Published: 04 February 2021
PHILIPSBURG: - On Wednesday Member of Parliament (MP) Claudius Buncamper leader of the United St. Maarten Party (USP) faction in parliament forwarded a letter to the Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports, the honorable Rudolphe Samuel, enquiring about the possibilities of scholarships being granted for students to attend courses at NIPA and USM.
In his letter to the minister, MP Buncamper stated that “NIPA recently began offering associates classes for their new nursing program, and the University of St. Martin (USM) offers the secondary teachers certification and the bachelor of arts degree in elementary education” and asked why students who aspire to pursue their MBO (Associates) degrees are not being encouraged to follow the courses offered by NIPA, instead of opting to study abroad. MP Buncamper said that he is not aware of scholarships or another financial assistance is offered to students attending courses at NIPA a
Published: 14 January 2021
PHILIPSBURG: - The United St. Maarten Party (USP) faction in parliament outlines its plan of action for the year 2021. The work on some of the projects outlined in the 2021 plan of actions has begun in 2020, while the party intends to have them completed during the course of this year.
Animal Cruelty Law is one of the projects on the list. This law already exists in parts of our penal code. Aruba has a more in-depth law with a penalty section. The faction intends to review this law to establish if there is a need to implement a similar law with adaptations that are best suitable for St. Maarten. Discussions with stakeholders and revision of the Aruban laws have already taken place. The law will safeguard animals’ rights and prevent cruelty to certain domesticated animals, such as dogs, cats, and horses. The law to protect the shark species are already on the books, while specific emphasis will be placed on having dolphins in enclosures such
St. Maarten: Majority of MPs lend support to Dutch financing agreement
PHILIPSBURG - Despite several harsh statements, a majority of Members of Parliament (MPs) on Monday threw their support behind Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs to accept the Netherlands’ proposal for further financial assistance and the creation of the Caribbean Entity for Reform and Development COHO.
The governments in The Hague and Philipsburg hope to conclude the agreement in the Kingdom Council of Ministers meeting this Friday. However, Dutch State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops in a series of letters over the weekend told Jacobs that the Dutch Cabinet required explicit approval of the deal by St. Maarten’s Parliament.