulated by Parliament which has to be regulated by law; currently the law states that workers who work on public holidays are to be paid 200% to 250% for some cases. Workers who worked on St. Maarten Day should not expect nothing more than that amount Meyers said for the workers to get 300% a parliamentary procedure was necessary and it was not done. The Minister apologized for the error to which he has taken full responsibility. He said country status is new to everyone including the council of ministers and as such this is a learning process. The Minister said before making such announcements in the future and if such a decision has to be taken he will make sure the necessary parliamentary procedures are in place. He made clear that allowing stores to open on St. Maarten's Day was something he did in good faith to stimulate the economy. In the meantime, workers of the Princess Juliana International Airport has sent a letter to the management of PJIAE demanding that they be paid 300% for working on St. Maarten's Day. Asked about that the Minister said that the Ministerial Decree was for the Philipsburg area and not for all over the island. He said the airport and other workers who had to work on that day did not come into consideration in the Ministerial decree.

MARIGOT:--- The gendarmes have summoned two persons to court after they refused to follow orders from officers, rebellion and refusing to show documents, while issuing death threats to officers during an outrageous incident on December 1.
The gendarmes stated in a press release that four gendarmes had stopped a motor cycle rider when they noticed the passenger was not wearing a helmet. The rider allegedly refused to show his documents and to cooperate with the officers. According to the Gendarmerie, tempers flared and the gendarmes were surrounded by a hostile crowd. At some point after the situation was brought under control a 20 year old man was arrested for making racist remarks against the gendarmes, while the rider of the motor cycle a 33 year old man was arrested the following day for rebelling against authorities violently, making racist remarks towards the gendarmes. The suspect also did not have a driver's license and registration plates for his motor cycle.

Philipsburg:--- The nine Cuban nationals that are behind bars might be released as early as Monday from police custody confirmed Minister of Justice Roland Duncan. The Minister said he already began discussions with Pastor Wycliffe Smith who will be responsible for the Cubans when they are released.
Minister Duncan said the discussions are in its initial stages and as soon as Pastor Smith has a location for the Cubans to stay they will be released from police custody. Details as to where and how often the Cubans must report to police still has to be worked out, the Minister said he will also give the Cubans temporary residence permits since they might be called as witnesses in a criminal case.
Minister Duncan said his office is busy working on the asylum request which was submitted last week by their lawyer. The nine Cubans were arrested some weeks ago in a taxi as they were about to board a boat to leave St. Maarten to Miami. The taxi driver is still in police custody as he is the main suspect in the human trafficking case.

Philipsburg: --- Members of the RST were seen on Monday making some major arrests of various suspects on Cole Bay Hill. So far it is not clear how many suspects were arrested. However, SMN News learnt that the arrests has to do with the human smuggling case that is being investigated. SMN News further learnt that the investigation is being handled by the RST and Marechaussees.
Press prosecutor Rienk Mud confirmed that some arrests were made in the vicinity of 1234 and more store. However, Mud said he is not able to divulge any information on which case the suspects were arrested. The press prosecutor also said he could not say exactly how many persons were arrested.

Philipsburg:--- The nine Cubans that were arrested some four weeks ago in a Dutch taxi as victims of human smuggling were released from police custody on Tuesday. The release came one week after Attorney at law Remko Stomp filed an injunction with the court of first instance to have his clients released from police custody. Stomp also filed a petition with the Minister of Justice seeking asylum for all nine Cubans nationals who can face the death penalty if they were deported back to Cuba.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday shortly before the release Minister of Justice Roland Duncan said the Cubans will not be deported back the Cuba. Duncan said his Ministry would give the Cubans equal opportunity to find work and living accommodations on St. Maarten if they want to make St. Maarten their home. Duncan said Stomp needs to send an individual requests for each of the Cubans before his office can begin working on the request. He said Stomp made a list with the names of the nine people and submitted one request. "Every case or person has to be dealt with separately as I have to see on what grounds they requested asylum." Duncan said while he took the decision not to deport the Cubans government will not be financially responsible for their stay on St. Maarten. He said the Christian council has stepped forward and they are the ones who would be working out their living accommodation on St. Maarten.
The Minister said the only obligation the Cubans have right now is to report to law enforcement as they may be good witnesses in the human smuggling case that is currently being investigated. In the meantime, press prosecutor Rienk Mud said his office would be requesting that the Cubans be heard by the investigating judge as early as possible. Mud said the prosecutor's office wants to make sure these witnesses are heard because by the time the case goes to court they might not be found.

Philipsburg:--- Prime Minister and Leader of the Democratic Party Sarah Wescot Williams admitted to reporters on Wednesday that she was interviewed by American law enforcement agencies about the Carib News Conference that was held on St. Maarten in the year 2008. While not divulging any information about the content of the interview Wescot Williams made clear that government is not an object in the ongoing investigations. Minister of Justice Roland Duncan said that the Prime Minister was interviewed based on a treaty that existed between the United States and the Kingdom. He said parties agreed to assist each other in investigations and when the Prime Minister was asked she responded graciously.

...

Philipsburg:--- While the Ombudsman Dr. Nilda Arduin has great understanding for the citizens who are anxious to file their complaints against government bodies and or civil servants, the people will not be served with yet another entity that would not be able to function properly due to not being equipped to deliver continuous and quality service as is in general the complaint about the Rent Committee due to lack of meeting space. The community will certainly not be served by a High College of State, which is less equipped and organized than the institutions it has to investigate, and decide on their (procedural) behavior such as the Rent Committee.
The Ordinance on the Ombudsman provides that the Ombudsman establishes the work procedures and the set up of the Bureau, while Parliament establishes the quantity and quality of the positions of the Bureau after consultation with the Ombudsman. In the absence of a turn-key operation, it should be obvious that the work of the Ombudsman has just begun by drafting of a formation plan, investigation and office policies, work procedures and the like to comply with the basic requirements of the law. The letter of the law and legal provisions do not establish the actual operations of the Ombudsman.
Can anyone imagine a Chief of Police operating without a police force? Or a Prosecutor conducting an investigation without procedural rules and regulations to be followed? What about a judge administering justice without a support staff, or a space to hear parties or witnesses?
The primary task of the Ombudsman established by law is to investigate complaints against the conduct of government bodies and civil servants, take decisions on the complaints filed, intervene or mediate, and present proposals to correct behavior or procedures. The Ombudsman is according to the law however not authorized to investigate a complaint if it pertains a matter of general policy of the government body, general interest, or regarding a behavior which is already being handled through an administrative, civil or criminal procedure, or covered by an administrative decision in the case.
Media reports stating that the Ombudsman Arduin refuses to step in the Buncamper-case, which incensed a lawyer, indicate that the well staffed and equipped prosecutor's office is taking its time to properly study the case. Investigation and subsequent prosecution of the Minister according to the law requires the approval of the Attorney General, which approval requires the approval of the Common Court of Justice. This would exclude the Ombudsman of investigating the case. It should be noted that mentioned bodies are guided by defined procedures, rules and regulations to be followed, and executed by support staff. It behooves a serious and responsible Ombudsman, for whom the procedures, rules and regulations, are yet to be established, and does not have a support staff, to act wisely and not to jump at each and every call to randomly investigate. The rightful question of the community will then be: Investigate based on which procedural rules and regulations?
Though the Constitution provides that the new country Sint Maarten will have an Ombudsman, who has fortunately already been appointed, the ground work yet has to be done; investigation policies and procedures drafted, support staff employed, office space secured and equipped to serve the public.
While Sint Maarten took over the Codes on Civil, Administrative and Criminal Procedures of the Netherlands Antilles, the investigation and decision-making procedures, and more of the Ombudsman and the Bureau are yet to be drafted by the first appointed Ombudsman. This is what Dr. Arduin has been doing, and is presently engaged in, next to organizing office space, support staff and the entire operation of the Bureau to receive the public.
The Rent Committee was established in the sixties, more than forty years ago, and to date cannot provide continuous service to the public of Sint Maarten due to lack of an adequate location. Sint Maarten does not need yet another institution, that fails the expectations of the people. As such understanding and patience is required and requested from the citizens, who are best served by a properly operating Ombudsman Bureau. The Ombudsman Dr. Arduin is committed to deliver this, and is diligently at work to put matters in place. Dr. Arduin emphasized that she intends to provide her services in a 'civilized way', and continues to welcome the public's input to determine the needs of the citizens. Dr. Arduin is aware that the requirements to file a complaint with the Ombudsman pursuant to the law are not yet known by all citizens, but in the meantime these will be constantly communicated to the public. One of such requirements is that the government entity or civil servant against whom a complaint is launched, should be informed accordingly prior to filing a complaint with the Ombudsman.
The public is advised to continue to follow the media for updates of the Ombudsman, and information about when the Bureau will be open to file complaints.

Belvedere:--- GEBE donated 100 footballs to the St. Maarten Soccer Educational Foundation to kick off their organization's 3rd annual football tournament on the Cruyff Court in Belvedere on December 11, 2010. The footballs are a limited edition 50 Years ball with a unique design reflecting the company's 50 year celebration. GEBE community policy focuses specially on the youth, schools, sports and seniors.

Philipsburg:--- Minister of Finance Hiro Shigemoto met on Monday with the soon to be established New Tax Reform Committee to discuss a plan of approach for the reform of the countries tax system by 2012.
Minister Shigemoto said the meeting that took place is part of the austerity package that was approved by the Council of Ministers in order to develop a tax system that takes into consideration the current economy.
"The country is at the crossroads. We have to have a balanced budget; and in order to balance that budget, we had to present an austerity package that includes over Naf.30 million in costs cutting measures and raising revenues by over Naf.40 million.
"Besides the aforementioned, stakeholders that I have consulted with to date have been informed that the increase in Turn over Tax is a temporary measure which would allow us over the next 12-months to develop a tax system that is tailored made to our socio-economic development," Minister of Finance Hiro Shigemoto explained on Monday.

The meeting was organized to outline the steps to be taken and the involvement of stakeholders in the process.
"We want a tax system that is fair, simple, and progressive. The aim is to increase compliance as well. With our new tax system, there are many expectations in the business community as well as for the general public to have an efficient and effective system in place that covers our public sector expenses and services rendered to the community.
"It is imperative that the new system is in line with agreements made with Kingdom partners. Transparency of this process is key and Government wants as large a consultation as possible. The Government website (www.sintmaartengov.org) will be an avenue to be used to allow members of the public to provide suggestions about the new tax system for the country," Minister of Finance Hiro Shigemoto said on Monday.
The Department of Fiscal Affairs has prepared a plan of approach which will guide the process.
Some of the issues to be dealt with are also the relationship with the North side of the island where double taxation is concerned and the exchange of information with the neighbouring islands.
"There is no ideal tax system, but with the input of all stakeholders, unions, business sector and members of the community, I am very confident that we will come up with a system that best suites our needs and requirements as a country," Minister Shigemoto concluded.
Members of the New Tax Reform Committee are Acting Secretary General of Finance Sherry Hazel, Senior Policy Advisor Ruth Boyrard-Brewster, Cedris Josepa and Sissy Fung from Fiscal Affairs and External Fiscal Attorney Judith Brewster, Inspectorate of Taxes Maria Bass, Island Receiver Minerva Gumbs, Economic Affairs Dijkstra, and representing the Head of Finance Cassandra Royer-Wilson.

