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‘We do have enough food,’ say supermarkets after panic buying clears shelves

SINT MAARTEN/THE NETHERLANDS – The Netherlands has sufficient food stocks to keep supermarket shelves filled but the panic buying of recent days has disrupted the supply chain, according to the Dutch supermarket lobby group CBL.

Supermarkets nationwide have been stripped of pasta, rice, fresh fruit and vegetables and toilet paper as consumers stock up on essentials because they fear coronavirus will hit supplies.

‘The increase in demand for long-life products has led supermarkets to do all they can to keep the shelves full,’ the CBL said on Saturday. ‘We do have enough stocks and that distribution centres and the country’s 4,000 supermarkets are working flat out to keep stocked up,’ the organisation said.

The organisation expects that the peak panic buying of the past few days will soon disappear and supermarkets will get back to normal. The Albert Heijn supermarket chain placed page adverts in Saturday’s newspapers calling on consumers to ‘do your shopping as you normally would’.

And prime minister Mark Rutte condemned the panic buying on Friday, describing hoarders as ‘antisocial’. Meanwhile, online food retailers are reporting their business is booming, and have warned consumers they may face delays in delivery because of the demand.

(DutchNews)

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SURINAME CLOSES THE JOHAN ADOLF PENGEL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FROM MARCH 14-21

SINT MAARTEN/TRINIDAD - At 6.30 p.m. on Friday March 13, all airlines operating into Suriname were advised by notice SMJP A0009/20 that the Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport, also known as Paramaribo-Zanderij International Airport Suriname will initially be closed from Saturday March 14 – Saturday March 21, 2020.

During the period of the airport closure, Caribbean Airlines flights will be impacted and affected customers are being contacted. The Government Agencies have indicated that after midnight tonight any flight given approval to operate to Suriname will do so under the following conditions: · Flight Arrivals will accommodate Surinamese residents only · Flight Departures will facilitate Non-Surinamese nationals only Passengers expected to travel during these dates are advised to contact Caribbean Airlines reservation offices for rebooking on the next available service. · 868-625-7200 (Trinidad & Tobago) · 1-800-920-4225 (Toll Free North America) · 1-800-744-2225 (Toll Free Caribbean) · 1-888-359-2475 (Jamaica)

To minimise inconvenience to customers holding confirmed tickets for travel to/from Suriname from March 14 -21, 2020 Caribbean Airlines is allowing persons whose travel plans are impacted to rebook without change fees, subject to the following conditions: 1. Waiver of all fees for tickets rebooked in the same cabin, for travel up to June 30, 2020 2. Refunds will be based on the applicable fare rules 3. It is mandatory that customers contact Caribbean Airlines BEFORE the scheduled date of travel. 4. Ability to use ticket for one year from date of issue, for tickets booked on/before March 31, 2020 for travel up until June 30, 2020. No date change fee will apply. However, if there is a difference in fare, fees will apply. 5. ALL changes MUST be made through Caribbean Airlines Call Centres or at Caribbean Airlines Ticket Offices.

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Spain and Germany added to Travel restrictions list

GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs announced on Thursday that the travel restrictions list via air and sea to Sint Maarten has been further updated as of March 12, 2020 to include Spain and Germany which have large COVID-19 clusters.

On Wednesday the travel restrictions list was upgraded from 14 to 21 days.

Passengers and airline crew who have been in China (People’s Republic), Hong Kong (SAR China), Iran, Italy, Japan, Korea (Rep.), Macao (SAR China), Singapore, Spain and Germany in the past 21 days, are not allowed to transit or enter Sint Maarten.

This does not apply to nationals of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (being from Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Netherlands, St. Eustatius, Saba and Sint Maarten); and this does not apply to residents of Sint Maarten.

The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Chair and the Department of Foreign Affairs are currently in discussions with the Kingdom partners, French counterparts, and other international stakeholders to determine how best to protect Sint Maarten from passengers who have travelled to infected cities within these countries, and will update the general public accordingly as soon as enough information has been garnered to take a decision in this regard.

