UTS will be commemorating World Telecommunication Day, which is recognized yearly on May 17th, by giving back to the customers that have made the company's success possible. On May 16th and 17th, the company will offer a top-up promotion to its Chippie prepaid customers on St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius. "After the carnival festivities of St. Maarten have ended, it is usually a time when people would like to get the most bang for their buck when it comes to their usual everyday expenses," stated UTS Marketing and Communications Officer, Ivy Lambert. "And what better occasion to give our customers the opportunity to stretch their dollar than on World Telecommunications Day. We are thankful for the confidence placed in us by our customers want to thank them for allowing us to be their Telecommunications provider of choice by offering them something extra." The Top Up promotion will allow customers to buy Chippie prepaid credit and obtain an additional amount of credit free. The more credit is purchased, the higher the percentage of free credit received. The promotion will be available on May 16 and 17th only and will be available at the UTS stores in Philipsburg and Cole Bay and also through the various Chippie Top-Up locations on St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius. "To be clear" Lambert continued "this offer is applicable for cash top-up only on May 16th and 17th. It does not apply to E-pins purchased at Xtreme Machine self-service kiosks, through SMS or ATM recharge nor Scratch card purchase."

In addition to the aforementioned promotion, UTS will also commemorate World Telecommunication Day by supporting of the Art of Living Foundations' Multicultural Peace event, is to be held on May 20th at the A.C. Wathey Cruise Pier. The focus of the foundation is to increase the level of peace by creating an atmosphere where people can come together with understanding, compassion and love. "We are proud to support this initiative with our diamond sponsorship," said UTS Marketing & Communication Officer, Ivy Lambert. "Communication is the first step towards creating understanding and compassion, so what better way to commemorate World Telecommunication Day than by sponsoring such a unique and positive-minded event. The prosperity of a nation not only depends on its economic growth, but also on how peaceful and happy its people are. We are happy to support a foundation whose goal is to contribute to a more peaceful and stress-free St. Maarten." The event is titled, The Biggest Multicultural Peace Event with the Sub-heading Celebrating Humanity. The event will start at 6 pm and will feature Multicultural local performances, Live Harp Music from a Scotland based harpist and a guided peace meditation by the foundations founder, through direct a video-feed from Germany. The webcast will be followed in 153 countries world-wide. The evening will also feature inspirational talks on peace by various St. Maarten leaders such as the Prime Minister, the Minister of Health and various other spiritual leaders. UTS will also provide a few BlackBerry Smartphones as door-prizes for the evening. The Art of Living Foundation is a non-religious, not-for-profit, educational and humanitarian NGO engaged in stress-management and service initiatives. The organization is entirely made up of volunteers and operates globally in 151 countries and has benefited more than 300 million around the world.

PHILIPSBURG:--- University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) officials are scheduled to hold an information session on St. Maarten next week for persons interested in following the Masters in Education program that will be jointly offered with the University of St. Martin (USM).
Some 20 students have already expressed interest in the MAE, through the USM admission office, and other persons who are interested are urged to attend this information session which will be held on Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 5pm in the Conference Room (208) at USM. Perspective students who are also interested in the Bachelor of Science in business program that UVI offers are also welcomed to attend the session and meet with the UVI representatives.
According to USM Acting Dean of Academic Affairs Glen Yeung, the UVI Vice Provost Dr. Edwin and the Interim Dean of the Education Division Dr. Thomas and other UVI officials will be present to answer questions and provide information.
The aim is to start the MAE program on June 8, 2012, Yeung said, while adding that UVI is looking at between 15 and 18 students to start this program. The program will entail weekend (Friday and Saturday) classes where instructors from UVI will be traveling to St. Maarten.
There will also be faculty members from St. Maarten for this program. These faculty will be proposed by USM and screened and interviewed by UVI to instruct education courses. They will have the flexibility to plan in the hours during the weekdays as deemed necessary, Yeung indicated.
The per credit rate for students in the MAE program is US$550. There are other fees such as registration and technology fees that will give students access to the UVI system, library resources, Blackboard, and video conferencing.
In addition to the MAE program with UVI, the University of St. Martin will also be offering the Bachelor of Science in business program this Fall. Persons who are interested in this program can direct questions to the UVI officials, Yeung noted, while also indicating that UVI is also looking at exploring possibilities of offering Criminal Justice, Psychology and other programs with USM.