Cay Hill:--- The St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) is the only hospital in Country St. Maarten and it is of prime importance that we provide correct and proper information to the public. For some weeks now certain individuals and entities are spreading insinuations and gossip about the hospital. The Supervisory Council truly regrets this and feels it as its responsibility to set the record straight by providing facts and background information.
First of all SMMC functions within a structure, governed by its Articles of Incorporation, in accordance with the Law on health institutions and other laws applicable in St. Maarten, including the Corporate Governance Act. In compliance with the law the SMMC has two governing bodies: the Board of Directors supervised by the Supervisory Council. The daily operations, the quality of care provided and the financial results are controlled or inspected by the internal Audit Committee, the independent Inspectorate of Health and an independent external auditor. There is also an independent Patient Complaint Committee. The SMMC is an open and transparent organization. We publish an annual report, including our financial statements, as required by law. These documents are public documents and controlled by the external accountant. We are accountable and responsible and we hold our laws high and upfront. If and when we make mistakes we correct them or address them through the proper channels. For the record we state that there is a system of control and supervision and of checks and balances in place at the SMMC.
Therefore the false statements of the SMMC having a General Director with several hats and several salaries and that he is "wheeling and dealing" and using the hospital for his own benefit is impossible and as such utter nonsense. One can only conclude that these false statements are meant to harm the good name and reputation of the SMMC and its General Director, Dr. George Scot.
Secondly, it should be stated for the record that since September 2009 SMMC has requested the mediation of the Labor Mediator Mr. Lopes in order to expedite the conclusion of the new CLA for our employees. On numerous occasions the Union, WIHCU, has been cancelling scheduled meetings. After lengthy negotiations the SMMC has submitted on July 15, 2010 a totally revised and improved CLA proposal to the Union. We are still waiting on their reaction conform the agreement made in the presence of the Government Mediator and their preparedness to continue and finalize the CLA negotiations for the benefit of our employees. Since August 15, 2010, as a responsible employer, we have been pressing all parties concerned to continue and finalize the CLA negotiations. We make a public appeal to the President of the WIHCU, Mr Julian Lynch, to rejoin the SMMC at the negotiation table presided by the mediator.
The latest incident regarding the "dispute" between two specialists is being handled in accordance with the established legal structure within the SMMC and Country St. Maarten. The Medical Staff of the SMMC, which is presided over by Dr. F. Holiday, is handling this issue. Their findings and recommendations will be presented to the General Director of the SMMC. According to the media Dr. Petit, who is a party in this dispute, has chosen to file a complaint with the police. Let justice take its course.
For the record, this incident has also been investigated by the Inspector of Health of St. Maarten who has confirmed by letter that the SMMC has not violated any law nor did the General Director act irresponsible or careless as has been insinuated in the media.
The Supervisory Council makes a strong appeal to all stakeholders in the Health Care Sector and the Community at large to work together in the continuous upgrading of safe and high quality of Health Care, which is to the benefit of everyone. The media has an important and educational role in our new Country and the workers in the media should be properly informed so they can in turn inform the public factually and unbiased. In a bid to share more in depth the facts related to the current statements we will invite the media to a press conference in which we will provide the relevant information and the proper documentation regarding the functioning of the SMMC.
In closing we wish to use this opportunity, as we approach the end of the year, to express our best wishes to the people of St. Maarten and that one and all have a safe and blessed Christmas and prosperous 2011. SMMC reiterates its commitment to you to continue ensuring safe, quality health care for the people of St. Maarten.

Philipsburg:--- Minister of Labour and Health Maria Buncamper Molanus and her husband Claudius Buncamper has a lot of explanations to give to the people of St. Maarten regarding the sale of the economic ownership of the long lease they received on April 1, 2008 "All Fools Day."
Unbelievable, but all this monkey business between the former executive council and the Buncampers was concocted on April 1 2008 "All Fools Day," the irony of all ironies.
The Buncampers received their long lease on April 1 2008 for a property they were subleasing two weeks before they obtained their first one year lease on January 1 2005 to St. Maarten Building Supplies.
Three years later the Buncampers became wiser and decided that they would make sure they get the long lease of the property while there were legal battles ongoing on who should get the long lease.
When the Buncampers obtained the long lease they did not stop there, they decided to
manipulate the legal terms of the lease by selling the economic value of the property for a whopping USD 3. 000, 000, 00 and granting the buyer a mortgage to the value of USD 2.000.000, 00. In reality article (e) of the long lease states that the lessee is not authorized to transfer or sub-lease (sublet) the rights of the long lease. "Economic Ownership is the legal loophole to circumvent this clause because (1) the rights of the long lease were not transferred, (2) they did no sublet or sublease since economic ownership is not a lease, but the end result is the same as an outright sale."
While there is a legal loophole in the long lease contract, it behoves the leader of the Democratic Party now Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams to tell the people of St. Maarten how ethical this is and if any other former commissioners had done the same as the Buncampers and how is good governance reflected in these shady transactions. The Prime Minister should also tell the people (voters) of St. Maarten why the Democratic Party government that she led gave the Buncampers the yearly lease and long lease when she knew Elmer Moses Mardenborough had submitted an application for long lease since April 21 1995.

We are forced to be reminded of a statement former Lt. Governor Franklyn Richards made when he said Lt. Governors are like the Sherriff among the cowboys.
According the deed made by notary Francis Edgar Gijbertha, the Buncampers received a down payment of USD 1,631,297.00 from the buyer Theodore Oniel Walters, managing director of ECO GREEN N.V. Walters has committed himself to paying USD 18,750 monthly installments beginning January 2009. The buyer in this case would also have to live with the mistake which has "ninety (73) consecutive monthly installments."
The irony in this "All Fools Day" lease leaves us to question the Buncampers on whether or not they received this sum of money or are they in the business of laundering money if so for whom are they fronting. Should reporters now look for the Buncampers tax declaration to see if they declared the USD 1, 631, 297.00 as income tax or is the Minister willing to make that available to the people of St. Maarten after all good governance is built upon transparency.
We believe Minister Buncamper Molanus should tell us exactly what transpired on All Fools Day 2008 because on Sunday the Minister said "I did not sell any long lease land for any amount of money," she went on to say at no time she used her office to benefit her or her family and certainly not in this case.
The mortgage clause in the deed SMN News obtained seems rather technical, stating that the seller (Buncampers) will grant the buyer (Eco Green) a mortgage on the long lease which the seller still holds in the event the court should condemn the seller to pay the buyer damages because the seller failed to comply with some unspecified conditions, seems more like a catch all clause.

SMN News obtained copies of the contracts at the Kadaster's office which is posted below for your reading pleasure. While there have been numerous articles on the sale of the economic value of the long lease and the denial from Minister Buncamper Molanus we believe our readers have a right to know what is happening in our country, they also need to know who our leaders are and the example they are setting for the youths of St. Maarten. The prosecutor's office said they received some documents but are yet to take a decision on whether or not to investigate. Let us hope with the releasing of these documents the prosecutor's office would by then tell us exactly what they intend to do with the documents they received.

Signature on first lease—

SMN News posted the first lease the Buncampers received from government on Sunday so that our readers could see for themselves that a lease was granted to the former commissioner and her husband Claudius Buncamper who is a senior civil servant. While the document bears the name of the former Lt. Governor of St. Maarten Franklyn Richards we realised that the signature on the document did not match the signature of Franklyn Richards. Our research shows that former Acting Lt. Governor Mathias Voges (current Minister of Plenipotentiary appointed by the Democratic Party) signed that document when Richards was probably off island.

The Deed of Land Transfer from the Buncampers to Eco Green.


The Kadaster Extract

The Long Lease the Buncampers obtained on All Fools Day 2008

Elmer Mardenborough's official request for the Long Lease.

The St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) is looking for young ladies to participate in the Junior and Senior Carnival Queen Pageants. The foundation is putting extra effort into re-establishing the two local events as premier activities for Carnival 2011.

"Over the past two years or so the excitement around our two local pageants has waned somewhat for a number of reasons," President of the SCDF Stuart Johnson said. "One of those reasons is of course what we offer as prizes for the pageants and the marketing of the two shows was not where it should have been. We intend to change that for Carnival 2011," he added.

Interested young ladies for the Junior Carnival Queen Pageant should be between the ages of 7 and 12 years. The show starts with an opening dance followed by the segments that will be judged: introduction, talent and Carnival costume.

The format of the Senior show differs a little. It also starts with a performance, followed by the introduction segment, talent, swimwear, Carnival costume and evening wear. Young ladies interested in the Senior show should be between 17 and 25 years of age, unmarried with no children.

"We are working on an incredible prize for both the Junior and Senior Queens as well as the runner-ups. We are doing our utmost to bring back the excitement and class of the events," Johnson said, adding that registration forms for both shows can be collected at the security post inside the Government Administration Building.

Persons with questions can contact SCDF by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or calling 5220509.

Philipsburg:--- The deed that was drafted by notary Francis Edgar Gijsbertha on December 19 2008 between Claudius and Maria Buncamper and ECO GREEN is not registered at the Kadaster's office says acting director Clemens Roos. SMN News interviewed Roos on Thursday when we were provided with an updated copy of an updated extract on Wednesday night. The Kadaster extract we were given on Tuesday is no longer valid since changes were made to the document on Kingdom Day (December 15th 2010). Interestingly the Kadaster's Office no longer has trace of the extract they issued to us on Tuesday. Acting Director Clemens Roos said when changes are made to extracts it replaces the old information.

Roos explained that when he was contacted about the extract he realised that the document has an error which needed to be changed. Asked if the Kadaster's office is normally opened on holidays the acting director said that while they are closed to the public some of the personnel would go to work if necessary. "Making the change to documents is normal procedures, on several occasions notaries would contact us when their documents have errors. I want to make clear that the Kadaster's office is not involved in this matter." Asked if any politician or Minister contacted his office and requested that he make changes to the document. Roos said the Kadaster's Office is an independent foundation and no government entity is over them. He further explained that they work in accordance with the law and if anyone has questions as to why they made the changes on Kingdom Day 2010 and not since 2008 when the new policy was introduced they should contact him for clarifications. Roos said if the deed of the economic value is not registered then the burden of that deed cannot be on the extract.
Roos said the policy for the Kadaster office has changed since 2008 but the information from the old system was transferred to the new system and the changes can only be made when they are found. The acting director said the Kadaster's office does not recognise the sale of economic ownership and as such when notaries send those deeds for registration it is returned to them. He further explained that the ECO Green and Buncampers deed was sent back to Gijbertha early 2009 informing him that the sale of economic ownership is not registered since the information on the deed does not change. Roos said that the sale of economic ownership comes mostly from one notary which is Francis Gijsbertha and whenever they show up at the Kadaster's Office they are returned to him.
"However, those documents were scanned and this is how we have them here. The acting director explained that the deed that was submitted to the Kadaster's office but it was not signed off."
Updated Extract of the register at Kadaster's Office

 

Extract delivered on Tuesday 14th December, 2010

Marigot:--- Reliable information reaching SMN News on Friday states that a member of the opposition and leader of the Movement for the Advancement of the People (MAP) Louie Mussington has been elected as the new president of SEMSAMAR.
At a board meeting on Friday five of the twelve members postulated for the presidency seat. They are Annette Philips who received one(1) vote, Louis Jeffry two (2) votes, Simon Smadja two (2) votes while the new president elect Louie Mussington captured five (5) votes. In total ten members attended the meeting. Several efforts made by SMN News to contact the president elect on Friday evening were futile as Mussington did not answer his cellular phone.
The courts in Basse Terre has rendered its verdict in the injunction filed by ousted President Louis Constant Fleming on December 14 ordering the board of SEMSAMAR to recall the meeting to vote Constant Fleming out of his seat. Details on Friday's meeting are not readily available. SMN News will bring you more information as it becomes available.

PHILIPSBURG:--- President of Parliament Drs. Gracita Arrindell calls on members of society to reaffirm and commit to helping the most vulnerable in today's community, not only during the holiday season, but also throughout the entire year.

