Articles

How has money become polluted? In summary, money has become polluted, dysfunctional, and exploitative because: 1. it is no longer backed by anything (e.g gold and silver) and thus its value becomes questionable and subject to manipulation, 2. its creation is exclusively in the hands of limited (private) financial institutions whose masters are not the community, 3. it is being kept artificially scarce, 4. it is made expensive because interest is charged, 5. it is being misallocated at its source (the allocation decisions are not made democratically) serving to concentrate power and wealth, and 6. the interest charged forces cancerous artificial growth thereby compounding debt which in turn can never be repaid. The cons of interest are: it is an impossible contract because only the principle (loan) is created in the money supply but not the interest which the borrower must also repay, money must continually be expanded to cover the built in deficit caused by the need to repay the interest charged, the higher the interest rate the quicker debt compounds, and interest charges are incorporated into every stage of producing a product, from pulling raw materials out of the earth to putting the goods on store shelves. According to Ellen Hodgson Brown, the author of The Web of Debt, these cumulative charges have been estimated to compose about half the cost of every public project.

Bilgram and Levy asserts that: "We should define money as any medium of exchange adapted or designed to meet the inadequacy of the method of exchanging things by simple barter. Anything that accomplishes this object is 'Money.'" In other words, money is an agreement within a community to use something as a medium of exchange. What is the intended purpose of money? To simplify trading via a temporary placeholder of value until one exchanges it for something of utility that can satisfy ones needs. Money in of itself cannot satisfy human needs as it does not contain nutrients the body need to survive, it cannot be put into your car's gas thank to get it to run, etc. However, this temporary placeholder alleviates the barter "coincidence of want" issue (finding someone to trade what you have for what they have can be cumbersome).

Money has evolved from: simple barter, to commodity money, to symbolic money with backing or convertibility to gold and silver, to credit and now its ultimate form of credit clearing with no backing or convertibility. During the Bretton Woods agreement days, the USD was chosen to be the reserve currency among countries as long as one (1) USD could be converted to 35 ounces of gold on demand. Now why is this significant? Because it meant that America could not arbitrarily print any amount of dollars without backing it by the gold equivalent. So if America had the equivalent of 100 times 35 ounces or 3500 ounces of gold, they would be allowed to print dollars up to a maximum of $100. Look at it like measuring and converting lengths (e.g. twelve inches is equivalent to 1 foot). Today's money system has no such measure and a currency in of itself can and should never be a measure of value. This is why even more so today that money should be a public good and not treated like it is private. In other words private institutions should not have exclusivity to its creation because money is now credit (an I.O.U= I Owe You) and the only institution can back credit is the Government of a country. Credit is a community (= together among each other) agreement.

"It is within the realm of reciprocal exchange that money plays its fundamental role as a medium of exchange or means of payment. Any feature of a monetary system that subverts reciprocity is dishonest and destructive to the intended outcome of mutual benefit among those who use money." – Thomas H. Greco, Jr, The End of Money and the Future of Civilization, page 89 – What does Mr. Greco mean by this? Reciprocal exchange is being prevented in many ways. When a bank can boast about being over-liquid this is of grave hindrance to reciprocal exchange (in particular in a credit system) since man has agreed to use money/credit as a medium of exchange and not a store of value. If the money is parked then this hinders reciprocal exchange.

It is not that the evolution of real money into unreal credit money that is necessarily bad. On the contrary, credit money and credit clearing has allowed mankind to accomplished many great things. What is wrong with the current system is not that money is advanced as a credit against the borrower's promise to repay, but that interest on this advance accrues to private banks that gave up nothing of their own to earn it. Banks should be rewarded for (useful) services performed such as clearing services, assessment of asset values, risk assessment services, vault storage, intermediation between savers and investors, but not interest. In effect, banks are merely acting as middlemen, bringing savers and investors with funds together with borrowers who need funding. However, there is a specific type of banking for this which is called investment banking with profit-sharing arrangements as oppose to debt and interest arrangements.

In conclusion, money is credit. Banks create money by privatizing our own credit and lending it back to us – at interest. Credit is allocated on a biased basis to favored clients which distorts the system of economic rewards. The interest forces cancerous growth which is beyond our planet with finite resources. Because interest on a global scale can never be repaid due to the built in deficit inherent in the system, persons who primarily consume are at a disadvantage because they will be constantly trying to keep up, working more jobs if they have to, as their salaries stay below the inflation rate. This increased cost of living is costing people their lives as they virtually become economic slaves to the benefit of some but to the detriment of society as a whole.

"A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is privately concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men who, even if their action be honest and intended for the public interest, are necessarily concentrated upon the great undertakings in which their own money is involved and who necessarily, by very reason of their own limitations, chill and check and destroy genuine economic freedom." -Woodrow Wilson, excerpt from 1912 campaign speech -

"The pinnacle of power in today's world is the power to issue money. If that power can be democratized and focused in a direction which gives social and ecological concerns top priority, then there may yet be hope for saving the world." - Thomas H. Greco, Jr. –

Emilio Kalmera

During moderating a debate on Aug 8 2009 entitled "'The State of the Native-indigenous St. Martin People '09" on MSR Cable TV on the French side, I had the privilege to be among some very outspoken persons who I also consider brilliant. One such person was the late Eldridge van Putten. One of the statements that have stuck with me from Eldridge is as follows: "The principle of development has to do with a people. Development can never be measured by how many hotel rooms you build, how many street lights you have, how many roads are paved, or how many tourists came here or is coming in. Development has to do with the better living conditions for the people. The development of the people is where you measure development of a country with. In that respect I think there are three aspects that are critical to the development of St Martin in particular: 1. the cost of Living, 2. the educational system of the entire country, 3. and it must pay attention to the constitutional changes taking place in the country."
Eldridge further elaborated on his points in particular points 2 and 3 as it pertains to teenage pregnancy in particularly the emigrant population (breeding ground on the French Side), illiteracy among these economic citizens who carry on the tradition of their parents and thus society not being able to produce people who can actively take part in the "right" development of the country. He further went into the land crisis on the island where he said that a people without land cease to exist and therefore laws should be adapted to protect the people land. For this article I would like to however focus on point 1 – The Cost of Living.

There is a saying, by unknown author, which goes "Money is to People as Water is to Fish." In other words, we live our economic lives immersed in money. We're unaware of how it affects us. When the water is polluted, the fish sicken and die. When money is polluted, we suffer all kinds of ill effects without realizing the cause. Another interesting quote is "As water is to fish, so is society to people" - Gervase Vernon -.

Vernon goes on to say "Perhaps fish only become aware of the existence of water when they are taken out of it; are landed gasping on the river bank by a fisherman. Then they realise its importance and know that, if they are not returned within minutes, they will die. So it is for us. People, especially modern people, see themselves as independent actors who forge their own lives, who create their own meaning out of their lives. Yet take a man out of society into solitary confinement and in short order a number will go quite mad. We know why water is so important for fish, but why is society so important for people? Clearly we are to a greater extent social beings than modern models might have us think. One reason is that many of things we take for granted are actually social goods. By social goods I mean things that only exist because they, or belief in them, are shared by a whole society. Language, for example is a social good. It only exists, is only useful for communication, because a whole society shares the language. It already exists before we are born; the individual does not create it. We cannot ascribe arbitrary meanings to words. Money is also a social good. Money only has value because individuals in a society share a belief in its value. If they lose this belief (as in societies with hyper-inflation), the value disappears." Source: (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3020064/)

That being said, another interesting word is that of community. "Community" comes from the Latin munus, which means the gift, and cum, which means together, among each other. So community literally means to give among each other. Therefore I define my community as a group of people who welcome and honor my gifts, and from whom I can reasonably expect to receive gifts in return. - Bernard Lietaer – From the origin of the word one can decipher that sharing, reciprocity, and social cohesion are engraved.

Man tends to measure the success or prosperity of a country or nation by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). A grave blunder of the GDP as a measure is that it is a false measure and does not capture the essence of economic prosperity. One such blunder is that it does not account for the value of unpaid work. Another blunder is that it does not account for a Balance Sheet for natural resources. We extract resources from the earth to make products for consumption and when those products are sold we measure economic activity which GDP tries to measure. But what about the extraction of the earth's resources which are not being replenished at a rate equivalent to continue producing goods? How can you register economic growth when at the same speed natural resources are being depleted? GDP measure is like taking off in an aircraft at night with only the airspeed indicator working. I assure you without other instruments working such as the altimeter (measures height above sea level), attitude indicator (shows if the aircraft wings are level or not), etc you will meet your demise.

Economic growth in the industrialized revolution era took on a different set of variables then it does today. The context of capitalism has changed since then where the very meaning of the word capitalism no longer means the same nor does a so called Free-Enterprise system. The fundamentals of capitalism in the past were based on savings, investing (capital formation), private citizens, and hard work. Today, capitalism is based on credit, speculation, Government collusion with Big Corporations, and bailouts. The cost of living has now become a function of credit. Credit in of itself is a hybrid to the previous trading systems starting from barter up to symbolic money which were backed by the preferred commodities of gold and silver. In the next part of this article I will show you what has been taken place to make our money polluted and how this affects the cost of living and our very lives.

Emilio Kalmera

St. Martin/St.Maarten has lost one of its greatest, post-colonial freedom fighters -Eldridge van Putten - and I have lost my dearest soul-brother.
Eldridge was unique and one of a very special brand.
He blessed with so many gifts.....
That makes even attempting to describe him almost an impossible proposition.
For one, Eldridge, was a believer in justice for all, he was fearless, a free, an independent out-of-the box thinker of an unimaginably natural and creative intelligence.
Eldridge was a natural person, a fun-loving person, a solution oriented person. Eldridge was always there for others - unconditionally.
At the end of the day when you would be feeling depressed or down, he always managed to make you feel good about yourself and to see the sunny side of life. To me, St. Martin/St.Maarten, will never be the same, without Eldridge and his lost really hurts my body and soul.....

Brother-man, Eldridge, we have fought many battles together for this country, which you always put about your own interest.
You never harbored any ill-feelings towards those who accused falsely you of wrong doings
I never thought, that you would be called home before me.
However, His will is not our will and we must accept that for a fact.

I must now find a way to make spiritual sense out of your sudden departure and move on, always mindful of what you meant to this country and to me.
I believe that you belong to a Divine Special Force, sent to earth on a very difficult and special mission.
In other words, I do not think that you were dispatched to our earth as member of an 'occupation-force' to remain here for ever or until you reached 100 years.
I want to believe that, you were too special, too gifted and God needs you elsewhere for another special assignment.
So, your earthly mission has come to an end and you have been called to a very special place.

Brother-man, it was a distinct and humbling privilege having met you and to become one of your soul-brothers.

May you, live in eternal peace, until we meet again, when I will have no more tears of sadness to cry.

Travel safely - one love,

drs. Leopold JAMES

French is the official language of the Universal Postal Union (UPU). Since Rene Descartes, the French have always described all manner of existence and meaning of life by putting things in boxes - but not post boxes. This explains perhaps why mail for the BES islands should now be addressed as ‘Caribbean part of the Netherlands (Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba).’

Ever heard of anything so bureaucratic and senseless?

Outside of this column, we live in an age where the written word is communicated daily by 2DAY, CU, L8R and RUOK? Or how about ROFL?

Am I Rolling On the Floor Laughing? Absolutely not. Information technology has replaced traditional mail services. And the only vision that UPU can embrace is the convoluted, nitpicking and imperial way to tell us where we live.

Innovation?

Formed sometime in the nineteenth century, this Swiss based and now UN affiliated body is well known for contemplating its own administrative navel. Its website describes Saint Martin in parenthesis as the ‘French portion’. My French grandmother would certainly appreciate the culinary implications of such a designation. Does that make her a tart?

French may be the organization’s common language but it lacks common sense. Henk Bleker, Dutch State secretary for Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation is rightfully concerned with this verbiage. He would rather see innovation in BES postal services than linguistic directives.

He has a point. I waited one hour to buy a single postage stamp in the Statia Post Office the other day before twenty customers were served by one cashier. The office has two cashiers and a post manager but one of the former was clearly more busy texting her friend to CU L8R and the latter was more motivated in helping his Aruban chum to jump queue with money wiring instructions.

Similar disgraceful efforts and lack of customer service rudeness have also been experienced by yours truly in St Maarten. Furthermore, local and international post is lost or delayed by months. And there are other communication issues namely the slowest, most unreliable and most expensive internet service in the Caribbean. Even the local TV cable company recently hiked its monthly fees by fifty percent from USD 30 to 45.

Modernization

If Statia is to take its rightful place within the ‘Caribbean part of the Netherlands (Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba), the island’s infrastructure needs to be modernized and very quickly.

Meanwhile, French may be the language of the global postal community but this latest fling with Anglo Saxon etymology strikes me as being totally absurd. And who did they consult before drafting this imperative? Nobody!

It reminds me of that French peasant who follows his donkey and proudly admits: “Je suis que je suis, mais je ne suis pas ce que je suis!” I am what I am, but I am not what I follow!

Well I would not like to follow UPU. It describes itself as the ‘postal sector’s primary forum for global cooperation.’ As experts in correspondence, one might have thought that somebody in this postal monolith would have noted that its acronym (UPU) corresponds to something quite rude. So rude in fact, that I have added it to my personal dictionary of mobile texting.

Should any of my dwindling friends find this in any shape or form to be disagreeable, they know what to expect and where…

GRTZ

James Russell

Member of Parliament George Pantophlet says that he hopes persons don't miss the point on the purpose for the amending of the civil code to deal with the abuse of the short term contracts. He agreed with the comments made by his fellow colleagues of Parliament and the Prime Minister when asked for their input. It is often said that government should not get involved in these matters but unfortunately there are those who will abuse the system and this can and is becoming a social problem. The reason for this was explicitly explained by former Member of Parliament and now Deputy Prime Minister William Marlin. There are jobs that require short term contracts because of their seasonal nature and there are those of a permanent nature. We don't need to have jobs that are of a permanent nature where every employee is on a contract. What we want to deal with is the abuse. We understand the importance of businesses cutting cost but on the other hand creating poverty with these practices. When persons are given a short term contract and sent home for months, their house rent and related cost of living expenditures are not suspended for the period they are unemployed. And their meager salary does not allow them the opportunity to save as the cost of living is going through the roof. Asking advice of the Social Economic Council is that of a procedural matter and is welcomed. He wondered if a survey could also be done of persons who have been given short term contracts for five, ten, fifteen and more years how they fared financially. He remembers the days of the tip pool where persons working in institutions such as casinos, hotels and restaurants. These sectors should ensure that the service charges are paid to their employees. Those that are permanent and those that are on a short term contract this might be able to carry them through the slow season especially when their working days and hours are reduced. Again we are not asking for the abolition of the short term contract but curbing the abuse of it. Don't miss the point.

Member of Parliament George Pantophlet

Dear Mr. Hilbert HAAR,
Editor-in-Chief of the TODAY- newspaper,

Exactly one week ago, on July 11, 2012, an open letter by me was published in your paper in the form of a 'Free advice' to you.
In that letter, I advised you to 'thread with extreme caution on the cock fight issue'.
Reason being that the 'modus operandi' of the petition against cock fighting is very suspect to say the least, since it bears the typical 'hallmark' of it being part a conspiracy to destroy we, the native, indigenous St. Martin people, by destroying what we collectively, perceive to be our cultural-heritage and traditions.
Obviously, my free advice to you was not heeded.
Worse yet.
It seems that either you do not 'get it', when we talk about our determination to defend our St. Martin people, our cultural-identity, heritage and our traditions against cultural imperialism.
Or, you are too arrogant, to even recognize, let alone to respect the native people of this island and their way of life.
Either way, the result is the same.
In our free advice to you, we also clearly indicated that those non-St. Martiners, who received a cultural St. Martin ID-card from us, based on what we consider to have been an added value on their part, should not dwell in the false illusion that they can now disrespect and/or undermine whatever principles, customs, norms and values we the natives of this island subscribe to.
On Tuesday, July 17, 2012, your paper came out with a front page report about an argument MP Patrick ILLIDGE had at the cadastre-office.
Apart from the very transparent insinuations and innuendos within the report, you on at least two places laced your report with expletives in full.
This was embarrassing, shocking and totally unacceptable in our community to say the least, where many youngsters also read the news-papers.
By doing this, you shows total contempt to our St. Martin People,
Still, with a whole lot of fantasy and good will, am I prepared to consider that you did that, based on an honest misjudgment.
After all, we all make those kinds of blunders at some time in our lives.
However having said all of that, I would like to believe, that you would not feel yourself too big a man, to post a very clear, unambiguous apology, in CAPITAL letters to the people of this island, on the front page of your paper - this week yet.
Should you fail to do, such, Mr. HAAR, rest assured, that I will not entertain having the (postponed) debate with you on the cock fight issue.
In addition.
I will be visiting your office, to collect the cultural St. Martin ID-card we had handed out to you in January 2011.
Under no circumstances, will we allow for others who received our ID-card based on perceived merits to this island, to make it their business to insult St. Martin People and to diminish value and integrity of our own St. Martin ID-card - never !
In ending Mr. HAAR, as usual, you have the right to respond in your own typical manner - and so will I.
The choice is yours and we will respond accordingly.

Do have a very nice day !

Leopold JAMES
President of the St. Martin Grassroots People Movement and proud native, indigenous St. Martiner - with no apologies !

Since Sint Maarten became a country, a number of Ambassadors from various countries have paid a courtesy visit to the Sint Maarten House in The Hague or have personally met with Minister's here on the island to offer their credentials.
A number of Caribbean islands are making use of scholarship opportunities offered to Caribbean nationals. These relationships are cemented after the initial contact of countries has been further quantified into a protocol of bilateral cooperation and exchange in various areas of mutual interests.
For example, the "Madarin Enrichment Scholarship," is offered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China (Taiwan); the scholarship aims to encourage young talented people to study Mandarin and enrich their knowledge about Taiwan culture. The candidate will be provided with a monthly stipend of over US$830, and a round-trip air ticket to Taiwan.
Antigua & Barbuda has recently concluded an arrangement with the Republic of Korea where Korea will offer scholarships to obtain tertiary level education. The areas to be covered are Agriculture, Industry and Energy, Education, Health, Governance, Forestry and Fisheries.
Germany has offered scholarship opportunities for advance studies for Grenadians
Caribbean nations see the development of their human resources as key to national development. With each island having scarce resources, emphasis continues to be placed on the educational advancement of a country's human resources.
The Germans are offering opportunities in more than a dozen areas, including Development Cooperation, Political Economics, Engineering and Related Sciences, Mathematics, Regional Planning, Agriculture and Forest Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Medicine and Public Health, Veterinary Medicine, Social Sciences, Education and Law and Media Studies. Candidates can either be self-financed or apply for a full or partial scholarship from the German Academic Exchange.
The Government of Mexico is offering scholarships to St. Lucians. These scholarships are offered for study leading to a Bachelor's, Master's, or Doctoral Degree, and may also be used for graduate research leading to a Degree and Medical Specializations and sub-specializations. Applicants may also select an area of study that the Government of St. Lucia lists as a national priority for the nation.
Turkey is also offering Bachelor's, Master's and PhD level scholarships under the Golden Horn Scholarship program and the scholarship covers tuition fees and accommodation.
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela offers scholarships to Caribbean nationals for Bachelor Degree programmes in the following areas: Integral Community Medicine, Sport Training, Physical Activity & Health, Sport Technology Management, Food Engineering, and Information Technology for Social Management, and Agricultural Business Management.
The value of the scholarship covers tuition and other compulsory institutional course fees, a monthly stipend of US$450, room and board, and medical attention including hospitalization.
Also on offer to Caribbean countries are scholarship opportunities from Australia (Climate Change/Natural Resource Management, Education and Food Security) and New Zealand (Infrastructure and Utility, Human Rights and Gender, Education, Health, Biosecurity and Food Safety).
Country Sint Maarten should make use of these opportunities in addition to the existing scholarship program. We don't have anything to lose but more to gain.

Roddy Heyliger

The French have a wonderful expression for describing meaningless speeches. 'Vendre du vent' (to sell wind) may seem like a cute way to describe a lot of talk without saying anything but politicians are very clever at doing just that. One local politician recently announced that St Eustatius and Saba are preparing to construct wind farms as a first step to using alternative energy. Have members of the community been asked what they think of these noisy and ugly structures?
But this French disease is not only restricted to local politicians. Maxime Verhagen, Dutch outgoing Caretaker Minister of Economic Affairs only recently trumpeted that his Ministry will foot the bill for installing three wind turbines on St. Eustatius and Saba. It all sounds like a done deal! Thank you but has he asked residents of the Historical Gem or the Unspoiled Queen what they think of that?

Wind lobby
The wind lobby in the Netherlands is extremely influential. This miserable country has only microscopic periods of sun and a plethora of climatic and verbal wind. So why should all these Dutch Uncles suppose that they know what is right for Caribbean Islands with a lot of sun, hot air and only small surfaces?
Leaving aside the allegation that the demand for lining one's pockets is greater than the demand for reclaiming a future based on sustainable energy, let us examine for a moment the major issues involved.
Wind turbines are a source of clean and renewable energy. But they come at a cost to the community. Their low frequency noise, flicker and strobe effects can have serious health consequences for local residents. Heart pulse irregularity and sleep disturbance are regular complaints. And then there is the disturbing flickering shadow when the sun is directly behind the blades. Neuropsychological experts argue that like flash photography, fast turning turbines can trigger epileptic seizures in those patients who are particularly photosensitive.
In Scotland, planning advice calls for a 2 km separation from new wind turbines. Yet on Saba, the 45 meter high masts will be located within 200 meters of residential properties.

Should residents be alarmed?
You bet! The "swishing" or "whooshing" from rotating blades will drive them to utter distraction during their waking and sleepless hours. Sense and apparently their cents will also expire. In the UK, property values have slumped by as much as 25 percent within the proximity of these whirling dervishes.
Cause for concern? As an ardent admirer of the beautiful landscapes of Saba and Statia, I find it totally abhorrent that their horizons should be punctuated by such visible and audible towers of turbulence.

Solar energy
In the quest to achieve independence from unruly providers of addictive petroleum like Iran, European states are investing billions in what they think will be a more sustainable solution. Truth is that from a scientific point of view, these overpowering masts are underpowered. Wind energy is dependent on the wind. Wind turbines are less efficient than solar panels. The cost per kilowatt-hour generated by the noisy former is much higher than the silent latter. Solar payback periods are thus significantly shorter.
Moreover, solar photovoltaic cells work even on a gloomy day. This explains why roof top solar panels are found everywhere in the Mediterranean and hardly anywhere in the windy Lowlands.
But the wind lobby has over-inflated the departing sails of Verhagen. His plans for wind farms in the Dutch province of Groningen involved plenty of local consultation. Why does he think he can get away with not asking the people of Saba and Statia? More to the point, who gave him that idea?
If similar previous situations or anything to go by, a royal appointment now awaits him. All Dutch politicians want to be nominated as senior civil servants. That way, they can run an administration they do not understand after representing the people they never understood.
It is therefore a pity that during his recent holiday to the islands, this very outgoing ex-politician did not hop over to St Kitts. The government there has invited a Taiwanese company to produce solar panel systems for new housing. Once installed, the panels will give households the opportunity to sell power back to the grid. They will also provide locals with equally sustainable jobs.

Jailhouse blues
However, on Statia politicians are regularly blown away by short term economic 'spin-offs'. One can understand why. With such heads in a spin, it becomes difficult to see.
Before signing Memorandums of Understanding with foreign firms, they would serve us better by having an open conversation about the possible consequences of their actions and all available energy alternatives.
This would mean that they would have to listen to their constituents for the first time. Such a wind change could be beneficial. This process could even demonstrate their leadership qualities. But do not rush outside to fly the flags of celebration quite yet. Hurricanes can be just as merciless to flags as to wind farms. And like politicians, they frequently face the wrong direction. Even the creative lyrics of Bob Dylan were misplaced: 'The answer in the Caribbean my friend, is not blowin' in the wind!'

James Russell

Dear Mr. HAAR,

This is to inform you, that it is my intention to pass by your office on Tuesday July 24, to collect the St. Martin cultural id-card issued to you in January of 2011.
Reason for us revoking this card, is your arrogance and unwillingness to show a minimum of respect and humility towards the sentiments and values of the St. Martin people by refusing to apologize for the printing in full of obscene language on the front-page of your paper.
Whether or not, that language represented the exact expression by MP Patrick ILLIDGE or not, is irrelevant.
As editor, you could have exposed the MP, without spelling out expletives in full and you very well know that.
However, you choose as a reporter to insult your St.Martin readers, just to get at an MP.
Just in case, you knew not.
Our St.Martin cultural id-card is a symbol of our very existence as a people, as well as our pride, heritage, our aspirations, our emancipation and values.
In addition, our card also represents our willingness to include non-native St. Martiners, with an added value as one of us.
Your attitude smacks of superiority towards what St. Martiners feel and/or think. Unfortunately, such leaves us no other option than to revoke your card.

The time is overdue, that St. Martiners stand up for what they believe in and draw a line in the sand and reclaim what is theirs.

Our id-card is not a popularity card for everybody.

It is about a pride in who we as St. Martiners are, irregardless how others see it.

Regards,

Leopold JAMES
President St.Martin Grassroots People movement and proud, native, indigenous St. Martiner - without apologies.

The Prime Minister of St. Maarten helped launch the new Road Angels Insurance Policy from the Insurance Company of the West Indies (ICWI) on Friday. The Road Angels Insurance Policy is a premier, ladies only, comprehensive vehicle insurance Policy that protects against third party damage, fire, theft and collision.

"I need to confess that when the promotion for this particular launch was ongoing, I looked at it somewhat from a distance and I thus wondered if you were referring to all of the women on St. Maarten as Road Angels, which I of course think they are. However on a more serious note I would like to congratulate ICWI with this venture," commented the Prime Minister.

The Prime minister continued by stating that she believes that on St. Maarten there is a need to able to offer the people commodities that are necessary, innovative and competitive, "There is a need for affordable insurance options for the people of St. Maarten. Insurance is necessary and we have seen that, especially after having encountered our bout of natural disasters that many persons on St. Maarten have to make the choice of being able to afford insurance or not being able to afford insurance. And so with the element of this particular product you are offering us a choice. We all hope for nothing to happen but something will always happen as the law of Murphy has thought all of us.

The Prime Minister concluded by wishing ICWI and the new Road Angels Policy well.

From the Cabinet of the Prime Minister

The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams opened the annual Ram Goat Competition Beauty contest in Colombier on Sunday. The Prime Minister, who has been a staunch supporter of the event since it first started in 2000, commented that she was once again "very happy and grateful to be once again able to attend this beautiful occasion in a beautiful part of St. marten. It is good to be here once again and good to be able to spend some quality and cultural time at Colombier to once again mark this very special event which is very dear to my heart."

The Prime Minister gave a special welcome to all those who spend much of their time caring for and being excellent managers for animals, without which the competition would not be possible.

The Prime Minister did express concern at the fact that there were only about a dozen entries which is a reduction from previous years. "I am a little concerned that we are not seeing more entries into the competition and I think that it behooves the I Love My Ram Association and Governments of both sides of the island to look at ways to make sure that this show is able to continue for the enjoyment and the education of the people of St. Maarten. We should think on how we can promote the animals and the show so that we can be here every year. I encourage all the goat keepers to continue doing their excellent jobs", continued the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister concluded by stating that she had received a commitment of assistance that would perhaps allow her to participate in next year's competition.

A selection of St. Maarten Lions Club members welcomed with a Lion's roar the newly installed District Governor for 60B Lion Claudius Anthony "Toontje" Buncamper (center with jacket) and his wife Maria Buncamper-Molanus (with flowers) at the Princess Juliana International Airport on Monday afternoon. The District Governor returned from attending workshops and meetings at Lions International Convention in Busan, Korea which was held June 22-26 with an attendance of over 58,000 Lion's Club members from around the world.

GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- The Department of Disaster Management informs the general public that a heavy rainfall watch is in effect.

Heavy rainfall and/or thunder showers are forecasted to continue to impact the weather as a Tropical Wave moves through the islands.

The heavy rainfall watch is in effect until Tuesday, 3:00PM, according to Meteorological Department of Curacao.

Motorists are advised to exercise caution while driving in low lying areas which could flood – street flooding - due to heavy and persistent rainfall.

Motorists driving near hillsides are also asked to exercise caution with respect to possible rock falls.

Drivers and individuals who do not need to be on the road should remain at home until weather conditions improve.

Emergency first responders such as Fire Department, Police and Ambulance services are monitoring the situation and prepared to respond to any emergencies.

A team from the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, continue to closely monitor the situation and are prepared to take the necessary measures should the need arise with respect to the road network system.

Mr. Richard Gibson, St. Maarten representative on the Board of the CFT and Annelies van den Assem, president of the University of St. Maarten, presented the CFT/ USM Report titled "Towards a Strong Economy of St. Maarten" to the Prime Minister the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams and the Minister of Economic Affairs Mr. Romeo Pantophlet on Tuesday. The report, commissioned under the recommendation of the CFT and executed by the University of St. Maarten, is centered on minimizing the economic effects of the Tourist Low Season to the economy of St. Maarten. The report focuses on making the island's infrastructure attractive enough to minimize the difference between high season and low season, thus strengthening the economy of the island and contributing towards the GDP.

The Prime Minister, on behalf of Minister Pantophlet and the other members of the Council of Ministers, thanked the CFT and the University of St. Maarten for the work done in preparing the "Towards a Strong Economy of St. Maarten Report". "What you have indicated as being the focus point for the report is exactly on of the areas which the government of St. Maarten is paying a lot of attention to. We are working hard to bridge the gap and minimize the length and effects of the low season on the economy of St. Maarten. I look forward to looking at the recommendations outlined in the report as well as to when all of the ideas in the report together with those of government can be compiled in a plan that we can all agree to and execute to strengthen the economy of St. Maarten. We have sought various approaches to minimize and deal with the so-called tourist low season and this is a significant step in that direction," commented the Prime Minister.

From the Cabinet of the Prime Minister

St. Peters:--- The St. Maarten Youth Council Association's STAR Summer Program got off to start on Monday at the Rupert I Maynard Youth Community Center. The three week camp includes daily art & craft exploration and computer skills training. Participants will enjoy field trips on Fridays and sleepovers on Mondays and Thursdays. A public exhibition of the campers' work will be held on Saturday July 28, 2012 from 1 – 6pm at the Rupert Maynard Youth Community Center.

There are still spaces available for this fun and innovative camp experience. Contact the Rupert I Maynard Youth Community Center at 548-5022, 550-8971 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Camp fee is fls. 100 or $56 per child. Special day rates are available. Don't miss out on this fun experience for your children.

Philipsburg (DCOMM):--- The Ministry of General Affairs has began the process of establishing a Public Service Center (PSC) in the Simpson Bay area, meant to provide governmental services to the immediate district and surrounding areas.

The ministry held a meeting with all the governmental stakeholders to discuss several issues regarding the operation of the PSC. In that meeting, Erno Labega, Chairman of the project, provided the introductory details surrounding the project and H. de Bruyne presented information on the progress.

Labega said that the PSC is an important part of improving general services to the community by bringing such services closer to the people and in the districts. The general aim he said was to provide information, products, and services from the government to the community with a comprehensive and customer-oriented approach.

The departments that are planned to have branch services are: Civil Registry (General Affairs), Receivers (Finance), Tax (Finance), Social Services (VSA), and Labor (VSA).

The PSC project will be implemented in phases, and all efforts are being made to have the center opened in November.

The first location will be at the Simpson Bay Fish Market, upstairs offices. There will be a proper entrance and customer reception area. This Public Service Center is the first, and as such is a pilot project, according to Labega.

GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- Minister of Education Hon. Silveria Jacobs recently spoke to Ruby Labega Primary School pupils, teachers and parents at a school leaving exercise about aspiring to be professionals.

The students were dressed the part in professional wear, and were awarded their diplomas and gifts to commemorate the end of their season as elementary school students.

Many students were honored with awards as the top students in several areas, namely Academics, Sports, Behaviour as well as Most Improved.

The Minister of Education delivered a short yet powerful address expressing her congratulations to the gathering, but especially to the students. She encouraged them to strive to achieve their goals of professionalism in whatever field they chose.

Minister Jacobs also appealed to the parents to remain involved in their children's lives, by setting good examples, encouraging them and doing all they could to assist them in achieving their goals.

The Minister awarded Top Academic Student Erick John Justo a full scholarship for his first year's tuition at the St. Maarten Academy where he will commence secondary school in August of 2012.

Also receiving academic prizes from the school was Geneviere Paulino and the Top Student Athlete and Most Improved Student was Rene Mota Gonzales.

In attendance was also Head of Division Public Education Services Glenderlin Davis Holiday.

Philipsburg:--- Police arrested a civil servant that has been working for years now with the Government of St. Maarten in their automations department Friday afternoon. According to information reaching SMN News, the civil servant identified as E.L.F (Elston Fos) better known to all on St. Maarten as Fos was arrested for a crime he committed some 17 years ago in the Netherlands.
The arrest of the well known civil servant who has been working on St. Maarten since the year 2000 has left many persons in shock. Some civil servants are now asking if the Personnel Department did not do the necessary background check to see if person in question had a criminal record. Fos is originally from Curacao but was living in the Netherlands prior to working for the government of St. Maarten.
Fos is also the President of the Belvedere Home Owners and Tenant Association (BHOTA). A spokesperson for BHOTA said they are in shock because no one knew Fos had a criminal record in the Netherlands. "We are eager to hear what the relatives or lawyer representing this civil servant has to say."
Information reaching SMN News states that Fos was involved in brutal crime in 1996 where a man was stabbed to death. SMN News learnt that with the help of Interpol, the convict was arrested in close proximity of the Government Administration Building. It is also understood that the suspect was sentenced to six years in prison for the crime he committed in 1996 but somehow he managed to evade law enforcement and the government of St. Maarten because he was hired with a so called clean record.
It should be noted that while St. Maarten is a full fledged member of Interpol and they are busy working both locally and internationally, the current Police Spokesman managed to keep this information hidden from the media. Recently, media personnel are not able to obtain information from the Police Department for the lack of a stable Police Spokesman. Chief Prosecutor Hans Mos could not be reached late Monday night for a comment.

The Prime Minister of Sint Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot- Williams gave a lecture at the AIDS 2012 regional session: "Sustainable Development and HIV, a Caribbean Agenda" entitled "The Challenge of Maintaining Programmatic Consistency in a Parliamentary Democracy" on Monday.

The Prime Minister is Chair of the St. Maarten HIV/AIDS public-private Steering Committee; Regional Territorial Authorizing Officer; and Chair of the EC-OCT Steering Committee for the EU-funded program "Strengthening the Integration of the British & Dutch OCTs in the Regional response to HIV/AIDS".

St. Maarten Has come a Long Way in the Fight against HIV

During her talk the Prime Minister stressed that St. Maarten has come a long way in the fight against HIV/ AIDS: "My country St. Maarten has come a long way in the fight against HIV. This progress is manifested in increased awareness amongst the population; public private partnerships; regional recognition of St. Maarten's efforts; responses to the call for voluntary testing; private business involvement; attention for female sex workers who come from neighbouring countries and our girl power empowerment program, to mention just a few", commented the Prime Minister.

Consistency in a Parliamentary Democracy

The Prime Minister continued that she was also requested to examine briefly the challenges of Programmatic Consistency in a Parliamentary Democracy as it relates to St. Maarten's HIV/AIDS programs:

"When preparing for this conference back home on St. Maarten sometime last week, participants in the meeting chuckled at the theme "Consistency in a Parliamentary Democracy." This reaction was caused by the fact that barely two months ago there was a change of government in our country. In the context of this discussion, this remark is very relevant. The reference to consistency in my introduction touches on the more permanent and inclusive goal of sustainability, which, in its simplest form is the balanced coordination between economic, social development and our environment. Parliamentary democracy is about putting and maintaining at the top of the national agenda. It is often interesting to witness how government Ministries and Ministers defend their perceived rights and entitlements to be at the top of the nation's agenda. Education secures our future and economic growth brings in revenue, but the stark reality is that in vulnerable and challenging economies, like many of us are encountering, governments face some unenviable choices and politicians do not like making unpopular decisions," continued the Prime Minister.

Efforts to Meet Challenges

The Prime Minister continued by highlighting the regions challenges in controlling and managing the HIV/AIDS Epidemic which, as a region, ranks second only to the sub-Saharan region:

"However, the region as a whole has made considerable progress. But as we have heard so often, we are not where we should be, can be or would like to be. As countries that range from a spectrum from developed and developing, to least developed, strides made in terms of partnerships and funding are of utmost importance for the region. We too view with hope the advances and promising discoveries, such as treatment as prevention and new HIV drugs. However with apprehension we view the financial crises that have crippled traditionally strong contributing countries. There are many related agendas that compete with the health agenda for attention in our countries, such as human rights, economic development, fiscal options, gender and education. The reason is clear, however, that HIV/AIDS fits all agendas,"

"Laws do not fall from the sky"

The Prime Minister also continued by stating that laws can be changed, but the parliamentary process must be engaged. Laws are mostly triggered by societal needs, pressure, and evolution which come about in many ways:

"Laws hardly ever drop out of the sky. It's the social environment that dictates. Laws do not come without debate in a democracy; they shouldn't. This debate is healthy and agendas become clearer. Laws however are not the panacea. What about the enforcement? Can you enforce laws against discrimination without simultaneously dealing with the deeper roots of stigma and prejudices in a community? There was a time on St. Maarten when like in many places; civil society was at the forefront of the HIV campaign. And they are still very much government's strategic partner in this campaign. If civil society, and let's be specific, those who are most at risk, those who are affected by, determine the HIV/AIDS agenda, the consistency which could be endangered due to changing political agendas, could be safeguarded."

Governments Role and Leadership in Combating the Disease

The Prime Minister also reiterated that government's role and leadership, also externally, is crucial for the credibility of national programs and commitments:

"We have heard it over and over again, said in different ways, that we are at a defining moment in the history of the fight against HIV. At this defining moment, the commitment by governments across the region must be unambiguous; unambiguous at the highest level. In small communities, we need to look at the sustainability, consistency if you wish, of the nongovernmental efforts as well."

Need for Informed Parliamentarians

The Prime Minister also made it clear that informed parliamentarians make it easier to make specific agendas, including an HIV agenda, as part of the national agenda:

"As long as politicians do not view HIV as the threat to development that it is, there will be no urgency to do their part, let alone put the mechanism in place to secure the strides which have been made and to be at the cutting edge and make the program sustainable. And now I want to go back to the statement: We need to together secure what we have achieved; remaining vigilant and committed to the goals we have collectively agreed to. We need to remain part of the vision of an HIV free world, one of no new infections and one of a worthy life for those living with HIV/AIDS. Those who have been there, those who are there, need our support, more than ever before as we stand at the threshold of a turning tide in the fight against the HIV/AIDS," concluded the Prime Minister at the session.

Looking Beyond the MDG's

The Caribbean region is looking beyond the MDGs to develop a new agenda for sustainable development and HIV, based on four pillars: unified gender and SRH, equity and human rights, participation of Caribbean women, girls and men, and partnerships. These pillars will look at identifying fiscal options for sustaining social and economic development, protecting Caribbean minorities and developing civil society capacity to secure social justice, facilitating participation of Caribbean women, girls and men with a focus on how to address domestic violence, reach poor women, and change men's perceptions. The last pillar proposes a new approach, by encouraging partnerships with bilateral, foundation, social media and cultural leaders. This approach will apply to partnerships within and outside of the region.

The International AIDS Conference is the largest international meeting on a single health issue. Every two years 20,000 participants representing all stakeholders in the global response to HIV meet to assess progress and identify future priorities. The AIDS 2012 conference is the single most widely covered HIV event in the world and is organized by the International AIDS Society (IAS) in partnership with a number of international and local partners. The conference theme, "Turning the Tide Together", emphasizes that the HIV epidemic has reached a defining moment and that by acting decisively on recent scientific advances in HIV treatment and biomedical prevention, the hope for a cure and the continuing evidence of the ability to scale-up key interventions in the most-needed settings there is now the potential to end the HIV epidemic.

GREAT BAY:--- When the "St. Maarten national selection" female volleyball team plays in St Kitts this weekend, the United Volleyball Club (UVC) will be rooting extra hard. The majority of the territory's players in the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association qualifying games for the region are current or former UVC members, ranging in age from 17 to 29.

On Monday, July 30, UVC will then begin its eight annual school vacation camp that will run until August 4, 2012.

"It is at this camp and during UVC's year-long Youth Program where a number of the boys and girls from the club learn good sportsmanship and are trained to play competitive volleyball," said camp coordinator Dr. Rhoda Arrindell.

Last week Scotiabank invested in the program for a second year when bank manager Elie Bendaly presented UVC with a sponsorship cheque to assist youngsters attending the volleyball camp.

A few other companies and individuals have since sponsored campers or donated to the camp, including the Windward Islands Bank, Prime Distributors, Cake House, Caribbean Liquors and Tobacco, IXI Design, Domino's, and Kalseeran NV.

"Overall this year's camp will include activities that promote knowledge of our nation's history and culture; teambuilding and leadership skills, and the theory and practice of volleyball for young men and women," said Dr. Arrindell.

Since 2004, the UVC mid-year program has taken the form of an on-island camp or an exchange program that takes participants to another country or territory for training, workshops, and friendly games with host teams.

