St Maarten Government News

GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – Handwashing with soap is an effective and affordable way to prevent infections and diseases.

The Collective Prevention Services (CPS), a department from the Sint Maarten Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour, via its syndromic data reporting for epidemiological week 38, when compared to previous weeks, has seen an increase in gastroenteritis for all ages.

Gastroenteritis symptoms include diarrhea and vomiting, also known as the ‘stomach flu.’ Your stomach and intestines are irritated and inflamed also leading to stomach pain, headache, nausea, fever and cramping.

The syndromic data, which are weekly diagnosed symptoms, are submitted by sentinel sites, a sample of local physicians and the hospital, who submits weekly syndromic numbers to CPS.

CPS then reports these data to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and the Curacao National for registration and analysis.

The weekly syndromes that are monitored are Fever & Respiratory Symptoms ARI; Undifferentiated Fever; Fever & Hemorrhagic Symptoms; Fever & Neurological Symptoms; Gastroenteritis; Rash & fever and Acute Flaccid Paralysis.

Handwashing must be practiced at key times, such as before and after using the toilet; treating wounds; inserting or removing contact lenses; handling pet food/treats; touching an animal, animal feed or waste; and handling garbage. Behavior change is essential for making handwashing a habit.

It is very important to wash hands with soap before cooking or preparing food, before eating, and before feeding someone (including breastfeeding) or taking care of others ill or not.

Help children to stay healthy by teaching them about handwashing and show them how proper handwashing is done.

Contamination of food and spread of infectious viruses or bacteria can lead to a wide range of illnesses and outbreaks, many of which are particularly dangerous for young children, people with compromised immune systems and the elderly.

The CPS calls on residents to be vigilant and to implement handwashing with soap as one of the most important public health interventions as clean hands saves lives.

Many infections start when hands are contaminated with disease-causing bacteria and viruses. This can happen after using the toilet, changing a child’s diaper, coughing, sneezing, touching other people’s hands, and touching other contaminated surfaces.

Handwashing with soap works by removing bacteria and viruses from hands before they get a chance to cause infections or spread to other people.

For more information, you can call CPS 542-1322, 1122, 1222 or 542-1570.

GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – October 10, 2019 marks the 9th year of country status and the representation of Sint Maarten in the Kingdom Council of Ministers here in the Netherlands.

The presence of the Cabinet of the Minister Plenipotentiary in The Hague Netherlands took form in 2011. To not let this auspicious occasion go by unnoticed, Minister Plenipotentiary Jorien Wuite, Deputy Minister Somersall and staff have chosen to commemorate this day in the presence of the first Minister Plenipotentiary, Mathias Voges, Margie van Gijn, the first secretary of the Cabinet and Van de Sluijs Plantz the Sint Maarten Representative in the Council of State.

At 12.00 local time in the Netherlands, the flag was officially hoisted for the first time on the newly acquired Flag poles at the location of the Cabinet on the Prinsessegracht # 7 in the Hague, where the flags will remain hoisted 24 hours a day from now on moving forward as they are permanently lit.

During the commemoration at the Cabinet, Voges reflected and highlighted on the challenges at the start of the Cabinet which at the time was comprised of two persons.

Over the years the team has now grown to eight staff members supporting and carrying out duties under the leadership of both the Minister and Deputy Plenipotentiary.

Through the years, the Cabinet has welcomed and supported Ministers and deputies in carrying out their duties, all in accordance with the then applicable governing programs given out by the then sitting governments.

At all times remaining true to the call to represent and promote the causes of Sint Maarten and the Sint Maarten Diaspora in the Netherlands.

Today, nine years later, the call to work even harder in benefit of the reconstruction of Sint Maarten after the devastation brought about by hurricanes Irma and Maria, has been the catalyst for an even stronger approach to seek collaboration in many areas.

Ranging from economic, cultural, educational, capacity building and European development funding, efforts in collaboration with the Ministries on Sint Maarten and in the Netherlands are being made to facilitate and accelerate the reconstruction process on Sint Maarten. All of these efforts are now being carried out in accordance to an action program of the Cabinet for 2018- 2020.

Over the years many projects and activities have been carried out by the Cabinet to localize, recognize, involve and assist Sint Maarteners residing in the Netherlands.