This is part of President of Parliament's message on International Human Solidarity Day, Monday, December 20, a day established by the United Nations (UN) calling on governments on the need for human solidarity as an initiative to fight against poverty.
According to the UN, people are also encouraged to debate on ways to promote solidarity and find innovative methods to help eradicate poverty.
"Solidarity is a union of people with similar interests or sympathies. Solidarity is a value and despite growing inequalities, everybody has a role to play. Let us reach out to those less fortunate, the sick, the poor and the elderly, those abused or discriminated against. We need to work together in solidarity and build a better community for all.
"Such a step starts with each one of us. Everybody playing a role will see less vulnerable people in our community," President of Parliament Gracita Arrindell said on Sunday.
On December 22, 2005, the UN General Assembly proclaimed that International Solidarity Day would take place on December 20 each year.
The event aimed to raise people's awareness of the importance of advancing the international development agenda and promoting global understanding of the value of human solidarity. The assembly felt that the promotion of a culture of solidarity and the spirit of sharing was important in combating poverty.

PHILIPSBURG:--- President of Parliament Drs. Gracita Arrindell announces that the Central Committee of Parliament will be meeting in public session on Tuesday, December 21 at 2.00pm in the A.C. Wathey Legislative Hall.

During the Central Committee meeting, Members of Parliament (MPs) will discuss the draft ordinance related to the 2011 national budget.

There are four parliamentary factions that form the Parliament of Sint Maarten, namely the United Peoples party (UP), Democratic Party (DP), Independent Member of Parliament Patrick Illidge and the National Alliance (NA).

Philipsburg:--- The St. Maarten Nature Foundation recently restarted efforts to bring the island's SCUBA dive moorings up to speed before the official start of the tourist high season. Despite staff shortages and a limited operational budget, the Nature Foundation managed to re-install six dive moorings using underwater drilling equipment and replace an additional six which were cut by passing vessels. Dive moorings are used by dive boats to secure their vessels instead of dropping their anchors on the reef, which can damage sensitive coral reef habitat. Staff of the Saba Marine Park travelled to St. Maarten at the beginning of December to assist with underwater drilling work; "We would very much like to thank the staff of the Saba Conservation Foundation/ Saba Marine Park for coming over and giving us a hand with our mooring work and the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA) for supporting the exchange. It is good to see that the Nature Parks of the surrounding islands are giving each other the support they need to do their work despite a tight budget and being severely understaffed" commented Tadzio Bervoets, Nature Foundation Manager. The Nature Foundation also received help and support from the local dive centres through the free providing of air for underwater work, donations that went towards fuel for the boat, and logistical support in finding the proper locations to place the moorings. Generous support was also provided by Aquatic Solutions for allowing the use of their equipment, FKG Yacht Rigging and Marine Fabricating for equipment repairs and maintenance, Saba C-Transport/ Dawn II for shipping equipment between Saba and St. Maarten and Volunteer Diver Mr. Lucas Berman for his valuable time and expertise. Mooring work will continue in January with the continued maintenance and placement of dive moorings surrounding the island.

The St. Maarten Marine Park was established in June 1997 with funding from the Dutch World Wildlife Fund seeking to protect areas of important natural habitat unique to St. Maarten. The St. Maarten Marine Park is a voluntary protected area until official legislation has been passed offering it official protection. Tourist activities are concentrated on the south and eastern side of the island, where the dive sites Molly Beday, Pelican Rock, Hen and Chicks, and Cow and Calf as well as the Proselyte Reef Complex are located. These areas embody some of the last pristine marine locations on the island, with excellent diving. This area also constitutes an important breeding ground for marine birds, fish, sea turtles, queen conch and other marine life. Based on a recent Nature Foundation study the Coral Reefs surrounding St. Maarten contribute or have the potential of contributing USD $ $57, 586, 976 to the economy of the island, with visitors spending an estimated USD $9, 689, 625 on the local dive industry and associated services.

Philipsburg:--- As Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labour, I am proud that as of 10-10-2010 St Maarten has its own institution for the execution of the social and health insurances for our own people. This institution is named "Uitvoeringsorgaan Sociale en Ziektekosten Verzekeringen" which can be translated as the Executive Body for Social and Sickness Insurances.
From 10-10-2010 until the 31st of December 2010 the administration of the social and health insurances is being administrated by the SVB of Curacao, formally the SVB of the Netherlands Antilles.

Meanwhile under the supervision of the Interim Director of St. Maarten's own Executive Body, Mr. Dennis Richardson, everything is being prepared for the takeover of all responsibilities as of January 1st, 2011. St. Maarten's institution will be responsible for the execution of the social and health insurance rules and regulations, foremost of the AOV, AWW, OV, ZV, FZOG, AVBZ and Cessantia.
This means that our Ministry will be able to focus primarily on their policy making and legislative tasks: "the government at a distance so to speak". The reforms for our national health and national pension insurances are examples of the focus points of the Ministry.

This is a very special moment, because a new year is around the corner. With this announcement I would like to inform the people of St Maarten about the tremendous work that has been and is still being done by the Interim Director, his team, the members of the Supervisory Board, civil servants and of course the current SVB and BZV staff to allow for a smooth transition.

In cooperation with our Ministry and the SVB Curacao the executive body is able to maintain services and secure jobs for the people involved. Now the following phase starts. As of January 1st, 2011 all decisions concerning the social and health insurances will be made in St Maarten by the director of the Executive Body of St Maarten. The SVB Curacao has promised full cooperation and will assist with necessary services to transfer all activities to St Maarten. A transition team, set up by the Interim Director will take on all the challenges involved: implementation of the necessary information technology, transfer and training of staff, organizational changes, research into and the implementation of measures for service improvement and much more in order to be prepared for the new developments.

A lot has been done and still has to be done. However I am confident and as Minister of Public Health I congratulate the Interim Director and all the people involved in this transitional phase who strive to make a better and stronger and more service oriented organization for St Maarten.

Most important for now is that with all the work going on "behind the scenes" I can inform the people of St Maarten that the AOV, AWW, OV, ZV, AVBZ, FZOG and Cessentia will be executed as it is presently done. A special information session for the health care providers is scheduled to update them on the developments. For now no changes will be made in contracts and payments. All persons with a BZV/FZOG card or temporary letter maintain their healthcare or benefits. I would like to make it clear however to clients of SVB or BZV that are not entitled to care or benefits according to stipulations by law, that extra controls on cards or temporary letters by staff of the Executive Body on St Maarten will be applicable. Concerning the payment of premiums for employers there are no changes since as of 10-10-2010 only the AVBZ-payments are executed by the receivers office.

The current location of services to the public remains the same. For SVB services, clients are welcome at the W.J. Nisbeth Road # 1. For BZV services, clients are welcome at the A.T. Illidge Road # 56.

Philipsburg:--- After several short adjournments the discussion in the central committee which was called by the coalition government to discuss the draft 2011 budget got underway. Minister of finance Hiro Shigemoto made a presentation of the draft budget during his ellucidations.
Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams also gave an outline on how much money is budgeted for her department, mainly general affairs.
Members of the National Alliance faction made clear that they recieved the documents of the draft budget as well as the notification for the meeting which was scheduled for Tuesday on Friday.

Faction leader William Marlin also informed the chair that his faction did not receive the advice issued by the council of advice on the draft budget.
Member of Parliament Louis Laveist posed severe questions to Minister of finance regarding the increase of ToT by 66%. Laviest asked the Minister if he knew the prices of bread even though bread and other food items are exempted from the ToT increase.
Laveist pressed for answers from the Minister asking if he consulted the NGO, and stakeholders such as the unions when the Council of Ministers decided to approve the increase in turn over tax. The former commissioner of labour also wanted to know if government considered the minimum wage earners and single parents when they decided to increase the ToT from 3 to 5%.
More on the budget discussion can be heard on audio above.

GREAT BAY:--- The St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association picked up yesterday where Nagico Insurances left off by handing over a check to Soualiga Inn owner Maurice Gumbs for the accommodation of Chantel Prince, whose state of homelessness ended earlier this year.
Nagico CEO Imrad McSood Amjad sponsored the accommodation for Chantel for the past seven months. The client of the Mental Health Foundation was homeless and lived on the streets. Since she found a home at the Soualiga Inn on the Pondfill life has greatly improved for Chantel, thanks to the generous sponsorship of Nagico.
But as all good things come to an end, so did the sponsorship. The Mental Health Foundation is working hard on creating a day-care clinic in Cay Hill, where there will also be eight apartments available for clients of the foundation. Chantel Prince will get an apartment there, but until the facility is ready – somewhere in March of next year – she needs a roof over her head elsewhere.
Myriam Haar (the spouse of the managing editor of the Today Newspaper) has worked with and for Chantel as a volunteer ever since she met her through her work as interpreter at the courthouse. She got in touch with SHTA-president Emil Lee on Wednesday and her call for help was answered on the spot. The SHTA will pick up the tab for the next three months. And in case the Mental Health clinic in Cay Hill is not ready by March, SHTA board member Eveline Henriquez (Firgos Paper) will pay for Chantel's accommodation for another couple of months if necessary.
Yesterday afternoon the sponsors met at the Soualiga Inn. Chantel was not present to meet her new sponsor, because she was enjoying a Christmas dinner organized by the Mental Health Foundation. There was also a sad occasion to commemorate: the death of Patricia Brooks, who was also a client of the foundation, and who was shortlisted to get an apartment in the new facility.
Myriam Haar thanked the first sponsor for Chantel, Imrad McSood and handed him a gift basket and a copy of The Art of Racing in the Rain, a novel by Garth Stein about perseverance, love and never giving up. Eileen Healy gave a candle to Maurice Gumbs.
Haar also thanked Emil Lee and Eveline Henriquez for taking over the sponsorship.
The SHTA-President said that his association is committed to the improvement of life for the people in St. Maarten. "Taking care of members of our society who are unable to do it on their own is a responsibility of the government and the business community. We need to improve the quality of life for everybody. Prevention is also cheaper than cure."
In a sense we are making a quick commitment here today, Lee said. "But when you see people like Myriam who commit time and effort to help someone like Chantel, they need to be supported. I consider this as a great investment. If the government were more transparent, it could also help and probably get more compliance from its citizens by doing so."

Philipsburg:--- The police, detective and forensic department are busy investigating the circumstances surrounding a shooting spree on Boxing Day in the Fort Willem area. Police Spokesman Ricardo Henson said police recovered at least 43 spent shells on the scene but no one was hurt neither was any building destroyed with the gunshot spree.
Henson said the preliminary investigation has shown that the culprits involved in the shooting spree were probably firing shots in the air. Henson said the forensic department is sending out a severe warning to the general public informing them that this type of shooting spree is extremely dangerous because shots that are fired in the air comes back to the ground and it can injure or kill innocent people. "Bullets fired in the air fall back to the ground at very high speeds it can damage buildings or can cause bodily harm to persons that can be fatal."
The police spokesman is calling on residents of Fort Willem to assist the police in providing information on who are the culprits responsible for the shooting spree.
The police spokesman said the incident occurred around 11:00 pm on Boxing Day when residents of the area called them to notify them that several shots were being fired in the area. Henson said some of the shots were being fired from machine guns.
As the police patrol approached the scene of the incident the group of persons gathered there took off running in different directions. On the scene the patrols conducted an investigation which indicated that many shots were fired.

