(L to R) – Dr. Abel Knottnerus, Secretary General of the Ministry of General Affairs; Stephane Thomas, Department of Records Management (DIV); Fabianus Fliervoet, Program Manager, National Recovery Program Bureau; Stanley Mourillon, DLT Work-Stream Project Manager; Femi Badejo, Head of ICT for the Government of St. Maarten and Project Leader of the Digital Leadership Team (DLT); Prime Minister of St. Maarten Dr. Luc F.E. Mercelina; Rachael Illis, Department of Records Management (DIV); Angela Podgornii, Digitisation Manager, Novian Technologies; and Arturas Milasauskas, Chief Innovation Officer, Novian Technologies.

PHILIPSBURG--The Government of St. Maarten has completed the production phase of its public records digitisation initiative, with 315,206 Archived Public Records (APRs) scanned as part of the Digital Government Transformation Project (DGTP).

Finance Minister Marinka Gumbs.

PHILIPSBURG--Finance Minister Marinka Gumbs presented the draft 2027 budget projecting Cg670 million in revenues against Cg662 million in expenditures, resulting in a projected Cg8 million surplus. The Minister acknowledged that government faces limited resources, competing priorities and several areas requiring improvement.

Franshelis Garcia receiving her PhD degree.

NETHERLANDS--Franshelis Garcia earned her PhD degree from Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands on Friday, September 25, after successfully defending her doctoral thesis on stigma surrounding obesity and metabolic and bariatric surgery.

One armed robbery suspect was arrested while the other remains at large; the vehicle used in the armed robbery was abandoned during a pursuit in Simpson Bay after the robbery took place in the Maho area on September 25.

MAHO/SIMPSON BAY--St. Maarten Police Force KPSM arrested a suspect on Friday, September 25, following an attempted armed robbery in the MAHO area. KPSM received a report that two people walking in the area had been approached by two armed men. The suspects allegedly searched the victims for money before fleeing in a vehicle after the victims raised the alarm and began making noise.

PHILIPSBURG--Former Finance Minister Perry Geerlings has been nominated for appointment as the new member of the Committee for Financial Supervision for Curaçao and St Maarten (CFT), with the appointment set to take effect October 1.