Philipsburg:--- Deputy Prime Minister Theodore Heyliger chose to let off some steam during an off the air press conference on Wednesday against what he called constant rumors against his person or that of the United Peoples Party. Heyliger told reporters that he will not be taking up his seat in Parliament right now but he did not rule out that possibility for the new Parliamentary year which begins in September. "It is not my intention to take up the parliamentary seat as yet; I have been in office since 1995 both in the legislative and executive branches. I believe that after 17 years in government I deserve some time off. One of the reasons I chose to stay out of public office is to enjoy seeing the rumors being created on others rather than my person." Heyliger said most of the rumors regarding him are fabricated and he as well as his colleagues would like to see the rumors proven. Heyliger said when that is done then he will stand guilty as charged. Heyliger further explained that he is taken back by the fact that many things he started could not be finalized during his tenure while he intends to make known to the population the strife of the people of St. Maarten while out of office. He said while one might say he should give the new government an opportunity, in his view the new and incoming government is filled with veteran politicians, therefore he expects to see a lot from the incoming government. The Deputy Prime Minister said that the population should also demand a lot from the National Alliance, Democratic Party, and Independent Members government because it will not be a learning process for them. They will have experienced Ministers while the Members of Parliament supporting the government are experienced politicians.
Heyliger said that he wants to make clear that the outgoing Ministers deserve the financial packages that are given to them. He said former Ministers and commissioners were paid out as well and it is not the Council of Ministers who took the decision to have these outgoing Ministers remain with their huge financial packages. Heyliger said that decision was taken in Parliament.
The UP leader and outgoing Deputy Prime Minister said that he will be on the sidelines watching to see what the new government will do for the people of St. Maarten. Heyliger further explained that for once he would be able to read the news without his name being mentioned in constant rumors on the island. The outgoing Minister of VROMI said that he laid the foundation for several road projects and social homes to which the contracts and financing have been set aside. Therefore, the new government can hit the ground running. He said the ground work is already laid out and it's only a matter of execution for the various projects he started.
When asked by SMN News to explain if it is the Ministries that have to work on legislations and take it to Parliament for ratification or if it's the Parliamentarians that have to work on the legislations and laws. Heyliger said that Parliamentarians have to take an initiative and work on legislations and not wait on the Ministries to take laws to them. He said one of the things he intends to do while out of public office is to make sure his faction works on legislations and presents them to Parliament. Furthermore, the UP leader said that he believes that Parliament should take some of the monies they have for traveling and put it towards the preparation of laws. When Minister Heyliger was asked to name the two companies that were contracted by the Carnival Development Foundation for marketing and events planning, Heyliger said that he could not say which contractors were contracted by SCDF instead he is willing to speak about the rumors regarding the government owned companies.

Contracts Signed for Causeway.

Heyliger said the contracts and financing are already in place for the causeway however, it will be up to the new government to continue with the execution. "All permits for the causeway have been signed, the contracts and financing are in place and the construction is scheduled to start. It will be up to the incoming government to stop what has been signed off on already." Heyliger also confirmed that he signed off on a number of projects while his colleagues signed off on several licenses. He said that there are people who requested taxi and bus licenses some 12 years ago and they were not granted. Heyliger further explained that he did not break the law when his government signed off on the projects and licenses because it is the norm. "The last outgoing government signed off on 100 taxi and bus licenses but the former Lt. Governor only approved 30 to 40 of them. What I did and what my government did is not against the law and there was dialogue with the taxi associations regarding the new licenses that were issued," Heyliger said.
{loadposition inset}

Philipsburg:--- The incoming government that is supported by the National Alliance, Democratic Party, and the three independent Members of Parliament Illidge, Richardson, and La Ville might be sworn-in on Monday announced Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams on Wednesday. Wescot Williams said that the screening of the Ministers and incoming Member of Parliament is underway and it is expected that the reports on the screening would be in by the end of this week. She said when the reports are submitted then she will proceed by sending them to the Governor's office where the swearing in will take place. Wescot Williams said following the appointment of the formateurs, the names of the candidates were submitted for screening. Wescot Williams said some of the current Ministers will be re-appointed while the new Ministers will take office immediately after they are sworn-in. She said she does not foresee any problems with the names she submitted, therefore it is likely that the swearing-in will take place on Monday.
The Prime Minister did not divulge any of the names of the candidates that are being screened. However, SMN News learnt that Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams, Minister Cornelius de Weever, and Minister Roland Duncan will be re-appointed while William Marlin, Silveria Jacobs, Romeo Pantophlet, and Roland Tuitt will be sworn-in as Ministers and Rudolph Samuel as a Member of Parliament. SMN News further learnt that Mathias Voges will be reappointed as the Minister of Plenipotentiary while Henrietta Doran York will be sworn in as the deputy Minister of Plenipotentiary.