MARIGOT:--- A 21 year old man was arrested on Christmas day after he attempted to rob a businessman on Rue de Hollande. A press release from the gendarmerie states that the culprit entered the business place around 3:10pm waving a butcher knife at the businessman demanding money. According to the press release, when the proprietor refused to hand over money to the culprit he slashed the businessman on his arm.
Persons who witnessed the ordeal summoned the gendarmes who found the culprit in a nearby house hiding. Further investigations showed the suspect had robbed the businessman one week earlier but the businessman did not file an official report with the gendarmes.

Philipsburg:--- The Brooks Tower Accord (BTA) process which was initiated by former Minister of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles Magali Jacoba will come to an end on St. Maarten Thursday December 30th announced St. Maarten's Minister of Justice Roland Duncan.
Duncan told reporters at the weekly council of ministers press briefing that he addressed about two or three hundred persons around midnight as they queued up to be registered on Wednesday.

Duncan said the civil servants working on the BTA process worked up to about 9pm on Tuesday night and he has no idea on what time those workers would leave on Wednesday and Thursday night, thus making him very proud of the civil servants that are executing the process.
Minister Duncan said he cannot think of any place in the world let alone the Caribbean who have shown such tolerance in trying to assist people who came to the island by making them legal. The justice Minister further explained the BTA process started in 2009 and its finally coming to an end on Thursday December 30th 2010. The Minister said it is his hope that St. Maarten would not have to go through this process again as those persons who have been made legal can also contribute to the social aspects of the island on which they have lived and enjoyed.
Duncan said come 2011 the immigration controls will be structured, he said he is busy setting up a full fledge immigration and naturalization service which will have its own controllers, detectives and administration this department he said will control the borders structurally. The Minister said while he is not announcing how the raids and controls will be done he is making a call on all employers to legalise their workers. The Minister said much of the people who are rushing to get registered through the BTA are because their employers have refused to sign the guarantees and to cooperate with their workers. Duncan said he does not believe that these employers are not able to find qualified people on St. Maarten while they are have people working for them illegally who do not participate in the social system. "These people don't pay social security, they don't participate in the pension scheme, while some of them don't pay taxes." The employers need to understand that if they want to participate in any country it is not only about them getting rich but they must contribute back to society. Duncan said while many people are screaming about the increase in the Turn over Taxes, they should ask themselves how many people are participating by paying their dues and are helping to carry the load.

Let our Culture be identified through the eyes of one of our own one of the best in Steel pan and entertainment by executive director Arthur Lugisse
Steel Pan Master Isidore York "Mighty Dow"York a trip is being organized to Tallahassee for Dow's group ,brother Neville York and his Father Chester York for 2011...Our Steel Pan Talent need to be part of our sister city with Tallahassee exchange program.
An award plaque will be sent to be presented by the Minister of Culture Rhoda Arrindell on behalf of our foundation to Steel Pan Master Isidore York "Mighty Dow"York
Ebony Steel Orchestra's nineteenth annual steel pan Christmas concert entitled "Steel of Class" that was held in an elegant setting at The Westin Dawn Beach St. Maarten Resort and Spa's event hall Sunday night Dec26,2010 was a preview of what is yet to come for the 20th Anniversary 2011...Dow told me that his dream is to make his event an ongoing event to attract even tourist to the island the same way that JAZZ events does...and we are going to support him by promoting the event in the United States...AFTER TWO DECADES IT HAS BECOME PART OF OUR CULTURE AND SHOIULD BE RECOGNIZED AS SUCH.
We also have to realise that it's not by chance but by choice that York family has excelled in that area of Music....The Undisputed Royalty of the Steel Pan, the York family has been playing pan for decades. Learning from his famous father, Chester York, Isidore, better known as the Mighty Dow, has 10 or more recordings under his musical belt. With his Ebony Steel Orchestra Foundation, he also teaches pan to young musicians. Playing with his brother, Neville, they keep crowds on their feet with their infectious tropical rhythms on a regular bases...for the training of the youth to be taught this art form the TALLAHASSEE-ST.MAARTEN will be embarking on a fund raising drive to support the Ebony Steel Orchestra Foundation to help get some of our youth of the streets to be part of something positive that Public and Private sectors will be part of...I have 46 years in the music industry so I think I can offer some expertise and support in this area to becoming a firm part of our Culture and Heritage.
Suggested name for organization St.Maarten Federation for Cultural Heritage
One of TLH-SXMF focus this coming year 2011 is on Cultural Heritage.... CULTURE, COMMERCE AND COMMUNITY One of the greatest economic resource St. Maarten has is its "ability" to create, package and sell cultural tourism. TLH-SXMF and Carimerica's definition of cultural tourism is simply put: "cultural tourism involves community residents creating, packaging and selling products and services directly relevant to their individual, organizational and community development so that they and their guests/visitors may discover finer, grander and more enjoyable concepts of themselves". Entertainment has really not been given its grand role that it has played in our tourism package we need to step-up to the plate and create proper representation for all entertainers and music groups in St.Maarten...Country St.Maarten needs that now....July 1988 ...22 years ago I initiated music at Cheri's Café and changed the whole concept of tourism entertainment with a location that wine-dine and dance to a new art form...The first groups I placed at Cheri's Café were the Band Control, Ramon and the Family Brass, Double Channel, Mystic Roots and other entertainers today it has played a major role in St.Maarten tourism product...a lot of credit should also be given to Cheri for her constant efforts to promote the local art form. It is time for us to bring our entertainers together and have a location where they can perform as a local Musical Cultural Revue...King Beau Beau-Dow- King Timo-Mighty Brat and many other local artist and bands, let's give our entertains their flowers while they are alive...we have decease's musical hero's that has passed on like Mr. Larmony, Ray Antony Thomas both Senior and junior, Julio Wilson, Trumpeter Tony Thewet, Drummer Carlos Summersault, Play writer IAN VALZ, Guitar Player Alvin Hodge from Tonka's band Ages Trumpeter Butcher, Big Nell ,Ange, Bebe Flanders, Trumpeter Roy Richardson from the band Caribbean Kings from the French side just to name a few...we need to set up an association to represent the entertainment, music industry 2011 Country St.Maarten should make a positive difference. TLH-SXMF will offer the international platform for the organization to be represented locally and internationally. I call for all Entertainers, Artist, Bands to come together to make a difference in Country St.Maarten the time is now organize yourselves many SXM Students are returning home with the managerial skills to assist in that development we just need to start, what happens to an entertainer who has done this as his livelihood for years then gets sick where are his benefits...we need to talk to NAGICO for a policy that will benefit each entertainer for interruption of salary ,health and even death compensation for themselves and family.
Country St.Maarten should mean a new beginning a new start for areas where we failed 10 years ago when we tried to organize that same very area of interest but failed....now is the time....in all organizations respect at the top is needed and I think Steel Pan man Chester York, Organist Mario Brown and Trumpeter Bobby Vlaun should meet and take the lead with these...I will contribute in more ways than one. WE NEED SUPPORT FROM BOTH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS....
Happy New Year 2011 to all... This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 850-391-3486

Philipsburg:--- The St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) is wasting no time as the new year breaks and will be meeting with stakeholders during the course of next week. "In the process of preparing for Carnival and before finalizing our schedule, we have to meet with the stakeholders," President of the SCDF Stuart Johnson said.
The SCDF will be meeting with service providers (Security, Sound etc) on Tuesday, January 4. On Wednesday January 5, the SCDF will meet with the band leaders at 6:00pm at the Legislative Hall in the Government Administration Building. That meeting will immediately be followed by a meeting for calypsonians at 7:00pm same venue.
On Thursday, January 6, the SCDF will meet with troupe leaders at 6:00pm at the Legislative Hall followed by a meeting with the booth holders at 7:00pm at the same venue. Johnson urged all stakeholders who have not yet registered for Carnival 2011 to do so before the meetings, although the possibility exists for them to register during the meeting.
Registration forms can be picked up at the security post inside the government administration building. "During the meeting we will outline stipulations for Carnival 2011 as well as be open for suggestions and recommendations of stakeholders. This is not a dictatorial foundation. We will listen and do our best to see if suggestions and/or recommendations are feasible in the best interest of Carnival," Johnson said.
"We need all stakeholders to be present for these meetings as we are striving to be on the same page with everyone involved in every facet of Carnival," he concluded. Anyone requiring additional information can email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 5220509.

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Philipsburg:--- On Wednesday December 29th at approximately 09:30 pm the Police central Dispatch received a call of a suspicious vehicle in the area of Victors Supermarket in Cole Bay. The description of the car was a small gray Chevrolet without any license plate in which three young men were driving.
The men inside this vehicle were all dressed in dark clothing and were behaving quite suspicious. A patrol from the Zero Tolerance team while driving on the Welfare road in the vicinity of Lee's Roadside Grill spotted the vehicle in question driving towards the Airport Boulevard.
The Zero Tolerance patrol decided to conduct a routine stop in order to establish the identity of the persons driving in this vehicle. The patrol ordered the driver of the car to stop however, he refused to do so and increased his speed. A high speed chase started through the areas of Beacon Hill, Maho Reef, Mullet Bay and Cupe Coy. In the Beacon Hill area one suspect jumped out of the car in his attempt to escape from the police however, was immediately apprehended by police. The other two suspects continued in their attempt to escape from the police. Meanwhile several other police patrols had joined the chase. In the Mullet Bay area a warning shot was fired but the driver did not stop and continued to flee towards the Low Lands with the intention to cross the border. A shot was then fired at the right front tire disabling the vehicle. Both occupants jumped out of the car and ran into the bushes next to Atlantis Casino. The area was immediately surrounded by several patrols at which time the Police K-9 went into the bushes to search for the suspects. When these suspects jumped out of the car one of them dropped a very old antique fire arm (a musket) on the ground.
This firearm was confiscated for further investigation. The search for the suspects lasted approximately an hour and a half without any results. As the search continued in the Mullet Bay area reports came in that the two suspects were being held at the security office of the Cupe Coy Hotel however, that one of the suspects had managed to escape and was running towards the border via the coast. The second suspect was immediately transported to the Philipsburg Police Station. A search for the third suspect continued in the dark of night but he managed to cross the border through the bushes. The Gendarmes were contacted and informed of the situation. The two suspects that are in custody are G.B. and S.B. and are both from the French side. The small gray vehicle was also confiscated and towed away for further investigation.

As the year ends we at SMN News had yet another difficult choice to make when it comes to selecting the person of the year. Looking back at who has made a significant contribution during their political career to St. Maarten within a very short period of time it was without no doubt that William Victor Marlin, leader of the National Alliance out did all others. He is the oldest politician that is still serving his country as a parliamentarian but he is the one that made sure that the Dutch took St. Maarten serious when negotiating the status change for St. Maarten. William Marlin made sure he secured the date 10/10/10 on September 30th 2009 during the RTC Meetings held there, one which the Dutch had to respect.
On June 8th 2009, William Marlin formed a coalition government with island council members Louie Laviest and Theo Heyliger when the Democratic Party Government fell. While being accused of entering office through the back door, William Marlin and his team went to work. One of his main goals was to give the people of St. Maarten what they asked for some ten years ago. A status change as being a country within the Netherlands.
St. Maarten and its people today can proudly say they have achieved what they asked for some ten years ago. While there were others who led the negotiating team for almost ten years they did not manage to get a date let alone a status change for St. Maarten. On several occasions, the people were told that St. Maarten was ready to take on its own affairs but when Marlin took office he discovered that there was much work to be done within a short period of time if he is to secure the change of status the people so badly wanted.
Marlin went into government on June 8th 2009 to October 5th 2010 but before leaving he made sure the final agreement was signed one week before he left office. It was a time when all politicians abandoned ship to campaign so that they can be elected to office come 10/10/10 but William Marlin stayed the course and travelled to Holland to secure the signatures on the final agreements for St. Maarten to become country.
While we have selected William as our person of the year we also have to credit the members of the negotiating team, mainly Joan Dovale Meit, Dennis Richardson, Governor Eugene Holiday, and Richard Gibson.
To William you have displayed courage and leadership skills during the 15 months you led St. Maarten, you truly placed your country before yourself leading up to the September 17 elections because you too could have abandoned the ship you were called to steer. Instead you showed your love and dedication for your country by staying the course despite the cost. Congrats William and may God bless you and your family this New Year. Happy 2011.