The protection of the people of Sint Maarten remains the Governments highest priority in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic which remains an evolving situation on a daily basis.

Listen to the Government Radio station – 107.9FM - for official information, statements and news updates or visit the Government website: www.sintmaartengov.org/coronavirus or and Facebook Page: Facebook.com/SXMGOV

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Armed robbery in the Mullet Bay area. Police seeking public assistance

SINT MAARTEN (MULLET BAY) - The Special Unit Robbery is investigating a robbery which took place early Thursday morning on March 12th around 12.30 am, in the vicinity of the Mullet Bay beach.

According to the victims who gave their statement to the officer on scene, they were sitting in their vehicle on the beach when a vehicle with three (3) unknown males pulled up alongside them.

The suspects exited their car and proceeded to demand the belongings of the victims, under the threat of a firearm. The three male suspects were said to be dressed in dark attire.

After receiving an undisclosed amount of cash, the robbers fled the scene in an unknown direction. The detective department is investigating this armed robbery case and asking anyone who has information, to contact the Sint Maarten Police Force.

They can call the Special Unit Robberies at +1 721- 542 22 22 ext. 204 or 205. The anonymous tip line can also be contacted at 9300, or a message can be sent to our Facebook page. (Police Force of Sint Maarten - Korps Politie Sint Maarten)

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SER explores the future of the AOV on Curaçao in relation to various migration scenarios

CURACAO - On Wednesday, March 11, 2020, the Social and Economic Council (SER) of Curaçao presented its Outlook on 'The Future of the AOV on Curaçao; a comparison between different migration scenarios' to the Prime Minister, the other Members of the Cabinet, the President of Parliament, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) and the Social Insurance Bank (SVB).

The Study focuses specifically on the future financial sustainability of the provision for old age, the General Old Age Insurance (AOV). Based on various population projections with different assumptions about the development of migration, scenario-based projections have been made of the future financial situation of the AOV.

The issue of the future sustainability of social services is a subject of growing concern with the increasing deficits in social funds. The risk that the current level of social security provision will already become unsustainable in the short term is increasing if the underlying causes of these deficits are not addressed and policy choices are not made.

This Outlook of the SER is the first in a series of Studies with the overarching theme 'Migration and Socioeconomic Development Curaçao'.

Socioeconomic issues related to migration have been the focus of the SER's attention for some time now. In May 2019, SER Aruba, SER Curaçao and SER Sint Maarten jointly organized the two-day symposium 'Migration and Socioeconomic Development, Policy Challenges and Options' on Curaçao. The symposium highlighted the many sides of migration, and labour migration in particular. The symposium provided valuable insights, knowledge and networks that are important for further policy development in the field of labour migration.

With this Outlook, the SER of Curaçao wants to make a follow-up contribution to the discussion about a future-proof pension system that is better suited to a changing society.

Central to the Outlook is the question whether future pensioners can be guaranteed a certain pension income, based on CBS projections of the future population up to 2050 with different assumptions regarding migration. This Outlook does not include recommendations on policy measures, but it does provide points of reference. The Outlook has a signaling function, namely that policy measures are unavoidable and have to be implemented urgently. A social dialogue is necessary in order to arrive at supported policy measures.

The main conclusions of the Outlook are as follows:

  1. High (labour) migration may have a dampening effect on the increase of the AOV deficits, but as a policy measure in itself it is insufficient to make the AOV financially sound. An integrated approach will be needed to make the AOV pension provision future-proof. A package of coherent measures in various policy areas for the short and medium term is needed.
  2. The projections show that policies aimed at the structural deficits of the pension system can no longer be postponed. At present, choices are still available, but they will soon diminish because of the trends described in the Outlook and the rapidly growing undermining of the system. It is about choices, about burden-sharing between young people and pensioners, between high and low incomes, between working and inactive people, about an increase in the contribution and tax burden or a reduction in benefits, about promoting immigration and about introducing measures now or later.
  3. Doing nothing is not an option, as the structural deficits will widen so rapidly that the foundations of the whole system will break down.

