September 14, 2026 No comments
AUC, Ministry VSA & Positive Foundation Hosts Free Breast and Health Screenings for Women
SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY, (DCOMM) – Women ages 18 years and older across Sint Maarten are being reminded to register by September 30th for the free breast and health screening taking place on Saturday, October 3rd. The screenings will be hosted by the American University of the Caribbean (AUC) School of Medicine and are scheduled for October 3rd and November 28th from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm. The deadline to register is three (3) days before the scheduled event. The health screening will be conducted by AUC medical students. They will be checking height, weight, vision, blood sugar, blood pressure and total cholesterol while the breast exam will be performed by board-certified AUC physician, oncologist Dr. Naira Chobanyan. AUC is conducting these screenings,...
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September 14, 2026 No comments
Sint Maarten Takes a Stand — The Kingdom, Slavery, and the UN Vote That Sparked a Joint Resolution
SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY) - The Kingdom of the Netherlands abstained from a United Nations resolution recognizing the trafficking of enslaved Africans and slavery as a crime against humanity. Sint Maarten, Aruba, and Curaçao were not consulted beforehand. They responded — together — with a formal joint resolution presented directly to the Dutch Parliament. Of all the international developments recorded in Parliament's 2025–2026 Annual Report, one stands out for its symbolic and constitutional weight. When the United Nations took up a resolution recognizing the trafficking of enslaved Africans and slavery as "the gravest crime against humanity," the Kingdom of the Netherlands chose to abstain. Sint Maarten, Aruba, and Curaçao — three countries with deep and direct historical ties to Atlantic slavery — were...
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September 14, 2026 No comments
Ministry of TEATT Publishes List of Compliant Touring Car and Unregulated Transport Permit Holders
SINT MAARTEN (POND ISLAND) - The Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT), through the Inspectorate of Economic and Transport Affairs (IETA), has published the list of Touring Car (T-Plate) and Unregulated Transport (G-Plate) operators that have successfully completed the 2026 Confirmation Letter Process. The publication recognizes those operators who have fulfilled the Ministry's administrative requirements and whose records have been verified as part of the ongoing public transportation database clean-up initiative. The initiative is aimed at establishing an accurate and reliable register of active public transportation operators, strengthening regulatory oversight, improving enforcement planning, and supporting evidence-based policy development. To date, approximately 47 permits have been verified for Touring Cars, and 15 permits have been verified for Unregulated Transport for the...
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September 13, 2026 No comments
A Minister Out, A PM Under Fire
SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY - POLITICS & GOVERNANCE) - In a three-week span in May 2026, Parliament voted out the Minister of Public Health Richinel Brug on a no-confidence motion, and simultaneously opened urgent deliberations into integrity breach allegations against the Prime Minister himself. The annual report records both — in careful, bureaucratic language. The most politically explosive chapter of the 2025–2026 Parliamentary Year is documented in the final months of the report. Between April and June 2026, the Parliament of Sint Maarten confronted a twin crisis at the top of the country's executive branch — and the annual report, documents the process. The Minister of VSA Trouble at the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labor (VSA) surfaced formally in Parliament's...
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September 13, 2026 No comments
GEBE in the Crosshairs — Parliament's Year-Long Battle Over Electricity and Water
SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY – ECONOMY & PUBLIC SERVICES) – No single issue consumed more parliamentary time in 2025–2026 than NV GEBE. From closed-door billing briefings in October to GEBE-related public meetings still running in June, the state utility dominated Parliament's agenda — and the questions it raised are far from answered. When the Parliament of Sint Maarten's 2025–2026 Annual Report is read from start to finish, one name appears more than almost any other: GEBE. The government-owned utility company — responsible for electricity and water supply across the island — became a recurring political topic that wound through committee rooms, urgent public meetings, and even a petition to Parliament before the parliamentary year closed. How It Unfolded October 23, 2025: Members of...
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