The UVC camp registration fee is NAF 100 or $55 per camper, which includes a T-shirt, meals, and transportation for the various activities. Interested persons can contact UVC secretary Keishan Huggins at 550-3435 or Dr. Arrindell at 520-1136.

The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams oversaw the installation and promotion of various members and officers of the Voluntary Corp of St. Maarten (VKS) on Saturday afternoon. The Prime Minister, under whose authority the VKS falls also congratulated the VKS on 15 years service in protecting and serving the community of St. Maarten and those who have been with the organization since the very beginning: "I join all those congratulating the VKS on the 15th anniversary of the Voluntary Corp here on St. Maarten. I also wish to acknowledge those persons who have been with the VKS from the very beginning and for their loyal service in protecting our community here on St. Maarten," commented the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister commented that the preparation of the VKS as a para-military organization for Country St Maarten was a smooth one due to the work and dedication of the pioneers of the VKS as well as the work executed by the organization since its establishment in 1997. "Moving from the VKS of the Island Territory of St. Maarten to that of Country St. Maarten was in fact a technicality since legislation needed to be changed. However the work of the VKS could have gone on seamlessly because of the hard work and dedication done by the Corp since it started in 1997", continued the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister also congratulated and thanked the family members of those in the VKS who have stood by them as they put their put their life on the line to protect and serve the people of St. Maarten.

"To those of you who have become members as of today; whatever your reason for joining the VKS I need you to realize and recognize the importance of your individual contribution to the VKS and working with all your team members and superiors to make sure that your oath is upheld and that you continue to be an active member of the community of St. Maarten especially when called upon in difficult times. You will make a difference in being a part of the VKS and remember that calling which made you want to serve the VKS and by serving the VKS serving the people of St. Maarten."

The Prime Minister concluded by stating that as with so many things in life the role of being a VKS officer brings with it a degree of authority that can be compared with power, power to act, power to decide, power to make a call. "With that authority and power comes great responsibility and care. You now have to handle this authority according to the guidelines that have been established by and for the Voluntary Corp of St. Maarten. You will be called to make a choice, a call, and I encourage you to when you do so to recognize the authority you have in your hands and to make the best call you can make, especially in difficult circumstances," concluded the Prime Minister.

The evening continued with a Thanksgiving Church Service at the St. Maarten of Tours Catholic Church followed by a reception at Holland House Hotel.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Due to the funeral of the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ludwig Quinniche that will take place on Thursday starting at 11:00am, the Central Committee of Parliament meeting that was scheduled for 10:00am that same morning, has been split into two sessions.

The first session will take place on Wednesday afternoon at 2:00pm in the General Assembly Chamber of the House of Parliament at Wilhelmina Straat #2.1 in Philipsburg.

The two agenda points for the July 04 meeting are a presentation regarding the 2011 Annual Report of the Central Bank of Curacao and Sint Maarten.

The second agenda point is a request from the High Council of State the Ombudsman with respect to completing the process for the nomination of a Deputy Ombudsman.

On Thursday, July 05, the Central Committee of Parliament is scheduled to meet at 2:00pm at the initial request sent in by the United Peoples party faction requesting the presence of the Minister of Justice Hon. Roland Duncan to provide information to parliament about the situation and current developments at the national prison.

Both central committee sessions will be carried live on St. Maarten Cable TV Channel 20 and via Pearl Radio FM 98.1. The audio will be carried via the Internet www.pearlfmradio.com.

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL:--- IGY Marinas announces the granting of the ICOMIA Clean Marina Award (from The International Council of Marine Industry Associations) to its three marinas in the Yacht Haven Grande Collection. Meeting all of the ICOMIA criteria for an environmentally aware facility, Yacht Haven Grande in St. Thomas, Rodney Bay Marina in St. Lucia and The Yacht Club at Isle de Sol in St. Maarten have responsibly fulfilled the initiatives to become "clean". Some of those efforts include:

• Proper waste and recycling management
• Clean and efficient storage of fuels and oils
• Prohibition of sewage discharge
• Inclusion in local Port Waste Management Plan
• Documented emergency (pollution and fire) plans
• Environmental policy property-wide
• Customer awareness advisement on environmental best practices
• Staff trained in environmental best practice

As part of the Gold Anchor award, each marina is subject to the 3-year compulsory environmental audit by The Yacht Harbour Association on behalf of ICOMIA. The three marinas in the Collection are currently under review in the Gold Anchor program.

ABOUT ICOMIA (The International Council of Marine Industry Association) ICOMIA′s Clean Marinas Program was established in 2008 and is intended to encourage national and regional clean marinas programmes to meet a common set of internationally recognized criteria drawn up by experts from the ICOMIA Environmental Committee and Marinas Group; applications are scrutinized by a dedicated panel. Current ICOMIA's Clean Marinas Program members include the marina industry associations of Australia and New Zealand, Germany and The Yacht Harbour Association's (TYHA) Gold Anchor Scheme. www.icomia.org.

The Ministry of Justice held a Family Fun Day as part of its activities leading up to International Justice Day on July 17th. The Minister of Justice Roland Duncan was present among the civil servants of the Ministry of Justice. The Family Fun Day included Domino playing, musical chairs, potato bag race, and a demonstration by the Police K-9 Unit.

...

PSS will be affording the students going to and studying in the Netherlands, as well as the general public who may want to send goods to the Netherlands, the opportunity to do so on the 31 August, 2012. Persons are allowed to send packages to the Netherlands. Each package can be up to a maximum of thirty (30) kilograms and can be dropped off at either of our Post office branches, with the main branch in Philipsburg or Simpson Bay (across from Banco di Caribe).

All packages brought to the Post Office will be held and shipped out on the ship out date of Friday, 31 August, and the last day to bring a package to the Post Office and make use of this special will be the Wednesday, 29 August. When dropping off package please ask for the summer parcel special.

The pricing starts as low as ANG 89 up to the first ten (10) Kilograms and goes up to a max of ANG 190 for thirty (30) kilograms per item. For more information please contact your local post office at Tel. 542 2289 ext. 100 or by e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

PSS and the team are here to serve and look forward to saving you the parents some overweight charges and the regular shippers a one off opportunity to ship out stuff at a very low rate to the Netherlands!

Alexandra van Luycken Halley from the Intervision Foundation happily received a cheque from the Cooperating Foundations of the Dutch Caribbean for the set up of a pet farm at Nature Seaside park with miniature animals. It is the intention to create a low-cost activity area for children, which will also teach children how to treat animals. Kids will be able to go into the paddock and pet small bred chickens, goats, horses and work in a vegetable garden. Angela Dekker from Cooperating Foundations explained that the funding agency wanted to support this initiative because of two strong elements: St. Maarten really needs an inexpensive place where families can spend time with their children and children can learn about nature and have fun. Furthermore Intervision came up with many creative ways of making the miniature farm self-sustainable. Prins Bernard Culture Fonds was also charmed by the initiative and has already granted the other half of the start-up costs. Within soon miniature horse Skippy will be joined by fellow miniature animals and children will be able to drive a small horse cart or plant tomatoes.
Foundations can contact the project advisors Leon Lake and Saskia Kliphuis on 5860808 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to discuss if their projects can be eligible for funding from Cooperating Foundations.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Imbali Center for Creative Movement is all set to launch its fifth annual Visual and Performing Arts Summer Camp at the John Larmonie Center on Monday, July 2.
Clara Reyes, founder and director of Imbali, said that this year's program will run for some 3 weeks and will culminate with a student showcase on Friday, July 20. Reyes also said that this year's summer program will focus on the visual and performing arts as a vehicle to celebrate St. Maarten traditional culture.
"This year we are going to use the St. Maarten traditional culture as an entry point into the arts and we hope this experience will dispel the myth that this island has no culture. I can attest to the fact that St. Maarten has a dynamic and vivid culture and at Imbali Summer Camp 2012 our children will gain firsthand experience of this vibrancy," Reyes said.
Reyes explained that her camp was an 8am to 5pm fully interactive experience.
"I don't do anything with children just to give them something to do to occupy their time. No, for me every activity that children engage in must be beneficial to them in some way; must teach them something about themselves. In this vein I have developed an extensive schedule of edutainment activities; these are activities which are not just for their entertainment, but are also educational," Reyes said.
Reyes said that these activities include walking tours of both of the island's capitals (Philipsburg and Marigot) to explore St. Maarten architecture, model building based on pictures of old St. Maarten/St. Martin houses, master music classes illustrating the use of old time instruments, lectures and art classes at the Silk Cotton Art Gallery, master dance classes in the ponum, waltz and other old time social dance forms, poetry, folk stories, arts and craft, capoeira, voice, creation of carnival costumes, and much more.
"So many of our elders are willing to share their knowledge, if only they are approached and that is exactly what I went out to do; ask them to share with our children their stories and knowledge of St. Maarten. So far I haven't been turned down once. From Ruby Bute, to Alberto Brooks (carnival costume creating), to Jocelyn Arnell (traditional story time and games) to George Violenus of Tanny and the Boys, to Evelyn Roberts (granddaughter of Mr. Abraham Barry and Ms. Alice Barry, who were a famous Ponum dancing couple back in the day) and many others the Imbali summer program is chocked full older heads and up and coming artists and art lovers, including: Clifford Henry, Nathalie Peterson, Lena Browne and others," Reyes said.
Reyes said that there would even be a special workshop hosted by Isidore "Mighty Dow" York and his father Chester York; both of whom are noted throughout the region for their mastery of the steel pan.
Reyes said that parents who wished to enrol their children in the 2012 Imbali summer program should stop by the John Larmonie Center on Long Wall Road to inquire about rates and registration fees. Parents can also contact her at 554-9364/526-3891/554-6162 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for additional information.
"Basically parents who enrol their children in our program are responsible for dropping them off and picking them up on time. Parents are responsible for their children's midday meal (which can be warmed up in our microwave), and parents are also in charge of preparing all snacks and drinks that their children will need throughout the day. The rest is left to us and we promise this year will be one for the record books. When parents come to the annual end of camp showcase they will be in awe of the traditional knowledge their children will be able to demonstrate to them," Reyes said.
Reyes said the camp is open to all children ages three and up.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The Cabinet of the Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport & Telecommunications (MinTEATT), which had to be relocated from the Government Administration Building, can now be reached by calling telephone numbers 542-2090 or 542-2021.

Minister Hon. Romeo Pantophlet and members of his Cabinet are currently housed in the Xerox Building in offices provided by the Bureau of Telecommunications & Post.

The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams attended the special Pastor Appreciation Service at the New Testament Baptist Church recognizing the work and dedication of the Church's two most dedicated pastors Mr. Wycliffe Smith and Mr. John Warren. "I would like to thank this church for this Pastor's Appreciation Day. Thank you for allowing me to show my appreciation for both Pastor smith and pastor John. I have been coming to this church for a very long time, not every Sunday, but over the course of the and I have seen Pastor John slowly but surely find his way in where he is today in this Church, commented the Prime Minister to the large congregation," commented the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister continued by stating that she has known Pastor Smith for a very long time, both inside and outside of the Church. "I know Pastor Smith both outside of the church in several other capacities in which Pastor Smith served this community. When I think on Pastor Smith him simply by saying that I consider him a friend. If I were ever in a situation when I needed someone to talk for spiritual advice I know I could, without a doubt, count on Pastor Smith. He has not only been serving this church but also the community of St. Maarten in so many different capacities, so as Prime Minister I thank you for all of those years you have put so much work into the community of St. Maarten," said the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister also commended the congregation by organizing an appreciation day in which pastors are shown how much they mean to the congregation and how important they are to the community. "They are the problem solvers, they are the ones we look to solve our spiritual and emotional problems but we must also realize that those problem solvers too have challenges, so it is for that reason it is so important that we show our appreciation to our pastors and today I recognize our love and support which they also so dearly need. May god continue to bless these admirable gentlemen, this church and the nation of St. Maarten," ended the Prime Minister.

From the Cabinet of the Prime Minister

On Tuesday, July 10, 2012, Mrs. Charlotte Peterson, Mrs. Mieke Schakel and Mrs. Thea Habermehl of the Diabetes Foundation of St. Maarten presented their report on the evaluation results of the Step-by-Step Foot Care Program to the members of the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunrise.

The findings of the report indicate that the current state of patients' diabetic feet in St. Maarten requires the urgent attention of our Public Health Authorities!
The Step-by-Step Foot Care program was implemented from August of 2011 to March 2012, and based on the evaluation of the feet of 400 diabetic patients the results was compiled.
A volunteer nurse and medical pedicurist of the Diabetes Foundation of St. Maarten visited all the local medical clinics, of the doctors who wanted to participate, on a monthly basis and evaluated the feet of diabetic patients, at no cost to either the clinic or the patient.

This very costly, valuable and internationally acclaimed program, that involved the collaboration of the International Diabetes Federation, the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot, the Ledbury Rotary Club-the Rotary Club of Gloucester Severn (both of the United Kingdom), the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunrise and the Diabetes Foundation of St. Maarten, was very necessary for St. Maarten, as the island has a huge number of diabetic patients.

It took a lot of perseverance and the international financial support of all these parties to bring the program to St. Maarten. The first phase started in late August / early September of 2009 and consisted of a three-day course, presented by medical specialists and professors from various parts of Europe, to a number of medical professionals from St. Maarten and surrounding islands, including Mrs. Mieke Schakel. The material presented had to be applied for a period of one year by the participants, and it was mandatory to participate in the second phase of the program and complete this one year later.

The Diabetes Foundation of St. Maarten sincerely hopes that their efforts and those of the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunrise will ultimately lead to improved foot care for the diabetic patients on our island.

Philipsburg:--- A triangle love affair left one person injured Sunday morning in the Sucker Garden area. According to reliable sources, two men were fighting over a woman that is married.

Police Spokesman Ricardo Henson confirmed a stabbing incident occurred on Sunday in Sucker Garden and one person was injured. Henson further stated that he did not have any information surrounding the cause of the incident.

It should be noted that Ricardo Henson is the interim head of the Philipsburg patrol division of the Philipsburg Police Station and also the Police Spokesman. Henson said that when the incident occurred, the police did not inform him of it. Therefore, he could not provide any details about the stabbing and how serious were the injuries the victim sustained.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The 28th Caribbean Association of National Telecommunication Organizations (CANTO) Annual Conference & Trade Exhibition will take place from July 22-25 in Miami under CANTO's 2012 calendar of events theme "Accelerating Broadband Experience in the Caribbean, Transforming the way we live."

Minister of Tourism & Economic Affairs, Traffic and Transportation (TEATT) Hon. Romeo Pantophlet will be one of 15 ministers who will be representing the country at the conference, especially during "Meet the Ministers" which is scheduled for July 23.

Minister Pantohplet is looking forward to attending the conference and exhibition in order to get first-hand information about current trends and developments in ICT.

The Minister is also looking forward to meeting with colleague Ministers to discuss opportunities and challenges within the telecommunications field.

CANTO, a non-profit association is charged with the mission to facilitate the development of Information Communication and Technology (ICT) solutions for the benefit of members and other stakeholders in the Caribbean region.

CANTO has a global membership of over 108 members from 33 countries spanning four continents.

CANTO's vision is to become the leading authority in shaping information and communication in the Caribbean, dictates and supports CANTO's role in the Caribbean.

CANTO is highly respected in the Caribbean telecommunications community for its leadership role, in influencing policy; expertise in providing information in all aspects of the industry and facilitator, in encouraging dialogue and meaningful collaborative enterprise.

The conference and exhibition is being held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Downtown Miami.

The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot Williams arrived in the United States on Friday heading the eleven member St. Maarten Delegation to the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) currently being held in Washington DC. During the conference the Prime Minister will be chairing the session on addressing HIV-Related Stigma and Discrimination with the aim of changing the effects of HIV stigma within local communities. The Prime Minister will also be a featured speaker at the Regional Session: Sustainable Development and HIV - A Caribbean Agenda, also during the AIDS 2012 Conference. The St. Maarten delegation will also be giving a poster presentation entitled "Safe Secrets" at the international AIDS conference. St. Maarten's presentation was chosen out of thousands of submissions requesting space to present at the conference.

The Prime Minister was also amongst specially invited guests honoring world renowned philanthropist Bill Gates at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC. During the event Bill Gates was honored for his courage in investing in many organizations committed to end the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

AmfAR and GBC Health organized the event under the theme "Together to End Aids". amfAR is the foundation for HIV Research and is the world's leading non-profit organization dedicated to supporting HIV research, HIV prevention, education and advocacy. GBCHealth is a coalition of more than 200 member companies and organizations committed to investing resources to make a healthier world.

Other influential persons who attended the benefit in the fight against the pandemic were Kenneth Cole, Chairman of amfAR; John Demsey, Chairman MAC AIDS Fund; Recording artist and spoke person for MAC cosmetics, Eve; actor, activist and humanitarian Sharon Stone; the Honorable Nancy Pelosi, House Democratic Leader; Michel Sidibe, Executive Director of UNAIDS; and John Tedstrom, CEO GBCHealth.

The International AIDS Conference is the largest international meeting on a single health issue. Every two years 20,000 participants representing all stakeholders in the global response to HIV meet to assess progress and identify future priorities. The AIDS 2012 conference is the single most widely covered HIV event in the world and is organized by the International AIDS Society (IAS) in partnership with a number of international and local partners. The conference theme, "Turning the Tide Together", emphasizes that the HIV epidemic has reached a defining moment and that by acting decisively on recent scientific advances in HIV treatment and biomedical prevention, the hope for a cure and the continuing evidence of the ability to scale-up key interventions in the most-needed settings there is now the potential to end the HIV epidemic.

The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams and the Prime Minister of Curacao Gerrit Schotte signed the 10th European Development Fund Single Programming Document on Sunday morning at the Sonesta Maho resort. The EDF, which was signed by all partners last week, will fund various projects on St. Maarten, Saba, St. Eustatius and Curacao. On St. Maarten the project will fund the upgrading of the sewage and road infrastructure in the Dutch quarter district. In the Picture are Prime Minister Wescot-Williams, Prime Minister Schotte, and Ambassador of the European Community to the Dutch Overseas Territories Mr. Robert Kopecký.

Minister of Public Health Social Development & Labor, Cornelius De Weever briefly met with members of the Kelaha Projects regarding the activities they will be holding in September 2012, which is Cervical Cancer Awareness month. Minister De Weever was presented with a brochure about the organization and the events calendar for September 2012. Kelaha Projects is a newly incorporated non-profit foundation aimed at bringing awareness about cervical cancer.

Philipsburg:--- Two persons were apprehended after a high-speed police chase Tuesday morning in the Fort Willem area. According to reliable sources, the police were conducting a police control on A.T. Illidge road when they stopped a black jeep.

The source said somehow while the police were conducting the control the driver and occupants of the jeep managed to escape by driving away recklessly. The police began chasing the jeep which ended up in Fort Willem. The source said that the jeep hit two vehicles and injured two persons before landing on a wall. Two of the suspects that were trying to escape from the police were captured while the others escaped. SMN News understands that the two suspects that were apprehended are not locals.

SMN News also learnt that gunshots were also fired. The source said that the police are conducting an investigation to determine why the persons in the jeep tried to flee from police. So far, it is not clear if police confiscated any illegal items that were found in the vehicle. SMN News also could not confirm the severity of the injuries the two persons sustained during the high-speed chase.

Great Bay:--- Minister of Public Health Social Development & Labor, Cornelius De Weever is part of a delegation that left St. Maarten over the weekend for the Netherlands on an eHealth road trip. The purpose of the trip is to gain insight into various topics and applications regarding eHealth and its relation to eGovernment.
According to Minister de Weever the road trip "will create more vision into various e-topics that will bring St. Maarten into a next era of government-citizen relationships that are more efficient, hence less costly, but also more transparent thereby enabling the government to become more knowledgeable and having faster response times or taking preventive measures to mitigate social issues."
The St. Maarten delegation started its eHealth road trip on July 9th in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The delegation consists of Minister Cornelius de Weever; senior policy advisor of the Cabinet of the Minister of Finance, Xavier Blackman and representatives of the Social and Health Insurances institute ('SZV') Dennis Richardson and Reginald Willemsberg. The road trip is organized by KPMG, headed by R. Begina and R. Pieters.
eHealth's focus is on integrated care for patients, improvement of health services, reimbursement systems and gaining insight in public health information. eGovernment's focus is on improvement of customer service and the interaction with citizens, for example the handling of requests for pensions, payment of taxes and social premiums. The trip ends July 13 and the delegation will meet with leading organizations in these fields such as the Dutch Tax Office, Dutch SVB, Friesland Insurance company, healthcare providers, Kadaster and data processing companies.
In the Netherlands numerous applications have been implemented to facilitate the various sectors to become more efficient and transparent. As such, the government is now more able to have insight in social developments and citizens have increasing participation, insight or say in for instance healthcare developments.

Great Bay:--- The Ministry of Public Health Social Development & Labor, section Collective Preventive Services (CPS) soon will be embarking on their Get Checked program with the focus being smoke free public spaces as a means of creating healthy environments and 100% smoke free schools by 2014.

To assist with the framework, Natasha de Herrera, a consultant on Tobacco and Alcohol control with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) office of Venezuela was on the island to offer technical assistance. Natasha has been working with PAHO for 16 years in the area of tobacco control on all aspects, such as policy, implementation and research all in the context of the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in the region. Natasha has worked in the Latin American and Andes countries, and will now be assisting St. Maarten.
"I will be providing technical support on tobacco cessation, which is important for the prevention of tobacco related diseases, and in addition it prevents the use of other drugs/addictive behavior," said Natasha de Herrera.

"I will like to thank PAHO and Natasha de Herrera for assisting us. However, we must continue to focus on prevention and that can only start with each person taking full responsibility for their actions. It is extremely important that we teach this to our children/students because this is where the real prevention and change begins," said Minister of Public Health Social Development & Labor, Cornelius De Weever.

Natasha further stated that in Venezuela they have been able to bring down the prevalence rate of tobacco use with 100% smoke free indoor areas, the reduction and consumption of tobacco, and limit as much as possible advertising and promotions by tobacco companies.
During her visit, she was also able to share a number of documents during her meeting with the campaign team, which consists of Virginia Asin, Daphne Illis, Lorraine Scot, Fenna Arnell and Roddy Heyliger. Some of the documents are: "The Health Consequences of involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke," "Report of the US Surgeon General," Tobacco-free cities for smoke-free air: A case study in Mecca and Medina," and a model ordinance amongst others.
"I would like to congratulate the team at CPS for this very important initiative they are taking, as using the schools is a great way to impact the community, which can give good measurable results, and can be used as a best practice in other countries," said Natasha.
Natasha further stated that with the assistance of Dr. Jorge Jenkins PAHO representative in Venezuela for the Dutch Caribbean, they will make an extra effort to lend their support on this very important campaign.

Philipsburg:--- All land line, internet, and mobile services at Telem have been restored. The services were interrupted from around 1:00PM Thursday, July 12, 2012 as a result of an unforeseen power outage that affected the optical equipment of Telem's fiber network.
The backbone equipment (or main artery) is responsible for transporting the traffic to and from the different sub-stations via Telem's fiber network. Ebenezer, Dawn Beach, Belvedere, and parts of Philipsburg, were the main areas affected.
Telem's engineering department and the vendor worked intensively and were able to restore full service just before midnight Thursday.
Telem would like to thank all its subscribers, especially those who were affected by the interruption in service for their patience and understanding during this period and pledges to continue to offer the best service possible.

Philipsburg:--- Telem Group of Companies donated the sum of US$1,434 to the St. Maarten Youth Beat Foundation to cover the travel expenses of one student who will be participating in an NBA summer basketball camp in Philadelphia.
Telem Marketing Officer, Mrs. Marelva Jones-Felix presented the check to President of the St. Maarten Youth Beat Foundation, Mr. Emanuel York last week, who expressed his gratitude for the financial support.
The donation is in line with Telem's policy of targeting a group each year for sponsorship, said Mrs. Jones-Felix. "Our target group for 2012 is youth organizations," she explained.
Telem is currently carrying out a special students promotion titled, "Excel and Win" which will be raffled next month. The winner will receive US$1,500 as cash prize, with an Acer Netbook and a one month free Internet.
For further information on this promotion, please call 5460200 or dial 611.

Members of the Voluntary Corps of Sint Maarten (VKS) and Curaçao (VKC) are taking part in a joint training exercise in Curaçao this coming week. Over the weekend 16 members of the VKS under the leadership of 1st Lt. Alain Richardson left for Curaçao. They are stationed at the military barracks in Suffisant. During the entire week they will engage in a variety of military training exercises. Of course there will be ample time to socialize with the members of the sister organization VKC, as well as see some of the sights of Curaçao.

On the program are, amongst other things, condition training, riot training, obstacle course, hill climb, abseiling, target practice, swimming and other water activities. The week will be closed off on Saturday July 21st with a party at the VKC barracks in Suffisant. The group will return on Sunday July 22nd.

In 2010 a group of VKC members came to Sint Maarten for a similar training week. It is the intention of both organizations to maintain this tradition for the years to come. In this fashion the members can engage in mutual trainings, as well as get to know each other better. In case of a calamity on either of the islands and assistance is required, this can be executed jointly in a well-trained and professional manner.

The Commander of the VKS fully supports this training week and is thankful for the support of the VKC and the staff of the Suffisant Barracks in organizing this training week.

The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams opened the Independent Baptist Youth of the Caribbean Conference on Monday evening at the Brawlia Millard Campus in St. Johns Estate. The Prime Minister, who officially opened the 34th gathering of independent Baptist youth clubs in the Caribbean, was joined by His Excellency Governor Holiday and a representative of the Minister of Education Sylveria Jacobs.

In her opening remarks, the Prime Minister, on behalf of the Government of St. Maarten, welcomed all those who came from abroad; "As I look at your faces as you were getting prepared for this evening's event the thing that most crossed my mind was to tell you to smile! Smile because you are on St. Maarten. Smile that you, as a young person are here at this event making a difference and engaging in something positive. You who have chosen to be part of the Independent Baptist Youth of the Caribbean and to make this event a part of your summer holidays have chosen to follow your values and to direct those values to those whose lives you want to positively impact. Your challenge is to maintain your focus in pursuing those values and about being a leader in knowing where you want to go and where you want to take others towards Christian excellence," commented the Prime Minister.

As part of her remarks opening the Conference, the Prime Minister also commented on how the youth of today should embrace technology in a positive way in impact their own lives and the lives of others; "With new technology being developed at such a staggering speed there are some challenges for young people like yourselves. However, I would also like to encourage you to use that technology to your advantage in spreading your ideals and commitments through social media and other technological means. I myself have the Holy Bible on my BlackBerry for example," added the Prime Minister.

The Independent Baptist Youth of the Caribbean Conference will last until the end of the week and features all of the Caribbean countries and territories with an Independent Baptist Youth Council. The Prime Minister ended by wishing all participants an exciting and fruitful conference.

With its financial contribution of $5000, UTS has pledged its support to the St. Eustatius Musical Foundation in its effort to organize the 2012 carnival festivities in St. Eustatius. The celebrations kick off today (July 19th) with the opening Jump Up. The festivities continue throughout the month of July with performances by the likes of Destra, WCK, and Grandmasters. The Last Lap and burning of King Momo conclude the festivities on July 30th. "We look forward to a fun, festive, and safe carnival season in St. Eustatius. In collaboration with our partner, EUTEL, we will be bringing various promotions and a generally festive element to the St. Eustatius celebrations. We are happy to support the foundation in its endeavor to make the annual festivities bigger and better every year," says UTS Marketing and Communication Officer, Ivy Lambert. "Without revealing too much about what we have planned, I can already reveal that our customers should be on the look-out," Lambert continued.

The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams reflected on the 86th birthday of the political icon and co-founder of the Democratic Part Dr. Claude Wathey. The Prime Minister, who is in Washington DC heading the St. Maarten delegation to AIDS 2012, mentioned that for the first time she will be unable to attend the annual wreath laying ceremony commemorating Dr. Wathey's 86th birthday on the Clem Labega Square. The annual wreath laying ceremony, which is organized every year by the A.C Wathey Foundation for Political Awareness, will see wreaths lain by representatives of the DP, the University of St. Maarten, Government, the Wathey Family and the UP Party. "Unfortunately I am representing country St. Maarten abroad and as such for the first time am unable to attend the wreath laying ceremony. As always I am extremely honored and humbled to continue with the wreath laying tradition honoring Claude as a person, statesman and icon who cannot be separated from the Democratic Party," commented the Prime Minister.

GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- School Bussing and Taxi Dispatching Inspection Department of Economic Affairs would like to inform school bus owners and drivers that school bus inspections are scheduled to start July 30 through August 1.

School bus owners and drivers are hereby advised to take note of the date and times.

School bus owners/drivers are requested to call the department to make an appointment. Inspections will take place between 8:30am – 12:00pm and 1:30pm – 3:00pm.

For further information about services rendered by the Inspection Section, call telephone number 542-4511 or 542-4509.

Cul-de-Sac:--- PJIAE Sporting Club is hosting a four-day softball knockout for the sporting teams of St. Maarten businesses and government departments.

The opening match of the knockout was between the PJIAE and Fire Department teams at the John Cooper-Jose Lake, Sr. Ballpark here on the L.B. Scott Road on Thursday, at 8 pm.

Minutes before taking to the field for its first match, the PJIAE team, consisting of the airport's male and female personnel could be seen practicing aggressively.

After a close start, the Fire Department won the match-up 18-7, said Emile Levons, Operations supervisor at PJIAE and member of the organizing committee of the knockout.

Other participating corporate teams include Windward Islands Bank, GEBE, Casino Controllers, and TELEM.

The second softball knockout game was held on Friday, July 27. The final games, scheduled for July 28 and 29, will also be held at the Cooper-Lake, Sr. ballpark. At the closing ceremony on Sunday, at 8 pm, trophies will be awarded to the winning and participating teams.

The public is encouraged to attend to support their favorite corporate teams, stated the airport's Marketing & Communications Department.

GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- The Department of Disaster Management has been updated by the Meteorological Department of Curacao that the country remains under a heavy rainfall advisory (is when heavy rains about to occur or occurring already, but not strong enough to require a warning) until Monday 9:00pm.

Motorists are advised to exercise caution while driving in low lying areas which could flood – street flooding - due to forecasted heavy and persistent rainfall, and/or avoid driving in flooded streets until heavy rains taper off or has ended.

Motorists driving near hillsides are also asked to exercise caution with respect to possible rock falls.

Drivers and individuals who do not need to be on the road should remain at home until weather conditions improve.

Lightning strikes are also forecasted, and therefore residents should switch off and disconnect sensitive electronic equipment; and disconnect your phone line from your computer.

On Sunday, July 29 2012, Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Silveria Jacobs and a group of 58 students departed for the Netherlands.

The breakdown of the 58 students that left for the Netherlands on Sunday is as follows: 32 HBO/ Bachelor Degree Programs, 6 WO Master Degree Programs,

20 MBO/Advanced Secondary Education Programs.

The project supervisor form the contracting company Windward Roads Infrastructure B.V., Mr. Rob Dracht met with Mr. Rueben Thompson of EPIC and the Pride Foundation and Mr. Tadzio Bervoets of the Nature Foundation on June 27th, 2012 to discuss the upcoming works for the installation of phase 2 of the Main Sewage Line: Ebenezer –A.T. Illidge Road. After consultation and explanation of the works, both gentlemen from the environmental groups gave their consent for the necessary pruning of the mangroves adjacent to this section of the Fresh Pond.

GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- Minister of Education Hon. Silveria Jacobs recently told a school leaving exercise at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School (MLK), where she just recently served as School Manager, in her key note address, that education and respect are steps to reach our goals.

In her address Minister Jacobs expressed her heartfelt gratitude for the opportunity to address the parents, staff and community members in this capacity, as well as to be able to give some words of encouragement and inspiration to "her students!"

Minister Jacobs highlighted the importance of setting high goals: "First take the time to figure out what you love to do and are good at, and formulate your Dream or Goal. Next write down the STEPS and plan how you will acheive these goals. Then ACT by taking each step in order. EVALUATE along the way if you are heading in the right direction, seeking advice from loved ones and trusted ones. Continue to move forward in order to achieve your goals." She reminded them that the mountains may seem too high and the valleys too deep at times, but whatever the obstacle placed in their paths, they must persevere by either going around, over, under or pushing it out of the way."

The Minister described the life and journey of local engineer Jerome Chittick whose steps took him the long and scenic route in order to achieve his goals, as an example to the students. Chittick is living his DREAMS as a Manager at GEBE Water Plant today through hard work, dedication and the courage to NEVER GIVE UP!! With Education your future will be brighter, and as our ancestors always taught us: RESPECT can take you around the world.

With respect to diplomas, Errolanie Jones, was awarded several prizes as the top academic student of 2011-2012 group eight class. She was awarded a complete paid scholarship for her first year at the Milton Peters Havo by both the EWA foundation of the Lynch family, as well as the Ministry of Education Culture Youth and Sports.

The Ceremony was a very special occasion for all involved, and was held at the Dutch Quarter Community Center which was donated by its director Mauricia Nicholas-Hodge.

Several community icons were present in the persons of Julian Lynch, Myrna Lynch, Miss Vero, Mrs. Richardson of the SDA Community Helpers Foundation.

Patricia Williams, senior policy advisor Division Public Education Services, represented the Division and gave congratulatory remarks to the students, parents, Management and staff as well.

GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- The Minister of Education was a guest of Department of Public Education end of year breakfast and program last week.

It was a morning of talent as students of various schools showcased their singing and dancing talent, while Teacher Atasha Paul-Esdaille rendered a moving rendition on behalf of the students to the teachers "Wind beneath my Wings". Paul-Esdaille received a standing ovation.

There were raffles and awards won by many in attendance. Many were also honored for going above and beyond the call of duty such as Sam Maccow, Hyman and Jeffers.

The St. Maarten Vocational School was honored for the school that implemented the most structural changes, and showed improvement in discipline as well as other key areas.

Teachers from each school were also awarded for perfect attendance.

It proved to be a day of appreciation in the truest sense of the word, Minister of Education Hon. Silveria Jacobs told the Department of Communication (DCOMM).

Great Bay:--- Last week, the St. Maarten Alzheimer Foundation (SMAF) members Keith Franca, President and Raymond Jessurun, Secretary presented Minister of Public Health Social Development & Labor, Cornelius De Weever with a copy of the June edition of Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI) newsletter. The newsletter features three articles all dedicated to the St. Maarten Alzheimer's Foundation.
"I applaud the St. Maarten Alzheimer Foundation for exposing St. Maarten internationally and appreciate this form of health tourism as well. There is no telling what we can build on this foundation," said Minister De Weever.
On page three of the publication the St. Maarten Alzheimer's Foundation, out of the 78 members of ADI, is being mentioned as one of the twelve ADI member associations that produced news releases for the launch of the WHO's dementia report. As one of ADI's newest members the SMAF "was quick to ensure the report reaches the country's Public Health Minister. Following the presentation of the report directly to the Minister on April 11, 2012 it was announced that initial efforts were being made to develop a national plan of action on dementia." To maintain this momentum in the international news, the follow up letter with suggestions from the SMAF of April 18, 2012 to get a national dementia action plan was discussed with the Minister of Public Health.
On page four of the newsletter the St. Maarten Alzheimer Foundation is being mentioned as one of the newest Alzheimer organizations which became a member of Alzheimer Disease International this year. The article welcomes the two new organizations and ends with the wish of ADI to "look forward to working closely with us in the future"
Under the feature "My Perspective" in the Newsletter under "Carer's Story" on page nine we can read about the personal experience Raymond Jessurun has with dementia. At the end of the article ADI refers the readers for more information about the work of the St. Maarten Alzheimer Foundation to its email address This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Global Perspective is ADI's newsletter which is produced four times a year and features the activities of ADI and Alzheimer associations worldwide as well as carers' stories and research updates. Readers have the possibility to sign up to receive newsletter notifications by email or to visit http://www.alz.co.uk/ADI-publications and download a copy of the newsletter(s).

The Windward Islands Bank Ltd., understands the importance of giving students the opportunity to experience a working environment and to gain job knowledge in the banking sector.

WIB has 15 students that will be working during the summer vacation throughout our various service departments such as; Cash, Foreign Exchange, Audit, Comptrolling, Computer Operations, PLM, Collection, International Transfers, Commercial Credit, Office Services, Current Account, and Insurance dept. These 15 students will be given the opportunity to train and work in a professional banking institution.

WIB welcomes our summer students.

GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- The Council of Ministers held two meetings last week Thursday with two telecommunication groups.

The first meeting was with the members of the Supervisory Board as well as management of UTS NV. The members of the board were officially introduced to the Council of Ministers after which Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Glen Carty gave a presentation on the future plans of UTS.

Present during the meeting were Chairman Kenneth Gijsbertha, members Gregory Berry, Emil Walle, Edsel Lourens, Gilbert Ricardo, Irving Moenir Alam; Management present consisted of CEO's Paul de Geus and Glen Carty and Chief Operations Officer Lyrio Gomez, PR Fayana Haseth and support staff Jeannette van Varsseveld.

Subsquently, the Council held a meeting with the Chief Financial Officer of TELEm Helma Etnel and Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Ralphie Boasman, providing the Council with an status of affairs on the current restructuring and the future plans of TELEm.

Philipsburg:--- GIFTED Foundation's Summer Praise party last Saturday was aglow with young people dancing to the vibes of DJ Kass of NBR radio, with live performances by Omalie of Anguilla and guest artiste, St. Matthew. Males and females from both French and Dutch sides showed their moves. However, the best dancer for the night was Karel Eusebius of the Christian Faith Ministry G.A.N.G. out of Dutch Quarter.
This is a gospel party setting for teens and young adults. It provides a forum where the young and the young at heart can 'let their hair down', and fellowship in a wholesome, positive environment." This series has been rebranded from "Last Saturdays" to "GLOW Party", to avoid confusion with other local party themes. G.I.F.T.E.D. will still be hosting this event on the last Saturday of every month.
On Saturday, July 28, GIFTED will be hosting the next GLOW party at John Larmonie Centre with the theme "80s Babies" for dress code and prizes.

The club has just ended the Toastmasters year with nine out of ten goals set by Toastmasters International.
Under the stewardship of outgoing President Malcolm Jacques, the club has also recorded high in its educational achievements. The club attained three advance communicator bronze (ACB) and two competent leaders (CL) a first for the club in these two categories.
The Club President credited the club's success on SMART Work, an excellent working relationship with the club's Vice President of Education: Ludmila York-Duncan and the assiduousness of the club's membership.
He further stated that, 'It was an honor to have so revered a Toastmaster in DTM Valarie Brazier as our club coach. She has always believed in the club and has been a true inspiration'.
Meanwhile the club has a new executive board for the year 2012-2013.

President: Ludmila York-Duncan ACB/CL
Vice President-Education: Arliene Patricia Chittick, CC
Vice President Membership: TM Dwight Williams
Vice President Public Relation: TM Seon Bourne
Secretary: TM Kathia M. Magdeleine
Sargent at Arms: TM Netilia E. Williams
Direct Pass President: Malcolm Jacques ACB/CL

The SXM Achievers Toastmasters Club Meet every second and fourth Thursday, 7:15pm at the Philipsburg Jubilee Library. All are invited to attend.

MAHO:--- Continuing until Saturday, July 7 specially invited evangelists and speakers from the Seventh-day Adventist church will be speaking at the 2012 North Caribbean Conference's (NCC) Festival of the Laity. Held at Sonesta Maho Resort the sessions begin at 10am. These are free and open to the public.
Pastor and Evangelist Mark Finley will give the key address on Saturday during the divine service at 10:45am.
Mark Finley (born 1945) is the former speaker/director of It Is Written (from 1991–2004), for which he traveled around the world as a televangelist, and spoke on the weekly television show It Is Written. He was the first Seventh-day Adventist pastor to do a satellite evangelistic series. He also served as one vice-president out of nine for the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and has written over 71 published books. Evangelism is where Finley made his mark on the world, presenting more than 150 evangelistic meeting series around the globe in about 80 countries with resulting baptisms numbering in the thousands. His best known association is as a television speaker for the current series Experience Hope, a weekly broadcast of the Hope Channel; for the It Is Written telecast of 13 years; and also for the first two NET evangelism satellite series broadcast in North America.
The Festival of the Laity is a personal ministry event where members of the NCC can report in a creative and dramatic fashion the evangelistic achievements of the last three years. Each island of the NCC will give a special presentation which includes their projection for the "vision one million" project.
Each day until the close other invited speakers such as Dr. Derek Morris, Bondil Moriss, Silton Brown, Danforth Francis, Brenda Walsh, Claudette Andrews, Andrew Farrell, Mildred Rominson and many others will give special workshop with the aim of mobilizing the church for ministry.
Friday's topics include leadership and evangelism with Eugene Daniel and Roosevelt Daniels, Health with Bodil Morris, and reaching the unreached with Danforth Francis. At 7:50pm delegates from Anguilla, St. Eustatius, Saba, and St. Croix.
On Saturday at 9:55 am delegates from St. Maarten will make their presentations on evangelistic achievements.
The conference continues today until Saturday, July 7 with sessions starting at 10am. All sessions are open to the public and are free. For updates and detailed information visit www.facebook.com/festivalofthelaity.stmaarten. The conference is broadcasted live at www.churchpond.com/index.php/vod/vod_philipsburg. Past days are also posted on that website.