A few examples to date are the recognition of outstanding and exemplary persons in the community, who in one way or the other have or are contributing to society here in the Netherlands.

Others are scholars and entrepreneurs who are placing Sint Maarten on the map by working tirelessly to ensure that the island receives and achieves recognition on the highest levels.

Just one year ago, the Cabinet launched the @theCabinet after5 gatherings where young professionals of Sint Maarten decent are given the opportunity to make presentations to their peers in their areas of specialty, which ranges from technical to economic and development related subjects.

Another initiative recently resulted in the formation of the 721 Platform where organizations based in the Netherlands and institutions on Sint Maarten have joined forces to seek out and execute projects in the interest of Sint Maarten.

Minister Wuite mentioned that the Cabinet reflected on the progress and challenges of country status against the backdrop of developments on St. Maarten and the handling of the 2020 budget debate for Kingdom Relations in the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament.

“Many members of parliament made use of the metaphor of ‘The family’ to give context and define the relations with the islands. While I consider some family definitions and reflections more fitting and attractive than others, we observe that after almost 10 years, a call for evaluation and adaptation of the Statute echoes within the chambers.

“I believe firmly in our country and recognize that joint approaches and collaboration are of paramount importance. As we reflect on our progress and trials & tribulations as a democratic society, I am of the opinion that our norms, values and principles as the basis of our parliamentary democracy, require reflection and renewal.

“The only way is forward and this small, yet committed, Cabinet is also in a supportive position to represent Sint Maarten in The Hague, The Netherlands and Europe. I am sure more can be done in the years ahead if we heal together from the impacts of Irma and are able to transform from tendencies with inward fights to journeys where we together can tackle big issues such as our climate risks, regional social-economic collaborations, innovations and good governance within a desired constitutional arrangement”.

The Deputy Minister Somersall also highlighted his take on the ninth anniversary of country status and believes that “It is a privilege and honor to be celebrating our constitution day. It really is. Today is extra special because we have Mr. Voges the first Minister Plenipotentiary here to commemorate and celebrate this day with us.

“The 10th of October 2010 will always be very important and a historical day for all us. It is the reason why we have a Sint Maarten House and we are gathered here today. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said: “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”

“I am sure that many people were fearful and said, we weren’t ready for 10-10-10. I am also sure that there were many who had faith that said that we were ready for 10-10-10. It is not important for me to say who was right or wrong. I for one are happy that as a country we took that leap of faith and give it a try.

“Some people don’t realize that the country is only 9 years old and we have a long way to go. We will however keep on building up the place we are all proud of to call our home. So, let us lift our eyes beyond our challenges of today, to the hopes of tomorrow”.

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The Inspectorate of Public Health, Social Development and Labor informs the public that there is a recall for medications containing the active ingredient ranitidine.

This recall has been issued following indications of the possible presence of an undesirable substance N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) in the medicines containing ranitidine. As a precautionary measure the ranitidine containing medicines are recalled on a pharmacy and patient level.

Pharmacies and pharmaceutical distributors were therefore instructed to remove the affected medications from their stock and quarantine them. In addition pharmacies were instructed to contact all known patients currently using ranitidine.

Patients taking ranitidine medication affected by this recall are advised to return the affected medicines to the pharmacy and contact their doctor or healthcare professional who can advise on an alternative treatment.

Dr. E. Best, Inspector General VSA.

October 9, 201

PHILIPSBURG – On Thursday October 10th, Prime Minister the Honorable Leona Romeo Marlin decided to step down to depoliticize important matters that are pending decision at Parliament. In a letter addressed to the Governor, the President of Parliament has indicated that the new coalition no longer considers the Prime Minister answerable to Parliament.

Before leaving office, Prime Minister Romeo-Marlin issued the following statement,

“Why did I stay on as de-missionary Prime Minister after the motion of no confidence? As I mentioned before, I had already tendered my resignation on September 23rd and stayed on whilst the governor had the resignation under advisement. The Governor requested the Council of Ministers to stay on as a caretaker Government.

The constitutional status is not unambiguous. The conclusion derived from the writings of constitutional scholars is inconclusive. It suggests that there is no consensus that after the motion of no-confidence of September 25th, I should actually leave.