Mr. Gerard P. D'Arcy,Director of RGM Caribbean Limited and associate paid a courtesy visit to the Honorable Prime Minister, Mrs. Sarah Wescot-Williams in her capacity as Minister for General Affairs (Facilities Management). The visit was co-attended by Mr. Louis Brown, Acting SG-for Housing, Physical Planning, Environment and Infrastructure. RGM Ltd. is the developers for the New Government Building on Pond Island.

Philipsburg:--- The board of the St. Maarten Carnival Foundation (SCDF) has chosen the slogan for Carnival 2011: "Country St. Maarten Fettin' for Carnival 2011". As has become tradition, the selection of a slogan was done via a public competition. The SCDF received 106 submissions via Facebook and email in a three week period.

In the end, the SCDF settled on the submission by Chananda Rombley-Delaney, an elementary school teacher at the Oranje School. She received a season pass to Carnival 2011.

President of the SCDF Stuart Johnson said after much debate, the theme was chosen to historically record that Carnival 2011 was the first Carnival festivities after St. Maarten obtained its new constitutional status.

"We contemplated leaving the word 'country' out of the slogan since you just say St. Maarten, not Country St. Maarten," Johnson said. "But we wanted that historic perspective; we thought that distinction was important. Also, the word 'fettin' is an old time word to indicate having a great time. And there is nothing bigger than our Carnival fete. So we have history fully ingrained in our slogan as well as fun and excitement," he added.

The slogan will be used on all Carnival 2011 promotional material, including its schedule, posters, website etc. "On behalf of the SCDF we would like to thank everyone who participated in the slogan competition. Carnival is the people's business and we were very pleased to see how many people came up with terrific slogans," Johnson said.

The SCDF is also gearing up to release its official 2011 schedule which is basically complete.

Caption: Winner of the slogan competition Chananda Rombley-Delaney receives her prize from President of the SCDF Stuart Johnson on Thursday.

GREAT BAY:--- The Civil Registry Department has organized an information session at the Leonard Connor School in Cape Bay for Tuesday, December 07.

Residents of Cape Bay and neighbourhoods are invited to the information session that will be held from 6.00pm to 7.30pm.

Attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions about the services that the department offers along with the procedures that must be followed.

Another session is to be held at the Cultural Center on Backstreet, Thursday, December 09 at the same time.

Persons who need additional information can contact the Civil Registry Department at 542-2457.

The Budget is balanced says the coalition government of the UP/DP parties. A beautiful and unique pre-Christmas announcement which will begin the New Year with a bang. What a gift for the residents of St. Maarten. This measure according to an article appearing in one of the daily newspapers was approved by the Council of Minister on Thursday. There are some statements that were attributed to the Minister of Finance that needs addressing.
And one of them relates to the issue of borrowing. Permit me to quote from the daily newspaper: "We as a country are not able to borrow money to cover our budget (general fund)" end of quote. I have a question: "Why do we have to borrow?" Government can answer the question now or later because I as a Member of Parliament who have to approve the illusive 2011 Budget have not seen it as yet. But since government saw it fit to inform the people through the media it should have no problem answering the question. Why did I ask that question? Did or didn't the Dutch government deposit some funds on the account of the Central Bank for St. Maarten? And imagine we don't have to pay it back. Now if indeed this is the case then why hasn't the government accessed these funds? Let me answer and I stand to be corrected if my answer is incorrect. In order to access those funds government has to present approved audited financial statements. We all know that the General Audit Chamber of the then Netherlands Antilles has not approved the financial accounts for the last 10 years. We all know that they said that these budgets were never balanced. We all know that they said that some of the information was in such a state and let me paraphrase that they did not know what to make of it or where to begin. And let me insert here, "who was director of resources and as such over the various heads of Finance for the last 10 years or more?" Another statement attributed to the Minister of Finance was and I quote:" After inheriting a multimillion guilder deficit from the previous National Alliance led Government we have the responsibility to solve the problem rather than throw up our hands in despair" end of quote. People of St. Maarten please analyze that statement carefully and then ask yourself the question when did the multimillion guilder deficits start? Perhaps it was a slip of the tongue. I must ask this question also, how much money does the former Netherlands Antilles government owe St. Maarten and what committee is looking into this? Finally, I suggest to the UP/DP party coalition government to in line with was agreed to with the Dutch government by the signing of the Final accord of November 2, 2006 and what was also stated in the Transition Accord of February 12, 2007 under the heading Payment arrears to ask the Dutch government how much funds was deposited for St. Maarten on the account of the Central Bank. The Dutch government should have this/these amounts at their fingertips after all they are meticulous when it comes to their administration. Perhaps that amount will turn the deficit into a surplus and the people of St. Maarten will not have to suffer under the burden of more taxes because of the Democratic Party of the last 10 years and prior to this not adhering to sound financial practices.

Philipsburg:--- Dignitaries from both sides of the island who gathered in front of the Government Administration Building on Sunday evening for the annual thanksgiving and tree lightening ceremony were reminded of the importance of giving God thanks. Among the audience were the Governor of St. Maarten Drs. Eugene Holiday and his wife Marie Louise, Minister Franklin Meyers, Minister Rhoda Arrindell, Minister Hiro Shigemoto, Minister Maria Buncamper Molanus, senators, Silvia Meyers, Johan Janchi Leonard, Petrus Leroy De Weever, President of Parliament Gracita Arrindell.

After the official service the Christmas trees were lit by Minister of Culture Rhoda Arrindell, marking the official opening of the Christmas season, while a re-enactment of the Nativity scene was done. Invited guests left their seats to witness the re-enactment.

Philipsburg:--- A detective working at the Philipsburg Police station is looking at ways to redress a situation he considered to be unfit and improper. SMN News learnt that the detective met with union representatives on Monday as well as the Chief of Police to inform them of an incident that involves the Minister of Justice Roland Duncan. According to information reaching SMN News, the Minister went to the Police station late Sunday night after a French citizen got injured and refused treatment from the local paramedics. Sources say when the Minister reached the police station he insulted the detective instead of dealing directly with the chief of police. The Minister of Justice met on Monday for about four hours where he discussed with the police management team.
In an invited comment Chief of Police Peter de Witte said he discussed the matter with the Minister on Monday and the outcome was positive.
Efforts made to contact Minister Duncan on Monday evening proved futile as he did not answer his cellular telephone.

Philipsburg:--- As reported on SMN News on Tuesday the public prosecutor's office confirmed that they have arrested three suspects on Monday that are linked to the human smuggling investigation that has left at least six Haitians dead. The house search and arrests took place on Cole Bay hill in the vicinity of the 1234 & More store. According to reliable information reaching SMN News, the survivors who are currently held in Tortola fingered the persons that they paid to smuggle them to the British Virgin Islands. A press release from prosecutor Rienk Mud states that in conjunction with a motor vessel that was carrying over thirty people and that got shipwrecked near the island of Tortola on Sunday night, three men were arrested on St. Maarten later the same day. Consecutively three house searches were conducted followed by two searches in offices. Computers, documents and money (several thousands of dollars) were confiscated.
The three men are J.J.C., 50 years old, L.B., 43 years old and L. S.-M., 62 years old, all born in Haiti and currently legally residing in St Maarten are now behind bars assisting the RST and Marechaussee with the investigations.
The investigation is being conducted by a joined team of RST, Royal Marechaussee and KPS in cooperation with the Coastguard and French authorities. Currently detectives from St. Maarten are on the island of Tortola to further investigate this case together with local authorities.
The three suspects will be charged with human smuggling. They will be led before the judge of instruction within 48 hours.

Pointe-à-Pitre:--- The Lawyers of the Bar of Guadeloupe gathered in a general meeting on December 7, 2010 to denounced the continuing attacks and the lack of consideration demonstrated towards the profession resulting from:

• the absence of security measures to be taken to permit the access of lawyers to the Courthouse having led to the aggression of one of them inside the Courthouse
• the violation of the principle of hearing both parties resulting from the silence imposed to a lawyer at the moment of her pleading.
• the procedural insecurity born out of the change of rules and practices without prior consultation with Lawyers.
• the exclusion of lawyers from the recording offices while their hearing charges are continuously increasing.
• the absence of decent measures enabling them to exercise the rights of defense, especially, the non communication of penal documents on a timely basis by the Prosecutor's Office in violation of his engagements.
• and generally, the scornful attitude too often displayed toward Lawyers whereas they are justice partners.

The Lawyers of the Bar of Guadeloupe are tired of these attacks which are paralyzing the serene exercise of their Profession, thus they decided on December 8th to begin a general strike says chairman of the bar council Charles Nicolas in a press release.

PHILIPSBURG:--- President of Parliament Drs. Gracita Arrindell message on International Anti-Corruption Day, observed globally on Thursday, December 9, was an appeal to the community to help stop corruption in public and private sectors and wherever else it may be happening.
Corruption plagues effective governance, discourages investment, obstructs progress and hampers credible national development.
Corruption also fuels poor service delivery, severely harming individuals, communities and society as a whole.
The United Nations (UN) Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), recognizing the need to make public administration accountable and effective, have agreed to collaborate to establish and manage a new category of the UN Public Service Awards, one of the most prestigious recognitions of excellence in public service worldwide.
The new category, entitled "Preventing and combating corruption in the public service," will empower the two partners to collect, disseminate and, where possible, replicate noteworthy programmes and practices of Governments to foster integrity in public service.
The partnership of UNODC and UNDESA aligns their respective missions in the areas of integrity, accountability and transparency. It will encourage higher standards of public conduct and promote greater awareness of the importance of tackling corruption in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
"I commend the two aforementioned UN organizations for taking the initiative in adding a new category to the prestigious UN Public Service Awards. Every one of us has a role to play in society. We have a responsibility to make things better not only for ourselves, but also for the common good.
"We form part of a nation, a community. If part of that community is sick, it also impacts us in various ways, and therefore, we each have a role and responsibility and in this case, stamping out corruption where ever it may lay. The Ombudsman is a body that can and will play an integral role where the delivery of services to the community by public bodies is concerned.
"Our missions as a nation must be to prevent corruption in all spheres within society, let us all recommit ourselves to that," President of Parliament Gracita Arrindell said on Thursday.

Philipsburg:--- Commissioner of police Carl John and police spokesman Ricardo Henson met with members of the business community and the United Task Force against Crime (UTFAC) and representatives from Chamber of Commerce on Thursday to discuss some of the measures police would be taken this holiday season. Those attending the meeting were Damu Ratwani from the Indian Merchants Association, Steven Huang from the Chinese Association, Jadira Veen and Clarence Richardson from UTFAC with Ludwig Quinche and Anne Meyers from Chamber of Commerce.