The Prime Minister of St. Maarten has supported various faith-based initiatives over the past week, highlighting her Cabinet's commitment to encourage faith-based initiatives within the community of St. Maarten. On Wednesday the Prime Minister officially opened the Seventh Day Adventist Regional Festival of Laity by encouraging all present to uphold the values and morals that are so important in building a strong community for St. Maarten. "In all of the changes that our society is going through it is the individual which remains constant. I say this because it does not matter how strong you are, how much influence you may appear to have; it does not matter what leadership position you hold; there is always a time where you need to be encouraged and supported in what you believe in. You sometimes need to be encouraged in that what you are doing is right," commented the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister also attended the New Testament Baptist Church's celebration of two of their most appreciated and loved pastors early Sunday. "This morning I am at here where the congregation is acknowledging the work of two beloved pastors, giving appreciation for the people and the things we have in our lives.

The Prime Minister also attended the opening of There is so much that we as St. Maarteners should be grateful and appreciative for we should realize what we are grateful fry to be living here on St. Maarten, and as Christians in particular we have a lot to be grateful for, " continued the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister also opened the Christian Faith's Ministry 'Love Kitchen' in Dutch Quarter were less fortunate residents of that district are able to get a hot plate of food due to the Church's Efforts.

"All faith based groups are facing tremendous challenges in these difficult times," commented the Prime Minister, "but it is the faithful that are foundation of these churches. The faithful continuously show that they are committed and supportive and show that what they are doing is right and necessary in this community. We were reminded on Wednesday when the earth shook that while we can as much as we can it is God who commands. We must have faith and move forward in our dedication and support the faith based organizations which form such an integral part of this community", ended the Prime Minister.

Marigot:--- The executive council of the Collectivity of St. Martin took a decision on Tuesday July 10th, 2012, to exchange the driver's licenses issued by the government of St. Maarten for a French driver's license. The decision was taken unanimously by the members of the executive council.

Based on the articles of the regulation,  anyone who is a resident in the territory of Sint Maarten and holds a license issued by the authorities of St. Maarten is authorized to travel on the French territory of St. Martin.

Any person residing on the French side of the island of St. Martin, and is a holder of a license issued by the Government of Sint Maarten, at the end of training provided in their territory, obtain a license that is equivalent category to those of St. Martin can make the exchange of their Dutch license for a French driver's license of the same category. The licenses will be exchanged without the requirement of having to undergo and examination as is stipulated in the first paragraph of Article R221-3 of the Highway Code applicable to St. Martin.

Driver's license that will be considered for exchange are those that were issued on St. Maarten for licenses A&B December 2005. C December 31 2009, and license D December 31 2008.

Licenses that cannot be currently issued in the territory of Saint Martin (license E), the exchange is still possible under the provisions of II of Article 1 of this Regulation.

To exchange the driver's license, the holder must apply to the securities department of the Collectivity of St. Martin. A receipt certifying that person holds a license pending exchange will be issued. The application file for license exchange is made against payment of the fee of € 150 provided for the exchange of driving licenses in Article 3 of the resolution of CT 28-2-2010 May 11, 2010.

During the period in which the exchange request from a driver's license issued by the authorities of St. Maarten is extended until December 31, 2012.

The adoption of this regulation by the Executive Council thus provides the solutions to the questions raised in recent days, and President Alain Richardson welcomes the positive outcome that meets the expectations of the population.

Marigot:--- The Government of St. Martin head by President Alain Richardson made history for the island on Saturday during the Bastille Day celebration when most of the day's program was centered on the youths of the island.
The COM's leadership honored several youths and persons who participated and excelled in sports. Professional boxer Francky Paines accepted the token of appreciation and acknowledgement but he made it clear to the elected officials that it has been 20 years he has been in sports and not once he was recognized or got any assistance from government. Paines said it is a good feeling to finally get some recognition now that he is almost at the end of his career. However, government must try to assist and recognize the youths that are fighting to stay above the water when they participate in positive activities. Another youth studying mostly in the US territory also shared the same sentiments as that of Paines. He said he too fought long and hard for his career and it is indeed good for government to recognize them. He also called on the Collectivity to support all the youths that were present on Saturday. Recognition was given to sports men and women in boxing, rugby, basketball, football, and track and field. The President of the first Youth Territorial Council Gael Gumbs was also recognized for his efforts. Presenting the token of appreciation was President Alain Richardson, Territorial Councilor responsible for sports Alain Desormeaux, Prefet Philippe Chopin, and Deputy Daniel Gibbs. However, St. Martin's senator Louis Constant Fleming did not attend the ceremony because he is supposedly in France. It should be noted that year's Bastille Day celebration is the fifth since St. Martin's status changed and the island has in place a new team of Territorial Council members, a senator and deputy in place.
President Richardson also acknowledged a number of students who excelled in their academic achievements and were chosen to attend schools abroad.
Besides the speeches given by elected officials each year, costume display for invited guests on the waterfront and a lunch for those chosen or invited, the President also planted a symbolic Sand Box tree in honor of the radio program hosted by two St. Martiners on Youth Radio. The tree planting was done by President Alain Richardson and fourth vice president Wendell Cocks who is also responsible for agriculture.
The day's activities started off with a church service at the Marigot Catholic Church then a wreath laying ceremony was held in the garden of the Collectivity of St. Martin followed by a parade with uniform officers and various scout groups from both sides of the island.
The Governor of St. Maarten drs. Eugene Holiday, his wife first lady Marie Louisa, Deputy Prime Minister William Marlin, Finance Minister Roland Tuitt, Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs Romeo Pantophlet, Minister of Justice Roland Duncan, Incoming President of Parliament Rudolph Samuel, Member of Parliament George Pantophlet, Ombudsman Nilda Arduin Lynch were among those that attended Saturday's ceremony. Several dignitaries from neighboring Anguilla including the Chief Minister also attended the annual celebration as is customary.
The theme for this year's Bastille Day 2012 was "Youth and Excellence". President Richardson in his address said the Bastille Day celebration on St. Martin is not just the national celebration but it is extra-ordinary for St. Martin because persons residing in the neighboring islands would make it a point of order to visit the island to celebrate with St. Martiners. Richardson said the youths of St. Martin is the island's largest riches since almost 40% of the population is less that 25 years old, while there are over 10,000 youths that are registered and attending school on the French side therefore the youths are the heart of the RRR government. President Richardson said the President of France also made it clear that the youth is the national priority. He said the youths of St. Martin have been facing the worst days of their lives therefore he stressed that during his tenure in office the youths will be government's priority.
The youths of St. Martin represents a great asset because of their creativity, diversity, talent, and also because of their willingness to take their rightful place in society. President Richardson said all of this became very clear during the last election and adults should also recognize that it is not easy to be youth on St. Martin due to the financial, economical, societal, and health problems that exist and the youths of St. Martin have to face daily. President Richardson said that the youths have fallen victim in the international, national, and regional level.
Deputy of St. Martin and St. Barths Daniel Gibbs in his message said that on July 14th the people of Paris took Bastille as a symbol of oppression and tyranny. He said that the celebration of Bastille Day testifies the commitment to revive the history of liberty, equality, and fraternity which transformed France in the 18th century. Gibbs said since the youths are the heart of the 2012 Bastille Day celebration then the youths must be reminded that freedom did not come easily, instead it is a result of common struggle. Gibbs explained that freedom is a precious gift that has to be constantly defended that perpetuates the universal principles of equality, fraternity, peace, solidarity, social justice, all of which has been damaged due to a general crisis. Gibbs called on the government to translate into action the Republican ideals which cannot be exercised without responsibility. Deputy Gibbs said it is the responsibility of the elected officials to permanently revive the collective consciousness by dedicating their actions and by being exemplary since they are the role models for the youths.
Gibbs said while dedicating this Bastille Day to Youth and Excellence it is the duty of the elected to remember the talented musicians on the island. Gibbs said the island's youths are not only the future of St. Martin but they are also the present. Therefore, government should not forget their duties and responsibility towards the youths.
Prefet Philippe Chopin in his address said that while he was the third speaker on the agenda he is also the oldest speaker for the 2012 Bastille Day Celebration. He said while the other speakers said it before him it is important that certain things be repeated so that it is properly understood especially since it concerns the youths.

Click here to view more photos of Bastille Day Celebration 2012.

Philipsburg:--- The body of a man was discovered under a bench in Philipsburg on Sunday morning. According to information reaching SMN News, the police doctor determined that the man died of natural causes since there were no visible injuries on his body when he was examined by the doctor.
Police Spokesman Ricardo Henson confirmed a body was found on Cannegieter Street but he did not have any details on the cause of death.

It should be noted that there seems to be a growing trend on the Dutch side of the island where the police doctor declares that persons that are found dead died of natural causes. However, there are two unforgettable cases where persons were declared dead by natural causes and it ended up being that they were murdered. Last year, a French national was found dead in Maho and the Dutch police doctor and Prosecutor's office said the man died of natural causes when he was in fact shot. The French Gendarmes and Prosecutor are the ones that found out that their citizen was murdered. In another instance, a woman was found dead at her home in Sucker Garden and the Prosecutor's Office said she died of natural causes. Later, it was determined that the woman was strangled by her own brother who was recently convicted for murdering his sister.

Marigot:--- The third Vice President of the Collectivity of St. Martin Guillaume Arnell and Louis Fleming presented two drivers with receipts to show that they have requested a French Driver's license. The two drivers Melvin Hunt and Emile Larmonie Jr. are holders of Dutch driver's licenses that were not renewed because they do not reside on the Dutch side of the island.

Melvin Hunt and Emile Larmonie Jr. are drivers that are driving on the French side of the island illegally since their licenses have not been renewed. The executive council of the COM took a decision last week to grant the Dutch driver's license holders a French Driver's license under certain conditions. The decision was taken after the President of the Collectivity consulted with Prefet Phillipe Chopin, the Prosecutor, and the Gendarmerie.

Hunt and Larmonie Jr. received their receipt in anticipation of receiving their French driver's license. Both drivers were keen to congratulate the elected officials for their effectiveness in this matter, and the Prefet Philippe Chopin for taking a decision in their interest. Vice President Guillaume Arnell also thanked Chopin for his involvement in the matter and for understanding the specificities of local life. He took this opportunity to salute the work done before by former territorial councilor Arnel Daniel. The territorial councilor that is responsible for transport, Louis Fleming, thanked all the players who participated in the resolution of this issue, and paid tribute to their efficiency in achieving this work.

Members of the Executive Board adopted at its meeting on Tuesday, July 10, 2012, a regulation allowing the implementation of the exchange of driving licenses issued by the Government of Sint Maarten. The COM wishes to clarify that this exchange of drivers license will not be done for the licenses that were issued on islands of Saba and St. Eustatius. In addition driver's licenses that were delivered on Saba and Statia and were exchanged for a Driver's license on St. Maarten will not be exchanged.

In accordance with regulations adopted by the Executive Council, French driver's licenses shall be exchanged only with permits issued by the Dutch authorities and administrations who have undergone training in the territory of Sint Maarten.

On June 19th, last a meeting was held with the Minister of Finance, the Honorable R. Tuitt and WICSU/PSU at the request of the union to seek clarification on matter relevant to the members we represent, these include but were not limited to the COLA, and claims outstanding to their employment with the not defunct central government.

The minister confirmed during that meeting the COLA will be paid out at the end of July and gave as reasons the fact that it's going to need a budget amendment and that lumping it together with the vacation pay in June would have resulted in a much higher tax deduction for the civil servant.

We at the WICSU/PSU are encouraged by the openness and willingness of the Minister to share information and pledge our continued cooperation in the interest of our members; we also hope that other unions and like organizations will join us in representing our members interests to the best of our ability.

GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- The Baby Wellness Clinic located at Brouwers Road 6A, behind FATUM Insurances, will be closed during the afternoon hours from Monday, July 23 to Wednesday July, 25.

The Clinic is normally open five days a week Monday thru Friday from 8:00am to 4:30pm, lunch-break from 12:30pm to 1:30pm.

Clients, who already have appointments during the afternoon hours on the aforementioned days, can visit the clinic during the morning hours or call to reschedule the appointment.

Persons who need additional information can call the Baby Wellness Clinic at 543-2070 or 543-2071.

YHC falls under the auspices of Collective Prevention Services (CPS) executing agencies of the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour.

GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- The Civil Registry Department in its efforts to further improve service, on Wednesday, July 18 held a Customer Appreciation Day in collaboration with SuperHost.

A survey was conducted to assess the quality of service given by the department. Clients were also given promotional items as a token of appreciation. (DCOMM Photo)

GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- Section General Public Health (SGPH) announces that an evaluation is currently underway of a joint project between the mosquito control units of the North and South sides of the island.

On May 14 mosquito traps were set-up at the port facility in Point Blanche and three at the port facility in Marigot on May 15. The traps on both sides were controlled and reset on May 29 and 30. On June 19 and 20 the traps were once again controlled and reset.

The objective of the project is to identify breeding locations at the harbor and also to identify the type of mosquito's circulating on the island.

The aim of surveillance is to detect as early as possible the presence of Aedes Albopictus on St Martin / Sint Maarten, in order to trigger the control measures to prevent the development of the CHICKUNGUNYA Fever on the island.

The monitoring device is a network consisting of sentinel ovitraps targeted Aedes albopictus.
Furthermore, Article 22 of the International Health Regulations requires ports and international airports remain free of vectors

The collected eggs and mosquito larvae and pupa, are studied at the French Mosquito Lab on the North side and then shipped to Guadeloupe for final analysis. The project is scheduled to conclude at the end of 2012.

Four representatives, two from the North and two from the South will receive revised training with respect to vector control.

The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams congratulated the attendees of the Dow Musical Foundation on Thursday. The Prime Minister, who is heading the St. Maarten delegation to AIDS 2012 in Washington DC, took the time to congratulate the students and organizers of the three week long summer workshop. "I would like to congratulate both the students and the Dow Musical Foundation in successfully hosting the summer workshop. The Dow Musical Foundation and the students play a big part in keeping traditional steelpan music alive and well on St. Maarten", commented the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister continued by stating that she regrettably would be unable to attend the End of Workshop Recital due to her commitments at AIDS 2012. "I apologize for not being there but I would like to wish all of you much success with your recital and with your musical endeavors in the future," concluded the Prime Minister.

From the Cabinet of the Prime Minister

The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot Williams will be departing for the United States on Friday to head the eleven member St. Maarten Delegation to the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) held in Washington DC from the 22nd to the 27th of July. During the conference the Prime Minister will be chairing the session on addressing HIV-Related Stigma and Discrimination with the aim of changing the effects of HIV stigma within local communities. The Prime Minister will also be a featured speaker at the Regional Session: Sustainable Development and HIV - A Caribbean Agenda, also during the AIDS 2012 Conference.

On Tuesday the Prime Minister held a preparatory meeting with the St. Maarten delegates at the AC Wathey Legislative Hall. During the meeting HIV/ AIDS program Manager for St. Maarten Suzette Moses-Burton gave the Prime Minister and the present delegates an outline of the planning and logistics of the conference and what to expect during the sessions.

The Prime Minister will be speaking on the challenges of maintaining the continuation of HIV/ Aids programs in a Parliamentary Democracy and will also be increasing the exposure of the HIV/ Aids program on St. Maarten and researching the advances in the treatment of the epidemic and the new technologies which are available for its control. The St. Maarten delegation will also be giving a Poster Presentation entitled "Safe Secrets" at the conference, which was approved by the organizing committee for Aids 2012 out of thousands of applications to present at the conference.

The International AIDS Conference is the largest international meeting on a single health issue. Every two years 20,000 participants representing all stakeholders in the global response to HIV meet to assess progress and identify future priorities. The AIDS 2012 conference is the single most widely covered HIV event in the world and is organized by the International AIDS Society (IAS) in partnership with a number of international and local partners. The conference theme, "Turning the Tide Together", emphasizes that the HIV epidemic has reached a defining moment and that by acting decisively on recent scientific advances in HIV treatment and biomedical prevention, the hope for a cure and the continuing evidence of the ability to scale-up key interventions in the most-needed settings there is now the potential to end the HIV epidemic.

From the Cabinet of the Prime Minister

GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- The Deputy Prime Minister Hon. William Marlin and Minister of Culture Hon. Silveria Jacobs on Friday afternoon were present for the final performance by Mighty Dow's (Isidore York's) Musical Foundation Summer Steel Pan at the Oranje School on Front Street.

Students have been attending the musical workshop since early July where they learnt about the musical theory and the art of steel pan playing.

Philipsburg:--- Finance Minister Roland Tuitt announced on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers' press briefing that St. Maarten will bear the brunt of the American legislation. Tuitt said according to laws of the United States, US taxpayers are liable for tax on their worldwide income. He said in order to combat tax evasion by U.S. persons holding investments in offshore accounts, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) was enacted as part of the HIRE Act (Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment), by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the US Treasury, and is expected to take effect in 2013. The FATCA is an important development in U.S. The US government is making every effort to improve tax compliance involving foreign financial assets and offshore accounts.

Under FATCA, U.S. taxpayers with specified foreign financial assets that exceed $50,000.00 must report those assets to the IRS. Failure to report on these assets will result on discovery of the infraction, of fines and penalties ranging from $10,000 to $50,000. Further underpayment of taxes that resulted from non-disclosed financial assets will result in a penalty of 40% of these assets. In addition, FATCA will require foreign financial institutions (FFI's) to report directly to the IRS information about financial accounts held by U.S. taxpayers, or held by foreign entities in which U.S. taxpayers hold a substantial ownership interest (FE's)."

St. Maarten's Minister of Finance said to properly comply with these new reporting requirements, a FFI will have to enter into a special agreement with the IRS by June 30, 2013, under which amongst other requirements a FFI will have to report annually its accountholders who are U.S. citizens or foreign entities with substantial U.S. ownership and withhold and pay to the IRS 30% of any payments of U.S. source income. Another option is to enter into a treaty between the US and relevant countries. Tuitt said St. Maarten are looking in to several options as to how the Government of St. Maarten will tackle the issue since it will directly affect St. Maarten's economy. He told members of the media that one option might be to piggy back on the agreements that are made between the Netherlands and the United States, but no final decision has been taken on the matter.

FATCA will have a major impact on US taxpayers living in Sint Maarten and the business of Sint Maarten, Tuitt said and it is extremely likely that the cost of implementing FATCA, which will be borne by the FFI's, will by far outweigh the revenues raised by the US Treasury, even excluding the additional costs to the US Internal Revenue Service for the staffing and resources needed to process the data received.

He further explained that measures has been taken by some European institutions to combat the effects of the FATCA, however Sint Maarten cannot do much against this because it is a small island entirely dependent on the US economy.

Some FFIs worldwide are already turning away U.S. citizens and closing their existing accounts; their business is not worth the hassle anymore.

The effect of FATCA on US taxpayers in Sint Maarten

FATCA exposes Sint Maarten residents who are US citizens or green card holders and FE's in Sint Maarten, to the possibility of increased reporting obligations to the IRS and severe penalties for non-compliance. There are fears of imposition of capital controls, and as a result capital flight can very well be underway. After all, FFI's may consider leaving Sint Maarten in order to settle in a non-compliant country. There have also been privacy concerns, in particular for those with dual citizenship. In an era of common dual citizenship, it is impossible for a FFI to definitely know whether any of its clients is also a U.S. taxpayer (i.e., citizen, green card holder, etc.).

The effect of FACTA on FFI's of Sint Maarten

The IRS uses a broad definition of a financial institution. It is clear that beside banks, insurance companies, pension funds and investment funds are covered. In other words, most of the financial sector in Sint Maarten falls under the scope of the FATCA legislation.

Although the measure at first sight is based on good intentions and the only focus seems to be on American citizens, it goes much further. All financial institutions and investment companies that have investments and income in the United States are affected by this measure. Beside the banks, all insurance companies, pension funds, asset managers, private equity funds and other collective investment institutions will be affected. In order to comply with the rules on the first of January 2013, these financial institutions must have measures in place to shape their existing systems and business processes in a way that they facilitate compliance with FATCA. These adjustments require a lot of time and money.

From the above it can be concluded that Sint Maarten will also bear the brunt of American Legislation. In the formulation of a response to it, the Government of Sint Maarten will carefully examine the options that are available with a view to settling on a solution that will serve in the best interest of the business and people in Sint Maarten.

Harbour View:--- On Friday 27 July 2012, His Excellency Eugene B. Holiday paid a working visit to various National Heritage sites on Sint Maarten aimed at increasing awareness and support for the National Heritage of the island. This working visit is part of the Governor's program to obtain a firsthand view of developments in the community and forms part of his objective to promote Excellence in Governance.
The Governor started his visit at the Court House(±1793) and walked down Front street with dr. Haviser highlighting several of the monuments along the route. Crossing the bridge over the Rolandus canal (1852) the first part of the tour ended with the Governor visiting the "Vineyard House" (±1860) where he met and discussed the history of the house with the Mrs. Bunchi Buncamper and Mrs. Carolyn Buncamper . Subsequently, the Governor visited the great Salt Pond and the Foga ruins (1852)(salt factory) where toghether with Dr. Haviser he met Mr. Heyliger and Ms. Gumbs from the sucker garden community organization. After the Governor was informed on the status of the site, the Governor went to the Bellvedere Plantation House where Dr. Haviser gave a tour of the ruins and briefed the Governor on the status of the different plantation homes on the island. The Governor then received a tour of the Emilio Wilson Park and concluded his tour by having a lunch with the Simarc students at Simarc HQ, where the students informed the Governor about their recent findings at the Emilio Wilson plantation house. His Excellency Governor Holiday encouraged Dr. Haviser and the students to continue with their valuable work and contributions towards discovering, documenting and preserving Sint Maarten's rich historic and cultural heritage.

The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams supported the other St. Maarten delegates at the AIDS 2012 Poster Presentation Safe Secrets. The St. Maarten Abstract of the Poster Presentation was chosen to amongst the presentation sessions from more than a thousand applications. Pictured with the Prime Minister are members of the St. Maarten Delegation Ria Uiterloo, Policy Advisor to the Cabinet of the Prime Minister Emilia Thomas, Dwayne Thompson, Joy Arnell and Fenna Arnell.
The Prime Minister headed the St. Maarten Delegation to the AIDS 2012 conference which ended on Friday. The International AIDS Conference is the largest international meeting on a single health issue. Every two years 20,000 participants representing all stakeholders in the global response to HIV meet to assess progress and identify future priorities. The AIDS 2012 conference is the single most widely covered HIV event in the world and is organized by the International AIDS Society (IAS) in partnership with a number of international and local partners. The conference theme, "Turning the Tide Together", emphasizes that the HIV epidemic has reached a defining moment and that by acting decisively on recent scientific advances in HIV treatment and biomedical prevention, the hope for a cure and the continuing evidence of the ability to scale-up key interventions in the most-needed settings there is now the potential to end the HIV epidemic.

From the Cabinet of the Prime Minister

SIMPSON BAY:--- Scores of parents, family members, government officers, airport officials, and schoolmates converged here in the check-in area of the Princess Juliana International Airport on Sunday morning to say "Bon Voyage" to 58 students traveling to the Netherlands to pursue tertiary education.

The "Bon Voyage" program was hosted by PJIAE in collaboration with Domino's Pizza and UTS. Mothers in tears holding on to their sons and daughters, fathers looking on proudly, girlfriends and boyfriends saying goodbye to each other, smiling young faces, anxious students burdened with coats, luggage, and public oaths of returning to their island after successfully completing their university studies could be seen and heard throughout the check-in hall.

The "Bon Voyage" ceremony opened with PJIAE employee Zhaira Richardson giving an extraordinary rendition of the St. Martin Song.

In her brief address to the students, Managing Director of PJIAE Regina LaBega said that, "The reason PJIA decided to do this Bon Voyage is to let you all know that we are counting on you to do your best, and return through this same airport, to take your rightful positions on this island."

LaBega said that even though it is time of great emotion the students should know that this journey is a critical one in their lives. The airport's managing director reiterated to the young people that they are needed on the island and that, "We don't want you, your parents don't want you to become part of that dismal statistics of children we send abroad and who never return, or never complete their studies."

"You are leaving as students today, and when you finish your various courses, in a few years, you will be returning as men and women, prepared to take St. Maarten to a much higher level," said LaBega.

Irene Gaari-Arridell from the government's Division of Studies and Financing spoke on behalf of Minister of Education Silveria Jacobs. She bid the anxious student assembly farewell and thanked the corporate entities that helped to make the Bon Voyage event a reality.

LaBega and Gaari-Arrindell then cut the farewell cake, which was designed as a teal vintage valise, with black and white accents. The cake was designed and baked by Aurora Jeffers.

Following the cake cutting and sharing among students and well-wishers, students were asked to clear security minutes before 11 am in order to expedite an on-time departure of their KLM flight 785.

As Caribbean tunes and various pop music hits echoed from the speakers of DJ Outkast students bid their final farewells. Just before they stepped on the escalators up to the customs and security check points the departing youths were presented with portfolios, ID holders, and other promotional items by PJIAE marketing officers Audrey Jack and Suzy Kartokromo.

Groups of students are also scheduled to leave the island in August and September to further their studies abroad.

Address to Netherlands-bound students by Regina LaBega, Managing Director, Princess Juliana International Airport operating company (PJIAE).

PJIA, Sunday, July 29, 2012

Honorable Minister

Parents, relatives and friends

And in particular, the departing students,

I am very aware that this is a rather emotional moment for most of you, but while the emotions flow, we should still be able to see through the tears that we are gathered here actually for a unique occasion to bid farewell to our sons and daughters leaving our shores in a little while to further their education in The Netherlands.

It is a "Bon voyage" which should ordinarily fill us all with joy because this is a journey with a specific purpose. For the departing students, the purpose is very clear: to pursue excellence in your chosen areas of study and to return to contribute in a meaningful way to the building of this our nation, St. Maarten. Armed with this sense of purpose, you should realize that a whole nation depends on how you perform out there.

PJIA is proud to be a partner in this token send-off ceremony. But I want you to bear this in mind: when you leave to board your flight, the gate you will be departing from is not, I repeat, is not a "gate of no return." To the contrary, you should think of PJIA as "the gate of soon return" because we expect to welcome you back, with all fanfare, at the successful completion of your studies. We don't want you, your parents don't want you to become part of that dismal statistics of children we send abroad and who never return, or never complete their studies.

St. Maarten needs you not only to be good students, but also responsible ambassadors who will do the island proud anywhere you may find yourself in the world. The reason PJIA decided to do this Bon Voyage is to let you all know that we are counting on you to do your best, and return through this same airport, to take your rightful positions on this island.

You are leaving as students today, and when you finish your various courses, in a few years, you will be returning as men and women, prepared to take St. Maarten to a much higher level. I wish you the best of luck in all your endeavors. You're embarking on perhaps the most critical journey of your lives, in search of what some have called the Golden Fleece. Go for it, come back with it as soon as possible, and make this island a much better place for all.

I can assure you PJIA is rooting for you, and so is the whole island. Bon voyage and may the good Lord go with you.

I thank you.

The Government of St. Maarten represented by the Ministry of VROMI, Department of New Projects Development and Planning would like to hereby make known that the following project will be in execution from Tuesday July 3^rd, 2012 to Friday August 10^th, 2012:

Main Sewage Line: Ebenezer –A.T. Illidge Road, Phase 2

The execution of this project will result in:

TRAFFIC MEASUREMENTS AND DETOURS AT ZAEGERSGUT ROAD

The Ministry of VROMI, Department of New Projects Development and Planning on behalf of the Government of St. Maarten is hereby informing the general public that:

Zaegersgut Road will be partially closed from the Zaegersgut Road/Coralita Road intersection to the Cottage Roundabout (Eddie’s Auto Supply) during the period Tuesday, July 3^rd to Monday July 23^rd, 2012. During this period:

Traffic originating on the BUSH ROAD with destination Madame Estate, Middle Region, Dutch Quarter and French Quarter may utilize the Zaegersgut Road IN THAT DIRECTION ONLY;

Traffic originating in Madame Estate, Middle Region, Dutch Quarter and French Quarter to all destinations will be rerouted onto A.T. Illidge Road at the Cottage Roundabout (Eddie’s Auto Supply);

Traffic originating in Philipsburg with destination Madame Estate, Middle Region, Dutch Quarter and French Quarter is advised to utilize Sucker Garden Road but may also use A.T. Illidge Road;

As the congestion at BUSH ROAD and A.T. ILLIDGE ROAD will likely be increased due to these measures, motorists originating are strongly advised to avoid using these roads where possible.

IN ADDITION

A section of the Coralita Road will be affected beginning at the Zaegersgut Road/Coralita Road intersection during the period Tuesday July 24^th to Friday August 10^th, 2012. The traffic measurements pertaining to this will be detailed in a future public notice.

In ALL cases, access will be provided for emergency services and persons residing adjacent to the works and detours.

The Ministry of VROMI, Department of New Projects Development and Planning on behalf of the Government of St. Maarten is asking all motorists to pay keen attention to the traffic signs and detour routes for the duration of the works, to ensure a smooth and safe transition while the works for Main Sewage Line Ebenezer – A.T. Illidge Road Phase 2, is completed. Furthermore, the Government of St. Maarten asks for your patience and understanding for the inconveniences that this will cause.

MAHO:--- Five air traffic controllers of the Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIAE) proudly received their instructor's certificates on June 29, 2012 at the PJIA control tower.

The controllers received their certifications from the Florida-based Pan Am International Flight Academy. The controllers are now Certified On-the-Job Training Instructors and three within the group also received certification as Certified Classroom Instructors.

The graduates are Duncan van Heyningen, Sophia Rismay, Shevlin Francis, Reynaldo Richards, and Philmore Watson.

Certified Classroom Instructors are qualified to provide theoretical training to air traffic controller trainees and Certified On-the-Job Training Instructors are qualified to provide the operational training for putting the theory provided in the classroom into practice on the job, said Gregory Hassell, manager of PJIAE's Control Tower and Flight Information Office.

Director of Air Traffic Services Raul van Heyningen sees the culmination of the four-week Certified Instructor Course in part as, "the willingness of the course instructor Gabriel Virlan to fly to the island to give the course and the willingness and interest of the group to learn; often opting to learn more information by missing out on lunch breaks."

Course instructor Virlan participated in the presentation of the certificates to the graduates, whom he said made up the best group he has worked with over the seven years he has instructed this course. He received a heartfelt "Thank you" from the group of new instructors.

Reynaldo Richards said that their instructor was very forthcoming, going beyond the scope to enlighten the group of learners. The graduates also thanked the management of PJIAE "for having the foresight to see the need for the training to prepare our St. Maarten staff for the future," said Hassell.

Regina LaBega, the Managing Director of PJIAE, said that passionate people also made the occasion possible. "You can have all the knowledge, but without passion it will never work," said LaBega.

The knowledge and passion within the group of air traffic controllers could also very well contribute to the goal of establishing the first certified air traffic control academy on the island. Hassell said that "the air traffic controllers look forward to exercising their new knowledge and dealing with the challenges to meet this goal" in the future.

Labega sees the possibility of a flight academy as one that will "serve the region and further serve as an institution for educational diversification and an economic pillar to the economy of St. Maarten. It will provide numerous opportunities for the island, especially within the tourism industry and will further impact the island's trade and industry."

LaBega said that PJIAE was pleased to work with the Pan Am International Flight Academy – the same school that trained PJIAE's radar controllers in 2001 – "to equip the airport's staff with knowledge that they too can share with the island and the region. The air traffic controllers are ready to make a difference with the enhanced techniques."

The controllers closed the graduation ceremony by saying: "We love this job!"

The St. Maarten Nature Foundation has started a coral transplanting project to restore sections of coral reef which were damaged by the sinking of the vessel "Urge" in late March of this year. The vessel caught fire and sank within the Man of War Shoal Marine Park close to a dive site known as "Fish Bowl". The larger pieces of the wreck were cleared by commercial salvage company Aquatic Solutions with the Nature Foundation cleaning up the smaller sized debris. Bobby's Marina Group of Companies also made a significant donation to the Nature Foundation to assist with the cleaning and restoration efforts of the reef due to the sinking of the "Urge".

Because the vessel sank on an area of healthy reef some corals were damaged as a result. Once coral reefs are damaged they are less able to support the many creatures that inhabit them. When a coral reef supports fewer fish, plants, and animals, it also loses value as a tourist destination. Further, the absence of reefs acting as natural barriers can increase the damage to the Philipsburg area from wave action caused by storms. It was therefore decided to conduct a coral transplanting initiative to help Nature restore the damaged reef.

The corals were transplanted using a simple technique where pieces of coral are harvested from healthy sections on different areas on the reef. A small nail is drilled into the damaged area to which the coral is attached using tying wire and marine epoxy. It is expected that the coral will start to grow on its own in approximately three weeks. During the initial phase of the transplanting on Friday and Sunday six pieces of corals were transplanted by Nature Foundation staff and volunteers, with another 150 planned in the coming weeks.

The man of War Shoal Marine Park and the coral reef areas within it are of significant environmental and economic importance as diving in Marine Parks is globally on the rise and generally accepted by the diving tourist as a "must do" vacation activity. An economic valuation study conducted by the Nature Foundation of St. Maarten's coral reef ecosystem has placed the monetary value at close to US$58 million in contributions to the economy of the country.

With proper management and restoration the area will increase the St. Maarten Tourism Product and local fisheries will also be enhanced through the regeneration of the depleted fish stock surrounding St. Maarten. Research has shown that Marine Protected Areas increase fish populations and fish size of commercial species in nearby fishing grounds.

The coral transplanting will continue for the next week weeks. Divers who are interested in helping can contact the Nature Foundation at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Landmark report finds evidence that enforcing punitive laws hinders HIV responses and wastes resources. Commission urgently calls for laws that protect human rights to save lives, save money and end the epidemic.

NEW YORK:--- Punitive laws and human rights abuses are costing lives, wasting money and stifling the global AIDS response, according to a report by the Global Commission on HIV and the Law, an independent body of global leaders and experts. The Commission report, "HIV and the Law: Risks, Rights and Health," finds evidence that governments in every region of the world have wasted the potential of legal systems in the fight against HIV. The report also concludes that laws based on evidence and human rights strengthen the global AIDS response - these laws exist and must be brought to scale urgently.
"Bad laws should not be allowed to stand in the way of effective HIV responses," said Helen Clark, United Nations Development Programme Administrator. "In the 2011 Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS, Member States committed to reviewing laws and policies which impede effective HIV responses. One of the key contributions of the Commission's work has been to stimulate review processes and change in a number of countries."
The Global Commission on HIV and the Law—comprising former heads of state and leading legal, human rights and HIV experts—based its report on extensive research and first-hand accounts from more than 1,000 people in 140 countries. The Commission, supported by the United Nations Development Programme on behalf of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, found that punitive laws and discriminatory practices in many countries undermine progress against HIV.
For example, laws and legally condoned customs that fail to protect women and girls from violence deepen gender inequalities and increase their vulnerability to HIV. Some intellectual property laws and policies are not consistent with international human rights law and impede access to lifesaving treatment and prevention. Laws that criminalise and dehumanise populations at highest risk of HIV—including men who have sex with men, sex workers, transgender people and injecting drug users—drive people underground, away from essential health services and heighten their risk of HIV. Laws that criminalise HIV transmission, exposure or non-disclosure of HIV status discourage people from getting tested and treated. More specifically:

• In more than 60 countries, it is a crime to expose another person to or transmit HIV. More than 600 HIV-positive people across 24 countries, including the United States, have been convicted of such crimes. These laws and practices discourage people from seeking an HIV test and disclosing their status.
• 78 countries criminalise same-sex sexual activity. Iran and Yemen impose the death penalty for sexual acts between men; Jamaica and Malaysia punishes homosexual acts with lengthy imprisonment. These laws make it difficult to prevent HIV amongst those most vulnerable to infection.
• Laws in some countries criminalise proven interventions for injecting drug users, including in Cambodia, China, Myanmar, Malaysia and the Philippines. In contrast, countries that legalise harm reduction services, like Switzerland and Australia, have almost completely stopped new HIV infections among injecting drug users.
• More than 100 countries criminalise some aspect of sex work. The legal environment in many countries exposes sex workers to violence and results in their economic and social exclusion. It also prevents them from accessing essential HIV prevention and care services.
• Laws and customs that disempower women and girls, from genital mutilation to denial of property rights, undermine their ability to negotiate safe sex and to protect themselves from HIV infection. 127 countries do not have legislation against marital rape.
• Laws and policies that deny young people access to sex education, harm reduction and reproductive and HIV services help spread HIV.
• Excessive intellectual property protections that hinder the production of low-cost medicines, especially second-generation treatments, impede access to treatment and prevention.

Enforcing bad laws squanders resources and undermines effective HIV responses

Over the past three decades, scientific breakthroughs and billions of dollars of investments have led to the remarkable expansion of lifesaving HIV prevention and treatment, which has benefited countless individuals, families and communities. Yet, the Commission's report finds that many countries squander resources by enacting and enforcing laws that undermine these critical investments.
"Too many countries waste vital resources by enforcing archaic laws that ignore science and perpetuate stigma," said former President of Brazil Fernando Henrique Cardoso, who chairs the Commission. "Now, more than ever, we have a chance to free future generations from the threat of HIV. We cannot allow injustice and intolerance to undercut this progress, especially in these tough economic times."

Governments must enact laws based on evidence, human rights and public health

The report finds that laws based on public health evidence and human rights can transform the global HIV response. According to the Commission's report, laws and practices rooted in sound public health evidence and human rights exist and such laws and practices must be replicated. To end the epidemic of bad laws and to promote good laws that support effective HIV responses, the Commission urges governments to ban discrimination on the basis of HIV status and to repeal laws that criminalise HIV transmission or non-disclosure of HIV status. The Commission calls on governments to use the law to end the scourge of violence against women and girls and to resist international pressures to prioritise trade over the health of their citizens. The Commission also recommends decriminalising same-sex sexual activity, voluntary sex work and drug use, which will allow vulnerable populations access to HIV services.
"Women are half the world's population and young people are our future," said Nevena Ciric, a Serbian woman living with HIV. "Countries must enact laws that prevent violence against women and girls, as well as ensuring that laws support the provision of comprehensive sexual health education and services to young people."
The global community has a critical role to play. Global leaders, civil society groups and the United Nations must hold governments accountable to the highest standards of international law, public health and universal human rights, and advocate for policies and practices based on human rights and public health evidence.
"Governments across the world have a responsibility to take bold action and repeal laws that stem from ignorance and intolerance," said Maurice Tomlinson, a Jamaican lawyer and legal advisor for AIDS-Free World. "In Jamaica, where HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men is among the highest in the world, anti-sodomy law breeds fear and violence and drives these men away from the care and treatment they need."
Governments must follow the leadership of countries that have enacted laws that help advance effective HIV responses. For example, African and Caribbean countries that do not criminalise same-sex sexual activity have lower HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men. Countries that treat injecting drug users as patients instead of criminals—including New Zealand, Germany, Australia, Switzerland and Portugal —have increased access to HIV services and reduced HIV transmission rates among people who use drugs.
"We must ensure that new interventions to prevent and treat HIV reach the people who need them most," said former President of the Republic of Botswana Festus Mogae, a member of the Commission. "Laws that prohibit discrimination and violence and protect at-risk populations are a powerful, low-cost tool to ensure that HIV investments are not wasted. Undoubtedly, enforcing such laws is complex and politically challenging, but our report shows that it can and must be done."

The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot Williams will be attending the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) in Washington DC from the 22nd to the 27th of July 2012. The Prime Minister will be chairing the session on addressing HIV-Related Stigma and Discrimination with the aim of changing the effects of HIV stigma within local communities.

HIV stigma and discrimination are consistently recognized as critical barriers to the uptake of treatment, disclosure of status, timely entry into care and adherence. Yet investments in community level stigma and discrimination reduction efforts remain small in comparison to the stated need. The session chaired by the Prime Minister will look at critical areas that may be hindering, or working to facilitate, a more concerted response to stigma and discrimination, and thereby influencing the successful roll out of treatment as prevention and the elimination of vertical transmission of HIV.

The Prime Minister will also be a featured speaker at the Regional Session: Sustainable Development and HIV - A Caribbean Agenda, also during the AIDS 2012 Conference.

The Prime Minister will be giving her talk during a session that has as its aim the development of an agenda for sustainable development and HIV beyond 2015 and the Millennium Development Goals. The agenda for that particular session will be based on a new Sustainable Development Agenda with HIV, Gender and economic development; Rethinking Equity and Human Rights; Facilitating Gender, the participation of Caribbean women and girls and men and how to address domestic violence, reach poor women and change men's perceptions; and Rethinking Partnerships on how to encourage partnerships with bi-laterals, foundations, social media, and cultural leaders within the region.

The International AIDS Conference is the largest international meeting on a single health issue where every two years 20,000 participants representing all stakeholders in the global response to HIV meet to assess progress and identify future priorities. With more than 2,000 international journalists expected to attend, the conference is the single most widely covered HIV event in the world. The AIDS 2012 is organized by the International AIDS Society (IAS) in partnership with a number of international and local partners. The conference theme, "Turning the Tide Together", reflects a unique moment in time, emphasizing that the HIV epidemic has reached a defining moment. By acting decisively on recent scientific advances in HIV treatment and biomedical prevention, the momentum for a cure, and the continuing evidence of the ability to scale-up key interventions in the most-needed settings there is now the potential to end the HIV epidemic. The Prime Minister will be departing for the conference in Washington DC on 21st of July and will be returning on the 28th. The Prime Minister will be accompanied by HIV/ AIDS program Manager for St. Maarten Suzette Moses-Burton who will also be session co-chairing during the conference.