There is however a consensus amongst the constitutional scholars that, when a motion of no-confidence specifically targets concrete actions or lack thereof by a specific de-missionary minister, that de-missionary minister, if asked to leave immediately, should vacate his/her position immediately.

Motion No. 1 of September 25th, 2019 however, did not specifically target any concrete actions or lack thereof attributed to me as Prime Minister. The conclusion was therefore justified that a situation that would be supported by a constitutional consensus had not occurred. Therefore, I stayed. I made it perfectly clear that, as I had already tendered my resignation to the Governor, once he accepts the resignation with immediate effect, I would leave with immediate effect.

What changed? On October 1st, 2019, the Chairman of Parliament sent a letter to the Governor with a copy to Government, which required additional attention and reflection. From this letter, I had to conclude that the current majority in Parliament considers my continued presence in the Council of Ministers as de-missionary Prime Minister, so Cabinet of the Prime Minister Leona Romeo-Marlin The Government of Sint Maarten politically controversial and as such unacceptable, that Parliament no longer considers me answerable to Parliament and will not entertain my presence therein.

The Chairman of Parliament requested the Governor for clarity on my de-missionary status in view of the pending handling of the money laundering and anti-terrorism legislation to meet CFATF requirements, which was scheduled for a public meeting on, October 9 but now rescheduled for October 11th.

As Council of Ministers, we have always emphasized that a satisfactory outcome of the legislative process to meet the CFATF requirements is the most important matter to be dealt with to avoid economic disaster for our tourism driven economy. This needs to be dealt with, without any further delay in the interest of the country. Being blacklisted is simply is not an option.

Therefore, I submitted a letter to the Council of Ministers dated October 7 requesting the Council to reconsider my resignation tendered on September 23rd, 2019 and to accept the resignation. This was an attempt to depoliticize the issue of removal from office and other important files, I had hoped to solve the political impasse and to allow Parliament to assume the responsibility to take all necessary decisions, including ensuring to avoid the blacklisting of Country Sint Maarten

I do this, because this is not about me, Leona Romeo, this is about Sint Maarten’s sustainable future. It should be country before self always. I have been reading that we should wake up and smell the coffee, well the clock is ticking to the point of no return. I urge all involved to feel the sense of urgency, to step up to the plate, stop the divisive rhetoric and depoliticize urgent dossiers in the interest of the country. I know that the election campaign has started, but on matters for country Sint Maarten we cannot afford to lose any more time.

This decision to step down now was not easy to take but for me the time has come to take leave of this prestigious office which I have served for roughly 22 months with great pride, in service of you the people of Sint Maarten during a particularly difficult period of our early history. I know that I have done my utmost to serve Sint Maarten well. I urge the “Formateur” to continue where the Romeo-Marlin Cabinet left off, there is a lot at stake and many projects in the pipeline to be completed which will benefit the people of Sint Maarten.

On Wednesday, October 9th the Council of Ministers in its meeting, voted against the motion presented by the Coalition of 9 and I stand/concur with the reasons given. At the same time, this does not stop the hindering of the political impasse as the Chairman of Parliament advised the Governor that it is especially important to understand the status of both the de-missionary Minister of Justice and the de-missionary Prime Minister in view of the pending handling of legislation to meet CFATF requirements, scheduled now for a public meeting on October 11th, 2019.

The Council of Ministers has always considered the CFATF requirements one of the most important matters for this Country. Though I wholeheartedly agree with the reasons given by the Council of Ministers on the motion of no confidence, I stand by what I previously stated and that is the blacklisting of Sint Maarten on the financial market is simply not an option. Additionally, it goes without saying that I would like to remove myself from the subliminal tone of the letter of the Chairman of Parliament to engage in a political dispute between the Parliament of Sint Maarten, the Kingdom Council of Ministers and The Governor of Sint Maarten.

As parting Prime Minister, I have one wish as we are about to celebrate Constitution Day, let’s all commit to start the tenth year of our Country status by setting divisive political rhetoric aside and do what the country needs to live up to internationally accepted principles of good governance and pursue the United Nations sustainable development goals in the interest of the people of Sint Maarten. Whatever political color you belong to or support, these objectives should not be politically controversial. Plan, commit, prepare and execute for the success of Sint Maarten. Our people deserve this.