In a sequel to this Outlook, healthcare costs in Curaçao will be examined. As with the current Outlook, migration scenarios will be related to future healthcare costs. A third Outlook in this series provides policy points of departure with regard to migration from the perspective of the contribution that migration makes to the socioeconomic development of Curaçao. In this context, the focus is on the contribution of various migrant populations to the labour market.

In the subsequent Outlook, various policy options are discussed in which the coherence between policy in the area of migration, the labour market, and education is established.

The Growth Agreement agreed upon in July 2019 between the government of the Netherlands and the government of Curaçao underlines the importance of such a policy framework.

The Outlook can be found on the website of the SER: www.ser.cw.

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Cultural education in Caribbean Netherlands in development

SABA/SINT EUSTATIUS - From the 2nd to 6th of March the National Knowledge Institute for Cultural Education & Amateur Art (Landelijk Kennisinstituut Cultuureducatie & Amateurkunst, LKCA) provided a train-the-trainer program for the Caribbean Netherlands to promote cultural education.

The five-day program was organized by Fundashon Plataforma Kultural with support from the Fonds voor Cultuurparticipatie, the public entities and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, OCW). A total of 21 teachers, art teachers and policy makers from Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba participated.

In the Caribbean Netherlands, cultural education and participation are generally achieved through voluntary initiatives from islanders in their free time. Passionate and dedicated cultural practitioners are willing to spend their time on education, but they are not necessarily trained in this area.

In addition, the teachers have not previously received training as an (internal) culture coordinator. In the LKCA approach, the culture coordinator is the linchpin for good cultural education at school, who also connects with cultural activities outside the school.

To fill in the training needs, two trainers from the LKCA were brought to Bonaire to offer a tailor-made program. They provided a combination of multiple training courses, focusing on the development of their own vision and policy plan, the different roles of the culture coordinator and the formation of a culture network. All this with the aim of offering children on the islands of the Caribbean Netherlands more and better cultural education inside and outside the school.

With the train-the-trainer program, a sustainable local infrastructure is created in which school teachers help the cultural sector in guiding and instructing. After all, they already have the necessary knowledge and experience in the field of education. The point of departure is to utilize and further develop the knowledge that is already present on the islands.

To complete the training week, all participants received a certificate issued by Deputy Nina den Heyer and department head Nolly Oleana of OCW in the Caribbean Netherlands, at Hòfi Kultural. For the period following the training week, agreements have been made with LKCA for remote support in the formation and maintenance of the culture network. (RCN Caribbean Netherlands)

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CBCS switches to Instant Payments making it one of the first in the Region

SINT MAARTEN/CURACAO - The Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten (CBCS) contracted equensWorldline SE, a subsidiary of Worldline, the European leader in the payments and transactional services industry, to introduce an Instant Payments (IP) clearing & settlement system (CSM) on top of their current CSM.

That means that a major part of the interbank payments in Curaçao, Sint Maarten and Bonaire will soon be processed within ten seconds, 24/7/365. For now, the batch payments will continue to be processed by the current CSM.

The IP transactions will be handled in Antillean Guilder and US Dollar. This makes the CBCS one of the first institutions in the region to use a direct dual currency system and to process dollars instantly. The IP CSM will be fully compliant with international payments standards. The contract with equensWorldline will initially be for a period of five years.

Phase 1 and 2

Phase 1, in which the basic infrastructure will be built, is just the beginning of the implementation of Instant Payments on the islands. CBCS wants to further develop Instant Payments and has already designed phase 2 together with equensWorldline.

Phase 2 is aimed at expanding online and in-store Instant Payments. It implies the technology that enables the client to make a payment with a QR code via an app, where the beneficiary will receive an instant notification from his bank. This concerns payments from the current account of the account holder.

Leila Matroos, executive director at the CBCS: “The developments surrounding Instant Payments are in line with our goal to modernize the infrastructure and stimulate economic development in Curaçao and Sint Maarten. With the introduction of Instant Payments, we are preparing ourselves for future developments in the world of payments.”