From the Cabinet of the Prime Minister

PHILIPSBURG:--- Maho Beach in St. Maarten (www.VacationStMaarten.com) has been named the number one 'Truly Unique Beach' in the world by TripAdvisor.com. Due to the beach's close proximity to the Princess Juliana International Airport, the location is one of the few places in the world where aircrafts can be viewed in their flight path just outside the end of the runway.
"We are incredibly proud to have one of our beautiful beaches awarded the honor of being the number one 'Truly Unique Beach' by TripAdvisor.com. It is the unique attractions and places like Maho Beach that make St. Maarten a favorite destination of travelers around the world," said Augusto Priest, acting tourism director for the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau.
Watching airliners pass over the beach is such a popular activity for beachgoers that the arrivals and departures timetables are displayed in many of the local bars and restaurants.
"Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Casino is delighted that the readers of TripAdvisor.com have chosen our beach as a 'Truly Unique Beach,'" said Armando Pizzuti, vice president of hotel operations for Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Casino. "This a just another great value for our guests to enjoy!"
For even more excitement, the nearby Sunset Bar & Grill broadcasts the radio transmissions between the pilots and the airport's control tower to its patrons.
"With our unique location, friendly staff and great food, Sunset Bar & Grill does its best to capture the true meaning of 'Sea, Sand, Sun, Fun... and AIRPLANES!'" said Melissa Peterson, manager of Sunset Bar & Grill. "We are absolutely privileged to be a part of this," Peterson added.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The Minister of Tourism & Economic Affairs, Traffic and Transportation (TEATT) Hon. Romeo Pantophlet is currently preparing a ministerial regulation that would prevent price gouging during a hurricane threat for the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season.

The ministerial regulation would take effect two days prior to a hurricane strike and would remain in effect two days after a hurricane has passed. The latter is dependent on the extent of damage sustained by the country and the length of time for national clean-up.

It has become common practice in different parts of the world when a natural disaster such as a hurricane strikes, a number of retailers will try to take advantage of the victims.

Price gouging is when a retailer unnecessarily and callously increases their prices during a time of great panic or in an emergency situation.

In order to avoid the above situation, the Office of Disaster Management has advised residents prior to the start of the hurricane season to prepare a disaster kit which should include non-perishable canned foods, water, batteries etc.

The Inspection Department TEATT has compiled a list of food items, hardware/building materials, and sanitary products with maximum prices.

It would be forbidden for merchants to sell any of the listed items above the maximum prices stipulated. The community will be informed when the regulation is no longer in effect.

Food items and sanitary products with a maximum price are: corned beef, sardines, soup, tuna in the can, vienna sausages, bottled water, toothpaste, mouth wash, dishwashing liquid, bath soaps, toilet paper, soap powder, disinfectant, batteries, glass candles, and hurricane lamps.

Government has also set maximum prices for building materials that are used for securing one's home or business during the last hours pending a hurricane strike.

The maximum prices are for lumber, ply form, nails (galvanize, steel, concrete, zinc nails), paint, hammers, felt paper, flush doors, roof zinc, blocks, cement, P.V.C. fittings, and C.P.V.C.

Prior to a hurricane strike within 48 hours, controllers will carry out spot checks to see whether businesses are selling items at regular prices. Those caught price gouging will be prosecuted.

Products that fall under the maximum price will be published in the Government Information Page (GIP) in both daily newspapers within short. Consumers are advised to save the page in the event they need to check it when the ministerial regulation goes into effect.

The maximum price list will also be available on the Government website www.sintmaartengov.org
in a PDF file format allowing consumers to also download the lists of food items, sanitary products and building materials.

Maximum prices have been established in accordance with article 2 sub 1a of the Price Ordinance 1961.

As a consumer, if you believe that a merchant has cheated or scammed you by engaging in price gouging, then you can call the Inspection Department at Tel. 543-7820 to file a complaint.

The Government of St. Maarten represented by the Ministry of VROMI, Department of New Projects Development and Planning would like to hereby make known that the following project will be in execution fromTuesday July 3^rd, 2012 to Friday August 10^th, 2012:

Main Sewage Line: Ebenezer –A.T. Illidge Road, Phase 2

The execution of this project will result in:

TRAFFIC MEASUREMENTS AND DETOURS AT CORALITA ROAD

The Ministry of VROMI, Department of New Projects Development and Planning on behalf of the Government of St. Maarten is hereby informing the general public that:

Coralita Road will be partially closed at the Zaegersgut Road/Coralita Road intersection during the period Monday, July 16^th to Friday, August 10^th, 2012.

Through traffic entering the district of Cul-de-Sac may access the Coralita Road from the Zaegersgut Road.

Traffic exiting Cul de Sac must utilize the A.T. Illidge Road.

In ALL cases, access will be provided for emergency services and persons residing adjacent to the works and detours.

The Ministry of VROMI, Department of New Projects Development and Planning on behalf of the Government of St. Maarten is asking all motorists to pay keen attention to the traffic signs and detour routes for the duration of the works, to ensure a smooth and safe transition while the works for Main Sewage Line Ebenezer – A.T. Illidge Road Phase 2, is completed. Furthermore, the Government of St. Maarten asks for your patience and understanding for the inconveniences that this will cause.

Marigot:--- Well known activist on St. Maarten Elridge van Putten passed away at his Rambaud home Friday morning after a brief illness. According to information provided by relatives of the late Elridge van Putten, the late van Putten underwent a major heart surgery in Martinique in the month of April and he returned to the island feeling well. One of  van Putten's sisters said she was in Martinique when her brother underwent the major operation and everything went well, she said her brother came back to St. Maarten about a month ago but he stayed at home most of the time relaxing and recovering.
The wife of the late Elridge van Putten told SMN News that her husband woke up early Friday morning and he went to relax, sometime during that time he died in his sleep. His distraught wife who was obviously shaken by the loss of her husband said she could not say exactly what time her husband passed away.
At the Rambaud home where the body of the late Elridge Van Putten laid were several neighbors and friends of the family who rushed to the home to console the family especially his wife and sisters. His only brother Samuel van Putten and Pastor Royston Philbert and his wife were also at the home of the van Puttens.
When SMN News arrived at the home two gendarmes were there waiting for the medical doctor to arrive on the scene to examine the body before he was pronounced dead.
Relatives of the late Eldridge van Putten are currently making arrangements for his burial.

GREAT BAY:--- A delegation from the Velo Club also known as VCG paid a courtesy call to one of their longstanding and major sponsors; NAGICO Insurances on Tuesday and presented them with their newly acquired 1st place trophy, which they won at the Annual John T Memorial Cycling competition held in Anguilla on July 7.

The VCG cycler Edwige Belair took the title after he bested more than sixty-four other cyclers in the challenging 130 kilometers race, which lasted approximately three hours. Marketing Manager of VCG; Rene Arnell said this was another big win for them as this race attracted competitors from all over the region. "This is the 13th year that this race is been held and the VCG has won the championship nine times now," he said. "And this is a serious race where good cyclists from places like Barbados, Trinidad, Tortola, Guadeloupe and all over the region attend."

The John T Memorial cycling competition is held each year in honor of John Thomas, who was a pioneer in the cycling arena in Anguilla.

The trophy was presented to Lisa Brown-McKay; Marketing Assistant of NAGICO Insurances, by Arnell and two junior cyclers of the Velo Club; Keith Hyman and Kimani Weinum.

The Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams attended the ceremonies centered around the celebration of International Day of Justice on Tuesday. The Prime Minister was joined by numerous dignitaries including His Excellency Governor Holliday, the Minister of Justice Roland Duncan, Minister of Health and Social Affairs Cornelius de Weever, President of the Collectivity Alain Richardson and the Chief Minister of Anguilla Minister Hughes.

In her official remarks the Prime Minister, on behalf of the Council of Ministers of St. Maarten, extended her appreciation and congratulations to the Minister of Justice Roland Duncan and his Ministry on organizing the activities surrounding the International Day of Justice; "Today is a day in which we can reflect in the steps and strives made in our own justice system. We have a lot to be proud of on St. Maarten and the Justice Area is no exception. The Justice Ministry is one of the Ministries which we have had to build from scratch. St. Maarten was finding its way in making sure that when 10-10-10 came around the safety and security of our Citizens would be assured. And today as Prime Minister of Country St. Maarten I can safely say that we have come a long way and, without any doubt, this has been possible through the collaboration and hard work of those involved in the chain of justice on St. Maarten. These Civil Servants have worked so hard in making the level of justice which is available to the people of St. Maarten equal to that of the world beyond us. It has taken a lot of so many of them but they can now be proud of truly building, and continuing to build the Ministry of Justice and ensure our people of a fair and equal Justice System", commented the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister also stated that Tuesday's celebrations were significant due to the presence of the authorities of French St. Martin and Anguilla. "This is important to recognize because we are affected by so many things which happen around us. Through the collaborative efforts with our colleagues to the north and within our region we have a voice to express our sentiments when it comes to matters of justice. In celebrating this day St. Maarten recognizes the importance of looking around us and recognizing that justice does not only affect us but also the communities of our neighbors in the region. We have assumed the responsibility towards the international world and to step up a notch to mold the values which are recognized internationally and today is one of the events in which we show appreciation for the administration of Justice both nationally and internationally", concluded the Prime Minister.

From the Cabinet of the Prime Minister

Community Policing is an organization wide philosophy and management approach that promotes community government and police partners, proactive problem solving, community engagement to address the causes of crime, fear of crime, and other community issues.
The purpose of Community Oriented Policing is to empower the neighbourhoods to make it safer.

Five (5) Community Police Officers left for Miami on Sunday, July 15th, 2012, for their internship in Miami. This will take place in Miami Gardens and Miami Beach.
Commissioner of Police Carl John as the coordinator of the project will meet the officers in Miami during the final phase of their internship. Minister of Justice Roland DUNCAN will also be present for the graduation.

Press release from Police Department (KPSM)

SIMPSON BAY:--- The St. Maarten Youth Beat Foundation is the latest recipient of a donation made by Seven Seas Water (St. Maarten).
A cheque of 1500 U.S. dollars was presented to members of the group by Seven Seas Water Managing Director, Franklyn Richards.

Richards has expressed great satisfaction at being able to support the groups' endeavors – noting that the company encourages and supports the island's youth through sports. He noted that Seven Seas Water continues to believe in its role as good corporate citizen and that as such it always welcomes opportunities to assist, particularly, youth development in St. Maarten.

The mission of the group is to lead, train and develop young men and women to compete on a higher level in sports, education and social activities, says SYBF president Emanuel 'Manny' York.

"Assisting our youth in education, sports, arts and culture is an important element in nation-building and Seven Seas Water embraces its role towards realizing this goal", noted Richards.

"Getting our youth involved in meaningful and productive exercises is something Seven Seas Water subscribes to. The experience and discipline gained on the basketball court can very well serve as a lesson in how to work together and is immeasurable".

With this donation, Seven Seas recognizes the dedication and hard work of our own prospective basketball professionals" stated the Seven Seas Water director.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The 16th Annual International African American Hotel Ownership & Investment Summit & Trade Show of the National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators & Developers (NABHOOD), will kick off on July 25 and run through July 28 at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa, Miami Florida.

NABHOOD's primary goal is to increase the number of African-Americans developing, managing, operating and owning hotels; increase vendor opportunities & executive level jobs for minorities, thereby creating wealth within the African-American community.

Minister of Tourism & Economic Affairs, Traffic and Transportation (TEATT) Hon. Romeo Pantophlet will be attending the NABHOOD conference where he will receive information about hotel ownership, investing, supplier opportunities, employment and other resources.

The four-day summit is designed to educate attendees on becoming a hotel owner or investor, share minority investment trends, explore supplier opportunities, and learn how to market to minorities and diversity issues affecting the industry.

The police is requesting that everyone over the age of 12 years have their identification cards or passport with them at all times when making use of the public roads or when visiting public entities because such is required by Law (indentificatie plicht).

When summoned by a police officer or auxiliary police officer to do so one has to adhere to this. If you are a non- national or do not have your ID card, you will be brought to the police station until such can be arranged. To avoid such embarrassment, it is best to always have your ID card or passport with you.

Press release by Police Department (KPSM)

Philipsburg:--- Members of Parliament Patrick Illidge and Roy Marlin set the record straight with members of the media on Monday morning at a press conference regarding their visit to the Kadaster office almost two weeks ago, where they were accused of lacing obscene language at the Director of the Kadaster Office Clement Roos.
Member of Parliament Patrick Illidge said that when he was the Minister of Traffic and Telecommunications in the former Netherlands Antilles he realized that the POSTPARBANK had too much money and as such decided to use some of that money to benefit St. Maarten and its people. Illidge said at the time which is almost two years ago, he contacted his cousin Roberto Richardson, a certified architect to start a housing project that would be affordable for the people of St. Maarten. MP Illidge said the same day the POSTPARBANK St. Maarten was launched they also launched a housing project that will be financed by the POSTPARBANK. This housing project is going to be in a gated community which would be zero percent down payment with 5% for a period of 30 years. Illidge explained that he did this because he realized how the real estate business was skyrocketing and since the opportunity was there he took advantage of it so that locals could own their own homes.
MP Illidge said that when he realized that the administrative work within the government of St. Maarten was taking too long to complete. He made several phone calls to get assistance; the first person he said he called was the head of New Projects Kurt Ruan and the head of Domain Affairs Maria van Zaddlehof. "Both of these civil servants did what they needed to do and the head of domain affairs notified me that the paper work was sent over to the Kadaster Office so that the Meetbrief could be issued." MP Illidge said that Roberto Richardson tried on numerous occassions to obtain the Meetbrief but he was not getting anywhere with the Director Mr. Roos. He said Richardson had a massive stroke and is now recovering and last time he went to the Kadaster office he still could not obtain the document and that is how he decided to accompany Richardson to the Kadaster Office to see exactly what was holding up the process. Illidge admitted that the conversation got heated because they showed Roos all the documents, even the payments that were made to the Kadaster Office and he (Roos) admitted that Richardson had paid too much money for the document. MP Illidge said from the time he entered Roos' office he (Roos) was upset because Richardson took two MPs with him that day. MP Illidge said when Roos expressed his concerns, he immediately informed him that he was not there in the capacity of a MP but instead as a citizen and former Minister who initiated the project for the people.
"As an elected official, I want to make very clear that when its election time I knock on the doors of the St. Maarten people and ask them to vote for me, and when these people knock on my door for help I will help, I will answer and if it means that I have to revisit the Kadaster Office again so be it, even if I am labeled as the passionate guy. I have spoken out on the floor of Parliament about the lack of services from Government departments. I spoke to the former Minister that was responsible for the issuance of business licenses and I also spoke out against GEBE. While I am grateful for the work the immigrants did on St. Maarten, I will not tolerate abuse from anyone. Whether its locals or foreigners I will not condone the taking advantage of each other. I also agree that some of my people (locals) will have to get their acts together."
The MP said right now the entire staff of the Kadaster office is being antagonized by the Director of the Kadaster Office. "This kind of behavior will not be tolerated. Just to let you know that we visited the Kadaster's Office on Wednesday and by Friday midday the Meetbrief was issued by the Kadaster Office. Why was Roos giving Richardson a hard time and why he did not issue the document before because everything had gone through the process legally?"
Member of Parliament Roy Marlin told members of the media at the press conference they called on Monday that he has enormous knowledge on how the Kadaster Office is supposed to function. Marlin said he was the commissioner in charge of the Kadaster office for some ten years and he is the one who did everything to make sure the building and registration system was implemented. "Marlin said the article he read in one of the newspapers does not reflect the truth and the only person who could have given the reporter the details of the meeting was the person that was also part of the meeting. However, that person did not tell the truth, what he did was give his version of the story." MP Marlin said he was not born on St. Maarten and when he first came to the island he too had to go through the process of being accepted. "I was born on Aruba and I came to St. Maarten in 1983. I had a difficult time trying to gain acceptance even though I had heritage here. So I will never tell anyone they are not from here because I know what it is to be accepted."
Marlin further explained that while he met with the Director of the Kadaster Office he could not get any clear explanations as to why the Meetbrief was held up. Marlin said that the Kadaster office became a foundation in 1998 and in 1999 he was appointed the commissioner in charge of the Kadaster Office to 2009. MP Marlin said that since the incident and the publication of the article, he received a number of phone calls from people in the community that are having problems with the director of the Kadaster Office. One such complaint is the hike in the fees that was implemented by the Director Clement Roos without consulting government. Marlin said there are loop holes in the law that governs the Kadaster Office and the Director of the government foundation is using these loopholes to his benefit instead of following corporate governance that he referred to in the article that appeared in the newspaper.
He said he is one person that is in favor of Corporate Governance and he also introduced this measure at several government owned companies including at the Kadaster Office. He said while government placed certain companies in foundations and at arm's length he is of the opinion that these companies/supervisory boards must follow the rules that are laid down for them. He said it is not because government placed these institutions at arm's length that they cannot pull them back in. "Right now as I listen to the complaints and the tariff hikes that have been implemented I am wondering if it is not the time for government to pull back the Kadaster Office under their wing and take their responsibilities."
Marlin said that based on the report issued by the Ombudsman, something needs to be done. He said while he is not in a position to take direct action the Minister that is now responsible for the Kadaster Office will have to intervene and if it is necessary for the supervisory board to report to Parliament then that would have to be done.
When questioned by the media if he Marlin will seek to remove Roos as Director of the Kadaster, Marlin said that the statements he made still stands.

GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- The Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) will be hosting an Open House on Friday, 3rd of August, and the public is invited to attend.
Persons interested in learning more about what services the IND provides can visit the Open House at its office on the A.T. Illidge Road 8A (next to NAPA) between 8:00am and Noon.
Staff will be available to answer questions and brochures will be on display and available to take-away as well.
IND is continuing its efforts to be able to offer additional and improved services required by country Sint Maarten where it relates to the new guidelines on admittance & expulsion, border and territorial control.
During the last quarter of 2011 the IND worked hard on one particular objective; to clear the backlog in admittance requests. The legal period for processing permits is four months however the IND reached its goal for 2012 during the first quarter reducing the processing time to two months.
The three main areas when carrying out its work are transparency, consistency and customer friendly service.
The IND would also like to further improve and develop its relationship with external stakeholders such as Embassies and other organizations that carry out similar responsibilities.
The IND is looking forward to meeting with those who require additional information during the Open House of August 3, 2012.

Philipsburg:--- Minister of Finance Roland Tuitt has been the latest victim of home burglary. According to information reaching SMN News, bandits raided the home of the Finance Minister some time after 2pm Monday afternoon when his two sons left their home. The culprits ransacked the home and they stole four laptop computers and a 52 inch flat screen television. The robbery was reported to the Police Department but to date no release was issued about the burglary of the Minister's home.

In an invited comment, Minister Roland Tuitt confirmed that his home was robbed Monday afternoon. He said the police are busy investigating.

Philipsburg:--- The G.I.F.T.E.D. Foundation returns with their series of praise parties with GLOW Party- 80's Babies Style on July 28 at the John Larmonie Centre starting at 7pm. Recording gospel R&B artiste, Marc G. Menard from Haiti and French St. Martin will be performing live, along with Joshua DRJ Ferrol of Radio Maranatha, the DJ/selector for the night.
Patrons are expected to dress in their most creative outfit from the 1980s, and there will be prizes for the most stylish, as well as other surprises. Free drinks will be served to the Early Birds from 7pm to 8pm.
Renato Baker aka "Bro Omar", leader of the youth group at Christian Faith Ministry in Dutch Quarter says, "I am excited about these GLOW parties, as well as my youth. GIFTED is creating an atmosphere where both young and old can be a part of it. We love the message that they are sending."

G.I.F.T.E.D. GLOW parties provide wholesome entertainment for young Christ-minded people with good friends, great music, and an enjoyable experience. GLOW parties are held on the last Saturday of every month. At the end of a GIFTED party, each person is energized to Go Light Our World!

I've been off island and since my return; I have been hearing some disturbing things and the UP Faction would like to hear the information directly from the authorities in charge. Since the new coalition took charge, it has been alleged that a "purge" is taking place within the civil service of the country and its extended indirect bodies, and this is a great concern to the country.

It has been alleged that "political victimization" is the order of the day, and if this is true, it is not right, and I encourage those persons to seek justice via the different bodies at their disposal.

The UP Faction will be forwarding a letter to the Minister of Education seeking clarification on a few matters of great concern on how the Ministry of Education is running its business. Decisions apparently are being made that are impacting the lives of persons. The Minister will be given a reasonable period to comply. I know she will be in Holland on a working visit, however, the Minister has a Cabinet who can do the necessary research while she is away and the Minister can approve her response to the UP parliamentary faction's questions. Should this not be forthcoming in a timely manner, the UP Faction will move to request a meeting of Parliament with respect to the chaos at the Ministry of Education. The people have a right to know!

Some of the issues of concern are:

• Study financing
• Hanze Hogeschool Program and USM
• Status of construction works at the Genevieve de Weever Elementary School and the Seventh Day Adventist School in Cole Bay
• S4 Foundation and Relationship with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth & Sports
• Role of the Sint Maarten House and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth & Sports
• Process to Appoint School Managers and Assistant Managers at nation's schools and in particular at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School
• Position of the Secretary General of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth & Sports
• The Ministers position with respect to future Olympic Games and Sint Maarten's participation

The St. Maarten Nature Foundation is once again warning about the large amounts of Sargasso Seaweed washing ashore on local beaches. Based on surveys at sea and in the air there are several large patches of Sargasso seaweed heading into the general direction of St. Maarten and many beaches are already covered in the weed.

Sargasso is a genus of brown (class Phaeophyceae) seaweed which is distributed throughout the temperate and tropical oceans of the world. Most of the Sargasso Seaweed lies concentrated in the Sargasso Sea, a region in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean surrounded by ocean currents. It is bounded on the west by the Gulf Stream; on the north, by the North Atlantic Current; on the east, by the Canary Current; and on the south by the North Atlantic Equatorial Current.

Sargasso Weed has been plaguing the Caribbean and St. Maarten since last year. With the Foundation having to warn swimmers to avoid swimming in Guana Bay in August and September of 2011 due to the large amount of Sargasso Weed and many beach front residences and hotels having to continuously clean washed up Sargasso.

The resulting large influx of Sargasso Weed has been due to a suspected southward shift in the Gulf Stream, which has pushed the Sargasso Sea– an area of the Atlantic Ocean where Sargasso Weed is in thick concentration, south to our area.

Numerous medium to large patches of Sargasso were observed during recent survey flights floating in a westerly, south-westerly direction. Two medium patches were drifting towards the Eastern Shore of the Island and are expected to come ashore in the vicinity of Back Bay close to the Pointe Blanche area.

A fly-over was conducted over Guana Bay and Dawn beach and significant Sargassum was observed in that direction, with some small patches being immediately offshore of those beaches.

The Nature Foundation warns that the Sargasso Seaweed in itself is not very ddangerous; however in the floating mats there might be the presence of garbage and nets which may pose a danger and therefore warns against swimming in beaches such as Guana Bay that is seeing a large influx of Sargasso. The Foundation is also concerned about the effect the Sargasso Weed might have on the Sea Turtle Nesting Season which is now at its peak. Luckily RBC Bank has pledged to keep the islands main nesting beach, Guana Bay, as free of the Seaweed as possible.

The Nature Foundation will continuously monitor the status of the Sargasso Weed and notify the authorities if there is an imminent risk of a large influx of Sargasso in the St. Maarten Area.

On Tuesday, July 24, 2012, The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams paid an official visit to the United States State Department, the Government Department responsible for International Relations. The Prime Minister met with Mrs. Liliana Ayalde, who was recently appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) for Caribbean, Central American and Cuban Affairs.

The meeting centered on St. Maarten's new status as a Country within the Dutch Kingdom and the new dynamics which the status brings with it. Deputy Assistant Secretary Ayalde was very pleased with the meeting and described St. Maarten's constitutional position as one that is unique in the Caribbean.

Deputy Assistant Secretary Ayalde also expressed gratitude for the cooperation between St. Maarten and State Department officials thus far. She also encouraged the Government of St. Maarten to make use of United States agencies to enhance the island's networking capabilities, especially in the areas of security and trade programs. One such program is the so-called "Caribbean Basin Initiative" and related elements, which aim to facilitate economic development and export diversification of the Caribbean Basin economies. Also attending the meeting was Deputy Director Henry Rector of the Office of Caribbean Affairs; Robert Dressen, First Secretary Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and Senior Adviser to the Prime Minister Ms. Emilia Thomas.

From the Cabinet of the Prime Minister

The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams wished the fifty-eight students who left for the Netherlands to pursue their studies an excellent and successful journey and much success during their studies. "It is always heartening to see young students going abroad to stand on their own feet and pursue an education. I hope that they will be able to keep focused and realize that we as Government and their friends and family in general are their to offer our assistance," commented the Prime Minister, who for many years used to be commissioner of Education for the Island Territory of St. Maarten.

The Prime Minister also made comments regarding the parents of the students, who are also in their own way making a significant step in their lives; "It is always a big step in the lives of the students and indeed of their parents and family when the children have to leave the shores of St Maarten to go away and study. Some of the students that go away leave quite young so it is with a sense of some trepidation that parents see them go. One of the few things that we can do is to talk to them and wish them the best and to support them as much as we can while they are abroad. It is a fact that once they are there they are called to make choices of their own in their studies and in their social life and I am sure that they will be thinking back on St. Maarten where things seemed so much easier, surrounded by people who care for them and who they can turn to for advice," commented the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister also commented that sometimes some students may miss the island and their families and friends but that they should keep focused on their goals: "There will be that longing for St. Maarten but you have taken that decision to go abroad and study and we all hope that you do that with the intention of coming back to the island well equipped to add to the young people who have gone away and who have come back after achieving their study goals. So congratulations to you students and myself, Government and all of St. Maarten wishes you much courage, strength, and success in your studies," concluded the Prime Minister.

From the Cabinet of the Prime Minister

GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- On Monday July 30, Minister Education, Culture, Youth Affairs and Sports Hon. Silveria Jacobs and her delegation arrived in Holland safely with the group of 58 St. Maarten students.

The Minister and students were greeted upon arrival by Minister Plenipotentiary Hon. Mathias Voges, Deputy Minister Plenipotentiary Hon. Henrietta Doran-York, Advisor Perry Geerlings, Chairlady of Student Support Service St. Maarten (S4) Brenda Emmen-Hassell, employees of S4 and many senior St. Maarten student volunteers.

The students were then transported by bus to the Hotel Schiphol A4 (Ven der Valk) where a reception ceremony/lunch was organized in their honor. The reception included an intake process where students were informed about the following: medical insurance policy from NNAM representative Bertil Postema and staff; opened bank accounts with ABN-AMRO bank; signed rental agreements with the various housing foundations; and met their mentors and members of the reception committee assigned to their study city.

A ceremony followed, which was hosted by students Garrick Richardson and Aishira Cecilia. The hosts disseminated pertinent information to the students and introduced motivational speeches by the S4 Chair, various dignitaries, and special words of inspiration by the Student of the Year and Mentor of the Year for 2011.

The S4 organization made use of the opportunity to hand out awards for the Student of the Year 2012 -Tephany Baptist (organizer of the flash mob event on St. Maarten) and Mentor of the Year 2012 - Lourdes Charles.

At approximately 14.00 hours the St. Maarten students started boarding buses to their respective study cities. The students will spend the first two days in a hotel after which they will move into their rooms/apartments.

Despite being tired from the very long journey, the students were in high spirits as they embarked on this new era of their lives.

Minister Jacobs made use of the opportunity to commend S4, the volunteers and the staff of the Division Study Financing for working tirelessly to ensure a smooth transition for the students. During the coming week Study Financing Officer Yolanda Martina will visit all students in their study cities to ensure that they are settling in well and to address any problems that may arise.

Pointe Blanche:--- As part of their training program the Community Police Officers have recently launched a community project which is called G.R.I.P. and which stands for "Graffiti Removal and Intervention Project". This project is mainly to combat illegal graffiti which for quite some time has been spreading throughout the community. Graffiti is an art form which is practiced legally to send out positive messages and to expose artists who practice this type of art. Graffiti is also used to illegally send negative messages out and causes costly damages to private property. On Friday July 6th, 2012, the Community Police Officers tackled their first case which was the wall of the warehouse of Kwik Bargains located in Point Blanche area. This wall which was covered with illegal graffiti and which sent out very negatives messages was repainted removing all graffiti. This work was carried out and supervised in collaboration with the property owner and the Community Police Officers. The G.R.I.P. project will be an ongoing project in which property owners are encouraged to have this negative type of graffiti immediately removed from their property. The officers will also be more visible in the different communities contacting the different community counsels and organizations to come together and discuss what the problems are in their community and to jointly look for solutions for those problems.

Philipsburg:--- Minister of Finance Roland Tuitt announced on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers' press briefing that he received a quotation from SOAB on the cost of an investigation into the TAXAND contract that was awarded by the former Minister of Finance without a bidding process being conducted. Minister Tuitt said while he has the figures he could not release it to the media because he has to discuss it with the Council of Ministers and the council would then have to approve the quotation before SOAB can begin investigating the TAXAND contract.

2012 Budget Process Completed with CFT --- Parliament may have to work during recess to make amendments to Budget.

The Minister also told reporters that the processing of the 2012 budget has been completed with the CFT and government met the deadlines of the CFT regarding the additional questions they asked.
Minister Tuitt said that he is now working with the Members of Parliament to see if they are willing to attend Parliamentary meetings during the recess to ratify the amendments that were made to the 2012 budget. With the amendments that were made, the Minister said that the budget will remain at 432 million guilders. Tuitt said government had to make the amendments because of certain taxes that were not going to be collected. Those are the taxes of the foreign investors on St. Maarten, the one million guilders succession taxes that cannot be collected and the COLA payments which amounted to 5.7 million which was not included in the 2012 budget also the justice department which had 7.1 million guilders. Amendments, Tuitt said were made to remove the succession tax -1 million guilders, profit tax -1million guilders, income tax -21 million guilders, and also the transfer tax -1 million guilders.
The Finance Ministry also made the following amendments, the government has +17 million guilders in Turn over Taxes, +5 million guilders in wage taxes, + 2.6 million guilders gasoline taxes, and an additional one million guilders in court fees. The Minister further explained that the 2012 budget now has a surplus of 1.6 million guilders. The COLA payments he said was added as personnel costs because there were monies available for the hiring of staff members. Tuitt said when the 2012 budget is completely finalized the department will focus on preparing the 2013 budget.

Seventeen volunteers from the 429th Expeditionary Operations Squadron stationed at the U.S. Forward Operating Location (USFOL) traveled to the SILOAM Village on 28 June 2012 to lend a helping hand. The volunteers transported heavy equipment to the facility's essential work areas. Brother Herman Gijsbers, the SILOAM director, expressed deep gratitude to the FOL members. "What you have done is a blessing to us. Thank you!" The USFOL supports multinational aircraft operations that conduct detection, monitoring and tracking missions supporting counter-drug efforts in the region. Personnel regularly volunteer their time and labor in support of community projects and are pleased to partner with local agencies to support the citizens of Curacao.

GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- Dr. Virginia Asin, Head Collective Prevention Services (CPS) of the Ministry of Public Health Social Development took part in a two weeks training of CAREC (Caribbean Research and Epidemiology Center) ICD-10 mortality coding, in Trinidad and Tobago.

"This is another milestone for St. Maarten and I am happy that we are moving in the right direction when it comes to documenting and reporting on a local, regional and international level. We must continue raising our standards," said Minister of Public Health Social Development & Labor, Hon. Cornelius De Weever.

Participants were taught what coding entails, what the regular rules and guidelines are for coding and special coding instruction for specific underlying causes of death. The training was a combination of knowledge and skill building with a lot of practice and hands on experience. By participating in this training, the first step has been set by the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development & Labor to start its own mortality reporting on St. Maarten.
This training was the first two weeks training ever organized by CAREC for Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) member countries of the Caribbean.

The instructors were two professionals from the National Center for Health Statistics from the Center of Disease Control & Prevention (NCHS/CDC) Tryngia Crawford and Celia Brooks supported by Sarah Quesnel, Senior Biostatistician at CAREC.

At the closing ceremony participants were informed that this was also the last training of this kind organized by CAREC.

As of January 2013 CAREC will cease to exist as a Regional Expert Center of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). This institute will be taken over by a new CARICOM Public Health Institute "CARPHA" and will be an Expert Institute for CARICOM member countries.

The next step is to put the acquired knowledge into practice. The Department of Public Health is already preparing for these next steps which include internal training sessions for staff and a visit from CAREC later in the year to evaluate and assess the progress to date.

The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams joined Minister of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Sylveria Jacobs in honoring students who excelled in their academic career at the 2012 Lions Students Excellence Awards on Thursday Evening. During her message to those present the Prime Minister congratulated the Lions Club on keeping up the tradition of singling out students who excelled in their academics. I would like to thank the Lions Club for showing this appreciation to the student of St. Maarten for the hard work that they have been doing. I would also of course like to congratulate the parents, family and friends for coming out to support the young recipients of the awards. To the students I would like to say that I hope with this recognition that all of your efforts and hard work has paid off and that you should continue doing the excellent work that you do," commented the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister continued by telling the students that in today's world it is easy to feel like the odd-one. "It is students like yourself which make all of the difference. I know that in todays world you might be sometimes called a nerd or similar names by some of your peers because of your dedication, but I would like to encourage you that you are on the right track and that you should stand up and be what you are and don't be afraid to strive towards excellence. So stay focused and continue to strive towards excellence," ended the Prime Minister.

From the Cabinet of the Prime Minister

...

LYON, France:--- The President of the Parliament of Sint Maarten, Drs. Gracita R. Arrindell, and the country's Minister of Justice, Roland E. Duncan, have met with INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble at the world police body's General Secretariat headquarters as part of mutual efforts to promote global law enforcement collaboration.

High on the agenda during the visit was INTERPOL's role in supporting and connecting police in Sint Maarten with the Organization's global tools and services, including to its Stolen and Lost Travel Document database containing almost 33 million items from more than 160 countries.

In this respect, with Sint Maarten a key holiday destination for close to two million visitors a year, the country's President of the Parliament hailed INTERPOL's work in connecting Sint Maarten's airport and seaport to its databases, via mobile or fixed access provided by INTERPOL's MIND/FIND technology.

"Screening cruise ship manifests and air arrivals against INTERPOL's Stolen and Lost Travel Document database will keep citizens and visitors in Sint Maarten safer than they would otherwise be and will therefore strengthen the country's reputation for being a safe and secure tourist destination," said President of the Parliament Drs. Gracita R. Arrindell.

With existing and emerging threats such as human and drug trafficking, the illicit trade in firearms, money laundering, corruption and cyber-crime also topping the agenda during the visit, Minister Duncan underlined the need for INTERPOL and Sint Maarten to further extend INTERPOL's resources to all law enforcement components in the country.

"It is absolutely essential that all of Sint Maarten's law enforcement authorities gain access to INTERPOL's global tools and services so as to establish seamless coordination and cooperation between them and with INTERPOL's global network. This will enhance information exchange and the capacity of our law enforcement officers to address crime," said Mr Duncan.

Secretary General Noble said Sint Maarten had much to contribute to the global policing community and lauded the country's commitment to international law enforcement cooperation.

"I have seen firsthand how Sint Maarten's leadership is committed to its police receiving the necessary support, training and resources to confront existing and emerging crime threats worldwide," said the Head of INTERPOL who visited Sint Maarten in April of this year.

"Sint Maarten is a holiday destination for people from all over the world every year, and INTERPOL looks forward to continuing to work closely with its national authorities to ensure that it remains safe for both citizens and visitors alike," concluded Mr Noble.

Sint Maarten was admitted as an INTERPOL member country during the world police body's 80th General Assembly held in Hanoi, Vietnam, in October 2011.

The delegation headed by Minister of Public Health, Cornelius De Weever that is currently in the Netherlands, paid a visit to Mediant to get a first-hand look at quality care, insurance and financing of health care in the Netherlands. Also discussed during the meeting at Mediant were digital developments such as care pathways, working with diagnosis treatment combination, e-health and digital applications. Company representatives mentioned that it was a very fruitful meeting.
Mediant is an organization for mental health in the region of Twente, the Netherlands that offers help, advice and guidance to people with psychiatric problems. Where necessary, they also offer help to families and persons in the area so that problems are resolved faster and better.

Philipsburg:--- Several dignitaries including Anguilla's Chief Minister, the Minister of Home Affairs of Anguilla, and the President of the Collectivity of St. Martin Alain Richardson were among those invited to the church service at the A.C. Wathey parking lot on Tuesday morning in celebration of International Justice Day. The Ministry of Justice organized a week of activities to commemorate International Justice Day. This year's celebration is the second since St. Maarten became a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Tuesday's program started off with a religious service and ended with several police displays in front of the Government Administration Building. The SWAT "A" Team, the Bicycle Patrol, the Motorbike Team, and the Police Dogs all performed and show their skills in apprehending criminals.
President of the Collectivity of St. Martin Alain Richardson commended the various departments of the Ministry of Justice and especially the Minister of Justice for his efforts in trying to ensure safety and security for the people of St. Maarten/ St. Martin. The President of the COM said those living on St. Maarten/St. Martin go about their daily lives without reflecting on their safety and as such have taken their freedom in a crime free society for granted.
Richardson explained that despite the island being small, there must be full cooperation, especially in the judicial system because of the open border. "This open border is one of the island's greatest assets in terms of tourism and it is the economic pillar of St. Maarten/St. Martin yet it makes the island and its people vulnerable when it comes to crime and criminality, both of which can threaten the livelihoods of the nations. Criminals from both sides of the island and even those that are not from the island took advantage of the fact that the two sides of St. Martin are separate nations and before the accords on cooperation were signed, they were able to evade the consequences of their crimes."
The President of the COM also highlighted the most recent tripartite letter of intent for police cooperation between the two sides that will allow stricter controls at the ports of entry, however, he said cooperation should go beyond that in the interest of the people. "Everyone knows of the infamous driver's license issue which is now affecting some 2000 persons both professionally and personally. Richardson thanked the Minister of Justice who is currently working on the draft traffic law to take to Parliament which would eventually solve the driver's license issue. President Richardson further stated that while much focus is placed on the driver's license issue, there are other pressing issues that also need the attention of government. One of which he said is the issue regarding children that were placed in foster care on the Northern side of the island. Richardson explained that for various reasons the children were taken away from their parents and placed in foster care but because there is a lack of proper legislation, the parents of these children which are about 100 in total are denied parental visits. He said the children are being penalized because of a lack of agreements between the family court and the court of guardianship on the Dutch side of the island. The President said that the elderly and the handicapped are also some of the people that are being affected.

Anguilla Chief Minister Envies St. Maarten --- Island does not know what it has, Anguilla no longer wants Governor from England.

Chief Minister of Anguilla Hubert Hughes in his remarks made clear that he is envious of St. Maarten since St. Maarten is able to become a country within the Kingdom while the island has its own Governor that is a son of the soil. Hughes said he in particular realized that St. Maarten has a fairer deal with the Kingdom than Anguilla has with England. "St. Maarten is now a country with a Prime Minister and Governor, an accomplishment the people of the island should not underestimate. Furthermore, the fact that you have a Governor that can sit with your Prime Minister and deal with the issues of the country and there is no divide and rule on St. Maarten." Hughes said the mere fact that St. Maarten can change a government on its own in a smooth and democratic way shows how much the island has accomplished. Therefore, the people of St. Maarten should be proud of themselves.
Hughes said that Anguilla no longer wants a Governor from England to be on their island instead they want to be in the same position as St. Maarten. The Anguillan Chief Minister also indicated that he does not want to hear that St. Maarteners are having problems when they want to enter Anguilla. He called on his Minister of Home Affairs who is residing on St. Maarten but was elected as Anguilla's Minister of Home Affairs to make sure that St. Maarteners are given easier entry especially during the August Monday celebrations.
Governor Holiday in his address "Improving Capabilities and Strengthening" said more focus should be placed on improving the pillars of strong, stable and just society. Therefore, his focus will be placed on the importance of the culture of lawfulness in St. Maarten.
Governor Holiday said that as St. Maarten commemorates International Justice Day it is essential that they reflect on the justice culture in St. Maarten. This culture he said may not be limited to government and government officials, such as judges, the public prosecutors, police officers, immigration officers, customs officers, prison guards or the coast guards.

Governor Holiday said that it is embedded in St. Maarten's constitution in which the people declare that they believe in the rule of law. Therefore, the people on the island should follow the universal belief that states that no one is above the law, the laws are clear and fair, that protects the fundamental rights and freedoms. The process of enacting, administering and enforcing laws is open, efficient and fair, where justice is delivered by competent, ethical, and independent body with unbiased representatives.
The other speakers were the Prime Minister of St. Maarten Sarah Wescot Williams and Minister of Justice Roland Duncan who also presented a number of awards to officers of the law that contributed many years to the justice system. Awards were given to persons that served for 40, 36, and 35 years. The Minister also presented awards to persons that participated in one of the courses.


Click here to view more photos of the International Justice Day ceremony.

EPIC will be planting Red Mangroves along Little Key and other parts of the Simpson Bay lagoon this coming Thursday July 19th with the support of Isle de Sol marina, volunteers, St. Maarten Pride Foundation and Nature Foundation. The Foundation is hereby asking volunteers to join this effort to replant mangroves. Meeting point is the entrance to Isle de Sol Marina on Thursday July 19th at 8:30am. Those attending are asked to wear slippers, boots or old shoes as "we will be getting a little wet!" . Everyone is invited to participate in this small but important event!!! For information about the event, contact EPIC at 5453009 or visit our facebook page at www.facebook.com/epicislands

The Foundation extends its gratitude to Mr. Parker Davis of Florida Coastal Mangroves for the generous donation of some 100 mangroves.

