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...
Read more
September 13, 2026 No comments
One Law Passed, Seven Submitted
SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY – POLITICS & GOVERNANCE) – The Parliament of Sint Maarten submitted seven draft national ordinances during the 2025–2026 Parliamentary Year. By the end of the reporting period, only one had been formally adopted: the National Ordinance on a Basic Payment Account for Consumers, approved 14 votes to 0 on January 9, 2026. The Basic Payment Account ordinance — which establishes rules requiring financial institutions to offer basic bank accounts to consumers — had been in committee since the 2023–2024 Parliamentary Year. It took more than a year of deliberations, multiple adjournments, and several rounds of amendments before it reached a final vote. Even then, it required amendments proposed by Members of Parliament (MP) Sarah Wescot-Williams and MP Ardwell...
Read more
September 13, 2026 No comments
Parliament's Activity Fell 25% — 31 Fewer Meetings in One Year
SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY - POLITICS & GOVERNANCE) - When Parliament of Sint Maarten published its Annual Report for the 2025–2026 Parliamentary Year, buried inside the statistics section it reported that 93 total meetings were held, compared to 124 the previous year. It represents 31 fewer meetings, a 25 percent drop in parliamentary output by the most basic measure available. The 93 meetings are distributed across five categories: Public Meetings (including solemn and urgent), Central Committee meetings, Permanent Committee meetings, Ad Hoc Committee meetings, and Faction Leaders meetings. Two solemn public meetings and twenty-three regular public meetings were recorded in the year's tally — along with 23 Central Committee sessions. What the report does not provide is a reason. No section addresses why...
Read more
September 13, 2026 No comments
The Spirit and the Joy of the Rhythm of Giving Service
SINT MAARTEN (COMMENTARY – By Brian Meade) - The joy of service is not a quiet emotion. It does not sit politely in the corner waiting to be acknowledged. It moves. It vibrates. It carries a rhythm — a pulse that echoes through communities, organizations, and public life. Whether you are a politician, a member of the Lions Club, Rotary Club, or any civic body, the rhythm of giving service is both a privilege and a responsibility. And it demands more than enthusiasm; it demands character. Service, at its core, is an act of moral courage. It is the willingness to place community above ego, people above position, and truth above convenience. Yet in today’s world, where titles are often pursued for...
Read more
September 13, 2026 No comments
Community Wants Answers in Rudy Benjamin Investigation
SINT MAARTEN (COMMENTARY – By Maurice Lake) - There is still a cloud of anger, suspicion, rumors, unanswered questions and grief that hangs over the community of St. Peters and the entire island of St. Martin surrounding the fatal shooting of Mr. Rudy Benjamin on the evening of February 13th, 2026. It is over eight months, and people need to know the FACTS, and truth to build back trust. This investigation is also being followed at the international level. The last article I read was that the Police involved in the St. Peters shooting, that the investigation is to be handled by the Prosecutor's Office Curacao but to date there has been no update to the community about the camera evidence,...
Read more