Michael Steinbach, CEO equensWorldline: “The developments surrounding Instant Payments in the Caribbean show that this payment method is on the way to become the new normal.” CBCS chose equensWorldline because of their experience and proven track record as the largest Instant Payments processor in the Eurozone and looks forward to a fruitful cooperation.

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SMART Early Bird Registration Kicks Off Successfully

SINT MAARTEN (PHILIPSBURG) - The first weeks of registration for the 2020 Saint Martin / Sint Maarten Annual Regional Tradeshow (SMART) have been successful, with over 30 international, Sint Maarten and Saint Martin businesses applying for registration for the May 19th- 21st tradeshow; organizers issue are reminder to take advantage of the early bird reservation, as SMART 2019 was sold out-- Early bird runs until March 31st, 2020. By registering early, participants will have more benefit of timely made appointments and are able to use discounted rates.

This year's SMART is to be held at the newly unveiled Secrets Resorts and Spa at Anse Marcel. The brand-new resort, is slated to host the prestigious regional event. Organizers: L ‘Association des Hoteliers de Saint Martin, Saint Martin Tourism Office, the Sint Maarten Tourist Bureau and St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association are very excited to bring back the most well-known tradeshow of the Caribbean, while showcasing one of our newest resorts.

Early Bird registration extends to businesses from both the “supplier” and “vendor” categories. The last edition of SMART focused on an expansion of this category by creating a "Vendor Street", this year's edition will create a "Vendor Plaza". Vendor Plaza will allow for more businesses from the island and beyond to participate, while highlighting products and services to the regional hospitality industry. The “Green Room” will return also at a grander level with innovative green initiatives to integrate into our hospitality showcase.

As the event has grown over the years, focus is more than ever before on the regional component of SMART. In 2019, SMART received delegations from Anguilla, Antigua, the Bahamas, Bonaire, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Montserrat, Panama, Puerto-Rico, Saba, St. Barths, St. Eustatius, St. Martin, St. Maarten, St. Kitts.

In addition to regional delegates, representatives from Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom and United States of America were present at SMART 2019.

Companies interested can obtain information as well as subscription documents at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Event information will be continuously updated at www.SHTA.com/SMART. For reservations or questions, please call +1-721-542-0108.

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Police drop plans for national weapons amnesty campaign

SINT MAARTEN/THE NETHERLANDS – Plans to organise a national ‘hand in your weapons’ day have been dropped, despite having majority support in parliament, broadcaster NOS said on Tuesday.

MPs backed the plan after a similar campaign in Rotterdam last year generated a large number of knives and other weapons. However, a police spokesman said it has been impossible to find a date which would be suitable for all of the country’s individual police forces.

In addition, the nationwide approach is not appropriate because weapons are not an issue in many parts of the country, he said. ‘It is up to local leaders – the mayors and police – to decide if they want to organise such an event and when that should be,’ the spokesman said.

The Zeeland West Brabant force is holding a weapon surrender day later this month. The Rotterdam amnesty netted 260 weapons and 650 kilos of ammunition, including 60 guns and 43 knives.

(DutchNews)

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Cash is still king: most shops and bars still accept notes and coins

SINT MAARTEN/THE NETHERLANDS – Nearly all Dutch shops continue to accept cash, the Dutch central bank said on Tuesday, on the basis of its own research. In mid-2019, 97% of shops were happy to take coins and notes, although some say they may stop this in the future because of the cost and for security reasons.

‘Although the use of cash at points of sale is declining, broad acceptance by retailers is also important’, the central bank said, referring to the problems caused when automatic payment systems break down.

Debit cards are the second most popular form of payment, with an acceptance rate of 87%. In Amsterdam, however, 7% of shops are pin only, as are 11% of bars, cafes and restaurants.

The city’s public transport system is also cash free. Credit cards are also more popular in the capital, with 69% of shops in the survey saying they accept them. Nationwide, that figure is only 43%.

The difference may be down to tourism, the central bank said. The use of cards to make payments outstripped cash in the Netherlands in 2017.

(DutchNews)

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