Mangrove ecosystems have significant ecological, environmental and socio-economic functions and values. Mangrove communities usually occur in sheltered shores and in areas where sediment is gradually trapped forming mud banks. In short, the functions of mangroves include:

• Soil formation by trapping debris;
• Filtering land run-off and trapping terrestrial organic matter;
• Maintenance of coastal water quality;
• Shoreline protection
• Nursery areas and feeding grounds for juvenile reef and pelagic (deep sea) fish;
• Important habitat and feeding grounds for a range of other marine animals.

Four species of mangroves can be found on the shorelines of the Simpson Bay Lagoon: Red Mangrove (Rhizophora mangle), Black Mangrove (Avicennia germinans), White Mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa) and Button Wood (Conocarpus erecta). Red mangrove is easily recognized by its distinctive arching roots. Black mangrove, which often grows more inland, has root projections called pneumatophores, these snorkel like roots help to supply the plant with air in submerged soils. White mangroves often grow even further inland with no outstanding root structures. Button Wood grows in the higher laying areas behind the mangrove stands surrounding the lagoon. Compared to the rest of the Simpson Bay Lagoon, the Mullet Bay Pond area and parts of the French side of the lagoon house a fairly high density of Mangroves.

Philipsburg:--- A woman was stabbed in the St. Peters area on Tuesday July 17th, 2012 by her companion reported  Police Spokesman Quintin Rogers. Rogers said that the victim was not badly injured but she was transported to the St. Maarten Medical Center by ambulance for medical treatment.
In the meantime, the culprit was arrested a short time after and turned over to the detective department for further investigation.

The detective department is also investigating various thefts and ill treatments that took place over the week end.

Between Monday and Wednesday, the Zero Tolerance Team, Bike Patrol, and Uniform Divisions Philipsburg and Simpson Bay issued various summons pertaining use of cellular phones, not having seat belts on, and others traffic offenses. A total amount of 50 summons were issued.

A warning is also going out to heavy equipment truck drivers to adhere to the stipulated hours to drive said vehicles on the public road on Sint Maarten Dutch Side. Such will be controlled on a daily basis and there will be no exceptions when one is caught not abiding the law in accordance with the Traffic Regulations of Sint Maarten.

Press release from Police Department (KPSM)

Great Bay:--- In preparing for the hurricane season, the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development & Labor is urging all persons in the various districts to be proactive and ensure their safety by securing their homes. Sheltering and mass care is part of the Ministries responsibility in time of disasters and the ESF-7 coordinators Rafael Boasman and Joy Arnell are asking all persons to repair broken windows, doors and roofs to prevent damages to their homes and properties.
"People should fix their homes and clean up debris around their houses so they can feel safe during a storm," said Joy Arnell, ESF -7 co- coordinator.
The Ministry of Public Health, Social Development & Labor, is part of the "Organizational Structure Disaster Management of St. Maarten" and as ESF 7, is responsible for evacuation, shelters, relief and mass care. There are ten ESF groups, which also includes ESF-6 medical assistance, another key component of the Ministry of Public Health, Social development and Labour.
Minister of Public Health Social Development & Labor, Cornelius De Weever is asking the community not to wait until the last minute to make preparations, he is especially appealing to the elderly and the mentally and physically challenged to ensure that their surroundings are safe.
In preparation for the 2012 Hurricane season, a shelter managers training workshop facilitated by the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) Regional Risk Reduction Initiative, was held in June. Persons from the various relevant Departments as well as volunteers were trained in preparing and manning the shelters during a possible hurricane or disaster.

Philipsburg:--- Summer is here and so are the exciting offers of the Telem Group of Companies that can all be found in a beautifully laid out, full color "Summer Catalog 2012" now available free of charge to the general public at all Telem branch offices.
Telem had published a similar catalogue in December 2011 for the festive Christmas season.
"This Summer catalogue is, therefore, the second in what we intend to be a regular feature whereby Telem Group's products and services, especially those designed for a specific season, will be highlighted and presented to the general public," said Mr. Brian Mingo, the Group's Chief Commercial Officer.
The Summer Catalog includes tantalizing offers on Samsung, and Motorola cellular phones, as well as on Blackberry and I-Phones. Your choice of I-Pads or Samsung Galaxy Tabs are also part of the products laid out in the catalogue. High Speed Internet is available at unbeatable low rates and you can even activate the 3G+ service for only $2 for one day to get a taste of this brand new world.
The "Made in St. Maarten" completely in-house production was prepared by the marketing team of the Commercial Department.
"Telem, when you want more" is much more than an advertising slogan for us," said Mingo. "We take pride in our products and services and are committed to offer more in every season to St. Maarten."
The catalogue is also available electronically from all the staff of the Telem Group of Companies.
"We urge you to get your copy now," Mingo added.

Cole Bay:--- A large cross section of the community of St. Maarten/St. Martin turned out on Friday to bid farewell to their late friend and activist Elridge Van Putten whose farewell service was held at the Seventh Day Adventist Church (SDA) in Cole Bay. Among those in attendance were several dignitaries from the Dutch side of the island including Governor Eugene Holiday and his wife first lady Marie Louisa, Acting Governor Reynold Groenveldt, Deputy Prime Minister William Marlin, Minister of Education Silveria Jacobs, Minister of Labour Cornelius de Weever, President of Parliament Rudolph Samuel, Member of Parliament Louis Laviest, Member of Parliament Roy Marlin, Member of Parliament Ruth Douglas, Member of Parliament Dr. Lloyd Richardson, and Member of Parliament George Pantophlet. Also in attendance was the Ombudsman of St. Maarten Nilda Arduin Lynch, Patsy Philips from the Ombudsman's office, and Mavis Brooks-Solomon from the General Audit Chamber while UD Member Helen Hunt represented the Deputy of French St. Martin Daniel Gibbs.
Among the mourners of the late Elridge Van Putten were several of his close friends who were highly emotional throughout the service. Fernando Clark, Miguel Arrindell, Leopold James, Julian Rollocks, Clarence Richardson, Elton Jones, and Valerie Van Putten-Hodge were some of his close friends who paid tribute to the late Eldrige. One thing that stood out in all the tributes that were given by his friends was the late Elridge's stance for justice and his constant appearance in the media to defend the things he believed in especially when he began gathering signatures to get rid of the UP/DP government. Leopold James described the late Eldridge he knew as a student at the Milton Peters College, one who was always smiling but also had what he describe as a mischievous face. James said he admired Elridge's perseverance in what he believed in, this was shown when spoke out against ills that affected St. Maarten and its people even when he stood alone.
Deputy Prime Minister William Marlin also remembered Eldridge as one of his students at the Lionel Connor School in Cole Bay. Minister Marlin said that Elridge would constantly call him or show up at his home when he wanted to discuss the things that were bothering him within the community of St. Maarten/St. Martin. Member of Parliament Dr. Lloyd Richardson shared some of the conversations he had with the late Eldie prior to him leaving for Martinique to undergo a major heart surgery. Member of Parliament George Pantophlet and WICSU union member William Reed along with several others spoke about the relationship they had with the late Van Putten, even when they disagreed with his views on certain things.
The funeral service was carried live on La Voix St. Martin in honor of the contributions the late Elridge Van Putten made to the island of St. Maarten/St. Martin.
The late Elridge Van Putten leaves to mourn his wife, son, and several siblings including his only brother Samuel Van Putten.

Click here to view more photos of the late Elridge Van Putten's funeral.

Local organizations Dolphin Defenders St. Maarten and the St. Maarten Nature Foundation, along with Humane Society International, have sponsored a billboard on the AJC Brouwer Road on the island of St. Maarten in the Caribbean. This billboard, which promotes the freedom and beauty of wild dolphins, is intended to bring awareness to the public about the need to protect dolphins and all other marine mammals in St. Maarten's waters and to keep them free.

"The idea surrounding this campaign in general and the billboard more specifically is that all marine mammals, including dolphins, belong in the ocean and not in a swimming pool or other confinements for human amusement," said Mercedes de Windt, a Dolphin Defender representative.

The idea for the billboard follows a recent census on marine mammals conducted, in part, to educate tourists and residents about the varied species in St. Maarten's waters. The St. Maarten Nature Foundation concluded its Marine Mammal Census project, which took place from February through June. The goal was to conduct a wide scale census of all marine mammals found in territorial waters, including within the Man of War Shoal Marine Park. Results included a determination of the most numerous species, migration routes and seasons, and the feasibility of regulated whale and dolphin watching trips.

"A total of 60 marine mammal species was recorded in our local waters, including several whales and dolphins. The study indicates that there is an alternative to a captive dolphin facility on St. Maarten in the form of organized, well-managed whale and dolphin watching trips during the migratory season, which coincides with the tourist high season," stated the Nature Foundation.

HSI provided funding for the billboard. "This is the kind of project we are most happy to support," stated Naomi Rose, Ph.D., marine mammal scientist for The Humane Society of the United States, the parent affiliate of HSI. "This billboard celebrates the beauty and importance of dolphins in their natural habitat, where the focus of all true wildlife conservation and protection should be."

Humane Society International and its partner organizations together constitute one of the world's largest animal protection organizations — backed by 11 million people. For nearly 20 years, HSI has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty worldwide — On the Web at hsi.org.

The mission of Dolphin Defenders St Maarten is to stop any plans for captive dolphins and other marine mammals on St. Maarten; to lobby for passage of a law in St. Maarten to prohibit the captive display of marine mammals in any type of facility; and to bring awareness to the island of St. Maarten in regards to the importance of protecting dolphins and other marine mammals from capture for public display, destructive fishing practices and environmental hazards in local St. Maarten waters and internationally.

The Foundation for the Management and Conservation of Nature on Sint Maarten (short: Nature Foundation St. Maarten) was established in January 1997 with the objective to enhance the environment through proper management, education awareness and protection. The Nature Foundation is a non-governmental/non-profit organisation consisting of three staff supported by an Executive Board. The Nature Foundation is the Management Authority for the Man of War Shoal Marine Park, St. Maarten's first and only protected area and is also active on educational program to stimulate marine and environmental awareness in the schools.

Philipsburg:--- Some 58 students that are scheduled to leave the island on Sunday to continue their education in the Netherlands almost lost their seats on the flight they were booked on because their tickets were not paid for. SMN News has been reliably informed by a well placed source that the new manager of Let's Travel and former employee of the Parliament of St. Maarten Terrence Rey had to fight tooth and nail to secure the students' seats even though the airline did not receive payment for the tickets. "KLM was kicking the students' names out of the system because the tickets were not paid for so Let's Travel and its team had to work all day to re-book each student as they were being kicked off the flight," the source said.

Sources within the airline said that government owes the company a huge amount of monies and only part of the bill was paid some two weeks ago by Minister of Finance Roland Tuitt while there is another huge amount that still has to be paid. "Let's Travel did all they could to assist the Department of Education to secure the students' seats when they were given assurance from government that they will be paid early Wednesday morning."

SMN News further learnt that the Minister of Education Silveria Jacobs signed off on the advice for the payment on Tuesday. The source further explained that work that was supposed to be done while the former Minister of Education Dr. Rhoda Arrindell was still in office was not done by the former head of Study Financing who is now the policy adviser to the Minister of Education. SMN News made several attempts to contact the Minister of Education for a comment but up to press time she could not be reached.

The faction of the National Alliance along with the other members of Parliament who support the initiative draft legislation on the eliminating the abuse of the Short Term Contracts, are very happy with the public interest this topic has generated since the draft law was presented to Parliament and the public debate that is taking place on this topic primarily in the newspapers.
The initiative-takers welcome very much this interest and the debate and is following these discussions with keen interest and would like for this level of interest to continue on this draft as well as on other topics that are in parliament for debate and decision making.
The faction and the initiators of the law are nevertheless of the opinion that we must remain focused on the main intent of the draft and that proper and factual information must be given to the public instead of personal and or emotional opinions.
The proper legal research has taken place prior to embarking on submitting this draft legislation as to what the actual intent of the changes were when the Federal ordinance to make the labor laws flexible was in-acted by the Parliament of the Netherlands Antilles in the year 2000. (PB 2000 no. 68)
The initiators maintain that it is not the intention to eliminate the use of Short Term Contracts as provided for in the labor laws, but rather to eliminate the abuse of it or limit to a minimum the abuse of the use of short term labor contracts, by having employees working in the same job for the same company for many years, sometime more than 10 years without these employees ever becoming permanent.
On page 3 of the Explanatory Notes to the law (PB 2000 no 68) the law making makes it abundantly clear that the above described scenario whereby the employee is constantly kept on a short term contract for a definite period of time thereby denying him or her the dismissal protection that is offered for a contract for an indefinite period of time is unacceptable. The law maker also states here emphatically that employees that are performing structural duties for the same employer over a long period of time have to become permanently employed with the employer. The draft changes to the Civil Code will provide for this.
On page 4 it is clear that the intent of the law maker at the time was to eliminate the abuse of labor contracts for a definite period of time, and in order to achieve this the law maker choose to adopt the regulations that were taken up in the Dutch Civil Code in 1999. In order to make it more difficult for the employer to send home workers for 31 days and then bring them back in, the law maker increased the period from 31 days to 3 months. Unfortunately this regulation did not lead to stopping the abuse as the abuse still continues up to today.
The use of the Employment Agencies now makes it easier for employers to abuse employees on short term contracts, as these agencies can supply the required number of employees to the employer who constantly keeps sending home employees who are to become permanent replacing them by employees supplied by the employment agencies. A short term contract can be renewed or extended for 3 consecutive times, if it is extended for the fourth time within a period of 3 months the employee will become permanent. After extending a short term contract for the third time at the end of that period the employer has 2 options. The employer can decide not extend the contract in which case the employee will be out of a job without any job protection whatsoever. Legally a notice of termination is not even required in this situation. The employer can also send the employee home for a period of more than 3 months, recruit a worker from an employment agency to fill the job position for that period of time, and after that period re-hire the employee that was sent home for more than 3 months and re-start the cycle all over again and again.
By doing this the employees that become a victim to such practices never will become permanent, does not have any job security and can be dismissed easily without any adequate protection provided for by the law. By doing this the employee can never receive the required bank financing to establish him or herself by purchasing a piece of real estate property, or to build or buy a home or a establish a business.
This is the abuse that the initiators wish to stop or eliminate by introducing the amendment to the article 1615fa of the Civil Code. This amendment will give the workers the protection that was intended in 2000 when the changes were made to make the labor laws more flexible.
The initiators are of the opinion that such abuse must be halted immediately, it was allowed to exist for too long already and it must be stopped now. It is therefore not necessary to conduct intensive research as to how often this happens and in which branches of business it occurs. What effect it will have on the labor market etc. The change of law back in the year 2000 did not function as it was intended, this made it possible for some employers to abuse employees by denying them a permanent job appointment and job security in the business. Our faction deem it necessary and mandatory as we represent the people to put an end to this undesirable practice in the interest of the employees as well as the employer and the country.
The initiators of the draft law to end the abuse of the short term contracts.

Philipsburg:--- Finance Minister Roland Tuitt did not mingle with words on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers' press briefing when he reacted to a press release that was issued by the United Peoples Faction Leader Silvia Meyers.

Tuitt said that everyone needs to give Jack his jacket when they deserve it and if he is in fact reaping the benefits of the work that was done by the former Finance Minister Hiro Shigemoto then why it was necessary for him to meet with the CFT on at least four occasions to discuss the budget amendments which was finally approved by CFT. Tuitt said certain reports were made up by the former government and sent to the CFT but the work was far from over when it comes to balancing the budget.
The Finance Minister also admitted that the CFT had sent a letter to the UP/DP government threatening to have instructions be given to St. Maarten if the former finance Minister could not balance the 2012 budget. He said St. Maarten was facing the same situation as Curacao when the UP/DP finance Minister was in office but somehow that information was not released.

Tuitt said this is the first time St. Maarten got a clean slate from the CFT and that only happened after he took office and worked with the staff of the Finance Department to balance the budget and make the budget amendments.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Local Hennessy distributor, Caribbean Liquors and Tobacco teams up with Hennessy Artistry and the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau (www.VacationStMaarten.com) to bring cool vibes and a new concert to St. Maarten with headliners Maxi Priest and Roberta Flack on August 4, 2012.
Music lovers can experience the melodious voice of Roberta Flack and the pulsating rhythms of Maxi Priest at the Festival Village in St. Maarten. The concert is billed as an exquisite, all-inclusive event with the Festival Village being transformed into a "Black Carpet" style event.
"We are very pleased to be a part of this event, a first of its kind for St. Maarten. We understand the potential economic benefit it can generate for our tourism based economy, in particular during the off-season," said Augusto Priest, acting director of tourism for the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau. "This is an event that we hope to bring to St. Maarten each year and attract a new generation of urban adult consumers," he noted.
Tickets for the event are US$100 per person, which includes entrance to the concert as well as unlimited snacks and beverages.

PHILIPSBURG:--- University of the Netherlands Antilles (UNA) will hold an orientation meeting to introduce two new bachelor programs that will start in September 2012 at the University of St.Martin (USM). This is a result of the extensive meetings held between both UNA and the University of St. Martin. These efforts culminated in an agreement to start the Bachelor in Business program at the University of St. Martin.
This program gives St. Maarten students access to NVAO accredited bachelor programs in Business Administration and Accounting. All USM graduates are eligible to enroll in the above-mentioned Bachelor programs as UNA has agreed to recognize the individual course loads USM's Associate of Arts degrees. This program is tailor made for candidates that have completed their Associate's Degree in Accounting at USM and are willing to develop and acquire applied science skills (HBO) relevant to their positions within the business and accounting field.
The applied science program is also for to those who have working experience, have entered middle management, and want to develop their Business Administration knowledge and skills or Accounting skills.
With this UNA-USM bachelor in business program, St. Maarten students are finally able to earn their bachelor's degree in approximately two to maximum three years, including their final thesis. The amount of time to earn a bachelor's degree will of course depend on the area of specialization chosen and by the background of the candidate.
Additional information available at the USM Student Service Center at tel: 542-5171 ext. 1000.

Philipsburg:--- Parents contacted SMN News after they learnt of the tensions that arose after an article appeared in one of the local newspapers on Tuesday morning.

Students and parents whose children will be traveling to the Netherlands for the first time to further their studies contacted SMN News because word had gotten to them that Calvin Mardembrough, a long time veteran in handling student affairs, will not be accompanying the children this Sunday with the Minister and her adviser.

According to well placed sources within the Minister's cabinet, the Minister of Education Silveria Jacobs was given an ultimatum by her adviser Antonio Aventurin on Wednesday. The source said Aventurin told the Minister it's either him staying on the job or Mardembrough.

SMN News learnt that both the Minister and Aventurin were angry at Mardembrough and even blamed him for leaking information to a reporter regarding the students that are scheduled to travel to the Netherlands. The source said that the Minister and her adviser called Mardembrough to an emergency meeting on Wednesday demanding to know how the media knew of the chaos that was taking place within the Ministry, especially regarding the tickets that KLM refused to issue before being paid.

SMN News learnt from the travel agency that when Mr. Mardembrough worked at the Study Financing Department preparations would have been completed in an early stage allowing them to send through a tentative list of names to KLM sooner.

The source said that the Minister even went as far as instructing the Personnel Department to halt the processing of Mardembrough's paper work to make him the head of Study Financing Department in its present structure. "If this is not political victimization, then what is? They will attempt to blame Mardembrough for the failures of Antonio Aventurin who left much work undone in his eagerness to climb the ladder and become the political adviser of the Minister of Education." Parents and students informed an SMN News reporter on numerous occasions regarding his arrogance and incompetence in dealing with them.

The source said Aventurin and the Minister were even more angry with Mardembrough because he allowed the staff to go ahead and meet with the students Tuesday evening and provide them with information on their trip while the Minister of Education and her adviser sat in their office because they wanted to cancel the meeting on short notice until the tickets for the students were issued by KLM.

SMN News also learnt that at no time were the students' tickets really in jeopardy as Mr. Mardembrough continued to work tirelessly with KLM to resolve the issue before the planned meeting.

The administrative process and bureaucracy took longer than expected and the students were able to receive their tickets by email.

It should be noted that Antonio Aventurin only went once to the Netherlands with students and that was last year when Mardembrough was the adviser to the former Minister of Education.
Another well placed source said, "this arrogance and vindictiveness of Mr. Aventurin and Minister Jacobs is now putting the new untrained staff of the Study Financing Department in a difficult situation when dealing with Mr. Mardembrough in whatever position he holds."

According to information provided to SMN News by a source at KLM Curacao, the airline refused to grant the students their tickets unless they are paid and furthermore because the names of the passengers were only provided to them last Friday through their agent Let's Travel. The KLM source said that the government of St. Maarten owed their travel agent too much monies and it was because government was making their bookings late. "Sometimes government asks for tickets one day for politicians to travel the next day and they never consider the price increases associated with these late bookings. The KLM manager in Curacao decided to issue the tickets to the students when she managed to get assurance from Mardembrough because she has been dealing with Mardembrough for years and she knew of his competence when it comes to St. Maarten's students. SMN News also learnt that another top civil servant who is now the executive adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister had to intervene and demand that the Minister of Education sign off on the advice for the tickets on Tuesday so that the airline could be paid on Wednesday.

GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- Viral hepatitis kills about one million people every year. In addition, an estimated 500 million people experience chronic illness from their infection with hepatitis. It is a major cause of liver cancer and liver cirrhosis.

Viral hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver. The vast number of people infected with hepatitis are unaware they have it. There are five hepatitis viruses. People can get hepatitis from either infected bodily fluids or contaminated food and water depending on the type of hepatitis.

Saturday marked World Hepatitis day under the theme, "Hepatitis: It's closer than you think." The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged governments to strengthen efforts to fight viral hepatitis.

The Ministry of Public Health, Social Development & Labour, says that despite its staggering toll on health, hepatitis remains a group of diseases that are largely unknown, undiagnosed and untreated.

Section General Public Health (SGPH) of Collective Prevention Services (CPS), an agency of the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development & Labour, is advising the public to check out the Government Information Page (GIP) that will contain information throughout the week about the different forms of hepatitis; what they are and how they are transmitted; who is at risk; and the various methods of prevention and treatment.

Philipsburg:--- The Rotaract Club of St. Maarten Sunrise in collaboration with Rotary Sunrise and Rotary Anguilla carried out their first international project for the term 2012-2013 on Saturday 28th, 2012. Ten Rotaractors travelled to Anguilla to assist Rotary Anguilla in painting both the Dental Unit and the Valley Primary School office section located in The Valley. The Club continues to put service above self and stepped out of their zone to give back to the community of Anguilla so that the citizens of the island can continue to enjoy their facilities. Both buildings were painted in good timing and we would like to thank Rotary Anguilla's President Dr. Buffong and the members of Rotary Anguilla for allowing us to carry out this project with them.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The Central Committee of Parliament will meet in public session on July 05.

The meeting will take place on Thursday morning at 10:00am in the General Assembly Chamber of the House of Parliament at Wilhelmina Straat #2.1 in Philipsburg.

The first agenda point is related to a presentation regarding the 2011 Annual Report of the Central Bank of Curacao and Sint Maarten.

The second agenda point is a request from the High Council of State the Ombudsman with respect to completing the process for the nomination of a Deputy Ombudsman.

The third agenda point is a request sent in by the United Peoples party faction requesting the presence of the Minister of Justice Hon. Roland Duncan to provide information to parliament about the situation and current developments at the national prison.

The central committee session will be carried live on St. Maarten Cable TV Channel 20 and via Pearl Radio FM 98.1. The audio will be carried via the Internet www.pearlfmradio.com.

Philipsburg:--- A fight among three men landed police at a home on A.T. Illidge Road where they found several pots of marijuana plants Monday afternoon. The acting prosecutor and a K-9 dog were seen at the scene assisting police as they confiscated marijuana plants and arrested three persons.
SMN News learnt from a police source that three men were fighting and this led to police being called. The fight ended up at a home on Bermuda Drive A.T. Illidge Road where the illicit drugs were found.
The police narcotics department is busy investigating the case.

Philipsburg:--- What appeared to be the political gimmicks of the former Minister of Education Rhoda Arrindell regarding the granting of study financing to all the students that applied earlier this year has now apparently all been reversed upon the advice of study financing department head Antonio Aventurin.
SMN News was provided with information that showed that Aventurin even advised the former Education Minister to fire the persons that were responsible for the students studying in Curacao and Tallahassee when the students contacted the media and said they were not given any type of assistance by the persons that government hired to guide them. However, the study financing head did not recruit or provide the former Minister with an advice to refill the positions leaving the St. Maarten students on Curacao and Tallahassee now without guidance.
While the Minister of Education, Youth, Sports and Culture Silveria Jacobs told reporters that Aventurin will be working with her in her cabinet and has been working with her since she took office, Aventurin is yet to resign from his position as Head of the Study Financing Department. Minister Jacobs confirmed on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers' press briefing that Aventurin did not turn in his resignation as yet because "certain" things had to be done first. The Minister gave no information regarding who will be replacing him in the department.
The Minister also told reporters that the Appeals Committee is still busy reviewing the appeals and she does not know the exact number of students that will be traveling on July 29th to the Netherlands. She also confirmed that as Minister of Education she and Antonio Aventurin will be accompanying the students on their trip.

GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- Minister of Plenipotentiary Hon. Mathias S. Voges received a visit from representatives of the High Council of State the Council of Advice of Sint Maarten on Tuesday morning.

The Council was represented by Secretary Director Migdala Artsen-Clarinda, Member Marcel Gumbs and Extra-ordinary Member Marcella Hazel.

Sint Maarten's Council representatives are in Holland on a working visit to meet with the Council of State of the Kingdom. The Council presented a copy of the High Council of State's 2011 Annual Report to Minister Voges.

Nature Foundation researcher Ms. Tineke van Bussel recently concluded a six month research project in the Lionfish Population and its effects on the local Coral Reef ecosystem on St. Maarten. Ms. van Bussel held a presentation of her findings at the Nature Foundation offices on Tuesday during which she outlined her findings to a small group of interested persons:

"The results show minimal early effects on native species and give the impression that lionfish densities are still under control in Sint Maarten's waters. Credit for the current state has to be given to Nature Foundation Sint who interfered in an early invasion stadium by making besides Nature the community aware and involved in controlling the lionfish. Lionfish densities have to be kept as low as possible to prevent long term negative effects on native species," said Ms. van Bussel based on her findings.

Although current effects were minimal on near-shore areas, there are some indications that deeper areas which lay beyond the reach of scuba divers are having some increase in lionfish numbers. Fishermen are increasingly bringing in lionfish to the Nature Foundation which were caught on fishing grounds in deeper waters. The Foundation is therefore looking at ways in which it can provide fishermen the tools necessary to trap the animals on sights not accessible to scuba divers.

Ms. Van Bussel will continue to work on the Lionfish invasion on St. Maarten and in the Caribbean.

The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams received official notice from the Universal Postal Union (UPU) informing her government that, in accordance with article 2 of the Universal Postal Convention, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has designated Postal Services St. Maarten NV (PSS) as the operator responsible for providing postal services in Sint Maarten. The notice was also sent out to all UPU member countries informing them and their designated operators as to the official designation.

The notice states that PSS commenced operations as of the 1st January 2012, replacing Nieuwe Post Nederlandse Antillen NV (NPNA).

The International Bureau has also updated the list of "Entities responsible for fulfilling the obligations arising from adherence to the Acts of the Union", which is published on the UPU website www.upu.int/en/the-upu/acts/distribution-of-roles-in-accordance-with-the-convention. html.

The Universal Postal Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to the worldwide postal system.

Press release from the Prime Minister's Cabinet

GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- The Minister of Education Hon. Silveria Jacobs was invited to read a 'bed time' story to children having a pajama party at the Philipsburg Jubilee Library.

This was part of the story time program that the library hosts on a weekly basis. The Minister read a book entitled 'In the Time of the Drums'. The story was centered on a young boy and his grandmother during the slave trade.

The boy and his parents resided on an island similar to Sint Maarten where slaves were brought from Africa to pick cotton. Themes such as slavery, retaining old traditions, being true to one's self and know where you came from were all presented in the book.

Minister Jacobs tied the events of the book to the Emancipation celebrations of last week Monday. She urged the children be aware of who they are and to believe in themselves. In addition she underlined the need to know where there roots were; where they came from.

In closing Minister Jacobs urged the children to develop a love of reading. She emphasized that reading is the key to learning and understanding who we are as a people and that knowledge acquired can never be taken away.

Philipsburg:--- On Monday July 2nd, 2012, the police department started their advanced motorcycle training for its motorcycle brigade. The training is given to two different groups of officers by Instructor/Inspector of police from the Netherlands Maikel Menning and provided by Procentrum in the Netherlands. During this week of training, the motorcycle brigade could be seen conducting all types of escorts by day and by night. As part of the training, the motorcycle brigade was allowed to cross the border over to the French side. On the French Side they met with colleagues forming part of the motorcycle brigade from that side of the island. The colleagues got acquainted with each other and are looking forward to a good working relationship. The police officers ended their training on Friday July 6th, 2012. In the presence of Chief Commissioner of Police Peter de Witte, they received their certificates for this advanced training. The police chief congratulated the participants and wished them much success in their ongoing carrier. On Monday July 9th, 2012, the second group will start their training which will end on Friday July 13th, 2012.

Marigot:--- Several heavy equipments blocked the roundabout in the Agrement area early Tuesday morning to get the attention of the President of the Collectivity of St. Martin Alain Richardson and Prefet Philippe Chopin regarding their expired Dutch driver's licenses that were issued by the Dutch side for a period of one year after the former administration under the Union Pour les Progres leadership agreed to pass an ordinance in the Territorial Council that would allow the COM to exchange the Dutch Driver's license for French Driver's license.

According to information provided to SMN News, the former government headed by Frantz Gumbs could not deliver the French driver's licenses to the holders of the Dutch Driver's licenses that were renewed for a period of one year because the former Prefet Jacques Simonette and Acting Prosecutor Jacques Louvier intervened and conducted an investigation which showed that the licenses were actually obtained on Saba and not St. Maarten. The investigation showed that those persons who obtained their licenses in Saba years ago had an opportunity to exchange their Saba driver's license for a St. Maarten driver's license. The investigation also concluded that the holders of those licenses did not do the proper examinations to obtain their licenses. Therefore, the licenses they hold is not equivalent to a European Drivers License such as the French.

Due to the unclear situation, the holders of the Dutch expired licenses which is over 800 in total decided to block the roads so that the French administration could do something for them since they would be driving on the road with an expired drivers licenses and should they be involved in any accidents then their insurances will not cover them.

SMN News learnt that the Prefet Philippe Chopin and someone from the Collectivity of St. Martin approached the drivers who blocked the roads before 5am and made an agreed that the Collectivity will grant the holders of these licenses a letter permitting them to drive on the road until another agreement is reached with the Government on the Dutch side. A representative at the Prefecture of St. Martin confirmed to SMN News that Prefet Chopin is the one that intervened and managed to have the protesters move their vehicles until the Collectivity of St. Martin could come to an agreement with the Dutch side. According to well placed sources at the Collectivity of St. Martin, some of the holders of the Dutch driver's licenses got their licenses since 1983 and even though they knew that these licenses were not going to be renewed, they made no effort to obtain a French driver's license by following the regular procedures.
SMN News was also told that the Collectivity also agreed to send out a press release on the road blocking but up to press time no release was made available to the media.

GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- Representatives of the country's High Council of State the Council of Advice, was recently in the Netherlands on a working visit.

The delegation spent a week in the Netherlands where they met with various committees and sections of the Dutch Council of State and other Government departments in The Hague.

The Dutch Council of State has two primary tasks, carried out by two separate divisions. The Advisory Division advises the Government and Parliament on legislation and governance, and the Administrative Jurisdiction Division, which is the Holland's highest general administrative court.

The delegation comprised of Member Marcel Gumbs, Extra Ordinary Member Marcela Hazel and staff member Migdala Artsen Clarinda.

GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- St. Maarten conducted its first health study 'How Healthy is St. Maarten' in 1999 to 2002. The purpose hereof was to collect necessary information for public health policy development and health care and services reform on St. Maarten.

The data retrieved consisted of the adult population's health and the behaviour related hereto, which was necessary to start programming for research (to develop an integrated process of health care research), policy planning and informed decision making as well as being of importance to health care providers, health educators, and consumers of health care.

Considering the fact that the initial study results can be considered out-dated, due to the time elapsed and the many changes that have occurred on the island, i.e. population growth, high migration rate, infrastructural change, pollution, etc., it is of high importance to execute a similar study to get a general description of the population's current health status and their current use of health services. Data obtained from the study can then be used for the further development of policy and / or reform within public health.

The targeted population of which the study focuses on are the non-institutionalized adults (18+ years of age). This approach is taken in order to get an accurate portrayal of the general health of the general adult population residing on St. Maarten.

Considering that St. Maarten is an island with a very diverse population, it creates an interesting challenge, as many different cultural aspects have to be taken into account when preparing and executing the study, as well as analyzing and interpreting the results.

In order to assess and evaluate the current local health situation, it is necessary to get insight into the following, as well as, the interdependence of each factor:

• the objective health care and the subjectively experienced health of the population
• the factors that affect the health status; health determinants
• the use of the health care facilities; medical consumption
• the factors that affect medical consumption

The Government of St. Maarten, more specifically the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour (i.e. Public Health Department) is now in the process of hiring external consultants for the preparation, execution and analysis of the general health of the public; a follow-up 'How Healthy is St. Maarten?' study.

The bidding has officially been opened and consultants are invited to submit bids and request information until August 31st 2012, with an aim to award the project ultimately by September 28th 2012.

The consultant will be responsible for drafting the project / research plan, working out the exact methodology and acquiring the instruments necessary, as well as getting stakeholder involvement, preparing, executing as well as managing the fieldwork, entering and analysing data as well as providing a report and presentation of the results of the executed research (including recommendations for policy development (steps to be taken to develop and amend current policies) and health care and service reform).
The specific objectives of this consultancy and study are to:

• Give insight in the demographic and socio-economic distribution of chronic disorders among the population, as well as their general health status
• Assess the lifestyle and the social environment of the population and its health risks, as well as the anthropometric data and preventive practices of the population
• Give insight in health problems and functional disabilities among elderly inhabitants
• Gather information on the health risks of the various vulnerable groups; namely undocumented immigrants and women
• Gain insight in the population needs for 'health care shopping' outside of Dutch St. Maarten, as well as the knowledge, attitudes, satisfaction and use of health practices and services on the island

The Minister of Public Health, Social Development & Labour of St. Maarten, hereby invites prospective bidders to the public bidding for the project. The Project Assigner is The Minister of Public Health, Social Development & Labour of St. Maarten, in coordination with the Project Management Team & Project Leader Public Health.

The project will be financed by The Government of St. Maarten. The Terms of Reference for this project can be obtained at the Department of Public Health. Address: W.G. Buncamper road #33, Vineyard Office Park, Philipsburg, St. Maarten. Tel: +1721 5423003/5423553/5422078, Fax: +1721 5437824. The Terms of Reference is only available in English.

If it is wished to submit a bid, the following must be followed: The bids must be submitted, in writing, signed, in English, in the format as described in the Terms of Reference, in triplicate, in a closed envelope, with on the envelope the address and the notification "Tender 'How Healthy is St. Maarten?' Follow-up Study".

The bid can be submitted at the office of the Department of Public Health to the attention of the project leader Fleur Hermanides. Address: W.G. Buncamper road #33 Vineyard Office Park, Philipsburg, St. Maarten, ultimately on August 31st 2012 at 12:00 pm (noon).

The bid can also be submitted by e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. All documents need to be compiled in one pdf-file, including a scanned signature. Bids per fax will not be accepted. The aim is to award the project ultimately by September 28th 2012. Further information can be obtained by contacting drs. Fleur Hermanides, at the Department of Public Health, at the above mentioned contact information. Questions must be submitted in writing.

The Honorable Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams will be joining the Prime Ministers of Aruba and Curacao in attending the Kingdom Council of Ministers meeting in The Hague on Friday. This is the first time that that all three Caribbean Prime Ministers have been invited to a Kingdom Council of Ministers meeting.

Prior to her Departure on Wednesday the Prime Minister commented that she expected that the financial situation of the countries to be the central topic at the Kingdom Council of Ministers Meeting. The Prime Minister also commented that perhaps some justice issues may also be discussed during the meeting.

"The three Caribbean Prime Ministers will be meeting on Thursday evening in advance of the Kingdom Council of Ministers meeting of Friday to discuss various topics. St. Maarten has complied with the requirements regarding its 2012 budget and all of the amendments for 2012 are on their way to Parliament and from our standpoint there should not be a major issue," commented the Prime Minister.

The Ministers Plenipotentiary of the three overseas countries also will be present during the meeting.

PHILIPSBURG:--- "While our delegation greatly appreciated the time and information provided, it is evident that concrete steps will have to follow at our home base from our respective jurisdictions"

"We have made great strides since becoming a country as well as being a recent member of INTERPOL. Yet we must recognize that Sint Maarten is still at its 'infancy' of building a firm and solid organization, and human resource basis in several areas, including in the area of law enforcement and law enactment for the safety and security of our Country," President of Parliament Hon. drs. Gracita Arrindell said on Wednesday from Lyon, France.

Arrindell and Minster of Justice Hon. Roland Duncan this week visited the world's largest international police organization INTERPOL (International Police), in Lyon, France.

Sint Maarten was one of three countries that joined INTERRPOL in 2011 at the November 80th session of the General Assembly held in Hanoi, Vietnam. The other two countries were Curacao and South Sudan.

INTERPOL is the world's largest international police organization, with 190 member countries. The organization's role is to enable police around the world to work together to make the world a safer place.

Arrindell said that the working visit certainly emphasized the need to stay on course and follow up with the action plans as discussed at the seminar held earlier this year on Sint Maarten.

"The opportunities for mutual beneficial cooperation between this highly effective managed global entity, is clear and present. It's up to us as a Country to step up to the plate and do our share to the benefit of our citizens and visitors alike.

"We thank Secretary General Ronald Noble for his vision and continued invaluable support in these endeavours," President of Parliament Hon. drs. Gracita Arrindell said on Wednesday.

Arrindell and Duncan were both warmly welcomed by INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald Noble earlier in the week.

A well placed program included several presentations by several key management staff of INTERPOL. This included what Arrindell described as excellent overviews of present and near future action plans of INTERPOL provided by Jean -Michel Louboutin, Executive Director of Police Services; Rosinete de Santana Barbosa, Assistant Director, Sub Directorate for America; Noboru Nakatani, and Executive Director for INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation.

The Sint Maarten delegation also visited and received a presentation about the Command and Coordination Center by Emanuel Leclaire, Assistant Director of the Command Center.

The rant by Independent Member of Parliament Frans Richardson about the St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA) and its President Emil Lee is out of order. Richardson should have respect for the SHTA that represents approximately 200 businesses and employs thousands of workers.

We live in a democratic and open society and the constitution guarantees our right to speak out but also have respect for the position of others, and address them in a respectful manner, not defamatory. Individuals and organizations shouldn't feel threatened by a Government official, especially a Member of Parliament, who represents the highest law making body of the country.

The outburst character assassination by Member of Parliament Frans Richardson was disrespectful, and unprofessional and un-becoming of a Member of Parliament, and he should apologize. The SHTA did not say anything negative about the workers of the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau, and instead Richardson invented the notion that the SHTA was looking down the nose of the hard working civil servants and that it had insulted them.

As Richardson correctly pointed out, the SHTA has had a long established relationship with the civil servants of the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau and worked hand in hand with them over the years.
Our economy is based on tourism. The SHTA pointed out its concern of the impact of structural changes within the Ministry of Tourism. It did not jump into personal issues like Member of Parliament Frans Richardson did. The private sector organization stuck to the issues.

This is sending bad signals to the country's business community and may be an indication of the future handling of our economy especially when entrepreneurs or other organizations voice their opinion about issues that concern the people of St. Maarten.

The SHTA pointed out its concerns with not having met with the new Minister of Tourism as well as the way things were handled with the past Acting Director of the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau. This lady is a professional and was brought in from the private sector to make a positive contribution to the development of the economy. The Government belittled her by offering her less money for a new six-month contract. What message is Government sending to persons working in the private sector who would like to contribute to the development of the country by playing a role in its development such as the services that were provided by a local private sector business?

The other concern of the private sector organization SHTA was branding and strategy, and what changes are forthcoming, and how this would impact negatively or positively the tourism sector, the largest sector that employs the majority of the people of this country.
Recent statistics showed that strategies and branding by the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau and its staff were yielding positive results where there was a 14.5 per cent increase in hotel room and timeshare occupancy during the past high season. This would be a branding and strategy that should be maintained, continued and not discouraged.

Imbali Visual and Performance Art Summer Camp enters into its third and final week. Week one and two saw the children traveling to Marigot with guided tours through historical Marigot and Fort St. Louis presented in Technicolor with dynamic and colorful story telling by historian Christophe Henocq.

Additionally, the imbali children enjoyed an afternoon with Ms. Ruby Bute who actually made a group painting with all the children's involvement... each one adding a stroke here and there with a splash of color, and dab of this and that to create a wonderful "Still life" of a potted plant in Ms. Bute Gallery.