The police force assured that they will be implementing their Zero Tolerance policy as of Friday December 10th island wide.
Ratwani expressed concerned about the lack of sufficient lightening on both Back and Front Streets, while he praised police for doing more to protect the business community during the evening hours and holiday season. Businesses he said will be able to open until 9pm this holiday season while extra security throughout Philipsburg and other areas will be available until 10pm. Stores will be allowed to open on Friday's until 10pm, beginning on December 10th until December 24th.
Merchants are asked to make sure they deposit their monies by 9pm to avoid robberies. The business community were also urged to have proper cameras and additional lighting to protect themselves from criminals.
The UTFAC urged residents and visitors of St. Maarten to make sure they have at all time their identification cards with them so that police can easily identify the people they come into contact with. The UTFAC said they do not want to see letters from people in the newspapers complaining that they were detained for the lack of identification. "People they said need to act responsibly as it is required by law for citizens to identify themselves to law enforcement. Holiday shoppers are asked to look out for the pick pocketers who normally work overtime in crowded areas during rush hours. Shoppers are also urged to beware of their surroundings at all times. Parking for holiday shoppers will be on the Ring Road sand on the Pondfill where additional security will be up until10pm.

Philipsburg:--- Our culture, our language, the difference between culture and subculture and difference between an identity versus a nationality are some of the key topics that will be elaborated upon during the identity crusade of which part one is scheduled for upcoming Saturday, December 18. Though this is the festive season during which everyone is busy preparing for the Christmas season, it is also the period during which many of our traditions have disappeared. It is the moment to reflect on where we came from, our history, and were we are now, thus the President of the Pepper Pot Projects within a Vision Association, Mr. Fabrice Baly.
The event takes place at Ms. Ruby Bute residence under the silk cotton tree. A tree that has been standing strong and bold for the last 300 years. "It will be a grass root family and friends gathering with free sitting which is conducive for a harmonious fellowship as we hope to connect with ourselves, our values and unite as people", as said by Mr. Baly.
The identity crusade is the first project launched by the association Pepper Pot since its inauguration of their TV program in April 2010. The TV program is both educational and informative and provides a platform where concerned men and women of Saint-Martin (Northern and Southern side) can bring their concerns on the issues of the community and propose solutions most of all. Mr. Baly further stated that "the importance of our culture and identity became clear after the topic was debated on the TV program, so we put together a panel of specialists based on their experiences, knowledge and researches to inform or remind us of who we are as a people. Culture is not just an activity or an event but our way of living". He continued by quoting one of the guest speakers Mr. Touzah Jah Bash: "we are in our home let's say of a family of 4, as we allow and welcome guests to dwell with us, as an issue arises in the home, we kindly ask them to excuse us as we deal with the FAMILY issues, once solved the guests are welcomed to join the family again." This is what the crusade is about, discuss our issues among ourselves.
He further stressed on the fact that there is a gap of missing knowledge and information towards those estimated less than 45 years old on exactly what is culture and to be more meaningful what is OUR culture? The discussion and debate part will be part of the second part of the crusade which will be held in the month of January 2011
For those who may have an inquiry on why the series is called a "crusade " which is normally a terminology used by churches in outdoor events with an everlasting impact. At the end of such an event none who have attended is the same, all are called to make a decision based on the information they have heard. "We are unshakeable convinced of the very same for all those who will be there," said the President.
The entire Pepper Pot team invites the public to join them on upcoming Saturday, December 18 in Mrs Ruby Bute yard at 7 pm sharp for an information and educational session on Saint Martin heritage.
For more information about the crusade or Pepper pot in general an email can be send to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or look on facebook. Residents on French Saint Martin can also tune in on Tuesday, December 14, as some of the speakers will elaborate more on the identity crusade.

GREAT BAY:--- Honorable Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams, would like to congratulate the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves on his third consecutive win at the polls on December 13.

Gonsalves was sworn in as Prime Minister on Wednesday for another five-year term.

One of his main government's efforts will be to continue with policies established to assist persons still recovering from the passage of Hurricane Tomas, a category one system in late October.

Gonsalves is leader of the United Labour Party (ULP) which won eight of the 15 seats in the election.

Monitoring teams from the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) said that the elections had been conducted free and fair and reflected the will of the voters.

Philipsburg:--- Windward Islands Airline (WINAIR) a St. Maarten based company is in financial crises, this is according to the Prime Minister of St Maarten, the Honarable Sarah Wescot Williams. In an address given via the St Maarten media, PM Williams disclosed that that the committee that was put together to look into the matters facing WINAIR has submitted their reports and she is expected to meet with the members of the committee to discuss the proposals they offered.
It was noted that the challenges and difficulties being by the airline continues to deteriorate. This is according to well placed sources within the company which have already resulted in job cuts among ground, administrative and pilot staff. The airline as a result of its financial challenges, have seen some of their routes being cut.
However, while reports from the company's Managing Director, Edwin Hodge has pointed to continuous financial challenges, a number of employees have levelled allegations against him stating that his micro managing of the airline and wanton spending has further placed the ailing airline in deeper crisis.
"Almost every week Eddy is here, there and everywhere flying and no one knows where he is going to as he seems reluctant to let the staff know what is happening.. What purposes is he attending but while the staff are being placed under enormous challenges and unfair working conditions, you can see him flying all over the globe with no report or information being given to us the staff," a evidently peeved employee disclosed.
The employee further alleged that speaking out on issues within the company leads to discrimination and victimisation. "When one speaks out he (Edwin Hodge) is quick to fire and or suspend that employee for no apparent reason and this is not fair, but I guess that because he is in charge he feels that he can do as he likes. He has to recognise that people will not always agree with him," the employee said.
Prime Minister Williams also said besides meeting with the members of the committee she intends to meet with the management of WINAIR to discuss the current situation of the company which she said needed urgent attention.
It was pointed out that the Prime Minister made it very clear that she is not satisfied with how the company is being managed and stressed that urgent and decisive actions will be made so as to ensure that it functions at a professional level. However, this media house learnt that in desperate attempts to increase the company's almost empty coffers it has sought to execute a number of promotions. The source further alleges that some of the promotions are being executed at a time when it's very difficult to ascertain the viability and sustainability of the airline. " They have the promotion as being advertised in the Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda markets but no one knows how long this company will continue to operate in these islands as evidence are there that the markets are being considered for possible closure. It is unfair to be running these promotions without informing residents that they (WINAIR) may not be operating longer," the source stressed.
The source pointed out that some years ago residents in St Kitts were only told a few days before the closure of their route that WINAIR would no longer be flying here. This, the source declared resulted in a number of passengers having to be facilitated on LIAT because of the sudden closure. "I believe that we are heading back down the road like where we were some years ago when they suddenly closed the St. Kitts market and I trust that the residents of Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda are wise to know that the company is in a much worst situation and these two markets are likely to close suddenly too, so all caution should be exercised when purchasing tickets," the source stressed.
Some employees said that the Managing Director continues to remain tight lipped on the entire situation resulting in a number of employees being uncomfortable. "We only learn and become aware of things when people on the streets tell us as he (Edwin Hodge) is reluctant to speak," the evidently peeved employee said.
It was pointed out that when the Tortola, Dominica and St Kitts routes were being closed, the staff were only notified about three to five days prior to the closure. "They treated us with unprofessionalism as the MD had no courtesy in telling us what was happening and we received the brunt of the public negative comments because of the way that we were treated by him. You just can't treat your staff, especially your customers with disdain like that," the employee said.
They further noted that Hodge continues to be at logger heads with his pilots over what many claims is his unwillingness to facilitate their concerns and allow them to express their views and opinions on issues of grave concerns to them.
Sources said that resolving the animosity that currently exists among the management and employees would help especially solving the long standing dispute between Hodge and the pilots. "Hodge have to understand that without the pilots there are no company, also he must recognise that he cannot be jumping here, there and everywhere without justifying reason/s as to why he is going to these places. It is time that this man understands that he needs to treat us with some sort of respect," another inside source said.
The Prime Minister promised that when the discussion is over she will release more information to the media on the status of WINAIR. However, she admitted that WINAIR is facing some serious financial problems noting that the picture doesn't look good.
When contacted, Managing Director, Edwin Hodge in an email said that he will address the allegations being made against him. "...I can tell you now all are not true," he said via an email message sent.
However, while promising that an extensive response would have been given some two days ago nothing has been received.

Philipsburg:--- Civil Servants working for the government of St. Maarten were not happy when they went to various banks on Friday looking for their December salaries and their Christmas savings.
According to several civil servants who spoke to SMN News on the condition of anonymity, the finance department did not pay their salaries as was expected on Friday. The government workers said they were also informed that they will not be receiving their Christmas savings (Tax Reservations) which is deducted each month from their salaries and are given to them in December for the holiday season. "All we are hearing via the grapevine is that government doesn't have monies to give us our Christmas savings in December and they will try to pay us in January. While we are hearing this, no one from the Personnel Department had the courage or decency to inform us on time. We are one week away from Christmas and now we are hearing that they don't have the monies they deducted from our salaries." Many of the workers called Members of Parliament from the National Alliance faction expressing their grievances.

Philipsburg:--- Board Members of the Democratic Party are furious at their leader Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams whom they instructed on Thursday night to send home Minister of Health and Labour Maria Buncamper Molanus. The board of the Democratic Party advised Wescot Williams to force Minister Buncamper Molanus to resign as early as Friday but the DP leader it is understood is not in favour of sending home Buncamper Molanus. Minister Maria Buncamper Molanus and her husband Claudius Anthony Buncamper are involved in yet another scandal as they sold the economic rights of a parcel of land they obtained from government. The sale of economic rights to Eco Green was done on December 19th 2009.
SMN News learnt that the board of the Democratic Party feels that retaining Buncamper Molanus as a Minister will be detrimental to their party. On Thursday night, the party president Michael Ferrier told SMN News that the board had submitted its advice to the leader of the party and she was also given the authority to decide what is best for the Democratic Party. Sources say some members of the board contacted their party leader on Friday demanding that she send the Minister home immediately. Those pressuring the Prime Minister is Member of Parliament Roy Marlin, President of the DP Board Michael Ferrier and board member Julian Rollocks.
Reliable sources close to the Buncampers said that the Minister has already taken a decision to resign and to quit politics since she can no longer take the pressure from the Democratic Party and the general public who have been calling for her resignation since this latest scandal broke.
SMN News also learnt that their coalition partner UP leader Theo Heyliger has given the Democratic Party until this weekend to resolve Buncamper Molanus scandal.
SMN News has been reliably informed that Wescot Williams is fearful of the Buncampers because she too sold government lease land in the early 1990's. The source said that Wescot Williams obtained a parcel of land in Simpson Bay and later sold it for a large sum of money. The plot of land granted to the leader of the Democratic Party is located across from the fire station in Simpson Bay where Thrifty's Car Rental is located. According to our sources, Wescot Williams sold the property to an Italian who recently passed away. It must be noted that while government forbids the sale or transfer of lease land if it is vacant, it is not forbidden to sell lease land if a building is on the property.

Cay Hill:--- Shady business transactions at the St. Maarten Medical Centre are continuing to surface even though the medical director of SMMC Dr. George Scot and members of the supervisory council have denied the allegations.
However, documents provided to SMN News shows that the SMMC has been using third parties to order their materials such as the Stryker beds that were ordered earlier this year. The hospital spent close to $350,000.00 to order the beds yet they were not in possession of any documents to show that the beds were for SMMC.
Emails provided to SMN News show that the finance department made several enquires to one Fred Roos and Tammy requesting information on the beds. SMMC also contacted Stryker and they were unable to obtain the information because SMMC was not on the bill of laden. The finance department specifically instructed one of the recipients to get information from the medical director on the Stryker beds so that the hospital's maintenance department and the shipping company could coordinate the delivery.

