PHILIPSBURG:---The House of Parliament will sit in a Central Committee meeting on, Tuesday, September 22, 2020.
The Central Committee meeting is scheduled for 11.00 hrs., the meeting will be held in a virtual setting.

The agenda points are:
1. Advice regarding the installation and composition of the Permanent and Ad hoc Committees of Parliament
2. Advice regarding the installation and composition of the Committees of the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino)

Due to measures taken to mitigate the coronavirus (COVID-19), the House of Parliament is only allowing persons with an appointment to enter the Parliament building.

The parliamentary session will be held virtually and will be carried out live on St. Maarten Cable TV Channel 115, via SXM GOV radio FM 107.9, via Pearl Radio FM 98.1 www.pearlfmradio.sx, via the internet www.sxmparliament.org, and Parliament’s Facebook page: Parliament of Sint Maarten

PHILIPSBURG:--- St. Maarten Insurance Brokers Association (SIBA) has elected Dwayne Elgin to lead its new Board that was installed after elections held on 15th September 2020. Elgin succeeds Neil Henderson who has led the organization for over fifteen years.
The newly elected board includes Vice President- Mano van der Camp, Treasurer – Richard Boyd (also a past President), Secretary – Barbara Pompier, and Board Member -Tirdeo(Joshua) Dharamraj.

SIBA, from its inception, has been championing the rights of insurance customers by influencing legislation to regulate the conduct of financial institutions operating in the industry whilst ensuring that its own members uphold the highest ethical and professional standards in serving customers.

There are several issues currently affecting the Insurance industry and the interest of customers. SIBA intends to immediately engage insurance companies to tackle the increasing cost of health insurance and accessibility to the coverage especially in the light of COVID 19 and its devastating impact to the economy and our customers.
The new board also intends to continue working in the best interest of our clients and the community in general through purposeful engagement with Insurance companies Government, Parliament, the Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten and other stakeholders.

~Part of Thursdays Online with Student Support Services Division.~

PHILIPSBURG:--- Student Support Services Division (SSSD) of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport is continuing to equip students, who want to continue their studies abroad, with the proper information despite the global pandemic.

On Thursday, September 24, 2020, a free online workshop entitled “Applying to Schools in the Netherlands” will be held for students who want to continue their studies in the Netherlands. This is part of the Thursdays Online with SSSD series.

According to SSSD, with technology at our fingertips, for some students applying to schools in the Netherlands can be just a few clicks away and then waiting for an answer from the school. For others, however, the task of applying to schools can be daunting and they may not know where to start. Students also have to know the educational system in the Netherlands.

This workshop is geared at students in the last two years of secondary school or recent graduates and will be held online from 5:00 P.M. to 6:30 P.M. SSSD officials indicated that because of the online workshop, students can register in advance and provide their email addresses so that they can receive a digital invitation. Students can also click on the workshop link on SSSD’s Facebook page to attend.

The “Applying to Schools in the Netherlands” workshop is aimed at students from all the sections of the diverse education system on St. Maarten. Vocational, as well as academic tracts and schools with Dutch or English language instruction in the Netherlands, will be covered. Educational changes occur frequently in the Netherlands and it is important for students to know of such, say SSSD officials.

“Requirements for admissions may vary from school to school and admission may not be granted with a diploma or good grades. For example, some schools have interviews, language tests and other requirements and students should know this,” SSSD officials indicated.

Parents are urged to encourage their children to participate in this workshop. Students are encouraged to register, in advance, for the workshop so an invitation can be emailed to them. Students may also click on the link on the Student Support Services Division Facebook page to participate in the workshop. If parents or students have any questions on these workshops, they can contact the Student Support Services Division at telephone 543-1235 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

POINTE BLANCHE:--- Port St. Maarten is urging local cruising fans and those who benefit from the cruise industry to share their thoughts on cruises restarting and to submit their written comments to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which must be received on or before September 21 deadline for input on how cruise lines should restart cruising.
The current CDC No-Sail Order is up to 30 September. The global cruise industry has voluntarily suspended U.S. cruise operations until at least 31 October 2020.
Port St. Maarten Management said on Sunday: “The cruise sector is an essential part of the St. Maarten economy supporting thousands of jobs in one way or the other directly or indirectly. We call on stakeholders to give their feedback and endorsement as public comments to the CDC before the end of the day on September 21.
“The cruise industry has been evolving during the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of providing safer and healthier vacations when cruise vessels start to sail again. The industry is prepared to integrate new health and safety practices on a cruise demonstrating the industry’s commitment to its guests.”
Port St. Maarten is compliant with all COVID-19 regulations related to border protection, public health safety and security. A number of measures have been taken at the initiative of Port Management such as the ‘Sterile Port Protocol’ that includes enhanced sanitization measures which have been in place since mid-March at the Dr. A.C. Wathey Cruise & Cargo Facility.
The “Sterile Port Protocol” falls under the scope of the Ordinance Public Health which is part of the International Health Regulations as issued by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The aforementioned is part of the ports procedures for responding to infectious disease situations. A “Crisis Emergency Service Department” is in place to deal with in the initial phase any infectious disease until medical and public health officials arrive amongst other established protocols to facilitate and ensure the safety of passengers, crew and the local population upon resumption of cruises.
Supporters of cruising can go to the following link and follow the instructions: https://beta.regulations.gov/document/CDC-2020-0087-0001 about how to submit your comments.
The public may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2020-0087 by any of the following methods listed below. CDC does not accept comments by email.