With Christian Fardel the children of Imbali summer camp walked through Philipsburg and looked at St.Maarten traditional houses architecture whilst stopping at homes and speaking with the elders within. From those walks the children were able to reconstruct and build their own traditional home with all the trimmings, ginger bread, shingles and detailed window shutters....

The Passing on of St.Maarten traditions and culture continues in Week with Imbali children getting dance lessons from Ms. Evelyn Roberts the grand daughter of Abraham Barry and daughter of Alice Barry, renowned Ponum dancers of back in the day.

Week three also includes a visit to the archeological dig at Emilio Wilson Estate with Mr. Jay Havisor, and a session with Tanny and The Boys George Violenus passing on some skills with reference to playing St.Maarten Traditional instruments,

The students will also receive master class with historian and musicians Jocelyn Arndell, on the games children played back in the day, as well as learn dance etiquette on social dances of the 50's.

Week three will end with the of the art steel pan and the making of the steel drum from recently knighted Sir Mighty Dow and finally we round off with a hike through the "Mountains Greens" of our island Nation.

Philipsburg:--- A paper fight erupted Monday afternoon between the office of the Minister of Justice and the Cabinet of the Governor regarding the bodyguard of the Minister of Justice, Marina Serrant. According to information reaching SMN News, the Governor's cabinet informed the Minister of Justice that the Governor does not want the Minister's bodyguard to walk along with them while the inspection of the uniformed troops is conducted.
Reliable sources state that the Minister of Justice said his bodyguard will walk alongside him the same way the Governor has his adjutant walking around with him. Because the Minister of Justice refused to remove his bodyguard, the Governor's Cabinet decided that the Governor will not walk with the Minister of Justice as he inspects the uniformed troops. Protocol dictates that the Governor of St. Maarten should at all times inspect the uniformed troops on special occasions.
On Tuesday morning, Governor Holiday attended the activities that were held in front of the Government Administration Building for International Justice Day. Governor Holiday also pronounced a speech but did not participate in the inspection of the uniformed troops. Instead, he acted as a spectator like the other invited guests.
In an interview with SMN News, Minister of Justice Roland Duncan said that in his opinion his bodyguard/driver was ostracized by those in higher positions. The Minister was very vocal about his bodyguard whom he said is a very enthusiastic and dedicated worker.
The Minister said shortly after taking office in 2010 he was approached by Serrant who told him that she was on the payroll of the Ministry of Justice and she was eager to work. Duncan said Serrant told him that she was accused by a detainee and she was not given a fair chance to defend herself. Therefore, the police decided that she should not report to work at the Police Station in Philipsburg, at the time Serrant was working with the Soualiga Patrol.

The Minister said Serrant was a VKS officer and she was attached to the Police Department. However, when she was verbally suspended by the Police, the VKS also verbally suspended her pending an investigation. According to Minister Duncan, the police has nothing on paper to show that Serrant committed a crime. Moreover, they did not follow jurisprudence by charging her so that she could legally defend herself. "What you are hearing is all hearsay and there is no actual proof or paperwork to show that this person has done something wrong that would allow me to legally dismiss her from her duties."
The Minister said he asked the head of the VKS if they had anything on paper to show that Serrant was legally dismissed and none of that could have been provided to him. He said he also approached the Chief of Police to further inquire about the allegations against Serrant and the Chief of Police gave him a sketchy story but he too could not provide him with a process verbal from the detainee showing that he filed an official complaint against Serrant. Minister Duncan said that the Chief of Police also told him that they did not give Serrant a written suspension, she was working for the VKS so the police just asked her not to report to the Police Station. Duncan said the story he heard from the VKS, the Chief of Police, and Serrant is not a crime instead it is inappropriate for any civil servant to do. "I can tell you that Serrant did something she should not have done as a civil servant but the police and the VKS did not do their job. They embarrassed her and left it at that. I looked at Mr. Illidge and Mr. De Witte and they should have taken action correctly but they did not and there is nothing in writing to show that Serrant was legally terminated. Right now, I can tell you that law enforcement failed to properly act towards a human being. I am now accusing them of maliciousness and negligence."
Duncan said that Serrant was arrested and spent eight days in prison during the BTA investigation but to date she has not been charged. He said her lawyer reported to him that there were no grounds for arrest in the first place. Duncan said he is of the opinion that the Public Prosecutor's office was on a fishing expedition during the BTA investigation when they arrested Serrant.
Minister of Justice Roland Duncan said that on Monday afternoon he was informed by the Governor's cabinet that if the Governor is going to inspect the uniformed troops then Serrant should not be around. "The Governor is a guest at the ceremony, there is no law that dictates that he should be the one to inspect my troops. The police officers are working for me so I can do the inspection alone. I asked questions as to why the Governor has objections to my bodyguard walking around with me and I could not get a proper answer. I was willing and ready to have the Governor walk with me to do the inspection of the uniformed troops. He and I would have walked and done it and the Governor's adjutant and my bodyguard would not have been there but the Governor's Cabinet refused that option so I did it alone, they are my troops and they work for me. The Governor is not obliged to inspect the uniformed troops because there is no law that states that."
Minister of Justice Roland Duncan said that the Governor's office claimed that they have a problem with her based on the allegations and the reasons she no longer works for the police. The Minister said that he is of the opinion that people are mixing personal prejudice with rules. "I don't want to sound arrogant, but I was willing to compromise with the Governor."
The Minister said that Serrant is working for him as a driver and bodyguard but she also does messenger services for the Ministry.

Dutch Antilles Express is honored to partner with the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association for the 19th annual FCCA Cruise Conference & Trade Show, taking place in Curaçao, October 1- October 5, 2012. Due to the number of attendees traveling to Curacao, DAE has opened extra flights September 29 and 30 & October 1, as well as from October 5-7 to meet the demands of all participants.

Dutch Antilles Express (DAE), a regional airline based in Curaçao at the Hato International Airport, operates high frequency, scheduled services between Curaçao and a variety of destinations, including Aruba, Bonaire, St. Maarten, Santo Domingo, Caracas, Maracaibo, Valencia and its newest destination, Miami. The airline's new daily flights from Miami recently launched June 1 and offer travelers from Miami a convenient, two-and-a-half-hour flight to paradise in Curaçao.

Designated flights for the FCCA Cruise Conference & Trade Show are as follows:

Sep 29 Flight 500 Departing MIA at 7:00am Arriving CUR at 9:30am

Sep 30 Flight 500 Departing MIA at 7:00am Arriving CUR at 9:30am

Oct 1 Flight 500 Departing MIA at 7:00am Arriving CUR at 9:30am

Oct 5 Flight 503 Departing CUR at 9:00pm Arriving MIA at 11:30pm

Oct 6 Flight 503 Departing CUR at 9:00pm Arriving MIA at 11:30pm

Oct 7 Flight 503 Departing CUR at 9:00pm Arriving MIA at 11:30pm

For more information on Dutch Antilles Express, please visit www.flydae.com. For more information on the FCCA Cruise Conference & Trade Show, please visit www.f-cca.com, call 954-441-8881 or e-mail Terri Cannici at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- Contractors and builders are requested to have a plan in place to prepare and secure their job sites in the event of a passing hurricane.

The most active months of the hurricane season are less than two weeks away, August. Every effort should be made to be prepared in the event of a threat.

Contractors and home builders during severe weather are responsible for securing job sites for the protection of the public, property and surrounding areas.

Materials such as plywood, shingles, zinc, and other construction material could become flying missiles capable of impaling brick walls or anything in its way.

Construction debris can cause severe damage to property and loss of life. With building and construction activity still taking place on the island, every construction site supervisor and/or foreman is advised to have a plan in place with respect to what action they will be taking.

A tropical storm system could form during any part of the hurricane season and not necessarily during the peak months from mid August to mid October.

As a general rule, all jobsites should be kept clean. Arrange timely pick up of trash dumpsters, and only keep materials on the job site you actually will utilize at any given week especially during the hurricane season, and keep construction equipment secure. Any planned supply deliveries should be postponed if there is a hurricane threat to the island.

When a tropical storm or hurricane watch is issued 48-hours before a system is forecasted to hit, remove all scaffolding, and remove, or safely secure, all building materials and equipment.

Sub contractors should also be alerted to their responsibilities as well with respect to securing or removing their materials and equipment.

Stop job processes that will likely become damaged by the hurricane, such as window installations, house wrap, or landscaping. Complete those tasks that will likely prevent damage, such as concrete work, closing in a house, or filling in foundation excavations.

Follow through with a quick inspection of your job sites. Do not wait until the last minute to inspect your job sites, as you may need that time to go home and secure your own family home. Employees will need to also do the same.

Once the hurricane is over, return to the job site for damage inspection only when the all clear sign has been given by the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) headed by the Prime Minister of Sint Maarten.

Keep in mind that damages from the hurricane on other parts of the island may impede efforts for immediate attention of job sites.

Long-time St. Maarten visitor Jeff Berger's "Everything St. Maarten" website, started in 1994, will reach 3.5-million site visits this year and Berger will give away six St. Maarten / St. Martin vacations to celebrate.

"We're celebrating by giving away lots of things that exemplify some of what the island offers," Berger says. Among the prizes are vacations at: Hotel L'Esplanade, Grand Case; Divi Little Bay Beach Hotel, Little Bay; Oyster Bay Beach Resort, Oyster Pond; Summit Resort Hotel, Cupecoy; Club Fantastico, Orient Bay (naturist); and the legendary Mary's Boon Beach Resort on beautiful Simpson Bay Beach.

In addition to the six vacations, "Everything St. Maarten" is offering: Dinner for two at renowned Chef Dino Jagtiani's Temptation or Rare restaurants; Dinner for two at IZI Ristorante Italiano;
Dinner for two at Spiga Restaurant; Dinner for two at Le Pressoir Restaurant; Dinner for two at Daniel's By The Sea; Dinner for two at Pineapple Pete; Dinner for two at Toppers or Toppers by the Sea;
Breakfast or lunch for two at Mr. Busby's Beach Bar or Island Pizza; Free day trip to Tintamarre aboard Neil Roebert's Celine catamaran; Free massage from Tricia Altenau from AIA Massage;
Free factory tour and free ice cream from Etna Ice Cream; Free one-week car rental from Unique Car Rental; and Free cell phone rental from Sharon's Cell Phone Rental.

"People can enter online directly from the home page of our site at www.everythingsxm.com," Berger says. "We are not doing any paper ballots and our web servers are wind powered, so this giveaway is about as 'green' as it gets," he notes.

Of the thousands of entries received, 50 will be randomly selected and from those 50 the top 6 will be phoned by Jeff Berger and Jeff Sochrin of Island92 radio in St. Maarten. That call will happen the Monday morning following Thanksgiving in the USA and "that's how we will get our winners. You must answer your phone to win," Berger says. Complete information is on the entry form online.

Began in 1994

Ever since first visiting SXM in 1978 with a group from a Boston-based company, Berger has been spreading the word about SXM. "When I launched the first website for my PR business in 1994, I included several writing samples among which was a mini-travelogue about SXM. When the search engines kicked in, I started hearing from people in SXM whose businesses were being visited by people who saw my travelogue. Off it went."

The site today has dozens of pages devoted to both sides of the island, a tourist-oriented weekly newsletter with a readership of over 174,000, and a membership component which offers its members about 140 discounts on both sides of the island.

While visiting St. Eustatius, the caretaker Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation of the Netherlands, Maxime Verhagen, was given a tour of one of the island's assets: the monuments of historical Oranjestad. The island markets itself as "The Historical Gem of the Caribbean" so it was an opportunity for the Minister and his party including Kingdom Representative Wilbert Stolte to see what that is based on. The Director of the St. Eustatius Monuments Foundation, Walter Hellebrand, was their guide, showing them Oranjestad's monuments and using them as illustrations to walk them through the island's history at the same time.

Oranjestad was recently listed as one of the top eight towns to visit in the Caribbean by Lonely Planet, the largest travel guide book and digital media publisher in the world. It was the charm of the town's historical atmosphere that motivated the author of the list. Preserving and restoring what makes up this appeal is the mission of the Monuments Foundation. One of the questions that were raised by the visiting party was about the issue of undivided property since that creates eye sores that spoil the effect of the restored buildings around them.

The Monuments Director also showed the Minister and his delegation one of the first Statia monuments to be restored with a soft loan from the National Restoration Fund.

With its financial contribution of $6500, UTS has pledged its support to the Saba Cultural Foundation in its endeavor to stage the 2012 carnival festivities. The celebrations kick off today (July 23rd) with the opening Jump Up and a live performance by Ultrasonics on stage. Celebrations continue with performances by the likes of Claudius Philips and the Burning Flames and the 1st and 2nd day Grand Parade. The Last Lap and burning of King Momo conclude the festivities on July 29th. "We hope the Saba community is able to take part in this year's carnival festivities in a safe and enjoyable manner. Under our Chippie mobile brand, we will be working with our partner SATEL and the Cultural Foundation to bringing various promotions and a generally festive element to the Saba Summer Festival. We are delighted and proud to support be able to assist the foundation in making this year's carnival a success," says UTS Marketing and Communication Officer, Ivy Lambert. "I cannot divulge too much in advance, but our plans include various promotions that our customers will surely appreciate and want to make use of," Lambert continues.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The Tallahassee-St. Maarten Foundation Inc. (TLH-SXMF) and Skillz Baseball Academy St. Maarten have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to guide the relationship between both organizations to the benefit of the St. Maarten sports community and in particular those associated with Skillz Baseball Academy.

TLH-SXMF Director Arthur Lugisse says that he is willing to explore the possibilities of in-state tuition study at universities in Florida in order to provide young athletes through the Skillz Baseball Academy the opportunity to develop their athletic capabilities and potential.

"I applaud Reggie Plaisir, the Skillz Baseball Academy founder for all his positive results already achieved. I am also looking forward to receiving the Skillz Baseball Academy group in Tallassee coming August. Skillz can make a major contribution to the development of sports tourism. The latter is a niche market and with the synergy that has been developed, we can work diligently with other stakeholders to develop this part of the economy," Arthur Lugisse said on Monday.

Skillz Baseball Academy was founded in 2004 by Reggie Plaisir, and co-founders Sharine Romeo and Evans Marshall.

The Academy's mission is for the youth of St. Maarten is to provide advanced baseball training skill sets along with academic achievement in school. The goal of the organization is good grades first and athletic skills second.
The Academy has already been successful in placing athletes in Colleges in the United States.

Skillz Baseball Academy Board Chairman Reggie Plaisir announced at a July 18 board meeting several high profile events. One of them is the placement of two athletes from Caribbean Netherlands (Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius) followed by; Showcase event from August 17-20 with five/six students from St. Maarten in Florida; Advance High Performance Baseball Training from September to February; a team to head to Arizona during the October/February school vacations.

In November Skillz Baseball Academy will host power-showcase.com, a power high school hitter's talent evaluation event to select the top 14 and 15-year-old baseball prospects to represent country St. Maarten at the Miami Marlins Stadium on December 27, 2012.

During the board meeting on July 18, Chairman Plaisir introduced new board members to those present, Timothy Daniel, Branch manager Windward Islands Bank, Geert Bersgma, Head of Tax Administration, Julian Moseley, Architect/Technical Facilities Advisor, Kelly Stinnett, Major League Baseball player (Arizona, USA) and Julius Robinson (Caribbean Netherlands-Saba), whose son is a pro-baseball prospect.

Philipsburg:--- "The People have a Right to Know", a statement that was used constantly by Members of the National Alliance seems to be a statement of the past now that the National Alliance has the majority seats in the current coalition government.

According to information reaching SMN News, several students who applied for study financing and were referred to the University of St. Martin based on an advice from the study financing committee have chosen to disregard the decision of the Government of St. Maarten and decided to travel to the Netherlands on their own expenses to further their education. SMN News has been reliably informed that should this be the case then the Hanze Hogeschool program that has been implemented at USM will be in limbo. However, the only person who could provide real answers to USM and the media is Minister of Education Silveria Jacobs who decided to shun the media and has so far refused to attend press briefings even though she was in her office on Wednesday.

SMN News published an article on Wednesday morning highlighting the predicament facing the students that are scheduled to travel to the Netherlands on Sunday but Minister of Education Silveria Jacobs did not attend the press briefing to provide information on the current situation neither did she respond to the calls made to her by SMN News.

The Minister is yet to provide an update on the appeal cases that were pending, how many students won their appeal, and if they were officially informed of the final decision taken by the Ministry of Education. Even though the Minister and her policy advisor's tickets are secured for the trip to the Netherlands this Sunday, there is no word from the Minister on her itinerary while she is in the Netherlands, neither did she provide any information to the students who attended a meeting on Tuesday afternoon at the A.C. Wathey Legislative Hall. SMN News learnt that the 58 students that are expected to travel to the Netherlands on Sunday received several pieces of information but no information was given to them about their tickets because the tickets were not yet paid for. Finance Minister Roland Tuitt admitted to SMN News on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers' press briefing that late bookings do cost government more monies but the Government of St. Maarten is studying a proposal given to them by Let's Travel where they should open a pre-paid account with the airline to avoid high ticket prices. The Finance Minister also acknowledged that the Government of St. Maarten owes the travel agency a sum of monies and part of the bill was paid last week while government will be making another payment soon. Tuitt refused to release the information as to how much money the government of St. Maarten owes Let's Travel, but he promised to submit that information to SMN News by email.

SMN News also learnt that the former government had no intention of paying Let's Travel now because the bill was somewhere in the vicinity of 30 to 40 million guilders, instead arrangements were made with another well known travel agency to provide the tickets for government. It is not clear if the current coalition government will stick to the agreement made with the other travel agency.

Government plans to cut ties with S4 --- Information not forthcoming.

SMN News also learnt that the Government of St. Maarten will cut all ties with the S4 foundation as of January 2013 since S4 dismissed the director from St. Maarten. Reliable sources said that the government of St. Maarten plans to have the St. Maarten House in the Netherlands handle their student affairs as of next year. However, it is not clear if the Minister of Education will visit the St. Maarten House and the Minister of Plenipotentiary in the Netherlands next week to initiate talks about student affairs or if the current government would retain the services of S4.

School Managers and SG Replacement.

The Minister of Education confirmed during the last press briefing she attended some weeks ago that she has re-opened the application process for school managers but to date the Minister has not released any information on the appointments of these school managers.
Several teachers and supporters of the National Alliance contacted SMN News last week and stated that an advice was made up and sent to the Minister to appoint a male teacher that does not have the required FBE training and  does not speak the Dutch language to the position of Interim School Manager at the Martin Luther King School. "The person that has been selected for the position only has a one year residency permit while there are number of local Dutch nationals that applied for these positions." However, the information provided to SMN News could not be confirmed because the Minister did not attend the Council of Minister's press briefing this week.

Another concern that has been raised is the replacement of the Secretary General of the Education Department who is supposed to leave her office by the end of this year as her one year extension is almost up. SMN News understands that the Minister has someone in mind but it is not yet clear when this person will begin her training under the current SG or if the current SG Claudette Labega Foresight will receive another year extension on her contract.

GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- Head of the Civil Registry Department Leona Romeo-Marlin is calling on parents and guardians to use the last two weeks of the school summer holiday period to acquire Identification cards (ID) for 12-year olds and older.

The law requires persons 12-years and older to carry an Identity Document wherever they go. During controls by law enforcement agencies, one is required to present some form of Identification and the ID card is the best document as it is easy to carry around.

The costs for an ID card for first time applicants who are Dutch nationals is Naf.15 ages 0-17, and the parent/guardian must bring to the department the child's passport or birth certificate; first time applicants for non-Dutch nationals Naf.15 ages 0-17, and the parent/guardian must bring along a valid residence permit and passport.

Persons requiring additional information can call the Civil Registry Department at 542-2457.

The Philipsburg Toastmasters Club installed its new board for the 2012/2013 year at a ceremony held at the C.O.M.E. Center, Long Wall Road. The Executive Board comprises Donna Wilson-Morrison as President, Georges Richardson, Vice President Education, Juan Richardson, Vice President Membership, Raymond Romeo, Vice President Public Relations, Winsor (Ted) Richards, Treasurer, (not in photo) Edith Shillingford, Secretary, Minerva Lawrence, Sergeant At Arms and Elroy Hughes as the Immediate Past President/Advisor to the Board.
The new President pledged to give the members the guidance and support that is necessary in fulfilling their quest for better listening, thinking and speaking in a positive environment.
Our aim and focus should be to make things happen for ourselves, our love ones and the people that we co-exist with on a daily basis. Wilson-Morrison has held several positions on the board for the past 7 years and served as President for the 2009/2010 term.
The Philipsburg Toastmasters Club is currently the oldest Club on St. Maarten and is proud to have on its membership list, this year's District Governor in the person of Distinguished Toastmaster Rolande Tobias, (one of the founder's of the Club), also Lt. Governor Marketing Distinguished Toastmaster Valerie Brazier and District Treasurer Competent Communicator, Raymond Romeo. All on the District level of Toastmasters, which is the highest executive board within District 81. In addition, it is the first time history has been made that 3 individuals from St. Maarten are sitting on the board for the 2012/2013 term.
Toastmasters International is the leading movement devoted to making effective oral communication a worldwide reality. Through its member Clubs, Toastmasters International helps men and women learn the arts of speaking, listening , and thinking – vital skills that provide self-actualization, enhance leadership potential, foster human understanding, and contribute to the betterment of mankind. It is basic to this mission that Toastmasters International continually expand its worldwide network of Clubs, thereby offering ever-greater numbers of people the opportunity to benefit from its programs.
The Philipsburg Toastmasters Club meets every 1st & 3rd Thursday of the month at the Philipsburg Jubilee Library from 7:45 pm. An invitation is extended to the general public to come out and share in the Toastmasters experience.

GREAT BAY/MARIGOT:--- Gifts of the 'Cuisine is culture' poster and a book of St. Martin poetry are making the rounds as part of the program to generate more public awareness of the St. Martin Book Fair during its 10th anniversary year, said Jacqueline Sample, president of House of Nehesi Publishers (HNP). A few days ago, Book Fair Committee member Ari Sutton presented the framed 'Cuisine is culture' poster to Sundial principal Mireille Regales-Peterson – for the high school's hospitality training program. According to Sample, the poster or book presentations have already been made or will be made shortly to the St. Martin Home and Bethany Home for the elderly, the House of Detention library, Sundial School, Lycée Polyvalent, the Marigot Public Library, Philipsburg Jubilee Library, and the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau. HNP and Conscious Lyrics foundations organized the 2012 book fair from May 28 to June 2, in collaboration with the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau, the Ministry of Education & Culture, the University of St. Martin, and the Collectivity of St. Martin.

Friars Bay:--- Outgoing commandant of the Gendarmerie Stephen Brunet was showered with compliments for the excellent work he did on St. Martin during his three year stint on the island. Several law enforcement officers from around the island attended the farewell party Saturday evening at the Friars Bay Beach Café even though Brunet will officially leave St. Martin on August 1 to take up a new job in Paris.
Colonel Caminade of the Gendarmerie of Guadeloupe, St. Martin, and St. Barths said Brunet will be missed, he is a hard worker, one that was among the people and always worked in the field even though he was the one in charge. Brunet, he said, is special in many ways when it comes to his leadership skills.
Matthieu Doligez of the Prefecture of St. Martin also described Brunet as dedicated worker and one who was always present. He said those that attended the farewell party regret that Brunet has to leave. Doligez said during the six months he has been on St. Martin he personally experienced Brunet's leadership skills and his diligence to public service. "It is because of your diligence and your sense of general interest for the people of St. Martin that you fight so hard against insecurity."
Prosecutor Jacques Louvier in his words of appreciation said Brunet was more than a leader, he was a key player and one that could be depended upon. Louvier further explained that Brunet will be missed because he knew the island very well, he integrated himself on St. Martin the moment he took on the leadership role. "St Martin is losing a hard worker."
First Vice President Aline Hanson said it is due to Brunet's hard work that youth delinquency crime has reduced so much and it is also because of his dedication the people of St. Martin are able to sleep more peacefully at night. Hanson said even though Brunet is leaving the island he will never forget St. Martin because there is no other place like this island. She also praised Brunet's wife for allowing her husband to be so active within the community while neglecting his family at home.
Besides the compliments, Brunet was presented with medals from the Gendarmerie, the Prefecture, and several gifts from those he was close to including his colleagues from the St. Maarten Police Force. Head of the detective department Denise Jacobs, Head of CID Richard York, and detective Krips were among the invited guests at Saturday's farewell party. Richard York presented a token of appreciation to Brunet on behalf of the St. Maarten Police Force.
Brunet will be taking up a new job in the Gendarmerie Nationale in Paris, working on cyber crime.
The Chief of Police of the St. Maarten Police Force Peter De Witte is expected to meet with Brunet sometime in July before his departure since De Witte was assigned to other duties Saturday evening and could not attend the farewell party.

Click here to view more photos of the farewell party held on Saturday evening for Commandant of the Gendarmerie Stephen Brunet.

Philipsburg:--- Several Members of Parliament including former Minister of Education and Culture Rhoda Arrindell did not attend the first ever Emancipation Day Celebration on Monday. It should be noted that the former Minister of Education and Culture Rhoda Arrindell was the one who spearheaded the draft law to make July 1 an official holiday. In addition, even though Parliament declared July 2 an official holiday, several stores on Front and Back street opened their doors for normal business, some said because the law has not yet been published, while the vendors at the Square showed up to work in huge numbers.
Besides the absence of several key elected officials, the ceremony and other activities were well organized even though the time to prepare for such activities was short.
The homily delivered by Father Terrence Rawlins at the church service made several of the elected officials uncomfortable as he outlined the true meaning of the abolition of slavery and the present conditions under which many persons are living and working. Rawlins said that in some countries people are boasting freedom but many of them removed the word slavery and replaced it with the word "employee". Some, he said might even say no not employees but hotel and hospitality workers. Father Rawlins said that slaves were denied their rights and freedom in the workplace and even though slavery was abolished some 149 years ago some employees need to have their union representatives behind them to demand that their rights be respected. One such person who would take up the mantle and march for workers rights is WITU President Claire Elshot, this person's name Rawlins said he sees it almost every day in the newspapers fighting for workers rights. He said Elshot must be known by every St. Maartener but she is a freedom fighters even up to this day. Rawlins said that many have given their lives to achieve freedom yet there are those that are oblivious to the fact as he pointed out the poor attendance of the church service. "The young people today do not care about what their ancestors did to achieve this day, the significance of this day is non-existent among them." Rawlins even quoted a statement made by the former Minister of Education Rhoda Arrindell who said July 1 (Emancipation Day) is an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of Emancipation, to appreciate those who fought for freedom and to understand ones history and heritage.
Rawlins said that July 1 is not only a day to celebrate but it's one to rest and reflect on the things the forefathers of this island did to achieve emancipation. He said while emancipation is now being celebrated there is no regard for the island's forefathers that have gone on to rest. As an example, he said that everyone should visit the cemeteries and look at its condition. "In those cemeteries there are people that did a greater good for St. Maarten but the cemeteries are not properly kept."
Rawlins said St. Maarten is blessed with the freedom to worship and to elect its own leaders, draft laws, and even the freedom to complain and criticize. He said the island's forefathers paid a huge price for what those living here today so easily take for granted. He said the time has come for St. Maarten to consider to what extent they are really free especially when there are elements that are threatening to derail the development of the island, with the level of violence, family breakdown, selfishness, and coarseness that permeates the society. People he said should cease to be prisoners of their own devices in order for them to be free because only then they can reap the fruits of freedom. The nation should also try to emancipate themselves from the shackles of violence, irresponsible behavior, selfishness, greed, and crime. Rawlins said while most people believe that slavery no longer exists it is very much alive since there are 27 million people living in bondage and there are many more slaves today than there were before.
Other speakers included the Minister of Education, Youth, Sports, and Culture Silveria Jacobs who wore cultural garments and danced through Front Street as she led a group of dancers of Urmain Dormoy. Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams encouraged the people of St. Maarten to come out and celebrate Emancipation Day. President of Parliament Gracita Arrindell also lamented on the poor turnout but anticipated that the people will come out to witness what the government has put together for them later in the evening.
Governor drs. Eugene Holiday gave the keynote speech in front of the Court House where mostly dignitaries and the dancers participated in the planned activities.
At the Square, there were two women nicely painted by a specific group depicting One Tete Lokay and the Salt Pickers, the two later joined another group depicting the Freedom Fighters at the Salt Pickers Round-A-bout.
There were several displays including the coal pot, sugar cane, bananas, poultry and other things that were used during the earlier years. Alongside Pondfill Road from SZV to the Salt Pickers Round-A-Bout there were several vendors selling local delicacies.

Click here to view more photos of the Emancipation Day Celebration and Church Service.

Below is the speech given by Governor Eugene Holiday.

My Fellow Sint Maarteners,
Good Afternoon and Happy Emancipation Day.
I am immensely proud and pleased to stand before you today July 2, 2012, to share in and address you on this first observance of emancipation day as a National Public Holiday on Sint Maarten.
On July 1, 1863, the emancipation proclamation issued by Governor J.D. Crol, on behalf of His Majesty the King, went into effect abolishing slavery and declaring the affranchised population of Sint Maarten free persons.
With that proclamation an official end was brought to the slave system of forced labor, brutally imposed for over three centuries by white slave owners on black men and women merely because of a difference in color. With that proclamation an end was brought to a system which goes against the core of human nature, that is against the will of all men and women to be free.
My fellow Sint Maarteners, that proclamation marked the triumph of the indomitable will of the enslaved men and women of Sint Maarten to be free. A triumph which at the time echoed throughout our island's hill tops, valleys and bays, and forever redefined our collective destiny as a Sint Maarten people.
We the people of Sint Maarten have since realized major achievements, made possible by the concerted efforts, of many Sint Maarteners, the sons and daughters of former slaves and slave-owners. Achievements which are increasingly documented and recognized. Noticeably overlooked for recognition however, has been our defining moment of July 1 , 1863, the moment when the freedom of all the people living on Sint Maarten, was officially recognized. Today we can proudly say that we have corrected that omission.
Today one hundred and forty nine years later, the Parliament based on a proposal by the Government of Sint Maarten passed the National Ordinance declaring July 1, a National Public Holiday. As a son of this soil upon which my forefathers have toiled and as Governor of my beloved, our beloved Sint Maarten, I was deeply humbled to have the privilege to affix my signature, along with the respective ministers, towards the ratification of that historic National Ordinance. Paraphrasing the National Ordinance, in summary it stipulates:
Having Considered:

• That as of 1980 the call has increased to commemorate July 1, 1863, the day that slavery was abolished in Sint Maarten, because of its historic importance, its importance for the self-consciousness and the cultural turnaround that it has brought about;
• That it is therefore desirable to introduce an annual public holiday on July 1, called "Emancipation Day";
• That it is thereto necessary to amend a number of national ordinances;
• And, having heard the Council of Advice, with general consultation of the Parliament;

it is established that effective June 26,
Emancipation Day shall be celebrated annually on July 1, unless the day falls on a Sunday, in which case Emancipation Day will be celebrated on the first following workday."

We are, as a result, gathered here today, Monday, July 2, 2012 to observe Emancipation Day. As a result I hereby commend all who over the past years have called for, championed and advocated the commemoration of Emancipation Day.
My fellow Sint Maarteners, history – from the bible to books of contemporary times – contains the numerous struggles of the peoples of the world and of the subsequent triumphs over oppression and their respective commemorations. Those commemorations generally serve to draw from the lessons of the past and to build thereon for the future.
In that regard Sint Maarten should be no different. What then are our lessons from our collective past and how are we collectively building thereon for our future. That is a question for each of us individually and all of us collectively. In answering that question it is my hope that each of you will recognize and appreciate the immense courage, struggles and sacrifices of our ancestors who fought for the collective freedom we share today. It is my hope that you will draw from the immense personal strength of freedom fighters like One-Tété Lohkay and others like her. It is my hope that you, instead of focusing on our individual differences, will celebrate the victory of the struggle for freedom and equality of all. And finally, it is my hope that today as every Emancipation Day hereafter will be celebrated as the day when the people of Sint Maarten officially became one people. Yes as the day when the sons and daughters of the former slave-owners and slaves were no longer restricted by law, but instead were free to hold hands and move forward as one, united people.
My fellow Sint Maarteners, July 1, 1863, created the foundation for a unified and thus strong and resilient Sint Maarten people. It did so because it marked the triumph of Humanity on Sint Maarten, a triumph towards a more free, equal and just Sint Maarten for all its people. A triumph of humanity which must cherished and preserved by all with the same vigor and unrelenting courage as our forefathers. It is thus my conviction, grounded in my belief in the people of Sint Maarten, that today's first and future observances of Emancipation Day as a National Public Holiday, will function as a source of greater consciousness and understanding; and as a result help to foster greater togetherness as we continue to collectively pursue and perfect the protection of the rights and freedoms of all the people as stipulated in our constitution. I am thus confident that together we will, with the help of God, continue to take Sint Maarten, forward building a strong, stable, responsible and just society.
My Fellow Sint Maarteners, it is with that ideal for our Emancipation Day that I congratulate all of you on and wish you a most Happy Emancipation Day Celebration.
Thank you and God Bless you.

Philipsburg:--- The acting director of the Tourist Office of St. Maarten May-Ling Chun has refused the offer the NA/DP/IND Government offered her since her second three month contract expired on June 30th 2012. According to information provided to SMN News, the UP/DP Government issued two three month contracts to Chun which were never sent to the Governor's office for approval. A source within the government apparatus said that the current Minister of Finance refused to sign off on another contract for Chun since the amount of monies she was already paid has surpassed the amount a Minister is allowed to pay out without the Governor's approval. Ministers are allowed to pay out as much as Naf.50, 000.00 without the Governor's approval while Chun was paid Naf. 96,000.00 within a six month period.
SMN News learnt from reliable sources that Chun was paid Naf. 16,000.00 per month and her salary was paid to ICM, a registered company on St. Maarten. It should be noted that Chun was taking home more monies that the current Prime Minister of St. Maarten per month, all the other directors of Government owned companies, and even the Members of Parliament.
The contract that Chun was given also included that she would automatically become the Director of the Tourism Authority when it is installed. The source said the current Minister of Tourism offered Chun a contract which would give her a scale 13 position, equal to what the former director of the Tourist Office Regina Labega had and they also removed the automatic transfer to the Tourism Authority but Chun never responded to the offer that was made to her.
In the meantime, the Minister of Tourism and Economic Affair Romeo Pantophlet has decided to appoint Gus Priest as the Interim Director until a new Director for the Tourist Office is selected and appointed.

Philipsburg:--- Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs Romeo Pantophlet confirmed to reporters on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers' press briefing that the contract issued thrice to the former Director of the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau was not within the confines of the law and it is one that warrants an investigation. Pantophlet said that the STO Director was hired through a company called Innovations Creations and Marketing N.V. (ICM) and she was paid NAF. 16,000.00 per month and this he said does not include the perks that comes with the position such as traveling allowances and tickets. Minister Pantophlet said that when he took office the contract for the STO director could not be found within the government apparatus and one was later provided to him, but there was no booking number on the copy he received. He said it appears as though the former Minister made an agreement with ICM of which May-Ling Chun is the director, the working relations between ICM and government started on July 11th 2011, and the contract he said was for a period of three months. Pantophlet said for one reason or another, the contract was silently renewed twice. He said the NA/DP/IND government was facing the third renewal after which the person in question could become a permanent employee of government. Pantophlet said he met twice with Chun to discuss the contract that was awarded to her by the former Minister of Tourism Franklyn Meyers since the third contract was coming to an end on June 30th 2012. Minister Pantophlet said government offered Chun a contract with the highest scale within the government structure which is scale 13 but she refused the offer. Minister Pantophlet said Ms. Chun was informed by the Secretary General that the contract she obtained with the former Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs would not have been renewed. "I met with Ms. Chun on June 19th and June 25th where we started discussions and she promised to get back to me the following day but she never did. Then on June 29th she sent a notice to government informing them that she was not given enough time to consider the offer which was a scale 13 contract which would last as long as six months. Chun also informed government that she was seeking legal counsel and she was waiting on a response from her lawyers, while all of this was happening the contract expired. Minister Pantophlet also indicated that he has in writing that Ms. Chun informed government that the new contract she was offered is not acceptable to her. Minister Pantophlet said his Ministry has since taken a decision to appoint an interim director in the person of Gus Priest. When asked by reporters how Priest was chosen for the interim position, he said that the intention of his Ministry is to give locals priority when there is a vacancy. Minister Pantophlet said that he wanted to appoint Mr. Edward Dest to the position but Mr. Dest is out on sick leave and the next person in line is Gus Priest.
SMN News has been reliably informed that the attorneys representing May-Ling Chun sent a letter to the government of St. Maarten on Wednesday afternoon demanding that she be paid. Information obtained from government showed that Chun was paid for the period she worked as Director of the Tourist Office through her company ICM, but Chun is claiming that she has to be paid because the contract she obtained from the former Minister of Tourism Franklin Meyers states that she would automatically become the director of the Tourism Authority when it is established. In an invited comment, the Minister said that the contract with those details expired on June 30th 2012 and Government does not have to abide by its contents. Furthermore, an investigation into the ICM contract may soon take place due to the current developments.

Toastmasters of Area 6 held their Installation ceremony for the incoming Area Governor and Club Executives on Saturday, June 30 at the Out Reach Center in Maynard building.
District Governor elect Rolando Tobias recognized the outgoing Area Governor Annette Berkel for leading Toastmasters of Area 6 on St. Maarten to be among the top 3 out of the 26 area's in District 81.
During this ceremony the outgoing Area Governor shared her successful achievements, while leading Area 6 to the President Distinguished Area award during the term 2011-2012. This is the highest award an Area can achieve during the Toastmasters year and is based on outstanding performance by the Clubs in achieving their educational and administrative goals.
She also led the four established clubs towards achieving President Distinguished Club status.
The first new Club to be formed in the past 5 years, The SAINT-MARTIN EVOLUTION club in Marigot was formed under her leadership.

Also during her term, St. Maarten hosted a very successful District Conference where Rolando Tobias and Valerie Brazier were elected to the Top District positions of District Governor and Lieutenant Governor Marketing for District 81 for 2012-2013.
The governor also inspired the Toastmasters members to stay committed to the personal enrichment program of Toastmasters.
Her words of encouragement to the incoming Area Governor and the clubs executive were to start working early to achieve the goals and keep the Toastmasters standards high.

The incoming Area Governor for the term 2012-2013, Leona Romeo-Marlin pledged to work on holding workshops on communication and leadership that will help the Toastmasters membership on keeping the standards as high as her predecessor.
As part of its restructuring to accommodate new Clubs and provide more leadership opportunities, District 81 has made a realignment of its structure for the term 2012-2013. St. Maarten will now form part of Area 26 in Division E along with the territories of Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.
During the evening, clubs presented awards as a way of recognizing and congratulating all Toastmasters members who achieved educational awards during this year.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Based on the precarious financial situation that the University of St. Martin (USM) finds itself in, the tertiary institution is now being forced to raise its tuition by 25 dollars per credit hour.
Unlike many other tertiary institutions worldwide, that raise their tuition annually, this is the second tuition raise for USM in three years. As of Fall 2012, the tuition will now be 157 dollars per credit for Dutch and French nationals and 190 dollars per credit for others. The increase is expected to generate an additional 75 dollars per student per three credit class and 100 dollars per student per four credit class.
A two page letter about the price increase was also sent to all current USM students. There is even explanation in the letter from the USM president as to why the increase was announced so late.
According to USM President Annelies van den Assem, for years the utmost best was done by university officials to ensure that USM tuition fees remain affordable for the majority of students. However, "with the increase in the cost of living and education worldwide and the financial woes of the university, it is no longer possible to avoid an increase in tuition fees," she said, adding, "Keeping our students budgets' in mind, we worked on keeping the increase to a minimal."
The University of St. Martin is a private institution which means all financial obligations have to be supported independently.
"The island government contributes financially to USM and offering students scholarships to attend the university. This contribution helps the institution to stay afloat, however it is just a piece in the puzzle. USM is responsible for acquiring additional funds elsewhere to cover the rest of the costs, which is why each program has to be able to cover its own cost incurred for running the program," Van den Assem stated.
The USM President said that the Board and Management of USM are seeking innovative ways to keep the institution functioning and, in compliance with this, a development plan was created. The university is working in collaboration with government and the business sector to acquire funds to support this development plan.
"USM is in the process of restructuring the organization which will lead to a decrease in the amount of monthly expenditures. Even with all these efforts it is still obvious that there is a need for an increase in tuition fees," USM President van den Assem noted.
Students have to understand that without their contribution, the university will not be able to continue providing education to the residents of St. Maarten which is a priority for a country to advance, the USM president elaborated.
Another aspect of the development plan is to increase the student numbers at USM. One of the means the institution is using is to offer more Bachelors and Masters degree programs. The institution has already started working on this by establishing agreements and contacts with international universities such as University of the Virgin Islands, University of the West Indies, Monroe College, Hanze Hogeschool and Open Universeit. The language of instruction for all new programs offered is English. The sole exception is the Law program which is in Dutch.
"These are all accredited universities and colleges which accept the credits and qualifications of USM. A prime example is Monroe College where students who attained their Associate Degrees at USM cam easily transfer to Monroe College to enroll in the third year of one of their bachelor programs," the USM president said.
The university has notified current students of the price increase and also stated that those who have already paid will receive an outstanding balance notice. If students encounter any problems with the tuition increase, they are urged to consult with the Business Office.
The University of St. Martin has been in existence for over 23 years and offers Associate of Arts degree programs in Business and General Liberal Arts, Associate of Applied Science degree programs in Hospitality & Tourism Management and Business Information Management and Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education program. The most recent addition is a two plus two International Business and Management Studies program offered jointly with the Hanze University.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Claudius Buncamper, Head of the Department of Infrastructure Management at the Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Development, Environment and Infrastructure (VROMI), says that his department which falls under the country's disaster management system as Emergency Support Function (ESF-3), continues to make preparations for the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season.