One of the emails provided to SMN News reads as follows: --- "My office is the purchasing Office with SMMC- Finance Department. It is my understanding you are away from the island at the moment. Mr. Cees Jan Roos helped us, since your contact number on the Bill of Laden is no longer in use. After several phone calls both to Madelyn and Caribbean Foreign Trade Corp and Rene at Carib Trans concerning the large order and payment. My office is unable to get solid details on this physical delivery to SMMC, as SMMC is not listed anywhere on the paperwork. So legally they cannot reveal any shipment details to us. Or even confirm a delivery schedule of this large shipment. Stryker was unable to send us a copy of this Bill of Laden.
Caribtrans needs something from you in writing that these patient beds are indeed for the St. Maarten Medical Center- to in turn release information to us. Please let us know if changing the name on the Bill of Laden is possible at this point-in helping this situation."
Another email states "Understand that you have meanwhile spoken with Cees Jan. I will be back on St. Maarten tomorrow around noon. Understood from Dr. George Scot that SMMC would like the order be delivered/unloaded on Feb. 22 I will be in touch with you tomorrow afternoon to personally see delivery-location at SMMC premises. At this point in time I see no need to change the Bill of Laden."
At a press conference on Thursday when SMN News asked Dr. George Scot and members of the Supervisory Council if the SMMC were using his N.V or any other N.V to order materials. Dr. Scot denied the allegations saying those person/persons accusing him should be the ones to provide the proof of their allegations.
Dr. Scot was also asked to explain how is it possible for him to be a member of the board of directors and the medical director of SMMC at the same time, and if holding two the positions creates a conflict of interest. Dr. Scot and the members of the supervisory council said SMMC changed its statues to allow Dr. Scot to hold both positions. Dr. Scot further explained he is no longer an employee of the St. Maarten Medical Centre and that changing the statues allows the SMMC to hire his services through his N.V.
SMN News also asked Dr. Scot to explain some other conflicts regarding an unregistered specialist at the St. Maarten Medical Center who was later terminated. Dr. Scot explained that the SMMC submitted the necessary paperwork and informed government about the specialist but after 15 months his registration was not completed and as such the hospital had no other choice but to let go of the specialist.
Delivery Invoice from CaribTRANS for Stryker Beds.

Philipsburg:--- Since the revelation that former Commissioner and now Minister of Health and Labour Maria Buncamper Molanus sold the economic rights of government land to the tune of three million dollars, several persons contacted SMN News accusing the leader of the Democratic Party of the same unethical and immoral transaction.
The blogosphere lead us to look for the documents to see if in fact DP leader Sarah Wescot Williams is guilty as accused. Late last week SMN News posted an article where we stated that Wescot Williams did acquire a parcel of land in Simpson Bay and sold it for a large sum of money. Today we obtained documents that show that Wescot-Williams who was the head of finance in 1988 and a strong Democratic Party candidate obtained and sold a parcel of land in Simpson Bay just about two weeks after obtained her long lease.
The deed shows that Wescot Williams received the parcel of government land on January 26th 1988 located in Simpson Bay measuring 1173m2 with certificate of admeasurements 11/1988. The long lease was for a period of sixty (60) years, while Wescot Williams had to pay the annual ground-rent in advance at the Receivers Office. Ground-rent was set at Naf.0.25 cents per square meter per year.
In article (e) of the long lease states that Wescot Williams had six months to begin construction on the property and construction must be uninterrupted according to the building plan that is approved by the executive council.
Article (f) of the lease states that the leaseholder commits herself in case she should not use the parcel of land for construction, she must obtain permission from the executive council before she can transfer the rights of the property.
Amazingly on February 8th 1988, the Democratic Party executive council led by the late Dr. Claude Wathey granted Wescot Williams permission to transfer the rights of the long lease. On February 11th 1988 Wescot Williams sold the property to Pier Francesco Patane for a whopping $155,000.00.
Documents of the entire transaction are posted below this article as proof of what is written about the current leader of the Democratic Party and Prime Minister of Country St. Maarten Sarah Wescot Williams.
The transaction shows that members of the DP party conducted shady and unethical business while in office. Some 20 years ago many persons in government were convicted for illegal transactions such as these. One would think that the current leadership and members of the DP would have learnt from the mistake others in their party made but the current scandal and land deal involving Minister Buncamper Molanus shows that while the faces in government office has changed, their way of doing business is the same.
While government land is meant for people who do not own or cannot purchase land for their personal use it is clear that the members of the Democratic Party has used their offices to enrich themselves while there are hundreds of people who have requested land for ages and cannot get it to build their homes.
Minister Buncamper Molanus and her husband Claudius Buncamper are facing public outrage because they sold the economic rights of government land. It should be noted that while the deal the Buncampers have with ECO GREEN is for three million dollars, the rights of the long lease still remain in their names.
It however, behoves us to see what a judge would say if the Buncampers are charged with forgery and money laundering and who would be their criminal lawyers. Based on our research HBN law firm and Mr. E.R de Vries do not try criminal cases.

The Long Lease Sarah Wescott Williams Recieved from Government in 1988.

 

The Executive Council decision that gave Wescott Williams permission the sell her Leased Land.

The deed showing that Sarah Wescott Williams sold Long Leased Land.

DEAR CITIZENS AND FRIENDS OF SINT MAARTEN,
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011!
WE ARE GREATFUL AND BLESSED TO BE ABLE TO WELCOME A NEW YEAR AGAIN BY THE GRACE OF GOD.
I HOPE THAT YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES HAD A SAFE TURN FROM THE OLD TO THE NEW YEAR 2011.
IF 2009 WAS A 'TESTING' YEAR' AS I STATED IN A PREVIOUS MESSAGE, THEN THE PAST YEAR 2010 CONCLUDED LEAVING BOTH OUR PEOPLE AND OUR GOVERNMENTS LOOKING FORWARD TO A NEW ERA FILLED WITH HOPE, OPPORTUNITIES AND PROSPERITY FOR ALL OUR PEOPLE.
THE MANY CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES AND CHALLENGES CONTINEOUS TO AFFECT OUR LIVES IN MANY WAYS. THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO RENEW OUR COMMITMENTS TO EACH OTHER.
AN OPPORTUNITY TO RESTORE OUR FAITH IN MANKIND, A CHANCE TO RECOMMITT TO INVEST IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS, OUR SCHOOLS, BUSINESSES, AND GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS, IN ORDER TO MAKE OUR BEAUTIFUL ISLAND SINT MAARTEN WHAT IT IS DESTINED TO BE;
A GREAT NATION BUILT AND LOVED BY A GREAT PEOPLE.
I RECENTLY CAME ACROSS THIS FOLLOWING QUOTE: "MATURITY DOES NOT COME WITH AGE; IT COMES WITH THE ACCEPTANCE OF RESPONSIBILITY".
AS A NEW 'COUNTRY' BARELY 2 MONTHS YOUNG, WE MUST ALL DO OUR SHARE NO MATTER HOW SMALL TO MAKE THIS NEW ENDEAVOR A RESOUNDING SUCCESS. OUR SAFETY, OUR PROSPERITY, OUR PROGRESS AND SURVIVAL AS A NEW NATION DEPENDS ON OUR INDIVIDUAL AS WELL AS COUR COLLECTIVE STEADFASTNESS TO ENSURE THAT INDEED OUR BEST YEARS ARE AHEAD OF US.
I THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS YOU. HAVE A SAFE, HEALTHY AND HAPPY NEW YEAR.
GOD BLESS AND PROTECT SINT MAARTEN AND ITS PEOPLE.

DRS. GRACITA R. ARRINDELL, PRESIDENT PARLIAMENT OF SINT MAARTEN

The Year 2010 in Review' will be the last program of 2010 and the first program of 2011 aired on the Law in Focus. Our viewers and listeners are invited to tune in on Thursday December 30th 2010 and January 6th 2011, and subsequent rebroadcasts according to the schedule stated below. We are sure that it will be a worthwhile and interesting experience to hear what the various guests on The Law in Focus had to say, leading up to 10-10-10.
"The Law in Focus" is an informative and educational program for the entire family, aired every Thursday night from 9.30 – 10.00 p.m. on Sint Maarten T.V., Channel 15, with rebroadcasts on the Wednesdays following from 6.00 - 6.30 p.m., on Sundays from 4:00-4:30 pm on Radio Soualiga 99.9 FM, on Mondays on Cable TV Saba and Tuesdays on Cable TV Statia from 7.00 – 7.30 p.m. The program is aired on Statia radio on Tuesdays at 12.30 noon with a repeat on Sundays at 6.00 p.m., and on Channel 9, MSR Cable TV on French Saint Martin. The public is encouraged to send questions on legal issues to email: lawinfocus@ burofocus.com or fax # 5473754.

Philipsburg:--- Senator George Pantophlet in a press release reacts to the balanced budget presented by government on Friday.
The Budget is balanced says the coalition government of the UP/DP parties. A beautiful and unique pre-Christmas announcement which will begin the New Year with a bang. What a gift for the residents of St. Maarten. This measure according to an article appearing in one of the daily newspapers was approved by the Council of Minister on Thursday. There are some statements that were attributed to the Minister of Finance that needs addressing.
And one of them relates to the issue of borrowing. Permit me to quote from the daily newspaper: "We as a country are not able to borrow money to cover our budget (general fund)" end of quote. I have a question: "Why do we have to borrow?" Government can answer the question now or later because I as a Member of Parliament who have to approve the illusive 2011 Budget have not seen it as yet. But since government saw it fit to inform the people through the media it should have no problem answering the question. Why did I ask that question? Did or didn't the Dutch government deposit some funds on the account of the Central Bank for St. Maarten? And imagine we don't have to pay it back. Now if indeed this is the case then why hasn't the government accessed these funds? Let me answer and I stand to be corrected if my answer is incorrect. In order to access those funds government has to present approved audited financial statements. We all know that the General Audit Chamber of the then Netherlands Antilles has not approved the financial accounts for the last 10 years. We all know that they said that these budgets were never balanced. We all know that they said that some of the information was in such a state and let me paraphrase that they did not know what to make of it or where to begin. And let me insert here, "who was director of resources and as such over the various heads of Finance for the last 10 years or more?" Another statement attributed to the Minister of Finance was and I quote:" After inheriting a multimillion guilder deficit from the previous National Alliance led Government we have the responsibility to solve the problem rather than throw up our hands in despair" end of quote. People of St. Maarten please analyze that statement carefully and then ask yourself the question when did the multimillion guilder deficits start? Perhaps it was a slip of the tongue. I must ask this question also, how much money does the former Netherlands Antilles government owe St. Maarten and what committee is looking into this? Finally, I suggest to the UP/DP party coalition government to in line with was agreed to with the Dutch government by the signing of the Final accord of November 2, 2006 and what was also stated in the Transition Accord of February 12, 2007 under the heading Payment arrears to ask the Dutch government how much funds was deposited for St. Maarten on the account of the Central Bank. The Dutch government should have this/these amounts at their fingertips after all they are meticulous when it comes to their administration. Perhaps that amount will turn the deficit into a surplus and the people of St. Maarten will not have to suffer under the burden of more taxes because of the Democratic Party of the last 10 years and prior to this not adhering to sound financial practices.