There are many persons that I would like to thank for supporting me, first of all, the current and past members of the Council of Ministers that served with me. Please take note, I will cooperate with a smooth transition and that I am prepared to support them wherever they may deem it necessary and reasonable.

I also take this opportunity to thank all the people of Sint Maarten, civil servants within the Government of Sint Maarten, specifically those in Ministry of General Affairs and VSA for their great support and cooperation. To the staff of my Cabinet and especially my extended and immediate family members, words of appreciation are simply not enough to express my thanks to you during my tenure as Prime Minister.

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Martin Luther King Jr.

Congratulations guys,

Knew you could do it!😊

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Did anyone else see that that interview of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte fawning over one of the most polarizing and racist Western leaders since Adolph Hitler?

You know there had to be someone waiting in the wings to wipe the orange crumbs from his face.

Trump emboldens racists. He is the voice of the non marginalized, privileged male who has everything, but still feels the Black or Brown man has more.

I watched the Parliamentary session and wondered how it was that people like Bosman and Van Graag could preach their Dutch superiority, and yet still have all that insecurity, about the little Caribbean islands. Let’s count this down…

1) Ronald Van Raak comes from the same chinless, inbred tribe as the members of the VVD. Ronald also, is lying, racist trash. The idea is to put on a show in Dutch Parliament, to pretend that they are not all the same narrow minded, inbred hicks. Their Parliament session was an hours long shit show. A comical farce with terrible actors.

2) The broken conveyor belts in Curacao did not make Holland the drug capital of the world. Holland is the drug and human trafficking capital of the EU because it is made up of overweight, depressed junkies and hookers and it attracts what its kind.

3) I was educated in the USA, so my first time in the Netherlands in my physical and psychological state was shocking. It was jarring. More than the terrible weather and horrible food. It was the fact that Holland appeared to be a modern Caliphate.

4) What would you do if you were a racist, but Angela Merkel opened the floodgates to Syrian refugees? You are already overrun by Turks and Moraccans. YOU are now the minority in your own country by a group you tried to conquer, a group you truly hate. There are millions of Muslims in the Netherlands, and they run the show. There aren’t millions of Antillians, but Antilians tend to be dark skinned minorities, with a tiny population, so lets marginalize them some more.

5) With the influx of Syrian refugees, Holland might have an even bigger problem than we do in the Caribbean. Amsterdam and Rotterdam is where you see all those Turkish pimps selling those African girls like wares on the street and on the train.

6) I was sick and forced to live in a shelter among Bosman and Van Raak’s people. Inbred junkies, who hand over their entire uitkering/welfare check to the shelter managers who are running and profiting from the racket.

7) Holland is that person who can’t get their act together, so they focus all of their time criticizing and judging you. They do so because back home the shoe’s on the other foot. In Europe, they wonder why Holland cannot get its money laundering, human and drug trafficking in check.

8) Rather than getting angry at the VVD for trying to be modern day Nazis…understand the psychology. Rather than getting upset take a good, long look at Bosman and Michiel de Graag. No chin, losing hair, aging like bananas in the fridge….then you understand their insecurity and their latent inferiority. They believe and preach that they are the ‘ideal’ race, the superior race, but the Lord gave them 4inches, and didn’t even bless them with a chin. They love tans, but everytime they try to soak color all they soak is skin cancer. That us where that envy and resentment come from. You were blessed with money and horrible genetics, but that’s just God’s sense of humor.

Those speakers in the Chambers are so bitter when discussing the islands, its almost like an island man stole their wife. But who would steal their fat, old, worn out wife?

We don’t want what they have. We have been through a disaster. When the sea reclaimed Holland decades ago, flooded them out and drowned hundreds, they were accepting help and donations from the same little islands that they loathe so.

The €500.000.000 is NOT A GIFT FROM HOLLAND. IT HAS TO BE PAID BACK BY US!

Racist wannabe NAZIS like Michiel and Bosman need to realize with their colonial slavemaster mentality that slavery is OVER.

If the money is a loan then St Maarten owes the money not contracts to bargain basement, trash Makambas who have turned out to be more crooked and criminal than our government ever was.

The only thing shocking to me is that the makambas do waaay more dirt than any island government.

It’s funny watching Parliament sessions, knowing that what was done in darkness will come to light.