All major waterways have been cleared of any debris and garbage that would inhibit the free flow of rain water that would lead it to the Fresh Water and Salt Ponds.

The main pump located at Suckergarden Pump Station is operational and has a pumping capacity of approximately 5400 tons of water per hour.

Several other pumps as part of a Dutch funded project for flood water management should be operational within a few weeks. Work is currently taking place at the Ministry VROMI compound for the installation of two pumps with a total pumping capacity of approximately 28,000 tons of water.

Current water levels in the Fresh water and Salt ponds are below flood levels and ESF-3 continues to monitor the weather situation very closely in order to take immediate action should that be necessary.

Finalization of contractors to be used prior, during and after a hurricane calamity, is being worked on and should be completed within short.

Buncamper is advising that due to the dry spell that the island has been experiencing for a number of weeks until some recent rainfall this week, persons living in hillside areas and who drive on the road network along the hillside are advised to drive with caution during heavy rainfall. Due to the dry weather in combination with heavy rainfall, this can result in rock slides.

ESF-3 is responsible for Public Works, Transport and Logistics.

The hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30. All residents are advised to maintain a certain level of preparedness during the season.

The St. Maarten Marine Trades Association (SMMTA) received reports from its membership that business was lost on the Dutch side of the island for marinas, agents, provisioning companies, taxis, service providers and entertainment venues over the weekend because the Simpson Bay Lagoon Authority (SLAC) offices in Simpson Bay were closed due to the public holiday on Monday July 2, 2012.
SLAC's closure of their office during the Emancipation Day Holiday on Monday meant that vessels would not be able to officially clear in or out of the Simpson Bay Lagoon, by way of paying their bridge and harbor fees, and thus would need to stay on the French Side at Marina Ft. Louis or out at anchor to be able to keep to their schedules – which often is dictated by weather windows or owner and/or charter guests; unfortunately the weather forecast for this period was unfavorable forcing the vessels to return to the French side ports, and not the Dutch side.
The SMMTA is very disappointed by SLAC's sudden decision to not open on Monday July 3rd and compares this act to the Princess Juliana Airport being closed on Christmas or New Years. "The SMMTA and its membership understand the importance of Emancipation day and supports Government's decision to make this historical day a national holiday. That being said, a Government N.V. charged with operating the only Dutch-side access point to the Simpson Bay Lagoon should not unilaterally decide to close their offices regardless of what the holiday may be or its historical significance. When we want to be home celebrating Christmas with our families the Airport employees don't get to close the runway and go home because thankfully the airport management understands the far reaching effect that would have on the St. Maarten economy as a whole. All we are asking is that the management of SLAC be mindful of how they affect the economy of the St. Maarten by their actions." Stated Brian Deher, President of the SMMTA.
Mr. Deher went on to say "The marinas and other marine related businesses on the island go to great efforts to attract and keep vessels on St. Maarten in order to extend the season, including dropping rates and fees by well over 50% during the summer months. It is extremely discouraging to have to then deal with issues, such as the office closure last Monday, that are internally generated by the Government entity [SLAC] that is supposed to be our partner in helping to grow the marine industry, and thus the economy of St. Maarten."
The SMMTA stated that they hope that through increased communication and transparency with all stakeholders, especially SLAC, that they will be successful in making the necessary changes to existing policies and procedures in order to better promote the marine industry on St. Maarten while collectively looking out for pitfalls that could hamper the industry and thus negatively affect the St. Maarten economy and the livelihood of many of its residents.

Philipsburg:--- The Minister of Labour, Health, and Social Affairs Cornelius de Weever and the members of the tripartite committee that attended the ILO conference in Geneva gave reporters an outline of their participation at the ILO conference during a press conference on Wednesday at the A.C. Wathey Legislative Hall.
Minister de Weever said this is the second year St. Maarten is given an opportunity to attend these meetings because in the past Curacao was sending a representative on behalf of the Netherlands Antilles. Minister de Weever said that while all of this is new for St. Maarten, it gives government the experience it needs in those forums. Those that accompanied the Minister were Hubert Pantophlet, Claire Elshot, Raphael Boasman, and Linda Froston. Hubert Pantophlet told reporters that the countries within the Kingdom participate in the meetings as advisers and he would like for St. Maarten to be able to participate on a level where the new country could vote. However, it should be noted that the only way that could happen is if St. Maarten becomes an independent country. The ILO meetings last for a period of two weeks where the delegation is given an opportunity to prepare for legislations that are voted upon. Pantophlet participated in the committee that dealt with the Social platform.
Froston told members of the media that she sat on committee that dealt with the reports, because each member country of the ILO (International Labour Organization) must submit an annual report. Froston said St. Maarten was given credit for submitting its report early while those countries that did not submit their report were blacklisted. Last year, some 37 countries submitted their reports. Froston said St. Maarten has to abide by the ILO labour standards. Countries that are parties to the ILO conventions must also submit an annual report on the applications of the ILO conventions. Last year St. Maarten submitted a report on nine ILO conventions.
Policy adviser of the Labour Department Raphael Boasman said there were over 5000 participants at the conference this year and one of the things that stood out was youth unemployment in Spain which is now 50% compared to 29% of youth unemployment on St. Maarten. The ILO adopted a legislation entitled "A call for action regarding youth employment." He said that there are close to 75 million young people worldwide that are unemployed and most of them work in deplorable conditions. Boasman said the young people working are often described as the working poor. Boasman said based on what he has seen this year there is an increase of 4 million unemployed young people in the world compared to 2007.
Claire Elshot who represented the workers organization said that attending the conference gave her a closer insight on how the conventions are established. This year she sat on a committee that reviewed the conventions number 89 and 98. ILO Convention number 98 is the Right to Collective Bargaining, while number 89 is on Freedom to Association, both of which she said are very important to St. Maarten. Elshot said these two conventions had to be discussed because only 49 countries ratified them. This year's discussion she said was based on having more countries adopting the conventions since they are based on the fundamental rights of workers.

PHILIPSBURG:--- President of Parliament Hon. drs. Gracita Arrindell is paying a courtesy call to Secretary General Ronald K. Noble, of the world's largest international police organization INTERPOL (International Police), in Lyon, France.

Sint Maarten was one of three countries that joined INTERPOL in 2011 at the November 80th session of the General Assembly held in Hanoi, Vietnam. The other two countries were Curacao and South Sudan.

INTERPOL is the world's largest international police organization, with 190 member countries. The organization's role is to enable police around the world to work together to make the world a safer place.

INTERPOL is supported by 673 people who work at its General Secretariat and Regional Bureaus, representing 98 different nationalities.

INTERPOL makes use of high-tech infrastructure of technical and operational support which helps meet the growing challenges of fighting crime in the 21st century.

In early 2011 INTERPOL broke ground for the construction of the INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation in Singapore. Last September a new Command and Coordination Centre in Argentina launched its operations, another step forward for global support to operations.

Every day of the year, INTERPOL's tools and services continued to support police around the world. Officers searched databases two million times per day, while 16 specialized teams were deployed to assist with terrorist attacks, a plane crash and security preparations for major events.

According to INTERPOL's 2011 Annual Report, the organization had many successes such as Operation Infra-SA, which saw the arrest or location of 61 fugitives wanted for crimes including murder; drug trafficking, money laundering and crimes against children.

Operation Pangea shut down tens of thousands of websites selling counterfeit and illegal medicines worth more than US$6 million.

Three key programmes against radiological and nuclear threat, environmental crime and maritime piracy now exist, while a 10-year training programme was launched with FIFA to enhance integrity in sports.

INTERPOL Secretary General Noble visited the country in April and met with Arrindell at the House of Parliament. During the visit, Noble invited Arrindell to visit INTERPOL headquarters.

"Our law enforcement bodies have a great resource at their disposal. INTERPOL as an international organization with 190 members is able to tackle the challenges of international policing. INTERPOL is indeed well positioned to lead the fight against the emerging crime threats of the 21st century," President of Parliament Hon. drs. Gracita Arrindell said on Sunday, the day of her departure to Lyon, France.

The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams opened the Christian Faith Ministries 'Love Kitchen" in Dutch Quarter early Sunday evening. The 'Love Kitchen' is a kitchen within the Dutch Quarter community where the less fortunate are provided with both spiritual and physical nourishment through the offering of free food and counseling to the less fortunate. "There are at least two things that I noticed when I entered the premises this evening; one is the quiet calm that this sanctuary offers and the other is the delicious aroma which is coming out of the 'Love Kitchen' as we stand here to dedicate this excellent, important and very worthwhile project. The Christian Faith Ministry is touching the community in a real way and offering those who are in need a real plate of food, food for their body and also food for the soul," commented the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister recognized the important work what the Church and the leadership is doing for the community of Dutch Quarter. "When we go about our daily tasks we may not notice some of the greater needs in our community, some may even ask why the need for a 'Love Kitchen', but I can tell you from being out in the community and talking to the people that this kitchen, this 'Love Kitchen' will be visited and people who need a hot meal will be able to find it here. So I thank you for reaching out to the community and offering this service," said the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister commented that her Government believes strongly that all initiatives must start with the community and those families within the communities. "So often we talk about making people proud to be in St. Maarten and proud to be of St. Maarten, but if in their own surroundings they are lacking the basic necessities and if they cannot experience joy in being a member in their community how can we ask then can we ask them to have joy in being a part of a nation. So from that perspective this work is a necessary work and I wish you God's strength and may this project continue to grow", ended the Prime Minister.

The President of the Workers Institute for Organized Labour (WIFOL) Theophillus Thompson said that workers of GEBE will soon be taking industrial action if the Chairman of the Board Julius Lambert does not allow the management of GEBE to sign the Collective Labour Agreement (CLA) with the WIFOL. Thompson said that WIFOL is representing all workers at GEBE and they have been negotiating the CLA for the past two years. Those negotiations concluded last year but to date they are not able to get the CLA signed. Thompson said the Advisory Board of GEBE has been delaying the process by changing the dates constantly. Thompson said that after an investigation conducted by WIFOL they realized that the Chairman of the Board is not in favor of having a collective labor agreement for the workers of GEBE and that is a serious problem for the WIFOL. Thompson said the WIFOL dispatched several letters to the GEBE Advisory Board requesting a meeting and to date they have not replied and have so far refused to sit with the union to discuss matters pertaining to the general interest of the workers. Thompson said based on the union's conclusion, Mr. Julius Lambert has not left the decision making seat since he resigned from GEBE as the Managing Director. "In our opinion, Lambert has moved to a more authoritative position since he is on the Advisory Board and has the last word in the decision making for the company."
He said right now based on how the management of GEBE is reacting there will be unavoidable industrial action on the island, this he said can happen as early as Thursday. The WIFOL President said he wants the public to know that the WIFOL will not negotiate a CLA and then not be able to sign it. He further explained that the workers of GEBE haven't had union representation for years now since the last CLA was signed with the NABLP over eight years ago. He said the WIFOL will be putting more pressure on the company to ensure that the CLA is signed.

Politicians Used the Working Class to get votes --- Thompson.

President of the WIFOL Theophillus Thompson said that some politicians have used the working class people to gather votes during the last election when they said they will stop the abuse of the short term labor contracts. Thompson said these politicians do not understand the use of the short term labor contract and the abuse of it. The WIFOL President said the companies on St. Maarten are no longer hiring workers and instead they are using Job Placement Agencies and they are the ones abusing the working class. Thompson said the agencies have a role to play in the job market and government should ensure they follow the letter of the law. "The role of these companies is to find workers for companies and it is the companies that have to hire the workers and pay their monthly premiums such as health insurance and pension."
Thompson went as far as saying that the employment agencies are taking the workers' salaries from the companies and sometimes don't pay the workers neither their premiums. When asked if he believes that some of these companies would pay the workers and their premiums before they are being paid by the companies, Thompson said he does not think for one minute that any of the agencies that exist on St. Maarten would pay workers and their premiums before being paid by the companies they provide workers for.

Members of the board of SHTA met with Minister Tuitt to discuss the current state of the economy. SHTA characterized the meeting as very candid and informative. The SHTA presented the Minister Tuitt with documents that have been previously submitted to the tax reform work group including information on the current state of the economy and suggestions for changes to the tax system as the government plans to shift from direct to indirect taxation.

SHTA was impressed with vision and plan of approach as outlined by Minister Tuitt. Minister Tuitt brings a healthy perspective combining his private sector experience with his understanding of government. We are looking forward to working together.

Philipsburg:--- Minister of Finance Roland Tuitt said that he intends to clean up the debts of government in the near future. The Finance Minister made the announcement on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers' press briefing, he said the former governments have been saying that they are doing all they could to boost the economy when in fact these governments were acting like a bad child. "The former governments used to say they wanted to bring action into the economy but when you look carefully government was not a good child, they were not paying their bills on time and I want change that by the end of this year. I want to clear up all the old bills and I want to start the New Year with a new vision and allow government to do business with the community (creditors) without giving government a bad name." Tuitt said it is important for government pay its creditors on time so that the money can turn around in the economy and generate activity. Therefore, government has to become a good citizen and pay their bills on time.
When questioned by the media regarding the debts government owes it creditors, Tuitt said that there are bills to be paid dating back to 2005. Tuitt said government owes it creditors somewhere between 20 to 30 million guilders. When he was asked how he intends to pay those bills, Tuitt said there are debts that existed before 2005 and it should have been cleared up with the debt relief. He said government is of the opinion that they can revisit the issue of debt relief. However, from 2005 to present he is working on clearing up the debts by bringing government up to date with its creditors. He said he does not see any reason why government cannot pay its bills within 30 to 90 days as long as the cash flow is in place. Tuitt said when government establishes the debt and the cash flow is available, he could use the money to clear the debts. He said the government of country St. Maarten should have four months of expenditures on the bank which amounts to about 10 million per month for critical items. He said the excess monies on the bank can be used to pay off government debts.

Making Government more Responsible for their Ministries.

Tuitt further explained that his Ministry is trying to make the other Ministries more responsible. "We are working on this with the SOAB to implement some activities, one of those activities is to establish an internal control department and to implement a real treasury department that will have the capabilities to do proper investments for government." Tuitt said there is already a treasury department but that department has to function properly with the investment policies of government which would make government more efficient and effective as well as generate more income for government.

CFT confirms approval of St. Maarten 2012 Budget --- Wants more Clarification.

Tuitt also told reporters that he received an official letter from the CFT on July 16th confirming that the 2012 budget of St. Maarten has met their requirements. Tuitt said the CFT also asked government to provide some more answers to them. One such question was regarding how the government of St. Maarten intends to deal with the TAXAND issue. Tuitt said government split the budget 2012 amendments into two parts. One part of the budget deals with the daily operation of government (operational cost) while the second part is the capital budget, under which the TAXAND contract will fall since it is a big investment.
The Finance Minister also announced on Wednesday that the SOAB submitted a Performa invoice to investigate the TAXAND contract. The cost to do the investigation is Naf. 58,000.00 and the Council of Ministers already approved the amount for the investigation. Tuitt said he has to make up a Landsbesluit because the amount is over Naf.50,000.00 and when that is completed SOAB will begin their investigation which will last about five weeks.
The CFT also wants government to provide them with some more information regarding the 2012 budget amendments and to make sure the 11 million guilders on the back services is in the financial statement of 2010, which Tuitt said was sent to the CFT.

St. Maarten Government Asks UTS Supervisory Board for Information on the Naf. 11.2 million paid to Curacao Government.

The Finance Minister also announced on Wednesday that he will be requesting more information from the United Telecommunication Company (UTS) on the 11.2 million guilders they paid out to the Government on Curacao. Tuitt said UTS made the payment without basis because the only payments UTS can make to a government are either a dividend or a loan. He said the payment made by UTS, is not a dividend therefore, they need to have some other basis as well as approval from the Supervisory Board of UTS.

Philipsburg:--- A lone gunman attacked well known businessman Bobby Velasquez on Sunday afternoon by grabbing his gold chain from behind while he was walking through the alley known as Get Wet.

In an interview with SMN News, Velasquez said the incident occurred around 4:30pm in the afternoon. He said the gunman held on to his chain and pulled it very hard but the chain is a thick gold chain that he got from his mother in 1968 when he graduated and it did not break. The businessman said that as the robber kept pulling on his chain from behind he was choking but somehow he managed to gain breath. He then turned around and grabbed the robber. Velasquez said that he threw the bandit on a rail and still he did not let go of the chain. "It is when I began to soak him some good blows and he started to bleed from his mouth and nose that he let go of my chain. But while he was on the ground he said that if I did not give him my chain he would shoot me. I had him cornered for a while but he managed to escape and jump over a nearby fence."

Velasquez said the police were called to the scene and they are busy investigating the matter.

Marigot:--- At least six persons that were in a Dutch Tour Bus were injured after it collided with Taxi 67 on Thursday. According to reports reaching SMN News, the taxi did not give way to the Tour Bus that had a number of passengers on board. SMN News learnt that the tour bus driver lost control while descending the hill towards Lotterie Farm and collided with Taxi 67. The taxi flipped over and landed on its roof, luckily the taxi was empty at the time of the accident as the driver had already dropped off his passengers at Lotterie Farm.

The Gendarmes were called to the scene to investigate and it appears as though the bus lost control due to brake failure. However, the Gendarmerie said they cannot confirm if that is in fact the main cause of the accident as the vehicle would have to be inspected by special technicians.

A spokesman from Dutch Tours stated that the company used other buses to transport all their passengers back to the ship. The injured tourists were also taken back to the ship after they were treated at the Louis Constant Fleming Hospital and interviewed by the Gendarmes.

The medical condition of the drivers was uncertain up to press time as they were still at the hospital up to late Thursday afternoon.

The Nature Foundation carried out water quality tests on the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th of July 2012 at seven sites surrounding St. Maarten. These tests, which are conducted bi-annually, are carried out in order to determine the levels of pollutants and other factors affecting wetlands and beaches on St. Maarten. Tests were carried out in order to determine Nitrates (which shows that the water is polluted), Phosphates (which shows the presence of Sewage), Nitrogen, Dissolved Oxygen, and the acidity of the water. Tests were carried out on seven sites; Cole Bay Lagoon, Simpson Bay Lagoon, Mullet Pond, Kim Sha Beach, Great Bay Beach, Belair Pond, Fresh Pond, and the Great Salt Pond. The sites of Great Bay Beach and Kim Sha Beach were particularly chosen to test the swimming quality of the beaches.
It was determined that the sites Cole Bay Lagoon, Kim-Sha Beach, Mullet Pond, and Great Bay had medium levels of both phosphates and nitrates in samples tested. Elevated levels of nitrates and phosphates show that there is a presence of various types of pollutants and sewage which can cause toxic algal blooms and mortality events (large scale dying of fish, turtle and crabs) in wetlands and coastal areas. The highest level was recorded in the Great Salt Pond and indicates the presence numerous pollutants and sewage in the tested water. This may cause fish die offs and algal blooms. Taking this into consideration levels will continuously be monitored by the Nature Foundation.
It was further established that the sites Cole Bay Lagoon, Kim-Sha Beach, Mullet Pond, and Great Bay had low levels of Nitrogen in samples tested. Elevated levels of Nitrogen, caused by pollutants, can cause massive fish die-offs in wetlands and coastal areas. The highest level was recorded in the Great Salt Pond at .6 ppm, which is a relatively high number and indicates the presence of elevated nitrogen levels which can pose a threat to aquatic organisms and which may cause fish die-offs between now and the end of the year. The Nature Foundation will continuously monitor Nitrogen Levels at this site in order to give an approximation when fish die offs may be expected.
Almost all levels of oxygen recorded were at sufficient levels to maintain healthy life. The lowest level was recorded in the Great Salt Pond. This site should be closely monitored for a further drop in oxygen levels which may result in fish kills and breeding of airborne insects (i.e. Midges).
Despite the fact that many sites showed Low to Medium readings, the Nature Foundation will follow up on a monthly basis during the summer months to carefully monitor for changes in the respective levels. Similarly the levels recorded in the Great Salt Pond show that there exists the possibility of fish die-offs and increased midge activity between now and end of 2012.

Philipsburg:--- It's Carnival time in Statia and the Telem Group of Companies will be launching a new numbering plan for St. Eustatius in grand carnival style on Friday, July 27, 2012 preceded by a special pre-introduction and items give away on Thursday, July 26, 2012 at the Carnival Village featuring a musical performance by Rohie Ryddim. The presentation will start at 9:00PM sharp, followed by what has been dubbed "De Session". Admission to the Village is US$10 for adults and US$5 for children up to10 years old.
Converting to the new numbering plan has its benefits. Subscribers who convert get a new TelCell SIM free and get to make TC Statia to TC Statia calls at 22 cents (US) instead of 24 cents (US) per minute.
In addition, those who convert now could be the lucky winner of a brand new Bold 5 BlackBerry phone.
"The new numbering plan comes as a result of the break up of the Netherlands Antilles and is part of the on-going efforts to modernize our operations and bring effective, efficient and low cost telephony to all our subscribers," explained Eutel director, Mr. Edward Benjamin.
"There could be no better time to introduce the new numbering plan as St. Eustatius is gripped by the feverish excitement of the carnival celebrations," he added.
According to Mr. Benjamin, a swap for the new TelCell SIM not only qualifies the subscriber for an opportunity to win the BlackBerry Bold 5 and other raffles in the coming months, but also will allow the customer to "double top up from Thursday, July 26, 2012 until Sunday, July 29, 2012 at all vendors."
Mr. Benjamin further explained that the sponsorship of the show by TelEm Group on Thursday, July 26, 2012 at the Carnival Village is "for awareness of what's to happen on July 27, 2012 with the changing of the range to 318-6XXX."
"Promotional items will be available at the village and during the swap," he said.
Subscribers who wish to convert to the new 318-6 number range are encouraged to visit the Eutel office throughout the day on Friday, July 27 to ensure they have preference to obtain the number of their choice. For more information, please call Eutel at 318-2320 or 318-2210.

The Coralita road that was closed off for motor vehicular traffic for the last 2 weeks from the intersection of Gladiola road has been re-opened for traffic in both directions this afternoon, whereas the road is now accessible from the intersections of Zaegersgut road as well as from Gladiola road in both directions.

The further installation of the sewage line will now continue in the coming weeks, with the section behind the Cricket field following Roses road and will connect to the recently installed sewage line located on the L.B. Scott road.

We are very thankful for the cooperation of the general Public for their continued understanding as we strive for progress with the upgrading of the infrastructure of St. Maarten.

Philipsburg:--- "I didn't expect to make it out of the first round; this was my first time ever participating in a DJ competition and some of the other DJ's were asking who is he?"
They won't have to ask any further. Kevin Hanson, aka DJ Chubs, wowed the crowds and the judges on his way to winning the first edition of the Soggy Sounds DJ Competition series last week, taking home a cash prize of US$2,500, courtesy of sponsors, Heineken and a season's gig as the resident DJ at the popular Soggy Dollar Bar.
DJ Chubs said he will deposit part of the cash prize on his daughter's account and use the rest to purchase some speakers for his DJ equipment.
The first time he ever deejayed was at a house party in 2006 while he was still studying in Tallahassee. His friends encouraged him to do the house gig seeing that he had so many "good sounds". "I borrowed one of my friend's laptop and played; the people enjoyed it."
Indeed, that was how he approached the Soggy Sounds DJ Competition: as a house party. And what a party it turned out to be for him!
"I didn't even know about the competition; some friends told me about it." He entered for the fun of it and at his very first attempt, took the crown. In addition, he also won a smart phone from co-sponsors, Telem, as well as the opportunity to host one night at the Heineken Regatta next year.
"I think my advantage was my mixing technique across genres," he said, "moving seamlessly from zouk to bachata or from soca to dancehall."
The participants were, in fact, judged on their mixing and technical skills as well as on their music selection and crowd response. The judges included some of the island's foremost DJ's – DJ Nachum Frank, Party Dude Jason and DJ Outkast.
"I admire most of the local DJ's," said the newly-crowned first Soggy Sounds DJ champion, DJ Chubs. He added that he never had a mentor, however, he is an avid reader of books written by famous DJs.
"I read about different stuff; about what they did and how they did it. It helps me to improve as a DJ."
Commenting on his feelings after winning the competition, DJ Chubs said: "It feels like hard work really pays off."
He should know. An accountant by profession, the Telem staff didn't even mention that he was participating in the competition co-sponsored by his company.
"In the finals, some of my colleagues showed up and encouraged me. I really appreciate that," he said.
"We are mighty proud of DJ Chubs' achievement; he competed like a real pro," remarked Suraj Ramdas, who represented Telem at the competition. "He did us proud."
Congratulations have poured in from the management and staff of Telem who are beaming with pride that one of them was able to win such a prestigious competition through his hard work and undeniable talent.

...

SIMPSON BAY:--- "It's not the dinner nor the tickets to the 'Laugh Till Your Belly Burst' comedy show; all of that is just a token because there's nothing we could do that would really show how much we appreciate Newton Wilson for his exemplary behaviour," said Regina LaBega, Managing Director of the Princess Juliana Int'l Airport operating company (PJIAE).

The airport's managing director was stressing the importance of honesty and good morals at the individual level in fostering the image of the island.

"Good Samaritan" Newton Wilson, the Lead Agent of Baggage Services at Arrindell Aviation Services recently found a passenger's lost wallet and made sure it was returned to its rightful owner. The visitor was so happy and impressed that he publically commended Wilson and the entire airport staff for what might generally be considered an uncommon behavior.

"We have all at one time or the other lost something at a critical time and the recovery of which we would have paid anything for," LaBega said. "In particular, there's nothing more frustrating and stressful as to lose one's wallet with possibly credit cards, cash, driver's license and other important documents in it in a foreign land."

LaBega said honesty was not only the best policy but a moral value that was instilled in generations of St. Maarteners.

"Unfortunately," she noted, "Often you may even be laughed at and ridiculed nowadays for being honest like Mr. Newton Wilson. That is why it is very gratifying that he did what he did. We are very proud of him."

LaBega, in order to highlight this honest act had invited Newton Wilson and his companion to dinner at Bamboo Bernies, along with his Duty Manager, Matumi Shigemoto.

The airport also presented Wilson and his companion with complementary tickets to the "Laugh Till Your Belly Burst" comedy show.

Philipsburg:--- The Council of Ministers met with the Managing Director of Princess Juliana International Airport Regina Labega on Tuesday morning in order to gather information regarding the concerns of the concessionaires. SMN News learnt that several contracts that were granted to the concessionaires expired on July 1, 2012 and the new Managing Director of PJIAE decided to grant the concessionaires a one year contract while negotiations continue for a contract that will last for a period of six years. Labega also dispelled the notion that management of PJIAE have been discussing with a Mexican company to build a high end mall. She told the Council of Ministers that the new contract that will be granted to the concessionaires will bring more revenues and business to the Airport.
A source within the government apparatus said that the concessionaires that are occupying the restaurant section of the Airport do not have to worry because their contracts are up in 2014. However, some of operators that are operating in the Food Court area were given termination letters because they failed to live up to the terms of agreement in their contract. It is estimated that the concessionaires owe the Airport somewhere between 14 million to 20 million United States Dollars in operational costs.
The source further explained that while the disgruntled concessionaires that owes the PJIAE millions of dollars said they are getting the support of the Airlines, not one of the Airlines have come forward with complaints thus far. Labega told the Council of Ministers that she did not receive any complaint neither did she meet with any of the airlines.
SMN News reported last week that a closed door meeting was held with the Airlines and Airport management sometime last week where they presented the management of PJIAE with an ultimatum regarding the airport's operational costs but Labega told the Council of Ministers no such meetings ever took place, this was also confirmed by the President of the St. Maarten Airline and Handlers Association (SAHA) Walter Borel. Borel told SMN News that he contacted all the other managers of the other Airlines and none of them met with the PJIAE management. He said as a representative of Air France/KLM he personally did not meet with PJIAE and has since distanced himself from the conflict currently taking place between PJIAE management and the concessionaires.
Some members of the Council of Ministers met with the Airport Concessionaires Association last week to gather information on their grievances prior to inviting Labega to Tuesday's meeting. A follow up meeting was to be held with the concessionaires on Tuesday afternoon but that meeting had to be postponed. SMN News further learnt that the Council of Ministers is currently organizing a meeting with the concessionaires which will be held sometime this week.

MAHO:--- Seventh-day Adventist from around the Caribbean gathered at Sonesta Maho Resort Thursday evening for the opening ceremony of is Festival of the Laity. Also present was Governor Eugene Holiday, Prime Minister, Sarah Wescot-Williams, members of Parliament, and various local clergy.
Organized by the North Caribbean Conference of Seventh-day Adventist (NCC) the "Festival of the Laity" is a personal ministry event designed to support non-clergy members in their mission work. Held for the second time on St. Maarten delegates have traveled from Anguilla, St. Eustatius, Saba, St. Maarten, Virgin Gorda, Tortola, St. Thomas, St. Croix, and America
Under the theme "Fulfilling the gospel commission in my community" President of the Caribbean Union of Seventh-day Adventist Dr. Kern Tobias gave the keynote address.
"The time has come for the Church to ask and answer the hard question about how we are relating those guiding principals of this gospel commission (Matthew 28:19) and how it can be actualized in the lives of the led and the leaders."
"The first and continuing priority of the Church must be in this directive form the Lord; go teach, baptize, and make disciples."
Taking from the book The Big Four: Secrets to a Thriving Church Family by S. Joseph Kidder, Tobias concluded "The challenge of the church is that we must move from programs to people...Let us be more concerned about engaging people, making friends in our community, recognizing that our family members who don't know Christ are our most significant target groups. We should move from just doing church to spiritual discipleship."
Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams officially opened the conference. In her address to delegates and attendees she said "... the laity of so many congregations are gathered here on St. Maarten to fulfill that [gospel] commission...You need to be supported at this time as the church...are facing tremendous challenges. You as the foundation of those churches need to be strong, committed, supported and focused, because what you are doing is right. The support that you are giving to the church is necessary for us to continue to make a difference in the world today."
"When you leave this place and this island you will be convinced that what you are doing – if not recognized today the reward will be yours tomorrow." said Wescot-Williams.
Specially invited were evangelist Mark Finley and his team, Dr. Derek Morris and his wife, Dr. Balvin Braham, and Pastor Samuel Telemaque. Representing 3ABN (Three Angels Broadcasting Network) are Dr. Eugene Daniel, Dr. Kern Tobias, Pastor Danfort Francis and other distinguished leaders of the SDA Church.
Delegates were welcomed by a colorful and enthusiastic display of culture by pupils of the Cole Bay Seventh-day Adventist School.
The conference continues today until Saturday, July 7 with sessions starting at 10am. All sessions are open to the public and are free. For updates and detailed information visit www.facebook.com/festivalofthelaity.stmaarten. The conference is broadcasted live at www.churchpond.com/index.php/vod/vod_philipsburg. Past days are also posted on that website.

Reward:--- On July 5, 2012, St Dominic High School, the first government subsidized International Baccalaureate (IB) school in the Caribbean received its examination results for the Diploma Programme.

The first cohort of 14 International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme candidates sat exams during the month of May with 71% of them fulfilling the requirements to be awarded the internationally recognized IB Diploma. The global pass rates for IB this year is 78.16%. St. Dominic High School is proud that the first diploma examination results of its "pioneer" class are in line with the 78.16% global pass rates for IB this year.

Anmol Mirpuri who qualified to skip Form 5 and move directly from Form 4 into the two-year Diploma Programme scored the highest with a cumulative score of 36 points. The most points a student can obtain is 45: 6 subjects x 7 points + 3 points for the Extended Essay and Theory of Knowledge. According to information on www.ibo.org, over 119,000 students around the world sat the May 2012 exams, with students achieving an average score of 29.83 and 109 attaining a score of 45 points.

The IB Diploma Programme at St. Dominic High School is a rigorous pre-university curriculum where students select and study six subjects from five groups – literature, foreign language, individuals and societies, experimental sciences, mathematics. In order to qualify for the diploma, students must complete the following core requirements: a 4,000 word Extended Essay (EE), the Theory of Knowledge (TOK) course which examines how knowledge is acquired and the various kinds of knowledge that exists, Creativity, Action Service (CAS) requiring students to engage in the arts, sports and the community. The Diploma Programme is designed to not only challenge a student academically but personally and socially as well in order to give them the skills to be a contributive citizen and member of our global community.

The students not qualifying for the diploma will receive from the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) a document indicating the results obtained in their individual subjects, together with results in Theory of Knowledge (TOK), the Extended Essay (EE) and the completion of all Creativity, Action, Service (CAS) requirements.

GREAT BAY/MARIGOT:--- “All poets and spoken word artists of St. Martin – South, North, and those studying or living abroad” are invited “to submit up to five poems” for a new poetry book, said House of Nehesi Publishers (HNP).

“Where I See The Sun – Poetry in Contemporary St. Martin” is the working name for the upcoming anthology. A wide range of subjects and writings styles are encouraged, said Jacqueline Sample, president of HNP.

HNP easily issued the “Call for Poetry” online last week but the guidelines could make getting your poems in the new book a bit tough.

Nevertheless, it is an exciting proposition from a press that has published literary giants like Kamau Brathwaite (Barbados) and Amiri Baraka (USA), a Harvard scholar like Marion Bethel (The Bahamas), and a lifetime collection of poems by the late Charles Borromeo Hodge, hedging his work from obscurity on his own island.

The FULL GUIDELINES for getting poems in the new book are found at http://www.facebook.com/nehesipublishers

. The guidelines can also be requested at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Philipsburg:--- The Prime Minister of St. Maarten Sarah Wescot Williams confirmed on Wednesday that she gave instructions to her General Secretary to arrange a meeting with the French and Dutch side technocrats to deal with the expired Dutch drivers licenses that caused a road block in Marigot early Tuesday morning.

Wescot Williams told SMN News in an invited comment that the President of the Collectivity Alain Richardson contacted her on Tuesday regarding the matter because there are hundreds of people that are being affected by the decision of the Dutch Government not to renew the licenses if the holders are not registered residents on the Dutch side of the island.

Wescot Williams said that the Dutch side had an agreement with the French side to renew the licenses for a period of one year which expired at the end of June 2012. However, for one reason or another, the French side were not able to live up to what they had agreed to do. "Right now, I have made arrangements for the technocrats to meet again to find a solution in the interim because St. Maarten is busy working on its draft law for people living on the island to obtain a drivers license. In that draft law, the condition that is now in place where people must be registered at the Census Office will be removed." The Prime Minister did not give full details on the draft law that will be taken to Parliament regarding driver's licenses. She also did not say if Government intended to remove provisions of the current legislations for all citizens on the island or if it will be only for those residing on the French and Dutch side of the island.

In the year 2000, the traffic ordinance was amended by the island council stating that persons who are not registered at the Census Office could not obtain a drivers license, even though there was an existing policy that states that persons residing on the French side of the island could have obtained a drivers license from the Dutch side if they produced a "certificate of residency". It should be noted that while many persons including fire-fighters were affected, none of these persons challenged the Dutch Government in the court of law since the traffic ordinance should not have overridden an existing policy for persons who were already issued a license from the Dutch side of the island.

On Tuesday July 10th, 2012 at approximately 12:10pm, the Police central Dispatch received information that two unknown men driving in a black Wrangler Jeep with license plate R-441 were driving around with a considerable amount of false American currency in their possession. These men were also in the possession of a so called "skimming device". This "skimming device" is used to illegally withdraw monies electronically from ATM machines. The Central Police Dispatch informed all police patrols on the streets to keep an eye out for this vehicle and the suspects.

Shortly after at approximately 12:15pm, a patrol of the Zero-tolerance team while patrolling on the A.T. Illidge road saw the suspected vehicle parked in the parking lot of Francis Bar. The patrol decided to approach the vehicle to control and identify these suspects. Before the patrol could approach the suspected vehicle, the driver quickly reversed form the parking lot and took off at very high speed in the direction of the Cottage round-a-bout. The patrol started chasing this vehicle and noticed that several pedestrians were forced to jump out of the way to avoid being struck by the suspected vehicle. The chase continued on Illidge road in the direction of the Prins Bernard Bridge. The driver of this vehicle who at the time was driving very reckless and without regard for human life drove through the red light at the Prins Bernard Bridge and continued to flee on the Long wall road.

The central dispatch was informed of the ongoing situation and dispatched several other patrols to assist in this chase. The chase continued via the Long Wall road, Onasha Jones street, Kerkhof steeg, and Little Bay road. On the Little bay road, the vehicle struck a blue jeep that was parked on the side of the road and a pedestrian causing minor injury. The suspect did not stop and continued to flee on the Fort Willem road. On the Fort Willem hill drive, the suspect lost control of the vehicle causing the vehicle to become stuck in the ditch. The driver then jumped out of the car and took running through the bushes in the area. The chase continued on foot by the police. The suspect was arrested shortly after and taken in custody. The suspect with initials J.J.M. from the Dominican Republic (35) was taken to the Philipsburg Police Station and handed over to the Detective Department for further investigation. The suspected vehicle was confiscated. The injured pedestrian was treated on the scene by paramedics and the investigation is ongoing.

Press Release from Police Department (KPSM)

Philipsburg:--- President of the Windward Islands Teachers Union (WITU) Claire Elshot announced at the Windward Islands Chamber of Labour Unions' weekly press briefing on Thursday that the WITU board met with the Minister of Finance on Tuesday. Elshot said when the WITU received the invitation to attend the meeting they were somewhat hesitant to attend because they could not understand why the Minister of Finance Roland Tuitt chose to meet with various union representatives separately. Elshot further explained that the WITU board did attend the meeting and several issues were discussed. She said that one of the points of the discussion was the COLA payments which the Minister of Finance assured her would be paid out at the end of July 2012. The WITU President said they are aware that government payroll closes on the 12th of every month but the Minister assured the WITU that the monies are in place for the payment but certain procedures have to be completed such as the ratification of the amendments made to the 2012 budget. As for the COLA payments, Elshot said she indicated to the Minister that she would like all teachers to receive their monies at the same time. She said a huge number of teachers work for subsidized schools and the school boards of these schools should get the monies and information so they would be able to comply with the scheduled payment dates. She said she would not want to have to deal with situations where the teachers of the subsidized schools are not being paid at the same time.
Elshot made clear that the WITU is not in favor of government's proposal to change the COLA structure because it was created by a well known firm on St. Maarten, Deloitte & Touche and this system has only been in place for the past four to five years. Elshot said that government would have to bring more evidence to convince her board that the COLA is not feasible for St. Maarten. Elshot said she disagreed with the Minister because the salary scales were upgraded back to 2007. Elshot said she provided the Minister with information regarding the salary scales and how it was implemented.
The WITU President said she is of the opinion that government should widen the basket for controlled items and make more controls so that workers can get more goods for what they are working for.
Elshot also said the WITU will not encourage or entertain the Minister's idea to increase the pension age from 60 to 65. She said that teachers begin their career at age 22 to 25 and after 35 years of service they need to have time to enjoy their private lives. She further indicated that if the pension age will be increased then government would have to make sure that pensioners get 90% of their last salary instead of 70% as is the case now. "We will not be giving five more years of service and not be compensated for it. What I am seeing here is like monkey see monkey do, because the Netherlands increased their pension age from 60 to 67. Are you telling me that our workers will give five years more service and they will not be getting extra when the cost of living is rising. Teachers are already social because they are contributing to the AOV and will not be getting anything out of it."
She said when the government of the Netherlands tried to apply the new system, the workers there resisted heavily and the government had to increase the pension age gradually.

WICLU Vice President Presents Books to President of Union.

The Vice President of the Windward Islands Chamber of Labour Unions also presented a number of books on regulations that she brought back from Geneva when she attended the ILO conference. Elshot said workers and students can go to the WIFOL building to do their research on anything that relates to labor. She said that immigrant workers on St. Maarten are told that they have no rights but the union can prove them wrong because she also brought back a booklet on the rights of immigrant workers.

Philipsburg:--- The Prime Minister of St. Maarten Sarah Wescot Williams briefed members of the media on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers' press briefing about her recent meeting with the Kingdom Council of Ministers.
The Prime Minister said the two main points on the agenda were the budgets of country Curacao and St. Maarten. She further explained that the meetings held last week can be considered as historical since it is the first time the new countries participated in such meetings as Prime Ministers with the Kingdom Council of Ministers.
Wescot-Williams said that several issues were discussed especially those relating to the Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten. This agenda point was to illustrate the concerns of the Kingdom Government regarding the development and lack of development in certain areas. The Prime Minister said everyone was given an opportunity to express their concerns but she as the Prime Minister of St. Maarten made clear that the party that is suffering the most is St. Maarten in the case of the Central Bank.
Wescot-Williams said the reason she stressed this was because the Dutch Government has a monetary share in the Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten which amounts to 90 million guilders and the Dutch Government already requested their shares from the Central Bank of the former Netherlands Antilles now Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten. She said the Central Bank is an inheritance for Curacao since they are the ones that have the building and staff. However, St. Maarten has an agreement to have joint central bank but they were also keen on having their own branch on St. Maarten but so far nothing has happened in this respect. Wescot Williams said an agreement was reached with the Kingdom Council where St. Maarten and Curacao will present a report to the Kingdom Council by their next meeting which is scheduled for August 24th, 2012.
She said the Council of Ministers of St. Maarten discussed the Central Bank on several occasions and the Minister of Finance has been in touch with members of government of Curacao as well as with the board members of the Central Bank.
The Prime Minister said that in her option that the two countries get together and she intends to send a letter to Curacao requesting such a meeting. She said during the discussion whenever it takes place, a decision will have to be taken as to how the two countries will move forward on with the issue of the Central Bank.
Wescot-Williams said some of the Dutch Ministers expressed that it is St. Maarten that has been clamoring for its own Central Bank. "Yes, we have been clamoring for own Central Bank but not without reason. We did not jump up just after the agreements in 2006 and say we wanted our own Central Bank. Given the developments and the some of the political statements that were made, St. Maarten decided to have its own Central Bank."