Authorities in the British Virgin Islands have recovered six bodies between Monday and Tuesday. Rescue agencies were continuing the search near Brandywine Bay after the ill fated boat hit a reef around midnight Sunday.
BVI News reported that the Virgin Islands Search and Rescue recovered the body of a male from the seabed near the site of the wreckage.
Monday morning, five bodies were recovered from the water and near the scene of the wreckage – two females, one male and two children. Among the survivors are 14 males and 11 females. Some 21 detainees are being held at the Detention Centre at Balshum Ghut while four have been hospitalized.
On Tuesday the RVIPF convened a meeting, which included Police investigators, St. Maarten law enforcement officers and representatives from Her Majesty's Customs, Immigration and the Ministry of Health.
Among the matters discussed were provisions for immigrants to connect with families in Haiti or in St. Maarten and to receive health and other welfare accommodations and preparations for repatriation of bodies and survivors. Police are also arranging for a meeting with members of the BVI Haitian Association.
The Ministry of Health and Social Development through the BVI Health Services Authority completed a preliminary health assessment of the detainees specifically to detect the presence of the cholera disease. The Ministry maintains that there were no known risks to the general population as none of the detainees are exhibiting signs or symptoms of the cholera disease. However, the Ministry will continue to monitor the situation and are working closely with other agencies to ensure the safety of the public. A comprehensive health assessment will be completed today.
All general procedures to safeguard health are to be maintained among officers in contact with the detainees.
Local investigators are working closely with the St. Maarten law enforcement authorities to identify those responsible for the illegal human trafficking and to bring them responsible to justice.
Meanwhile, Her Majesty's Customs, Virgin Islands Search and Rescue and U.S. Coast Guard were part of the early efforts to rescue individuals from the waters around the wreckage and to detain those that had made it on to shore.
A 25-foot fiberglass boat which is believed to have transported the group has since been removed from scene and is now at the Police Marine Base.
The Governor and Premier have both been notified of the situation and have been briefed on the conditions of the detainees and any possible threats to the BVI public in light of the cholera epidemic in Haiti.
On this situation, the Governor has stated that his office has been in contact with the Haitian government to brief them on this incident.
In addition, the Ministry of Health and Social Development along with the BVI Health Services Authority are collaborating on health issues related to the detainees and are taking all necessary precautions to safeguard the BVI public. Presently, there are no known risks to the general population as none of the detainees are exhibiting signs or symptoms of the cholera disease. However, the Ministry will continue to monitor the situation and are working closely with other agencies to ensure the safety of the public.

(BVI Online News)

...

Philipsburg:--- Businessman Elmer Moses Mardenborough the person who is entitled to the long lease for a parcel of land he filled in the Sucker Garden area known as the Souliga Boulevard is planning his next step since it was revealed that the former Democratic Party executive council issued a long lease to Maria Buncamper Molanus and her husband Claudius Toonjie Buncamper for a parcel of land he (Mardenborough) filled in with government's permission.
Mardenborough showed documents to prove that he invested close to$ 200,000.00 to fill in the land and to date he has not received any compensation for his investments while he charged that government is liable for damages and the loss of his investments.

Moses Mardenborough in an exclusive interview with SMN News said he received permission from government in 1996 to fill in a part of the Great Salt pond and to occupy it until government finalizes the process to grand him a long lease. Mardenborough provided SMN News with a stack of documents to show his claim. Among the documents is a declaration by former island council member William Marlin now senator of St. Maarten which states that while he Marlin was in government his executive council had decided to subdivide land in the Great Salt pond in the area of Sucker Garden for the development of small businesses. Other parcels of the land were granted to persons and companies in the field of heavy equipments, concrete and asphalt. Marlin stated in his declaration that at that time Government wanted to create an industrial zone and to stimulate the removal of the heavy equipments from residential areas.
The former leader of government said the parcels were allotted with the understanding that as soon as VROM and Domain Affairs had prepared the subdivision plan and the draft resolutions the lands in question would be transferred. It was also agreed that persons and companies who filled in the land themselves and were allowed to use the land pending the completion of the plans.
The declaration further stated that Mardenborough was allotted a parcel of land in the industrial zone area with the understanding that he was allowed to fill in the lands pending the completion of the paper work. The department of VROM and Domain Affairs had been involved with the process Marlin stated in his declaration.

However, when Marlin left government and the Democratic Party took over, the plans government had were abolished and the persons who filled in the parcels of land never got their long lease neither were they notified when someone else got a long lease for the property they occupied. Mardenborough also provided the letters he was served by the attorneys representing the St. Maarten Building Supplies which stated that they were in possession of a lease for the property and they are ordering him to remove his materials and other properties from said land.
Mardenborough and his lawyers began the fight back then and they wrote several letters to the executive council who never replied to their enquiries. According to Mardenborough, his lawyer at the time Nilda Arduin began investigating and she discovered that an advice made up by VROM was sent to the Executive Council on December 15 2004 advising government to grant the lease to the head of VROM Claudius Buncamper and his wife Maria Buncamper who was a parliamentarian and senator at that time. Government then took a decision which was signed only by former commissioner of domain affairs Roy Marlin and the Lt. Governor of St. Maarten Franklyn Richards to grant the Buncampers the lease for one year with the option to renew. The lease was granted on January 1 2005 to December 31 2005.
Exactly three days after the advice was sent to government to grant the Buncampers the lease, they signed a lease agreement with the St. Maarten Building Supplies.

Amazingly, the lease agreement between the Buncampers and the St. Maarten Building Supplies was drafted on December 18th 2004 almost two weeks before government granted the elected representative and civil servant a lease for the property.

The lease agreements states that the monthly installments amounts to Naf. 2100.00 included all transfer and any other costs related to the transaction. The lessee also has an option to renew at which time the monthly lease will be determined. All of which was also in the lease agreement the Buncampers have with the island government.

Discrepancies.

While the former executive council knew who filled in Great Salt Pond (Souliga Boulevard) and what type of business Mardenborough was conducting on the property located across from the Melford Hazel Centre they went ahead and granted a long lease to the Buncampers despite a ruling from the court. It should be noted that Mardenborough officially requested a long lease for the property on April 25 2005.

Mardenborough provided the ruling from the administrative court who ordered government to take a decision which was either to honour the agreement they had with Mardenborough and grant him the long lease or annul the agreement. To date Mardenborough said government has not taken such a decision and he was not aware that the former Democratic Party Executive Council granted a long lease to the Buncampers. He said he learnt via media reports that a long lease was granted and he is now meeting with his lawyer the find out the next step he should take. Mardenborough also provided an agreement he has with the St. Maarten Building Supplies when they retracted their court case. The St. Maarten Building Supplies ended their court case and made an agreement with Mardenborough when they realized that that Mardenborough had the rights to the plot of lands based on sworn statements provided by the personnel of domain affairs and VROM all of which was used in the court of law.

Besides Mardenborough, SMN News learnt other persons filled in parcels of land and they too did not get their long lease or deed to the property but the Democratic Party executive council awarded those parcels of lands to their comrades or party supporters. One such person is Charles Hodge who has been occupying a parcel of land since 1998. John Richardson is the only known person who is in possession of his long lease since 1993 while he received his certificate of admeasurements in 1981.
The Buncampers have a long lease which was granted by government on April 1 2008 for the property located at number 47 Souliga Boulevard. Recently, media reports indicated that the Buncampers sold the property to Eco Green for three million dollars. Already the owner of Eco Green has paid 1.6 million dollars as down payment while he has to pay 90 monthly installments of $18.750.

Lease Agreement Between the Buncampers and Island Government.

Lease Agreement Between the Buncampers and St. Maarten Building Supplies.


Lease Agreement Between Mardenborough and St. Maarten Building Supplies

A crew member identified as Pradan Gadahar of Aurora Cruise Ship in port on Wednesday was shot in his butt in the vicinity of Seamans Club in Sucker Garden. Preliminary information reaching SMN News states that the crew member was shot outside of the Adult Entertainment club. It appears as if the shooter was in the process of robbing the victim. Well placed information states that Gadahar was shot in the butt and the bullet exited through the front of his torso.
Police Spokesman Ricardo Henson in a police report said that on Wednesday afternoon December 29th at approximately 04:00 pm, the Central Police Dispatch received several phone calls from residents from Sucker garden living in the vicinity of "El Capitan" and "Seamans Club" about a man who was the victim of shooting. Immediately after receiving this information several police patrols were dispatched to the scene. The victim with initials P.G. from India and a crew member on board of the cruise ship "AURORA" in port today, was laying on his stomach on the ground just at the entrance of Seamans Club. The victim was bleeding from a gunshot wound to the upper right side of his buttocks and had an exit wound to his upper right thigh.
The victim told police that he was attacked by an unknown man with a gun in the alley between an apartment building and the Seamans Club. He was threatened with gun and his personal belonging was demanded from him by his attacker. Henson said the suspect suddenly covered the victim's mouth before shooting him.
After shooting him the suspect fled the scene leaving the victim behind. The police spokesman said the suspect did not succeed in stealing anything from the victim who was treated at the scene by paramedics and then transported to the Sint Maarten Medical Center for further treatment.
The wounds resulted not to be life threatening and the victim will be able to leave hospital tomorrow. The Detective and Forensic Department has started their investigation and are asking anyone who may have any information with regards to this case or any other case to call the Detective Department and give this information.

GREAT BAY (GIS):--- The law on Turn Over Tax for St. Maarten has been finalized. This law, known as, Landsverordening tot wijziging van de Landsverordening belasting op bedrijfsomzetten 1997. (AB 2010, no. 31), will go into effect January 1st, 2011.
The Department of Communication is hereby officially announcing this new law which can be read in full by visiting the Government's website: www.sintmaartengov.org/laws.
A copy of this law can be picked up at the Department of General Affairs, located at the Government Administration Building.

The First Seminar of the SINT MAARTEN SENIORS AND PENSIONERS ASSOCIATION (SMSPA) will be held on January 17th and 18th, 2011, at the Belair Community Center in Cay Hill, Sint Maarten. The seminar is first of all for the members of the association. Invitations have been also sent to the leadership of the local labour unions and the leadership of seniors organizations of the neighbouring islands of Saba, Sint Eustatius, Sint Kitts Nevis and Anguilla.
This seminar will be dealing with the following topics:

1. How to increase the income of seniors and pensioners:
    a. how to increase purchasing power of seniors
    b. how to pull seniors out of poverty
2. How to improve the health care for seniors and their family members:
    a. how to eliminate discrimination in sickness insurance packages
    b. how to get free health care for seniors

Main speakers / panelists from private and public sector will present their views.

• Neil Henderson of HENDERSON INSURANCES in representation of the private insurance companies ENNIA, FATUM, NAGICO and GULF INSURANCES, will inform the participants which pension and additional income products and services can be offered to seniors and/or their family members and which other solutions can be thought of to improve the products to be offered. On the second day he will present the various health insurance packages and services of the private sector insurance companies especially with the seniors and pensioners of Sint Maarten and their familymembers in mind.
• drs Jorien Wuite, Acting Secretary Genera, and staff members of the MINISTRY OF PUBLIC HEALTH, SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND LABOUR will elaborate on the first day upon the public pension system in Country Sint Maarten. On the second day she will talk about the quality of the health care in Sint Maarten, the elimination of the discrimination in sickness insurance packages and the preparations for the National Health Insurance System for Country Sint Maarten.
• drs Raymond Jessurun, 1st vice-president of the Sint Maarten Seniors and Pensioners Association, will give his views on the discrimination in old age pensions, the discrimination in health care quality and the discrimination in basic health insurance packages in the Kingdom of the Netherlands as a violation of fundamental human rights. He will deal more in particular with the question whether elimination of the discrimination or equalization of old age pensions, health care quality and basic health insurance packages in the Kingdom, in particular here in Sint Maarten, is possible.

These presentations will be further discussed in the work group sessions and with the panel at the end of each day.
Undoubtedly these topics will generate a lot of interest locally and in the neighbouring islands of the Caribbean, and in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, especially now that the islands Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius have become Dutch municipalities, and Sint Maarten and Curacao have become countries.
The finances to cover the expenses of this seminar are provided by local sponsors which make it possible that this seminar can be held at the Belair Community Center and the presentations and the panel discussions can be televised after the seminar, on a local cable channel.