Budget 2012 and Compliance
The fact that the government got a clean report from the Committee of Financial Supervision for Curacao and St. Maarten CFt on the budget amendment, speaks volumes of the hard work of the Ministry of Finance under the former Minister of Finance Hon. Hiro Shigemoto. It means that some of the concerns addressed in the budget amendment the Ministry were already working on for some time before the new administration took over.

One must also remember that the UP led Government worked diligently from day one after achieving country status to build up the Ministry of Finance during a period of 18-months. The groundwork was done under the UP and a solid foundation was laid under the UP including the opening of a CFt liaison office in Philipsburg that would further facilitate the communication process between the Ministry of Finance and CFt.

Simultaneously with the preparatory outline for the budget 2013 which was issued to the Ministries before the former government left office. It also means that progress has been made since the grading of the financial management by means of the Performance Evaluation Financial accountability (P.E.F.A.). Also this plan was in progress before the former administration left office May 21, 2012.
The current Minister of Finance en enjoying the hard work that was carried out by the UP Government and he should give jack his jacket and recognize this fact.

A Simpler Tax System
The ideas for a simpler tax system once again were set forth by the former UP Minister of Finance. Lower income and profit tax rates, gradual shift from direct to indirect taxes with a re-structuring of the current Turn over Tax (ToT) ordinance to remove the repetitive moments of taxation in the chain of transactions. Other revenue generating proposals were also launched such as a fee on alcohol and tobacco and maintaining the competitive price within the region. Also synchronization with the French government as it pertains to the new tax code. Regional comparisons were also made in order to ensure that our country does not tax itself out of the market and remain uncompetitive in the region.

With the resignation of the acting head of Fiscal Affairs per August 2012 where does this place the timeline for the introduction of the new tax code? Will January 1, 2014 still be attainable? What relief will the government come with in the interim? Will the social partners such as the SHTA, Chamber of Commerce, the Real Estate sector, the Foundation Tax Committee, etc. be involved as was the case with the previous UP-led government? What can the people expect in relief before January 1, 2014?

Outstanding Creditors
As it pertains to the outstanding for creditors of the Government, the Finance Ministry together with the former UP Minister of Finance was working on this prior to the resignation of the UP-led Government. As a matter of fact the Ministry was preparing the advice for the former Minister to deal with those accounts which the Ministry felt could be written off following established procedures and laws. It is of course a dynamic process and the outstanding amount goes back many years prior to the former government's term. And this process will have to continue even after the current government's term.
What needs to be established is what this government will be doing to ease the burden on the regular man on the street. What are the projections for the slow months of August through October to stimulate the economy?

Philipsburg:--- The fugitive Elston Fos that has been working for the Government of St. Maarten for the past 12 years will be extradited on Sunday, said Chief Prosecutor Hans Mos in an invited comment. Mos said that the Royal Marechaussee will be coming to St. Maarten to pick up the suspect this Sunday to take him back to the Netherlands. Mos further explained that Elston Fos disappeared some 13 years ago from law enforcement in the Netherlands. He said the convict was serving a six year prison stint for manslaughter when he was released on a leave. "I don't know what type of leave this person was given. However, he was condemned to serve six years for manslaughter and would have had to serve two thirds of the amount which would have been four years. All I can tell you is that he was sent on leave and he never returned from this leave as he was supposed to."
Mos said Elston Fos was condemned in 1996 and on January 17th, 1999, he did not return from leave.
Mos said that the fugitive apparently told the court in the Netherlands that he got word that the deceased raped his daughter. "I saw he told the court this but I cannot read in the court decision if that was indeed the case." Mos said that Fos still has 436 days more to serve and this began on Friday when he was arrested on St. Maarten. He further explained that he is not in a position to say whether or not the suspect will forfeit his early release time since he escaped. "Those details I don't have but there is a possibility that the prosecutor will demand that."
When asked by SMN News when his name was placed on the Interpol list, Mos said he could not say because only recently St. Maarten became a full fledged member of Interpol and on Friday the fugitive was seen by Officer Randolph Bloieman and he was immediately arrested. "This shows that joining Interpol leads to results in serving justice in and outside St. Maarten," Mos added.
St. Maarten's Chief Prosecutor Hans Mos said a few years ago a special team was launched in the Netherlands to look for prisoners who escaped or are wanted by law enforcement in the Netherlands. This team was formed to execute the outstanding summons for wanted persons. The arrest of this fugitive is a result of the efforts of this special team.
However, SMN News learnt that Fos was on Interpol's list in Europe for several years and only three weeks ago St. Maarten received the information that a warrant was out for his arrest. SMN News also learnt that Fos was already receiving weekend visits to be with his family since he had already served most of his time, but instead of sitting out his complete sentence he escaped to St. Maarten and was living comfortably without being noticed.
A press release from the Acting Police Spokesman Inspector Quintin Rogers states that upon request of the Interpol in the Netherlands an international arrest warrant was issued for the arrest of an Antillean man who committed a crime in the year 1996 in Holland and had escaped. Rogers said now that St. Maarten has established their Interpol office on the island, an investigation was conducted by Police Inspector Bloeiman on the whereabouts of said suspect identified as E.L.F, born in Curacao, 51 years old.
The investigation showed that the above mentioned convict was convicted for manslaughter in the Netherlands since 1996. He was residing on St. Maarten. The local Prosecutor's office was immediately notified by the police officer in charge of Interpol Affairs on St. Maarten and the green light was given to the Police Department to arrest the convict so that he can be sent back to Holland for further investigation or to sit out his remaining sentence. E.L.F was arrested on Friday the 20th of July 2012, in the vicinity of the Police Station by the Zero Tolerance and Uniform Divisions and brought to the Police Station so that he could be led in front of an Acting Prosecutor. Thereafter, the Prosecutor's Office was contacted and the necessary arrangements have been made for him to travel back to Holland to further sit out his remaining prison sentence. During the investigation, the Police Department also learned that E.L.F is working for the Government of St. Maarten in the IT Department and was residing in the Belvedere area.
It is not clear how the Personnel Department of the Government of St. Maarten hired Fos shortly after he escaped from the Netherlands and if the department did proper screening when he applied for the job as an IT technician. Several civil servants told SMN News on Tuesday that the Government of St. Maarten did not screen people in the past and as such there are number of persons they alleged are working for government even though they have a criminal record. Many persons felt sympathy for Fos because according to them they might have done the same thing if someone raped their daughter, while others said that Fos took the law into his own hands. "Why didn't he take his daughter to the police and let the law deal with the man that he claimed raped her. He is a fugitive with a record and he should not have been working for government," said a high ranking civil servant.
In an invited comment, Minister of Justice Roland Duncan said that in the past the Government of St. Maarten used to hire people pending the receipt of a certificate of good conduct because it would take months before someone could have obtained such a document. However, all of that has changed now because unless someone can produce a certificate of good conduct they will not be hired.

On Sunday, July 29 2012 the group of study financing recipients which consists of 58 students will be departing for the Netherlands. All the necessary specifics such as tickets, decrees and a startup allowance for the students have been finalized. While the process to compensate the travel agent for the payment of the students' ticket encountered a delay, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport (ECSY) was ultimately successful with enabling the facilitation of the students being able to travel to the Netherlands.

With regards to the delay in payments to the travel agent, the matter merely concerned payments that had been made to the travel agent beyond the agreed upon date. On Tuesday the Ministry ECSY became aware of this matter after which the Minister of Finance was immediately contacted and all efforts and resources were put in place to correct the situation. On Wednesday morning, the Minister ECSY held an emergency meeting in order to ascertain why the final information session was held prior to finalizing the tickets etc., and to ensure that all stakeholders were working together on the same page.

The breakdown of the 58 students scheduled to leave for the Netherlands on Sunday is as follows:
32 HBO/ Bachelor Degree Programs
6 WO Master Degree Programs
20 MBO/Advanced Secondary Education Programs

All the appeals pertaining to the Netherlands have been handled and others are still pending. The Ministry would hereby like to thank the appeals committee members for the work that they have been doing as they have been sacrificing their personal time in the evening hours after work in order to fulfill this task.

The arrangements and itinerary for the working visit of the Minister ECYS to the Netherlands has been made between the Cabinets of the Minister of ECYS and the Minister Plenipotentiary Mr. Voges as well as S4.

Info pertaining to the trip to the Netherlands

• Departure time: 12:30 pm, check in time: 9:00 am
• Students have been advised to travel light with only essential items to avoid having overweight luggage while travelling
• PSS (Postal Services St.Maarten) has a special until August 28th, for students to mail their boxes to Holland
• Domino Pizza/UTS has provided the students with bags and sweaters. Domino Pizza will be organizing some special activities for students on the airport.

Itinerary in the Netherlands

• Meetings will be held with:
     - Minister Plenipotentiary M.Voges,
     - S4
     - Haagse Hogeschool - Anna Maria Andriol (Re: Language Development)
• ROC Zwolle – Re: Exploring the possibility of establishing of a cooperation agreement with the school
• Ministry Onderwijs Cultuur & Wetenschap regarding the following topics:
     - Cooperation Protocol
     - Budget for studying in the Region
     - Establishing of a Career/Study Center on St. Maarten
     - Quality of Higher Education
     - Ministerial Places
     - Accreditation of USM/Adult Education Programs
• Soualiga Foundation
• Meet and Greet with St. Maarten Students
• Nederlandse Institute for Masters Education (NiME ) -Master Degree Programs for teachers

Special Needs Education Workgroup

On Friday July 20th, the Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports met with the Special Needs Education work group from within Ministry chaired by Head of Division Education Innovations (DEI). The workgroup gave an update on a plan of approach for the reform and upgrading of Special Needs education. The topics that were presented dealt with the background, principles and beliefs regarding Special Needs Education.
A new scope for special needs education and inclusive education as well as the results of an audit that was carried out at the present Prince Willem Alexander School was also presented.
Areas for short term improvement were highlighted and decisions regarding 'The Way Forward 'were discussed. These included:
   - A more global audit of special needs in all schools
   - Classification of the types of special needs on the island
   - New bussing arrangements for students at Prins Willem Alexander School
   - An awareness campaign regarding Special Needs Education
   - A Summit on Special Education
   - Implementation of a new plan for Special Needs Education
   - An upcoming course at USM for special needs education teachers.

Members of the Voluntary Corps of Sint Maarten (VKS) have returned from a successful training exercise week in Curaçao. The group, under the leadership of 1st Lt. Alain Richardson, was stationed at the military barracks in Suffisant. From there they engaged in a series of military trainings together with the members of the sister organization VKC.

The program consisted of various exercises, of which some where rigorous and or adventurous. They went hiking and trained how to subdue a riot in a prison environment. A scenario was also devised where a roadblock needed to be set up and suspects had to be apprehended in a vehicle. In the country side of Curaçao hills were climbed and abseiling was practiced, as well as building and using a raft. Shooting techniques and target practice were part of the program as well. The week was concluded with various practical police skills. To further enhance cooperation between the two organizations, the VKC hosted a farewell party at the VKC barracks in Suffisant.

In 2010 a group of VKC members came to Sint Maarten for a similar training week. It is the intention of both organizations to maintain this tradition for the years to come. In this fashion the members can engage in mutual trainings, as well as get to know each other better. In case of a calamity on either of the islands and assistance is required, this can be executed jointly in a well-trained and professional manner. The VKS will therefore host the next joint training exercise in the summer of 2014.

...

Philipsburg:--- One of the heirs to the Wathey Estate placed a lien on the Wathey's bank accounts. Stanley Leopold Hughes now known as Chester Wathey II placed a lien on the accounts of Joyceline Jessica Wathey- Beauperthuy, Wilma Diana Wathey, Norma Joan Wathey, Brenda Kay Wathey, Wenda Angele Wathey, and Maureen Venetta Richardson. The lien was placed and served on the accounts at the Windward Islands Bank and the Royal Bank of Canada former RBTT.
On June 27th and 28th, liens were placed on Windward Islands Bank Ltd. and RBC Royal Bank N.V. in the names of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 for outstanding punitive damages in the amount of some Naf. 780,000.00 because the other heirs neglected the payment of Naf. 20,000.00 per day levied on them by the Court of First Instance on April 13, 2012.

The other heirs have not complied with the court's verdict because they have not provided a complete, accurate, and truthful report of Brenda Wathey's running of the N. C. Wathey Estate from 2001 to present within the 30 day period allotted to them by the court.

The Naf. 20,000.00 per day penalty will keep on running until it reaches the maximum amount of Naf. 25,000,000.00 or for as long as they do not comply.
Chester Wathey II told SMN News that there are about one hundred cheques missing from a report that was submitted by one of the Wathey heirs.

Click here to view the summons that was served to the parties involved.

Belair:--- Minister of Justice Roland Duncan gave civil servants including immigration officers an outline of some of the changes he made to the LTU policy (admittance and expulsion policy).The information session was held at the Belair community center Friday afternoon. However, the Minister still has to get feedback from the Council of Ministers (NA/DP/IND) and he also has to take some of the new laws to parliament. The changes to the policy will take effect on August 1st 2012, while the new policies that are added to the LTU will go into effect as of January 1 2013.
Duncan said the police department has no authority over immigration. In fact, the two entities are separate based on the law, the only thing in common is that the two entities, immigration and police have one Korps Chef (Chief of Police), Minister Duncan told the civil servants this as he read the law out to them.
The Minister of Justice said upon revision of the law he has decided to change that and make the immigration department separate from the police.
Immigration matters will be handled strictly by those in charge at the IND building located on A.T. Illidge Road. "IND will have its own immigration vehicles and patrols that will conduct immigration controls and arrest those that are residing illegally on the island and deport them. What is happening right now is that illegal immigrants that are held by the police are treated in an inhumane fashion and that has to stop. The other day, I lost a court case because someone that was residing illegally on the island was kept in the police holding cells for 30 days while another young man tried to take his own life because he spent three months behind bars to be deported. This is inhumane treatment and if it means that the justice department would have to endure the expenses to repatriate immigrants that are caught on the island (those that do not have relatives on the island) then it would be cheaper than to keep them behind bars for months." Duncan said he already does not have enough prison cells and it is expensive to feed persons that are in police custody. He said purchasing tickets for people is something that has to be weighed compared to the cost of holding them behind bars since he must feed these people and pay prison guards.
The Minister of Justice also told civil servants that he has re-introduced the concubine contracts because there are people living together that have children that were born on the island and cannot get legalized. The Minister said that persons that have concubine contracts will be investigated by IND workers and if it is proven that these persons are in fact living together then the residence permits will be granted. However, those that are caught exploiting the law would have their permits retracted. The Minister readily agreed that he might be opening a "Pandora's box" but he is of the opinion that government cannot tell people how to live neither force them to marry. He went as far as saying that if two men are living together they too can have a permit even though he is not promoting same sex marriage.
Duncan said special focus will be placed on the "family life" as there is a special clause in law that prohibits families from getting permits for their children based on their income. This has been reviewed and persons that are making the minimum wage will be able to obtain a permit for their children that are born on St. Maarten. Children that were born on St. Maarten and attended school on the island for at least five years will also be granted a permit.
The Justice Minister also explained that his Ministry added a new type of residency permit to the list. He said the IND will also be issuing "investment" permits specifically to persons who invested $500,000.00 (NAF. 900.000.00) and over to purchase a home on the island. These persons will be granted a one year permit for their entire family (first degree) and they would have to pay Naf. 50,000.00 into the crime fund each time they want to renew their permits. "Investors and foreign homeowners he said will be given special treatment, this raised eyebrows among the civil servants.
When the Minister released that information several questions were posed by Lucy Gibbs of the Economic Affairs Department and the Head of Island Labor Peggy Ann Dros. Gibbs said she would like to know if the other Ministries considered the impact this would have on the education, health, and infrastructure. Gibbs told the Minister that investors already have the Director's license which allows them to have both residency and working permits therefore she wants to know if the investment permits would replace the directors permits. Minister Duncan readily agreed that he did not do the research on this but felt that the former Council of Ministers saw his plans and they liked it. Therefore, he is of the opinion that he is on the right track. He also said that persons that are issued these permits must have adequate health insurances.
Another major change to the LTU is that anyone that has been residing over five years on the island legally will get their permanent residency permit since those persons are eligible for a Dutch passport after five years. Duncan said that persons holding a permanent residency permit also have to pay a fee but he did not say how those persons would have to make the annual payments. The Minister also announced that his Ministry will be charging for the services they provide but no figures have been released on Friday. Applicants have to pay for their working and residency permits, police clearance, and re-entry permits. There will be a fee for administrative purposes the Minister said but he will not release the figures because he did not get a feedback from the Council of Ministers.
Another new residency permit that has been added to the list is the student permit which would allow foreign students to come to St. Maarten and study at USM, CIA, or the AUC. Persons that are granted the student residency will not be allowed to join the workforce. Minister Duncan also annouced that identification cards will be processed at the IND Building on A.T. Illidge road. He made clear that ID cards granted to immigrants will be different from the one granted to Dutch nationals.
As for immigrants, the Minister said more focus will be placed on skilled workers rather than the unskilled, St. Maarten he said needs to attract skilled workers here so they could contribute to the development of the island.
Immigration officers that attended the information session asked for a copy of the policy so they can review and acquaint themselves with the new regulations. Some of them said that they are of the opinion that the Minister of Justice should provide courses on the execution of his new policy. "We need courses so that we are all on the same page and do not interpret the law in our own way."

I am saddened and disappointed by the recent defamation of my personal integrity and honor. Normallly, I would refrain from responding to such comments but I find the comments very destructive and warrant a response. The ONLY point of the recent press release that was issued by SHTA was to explain the importance of incorporating the Tourism Authority as quickly as possible, because it brings continuity and stability to the Tourism industry. Nowhere in the press release did SHTA criticize the hard working tourism department staff – all of which we have worked side by side for many constructive years.

Westin

I lament the fact that the personal dispute between the Westin and myself has been made public. The Westin is currently running their generator 24/7 which is against the law and in violation of their hinderance permit. (Court case pending as well as official complaint to Public Prosecutor's office) Due to the failure of government to enforce their own laws, I have been forced to take the Westin to court to defend my rights and the peacefulness that my hotel guests expect during their stay . For this reason Westin banned me from their property. (This case is also currently in court as to the legal validity of my expulsion ) During my tenure as president of SHTA, due to my obligations to promote the island, I have refrained from making public statements about the court cases in the interests of the greater good of the island and for that reason I have never mentioned the ongoing dispute with the Westin.

Conflict of Interest.

During the time of the lawsuits, the Westin has even had their former General Manager, Mr. Larry Cooper on the board on the SHTA. During which time, the Westin has received all communications and opportunites that every other member of SHTA has received. In my role as President of SHTA, I have always promoted ALL of St. Maarten with unbiased vigor because it is the best thing for the island

St. Maarten Tourism Authority or STA.

It has been and will continue to be SHTA's belief that establishing the STA is essential in moving the tourism industry in St. Maaten forward. It is sad that we have been able to dismantle the Netherland Antilles and build Country St. Maarten in less time than incorporating a Tourism Authority. I have volunteered my time, talents and heart to promote St. Maarten for more than 10 years. I have recently been elected to position of First Vice President of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association. During my tenure as Chairman of the board of the St. Maarten Medical Center or SMMC together with other members of the board and staff, I helped to turn around a near bankrupt institution.

I find it hard to believe that my involvement in the STA would be anything but positive.

GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- Boat owners are being advised by the Office of Disaster Management to review their hurricane preparatory plans so they can be ready to take action in the event of a storm/hurricane threat to the island during the 2012 hurricane season.

The 2012 hurricane season has already seen four systems form. With the start of the peak months from mid-August and September up to mid-October approximately four weeks away, preparation is essential in order not to be caught off guard.

The Office of Disaster Management hereby advises mariners to ask themselves, "How have you prepared yourself for the hurricane season?"

Hurricanes have been the cause of many maritime disasters. Constant monitoring of hurricane potential and continual risk analysis when used with some fundamental guidelines become the basic tools to minimize a hurricanes' impact to vessels at sea or in port.

Systems that are forecast to make landfall within 50-100 nautical miles of a particular port tend to be more destructive than those that approach the port from over land or parallel the coast in the vicinity of the port. Also, ports located in the right front quadrant, based on direction of movement of hurricanes during landfall tend to have higher winds, seas, and storm surge.

The decision to leave port for hurricane avoidance must be made very clearly. Consideration to the latest safe departure time and likely avoidance routes must be balanced with a number of other factors. Most important of these is time versus distance.

The risk of damage to a vessel at sea increases as the motion of the hurricane increases towards the maximum safe speed of the vessel attempting to leave port in advance of that system.

Considerations to remain in port during hurricane passage must include an evaluation of the amount of protection afforded by the port. The direction from which the strongest winds are forecast to blow along with the potential for storm surge must be factored in when deciding whether to seek haven pier side or at anchorage.

GREAT BAY/MARIGOT:--- St. Martin poetry is now among what the London Evening Standard called, "The pick of the world's poetry in London" for the Olympic Games, set to open in the UK capital on July 27, 2012.

The poem "We Continue" by Lasana M. Sekou, one of the island's poets, has been printed on a large outdoor banner in London, published in the commemorative poetry book The World Record, and, in a "Rain of Poems," dropped as one of 100,000 poems from a helicopter over the south bank of the Thames to open what The Guardian newspaper called, "the biggest gathering of poets in history."

Sekou was invited to the gathering, called the Poetry Parnassus. The festival is the main literary event among the cultural activities taking place across Great Britain to celebrate the Olympic Games.

The Poetry Parnassus, hosted by London's culture-savvy Southbank Centre from June 26 to July 1, brought together "poets and spoken-word artists from all over the world with all 204 competing Olympic nations represented," said Natalie Wisdom of the Parnassus permissions department.

The Parnassus selected one poet from each Olympic nation. Among the participating poets were Nobel Laureates Derek Walcott (St. Lucia) and Wole Soyinka (Nigeria), Pulitzer Prize Winner and Poet Laureate Kay Ryan (USA), and the multitalented Tishani Doshi (India).

With neither part of St. Martin being an Olympic nation, the organizers placed Sekou to represent the island of his birth, Aruba, a Dutch territory with an Olympic status. "But Lasana said that as a St. Martin poet he would only be able to represent his St. Martin nation in this case," said Jacqueline Sample, president of House of Nehesi Publishers (HNP).

The Poetry Parnassus organizers would not give up that easy. "As Mr. Sekou is not attending the festival," stated Wisdom in a June 11 email to HNP, "we are asking whether you have any objections to us using the poem ['We Continue'] in a display of a collection of poems from June to September 2012 in the outdoor spaces around the Royal Festival Hall and the Queen Elizabeth Hall. The area is one of London's most high-profile and visited spaces."

And that is how "We Continue," with its decidedly pan-Caribbean/pan-Latin American themes came to be part of a historic literary event in celebration of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

The Guardian has called the ongoing program of cultural activities in the UK the "Cultural Olympiad." In a July 15 article, the Los Angeles Times has called this Olympiad a spectacle of 12,000 cultural events in celebration of the Games that "could also help attract future tourists."

As for "We Continue," the poem can be viewed at The Guardian website as part of a specially designed interactive map of global poetry. The poem was first published in Maroon Lives (1983), said Sample. It can be found at Van Dorp, Amazon.com and other bookstores in Pelican Heart (2010), an English-Spanish book of Sekou's poems from 1978 to 2010, edited by the Cuban critic Emilio Jorge Rodríguez.

HNP was the Parnassus contact for two of its authors, Sekou and Chiqui Vicioso (Dominican Republic). Vicioso did attend the festival. Other participating poets from Olympic nations, most of whom were flown to London to recite at the Parnassus, were, Paulo Henriques Britto (Brazil), Mimi Khalvati (Iran), Selina Tusitala Marsh (Tuvalu), Yang Lian (China), Esther Philips (Barbados), Christian Campbell (The Bahamas), Valérie Rouzeau (France), and Arjen Duinker (Netherlands).

Closer to home, Sekou was in Anguilla on July 14 at the invitation of the "Under the Gazebo" book club. His short stories collection Brotherhood of the Spurs was bought by club members and read before the meeting. Sekou said that the questions and comments from book club members about the fictions were "intriguing." He also said that he was "charmed by the hospitality of the members that attended the discussion."

Philipsburg:--- Telem technicians will be carrying out a cable maintenance on Friday, July 20, 2012, which will affect service in the Lowlands area, starting from Cupecoy.
The maintenance window will start from 6:00AM and end at approximately 12:00PM, with service restored intermittently during this period.
Telem wishes to thank the general public for their understanding and regrets any inconvenience this may cause to subscribers.

Philipsburg:--- Minister of Finance Roland Tuitt announced on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers' press briefing that his Ministry has been working on simplifying the payment of the annual number plate taxes. Tuitt said residents and vehicle owners on St. Maarten will soon be able to pay their vehicle taxes via internet banking or at other banking institutions as early as 2013. The Finance Minister said that vehicle owners will receive a bill and they can also choose to pay it at the Receiver's Office. Tuitt further explained that the measure is part of upgrading the tax system of St. Maarten, while providing better services to the community of St. Maarten.

Vehicle owners will no longer have to purchase a new number plate annually neither would they have to purchase the sticker to show that they have paid their vehicle taxes. "The number plates that are on your vehicles will be the only number plate for that vehicle. If someone sells their vehicle, the number plate also goes with that vehicle."

"Paying taxes is not normally embraced, therefore, greater effort should be made to make the experience of taxpayers as painless and efficient as possible. The way the motor vehicle tax is levied and collected is not customer-friendly and certainly does not encourage compliance. Every year, car owners are lining up at the Receiver's Office to pay the tax and to collect their new number plates. This system is highly ineffective, time-consuming, environmental unfriendly, and in dire need of reform."

Government is currently examining the possibility of moving away from the yearly issuing of number plates by levying and collecting the motor vehicle tax electronically starting in January 2013. This initiative is a pre-requisite to modernize the tax system, lowering the administrative burden, and further improving the tax compliance.

Philipsburg:--- The St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) met with its counterparts on Thursday in Anguilla namely, the Anguilla Summer Festival Committee (ASFC). President of the SCDF Stuart Johnson went on a working visit to re-establish the working relationship between the respective organizations. "St. Maarten and Anguilla's connection is really solid, as St. Maartener's annually invade Anguilla to partake in the carnival celebrations," remarked Johnson.

Johnson met with Davon Carty who is the new president of ASFC as well as other members of the committee. Johnson also appeared on Klass 92.9FM for an exclusive media interview on the popular radio station. "We discussed many areas of mutual interested and ways we could jointly work together," Johnson said.

"St. Maarten is the leading cultural celebration in the region, and we intend to continue reaching out to our counterparts within the region, in areas of mutual interest," Johnson stated. "A number of bands and entertainers from St. Maarten will be on the line up for the Caribbean beach bash and we are confident they will represent our country well," Johnson added.

"I extend my best wishes to the Mr. Carty and his team as they continue to plan Anguilla Summer Festival 2012. The people of Anguilla and the surrounding region are counting on your leadership for another successful celebration, and SCDF pledges its unconditional support throughout this time," Johnson emphatically stated. Johnson presented Mr. Carty the newly published Golden book of St. Maarten, which highlights our carnival celebrations, as a token of appreciation for mutually fostering this working relationship.

"SCDF is busy finalizing outstanding matters surrounding Carnival 2012, ensuring that the preparations already ongoing for Carnival 2013 on St. Maarten will be an even greater celebration. You continue to give your confidence to the SCDF and we deeply appreciate that," Johnson concluded.

...

Philipsburg:--- Minister of Finance Roland Tuitt told members of the media at the Council of Ministers' press briefing on Wednesday that St. Maarten will become a member of Caribbean Organization of Tax Administrators (COTA). Minister Tuitt said that the COTA will be holding a seminar part of which is the general assembly. He said St. Maarten submitted a request to the COTA since 10/10/10 to become a member of COTA since the Netherlands Antilles was part of the COTA. Tuitt said that the COTA is the fiscal arm of CARICOM and the executive council of that body has decided that St. Maarten can become a member of the COTA. The Minister of Finance said St. Maarten will attend the seminar with the intention of developing bilateral agreements with the other CARICOM nations. Tuitt said COTA has a multi-national arm where treaties are made to avoid double taxation.

These treaties, he said, are made internationally especially for the Caribbean and it is for the collection of taxes and to avoid double taxation. The Finance Minister said it is therefore necessary for St. Maarten to become part of the COTA body and he will be traveling to Trinidad from the 18th to the 23rd of July to attend the COTA seminar. He said COTA has the multilateral treaty and being part of the COTA will allow St. Maarten to improve its international relations with the countries that are signatories to the multilateral treaty. Tuitt said when St. Maarten becomes a member of COTA they will be able to combat tax evasion and they will also be able to access and collect taxes.

Finance Minister met with WITU President --- COLA Payments will be made.

Tuitt also told the members of the media that he met with the President of the Windward Islands Teachers Union (WITU) Claire Elshot and the COLA payments were discussed. Tuitt said the budget amendments were approved by the Council of Ministers, and it was sent to the Governor and the Council of Advice before Parliament gets it for their approval. Tuitt said that even though Parliament is on recess, he already asked the Parliamentarians to make themselves available to approve the budget amendments during their recess time so that the COLA payments can be made.

Tuitt said thus far he met with both of the unions that represent civil servants and when he met with the WITU President on Tuesday they discussed various issues affecting teachers on St. Maarten.

The Finance Minister said he made it clear to the unions that St. Maarten cannot remain under the same structure of compensation and should not hold on to the COLA. He said there are only two countries in the world that use the COLA system, which proves that the COLA system is not sustainable for government. He said he asked the unions' representatives to bring some of their ideas to the table regarding annual compensation that will be more conducive to modern times. The Finance Minister said the teachers' salary scales were also discussed and government will look into the matter to see how that can be adjusted. However, government will have to work with the current salary scales until other methods are developed.

Tuitt also told reporters that the NA/DP/IND government intends to simplify the tax system and making it more conducive to the community. One of the ways of simplifying the tax system he said is to merge several of the taxes together which would lighten the paperwork for businesses and facilitate the work at the Receivers Office, these workers will not have to make several bookings. Government will merge taxes such as AOV and SZV then government will pay the various entities their percentages. He said certain parliamentarians submitted a request to make a law for real estate owners to pay more taxes but government is working on an amendment to take to parliament which would simplify the taxes and make everyone pay their fair share.

St. Maarten got Clean Slate from the CFT --- More information was Requested and Provided.

The Finance Minister said that in the past St. Maarten had lots of difficulties with the CFT when it came to approving the budget, but he can report that the CFT has given St. Maarten a clean slate regarding its 2012 budget.

Tuitt said that the CFT approved the documents that were sent to them including the budget amendments that were made. So far, there is no other stipulation in place for the CFT on the amendments. Tuitt explained that the CFT asked for more information on certain items. One of them is the Plan van ampak for the tax office. He said St. Maarten does have a Plan van ampak for the tax office showing how they will build up the tax inspectorate office. That document he said was sent to the CFT. Tuitt also announced that six persons will be joining the Tax Office and that will improve the staffing of the tax inspectorate.

The CFT also requested more information on the PIFA evaluation system that was implemented by the IMF. This system he said consisted of 28 items that they use to evaluate each country. Tuitt said St. Maarten did not get a good evaluation. Therefore, the government of St. Maarten has embarked on a five year plan that would at least give St. Maarten a B the next time the evaluation is done. That five year plan he said was also sent to the CFT.

Tuitt said the CFT also requested information on the old age pension system and the social funds that St. Maarten has. He said that a report on this was done and government is currently evaluating that report and they intend to develop a strategy to move forward with the dilemma of the pension. Regarding the pension funds, Tuitt said every country is having problems with that because there are more people taking out monies from the pension fund than those that are putting in. He said the Pension Fund of the former Netherlands Antilles had issues and the Pension Fund of St. Maarten also has some issues that have to be dealt with, one of those issues is the pensionable age which will be moved from 60 to 65. Another issue that the Pension Fund will have to look at is the structure of pension payment. "Right now, pensioners are receiving pension are receiving 70% of their last salary." Tuitt said that there are people who do not know how the pension fund works. He indicated that Curacao is having a problem with their pension fund because there are more people taking out monies of the pension fund than putting in. However, that is not the case for St. Maarten. Finally, the Finance Minister said the CFT requested an analysis of the financial statements of 2009 and 2010 which was also provided to them.

TAXAND Investigation.

When asked about the TAXAND investigation, Tuitt said he did receive an amount from SOAB for the investigation that will be conducted about the contract the former Minister of Finance awarded to TAXAND. However, the figure has not yet been approved by the Council of Ministers and he will not release it to the media. He did say that the figure is not huge and that the investigation will take at least five weeks to complete.
When asked by SMN News if the Council of Ministers will proceed to investigate the TAXAND contract, Tuitt said the Council of Ministers already agreed to an investigation because it's a large project and there would be need for proper documentation if the matter reaches the court.
Tuitt further explained that after the SOAB investigation, the Government of St. Maarten will decide how to move forward with the TAXAND payments that were blocked. He said government and its legal advisors will decide what to do when the SOAB submits it report and advice.

 

Minister Tuitt would hereby like to thank all civil servants for their hard work and dedication in assisting him with getting the draft budget amendments approved by the Committee for Financial Supervision (CFT).
The Minister was extremely happy about the approval from CFT and said it could not have been accomplished without the assistance of his Finance Team, Finance, and all other departments.
Minister Tuitt says, "This is only the beginning and he knows with all the civil servants contributing to the process many more positive things will be accomplished, which will benefit the entire population of St. Maarten."

Philipsburg:--- Several students that have to attend secondary school this new school year are not being accepted in some of the secondary schools on St. Maarten because of the lack of space and staff announced Minister of Education Silveria Jacobs on Wednesday at the Council of Ministers' press briefing.
The Minister said that the Division of Inspection and the Department of Education are currently working on a solution for these students. Minister Jacobs said she did not get the exact amount of students that are in this dilemma but her office obtained some figures which is between 10 to 15 students.
Minister Jacobs also said that talks are ongoing for proper staffing of various public schools on the island for the school year 2012- 2013. The Minister said the teachers of these schools should receive information later this week as to where they were placed and what positions were given to them.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Reacting to the press release issued by the SHTA on Monday July 9th, Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications Mr. Romeo F. Pantophlet, stated that it is his intention to ensure continuity at the Tourist office.

Gus Priest, a veteran in the Tourism Industry, openly welcomed the challenge to serve as Acting Head of the Tourist office until a more permanent solution is found. In addition, many members of staff at the Tourist office have also shown their dedication to the industry and continuity by becoming more proactive during this interim period. All know what needs to be done and the Minister is confident in the staff's ability to carry out these tasks.

Concerning the SHTA's call for the establishment of the Tourism Authority, the Minister is currently in Aruba on a fact finding mission to determine from the key stakeholders what the operational setbacks and bottle necks are and to generally get a feeling of how satisfied everyone is with the established Aruba Tourism Authority. So far, meetings have been held with his counterpart, Minister Otmar Oduber, the CEO and Supervisory Board members of the Aruba Tourism Authority, the Aruba Hotel Association and the Aruba Timeshare Association. With the exception of a few minor issues, all have mentioned that they are pleased with the functioning of the Aruba Tourism Authority.

Minister emphatically stated that he has no plans of reinventing the wheel and likewise has received confirmation from all stakeholders in Aruba that they will assist wherever necessary to ensure a seamless transition from Sint Maarten Tourist Bureau to Sint Maarten Tourism Authority by January 1, 2013. "My team and I are working very hard to get the State ordinance (Landsverordening) finalized, so we can submit to parliament after the parliamentary recess. This will be the first step in what we were told could be a lengthy process in getting the STA fully operational". Minister Pantophlet stated.

Regarding, May Ling Chun, Minister Pantophlet clarified that the management contract in question was signed and entered into between the former Minister, Franklin Meyers and Innovative Marketing Creations N.V, and not the natural person Ms. Chun. He further wishes to point out and state for the record that this matter is not between Ms. Chun and him or has nothing to do with her person, her performance, her qualifications and or skills. Her work for the Tourism department has already been acknowledged by the Minister.

The vexing issue that has led to this unfortunate situation is the legality of the contractual agreements signed and subsequently silently extended twice between the former Minister and IMC N.V. A proper analysis and legal scrutiny of the contracts resulted in no other conclusions than that the contracts in question are in conflict with the written and unwritten laws of Sint Maarten and the Principles of Good Governance. Consequently according to law these contracts are considered null and void and or should be cancelled immediately. The Minister shall not and cannot be expected to honor contracts that are not in accordance with the laws of the land. The position of the Minister is based on the following facts and legal considerations:

The agreement between the former Minister and IMC N.V. is considered a management agreement for the position of Head of the Tourist Bureau. This position forms part of the Governments formation plan and is occupied by a civil servant. Civil servants are usually appointed by government for which procedure a body of Administrative laws and regulations exist and in which process the Governor is ultimately involved.

There is also the option to appointment an individual in government's service based on civil law, but this possibility was also neglected. By appointing an individual to such a position, making use of a contractual agreement with a limited liability company in which the individual is the managing director, the former Minister has circumvented all relevant laws and regulations (intentionally or unintentionally) pertaining to the appointment and re-numeration of civil servants, including the involvement of the Governor of Sint Maarten. The actions of the former Minister cannot withstand legal scrutiny and are in conflict with the Principles of Good Governance.

As a result of this, the monthly salary and additional benefits as agreed upon in the management agreement were unilaterally decided upon and are not commensurate with the amounts that are stipulated by law and granted to other civil servants who serve in similar positions. The foregoing is in direct conflict with the applicable laws and jurisprudence and not unacceptable, the Minister has rightfully remarked that such an agreement shall not be tolerated and in keeping with the Principles of Good Governance and therefore chose not to renew the contract as is.

However, Minister Pantophlet being in good faith and acknowledging the good performance of Ms. Chun and taking the best interest of Sint Maarten into consideration offered her a new management agreement in accordance with the existing rules and regulations of government in his letter dated June 19th 2012, which was not accepted.

Regarding SHTA's statement that they have yet to meet with Minister Pantophlet, He acknowledged that it has been a very hectic set up period, and that he has only just completed staffing his cabinet. He ensured that meetings will be scheduled with SHTA and other key industry stake holders upon his return from Aruba.

Philipsburg:--- The leader of the Democratic Party and leader of the National Alliance now Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister are still busy discussing the allocation of portfolios for government owned companies. Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams told reporters on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers' press briefing that she and the deputy prime minister are still busy talking about which of the Ministers will be responsible for the various government owned companies. Wescot Williams did not say when these discussions will be completed.
Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams also confirmed that a meeting was held with the Managing Director of the Princess Juliana Airport Regina Labega to gather information regarding the concerns of the concessionaires. Wescot Williams  confirmed that the concessionaires owe PJIAE a lot of monies but she could not say exactly how much monies are owed to the Government owned company. Wescot Williams said the one year contract that is being offered to the concessionaires is a transitional contract since the concessionaires and the Airport management will need time to discuss the plans of the airport which should increase their revenues.

Marigot:--- The Gendarmerie National has announced that their annual vacation operations have begun and homeowners are asked to sign up now. The joint operation with the Gendarmerie National and the Police Territorial is intended for homeowners and business people to spend their annual vacation in relaxed way. Persons that have plans to travel overseas for their annual vacation are advised to sign up early so that their homes or businesses can be monitored by the Gendarmes or Police Territorial.
The operation is jointly coordinated by the Gendarmerie and Police Territorial and involves sending patrols during regular intervals to private properties or businesses to make sure all is well. The operation also acts as a deterrent to burglars.
Persons interested in the service which is free are asked to fill up a form giving details such as how the owner can be contacted in an emergency, dates of the vacation, who has keys, and any other important information about the property.
Advice on how to secure one's property while on vacation to prevent a burglary will also be given.
Interested persons can sign up for the service at the Gendarmerie in Marigot (Spring Concordia) from Monday to Friday between 8:00am to 6:00pm, Saturday from 8:00am to 12:00pm and 2:00pm to 6:00pm, and on Sunday from 9:00am to 12:00pm and from 3:00pm to 6:00pm.
In French Quarter, the hours of the Gendarmerie are Monday 8:00am to 12:00pm and 2:00pm to 6:00pm, on Wednesday from 2:00pm to 6:00pm, and Friday from 8:00am to 12:00pm and 2:00pm to 6:00pm.
The Gendarmerie at La Savane will be open from Monday to Saturday 8:00am to 12:00pm and 2:00pm to 6:00pm.
In addition, sign up can be done at Police Territorial offices next to Hotel de La Collectivité from Monday to Saturday from 7:00am to 8:30pm.