THE HAGUE--Curaçao and St. Maarten have not yet paid their 2011 contributions for the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard.

St. Maarten has an unpaid bill of 666,000 euros while Curaçao owes 2.66 million euros. Aruba (1.8 million euros) and The Netherlands (11.49 million euros) have paid their share already. St. Maarten and Curaçao were late with paying last year as well. In that case it concerned the contribution over the last three months of 2010, from October 10, 2010, when Curaçao and St. Maarten acquired country status.

The Daily Herald understands that St. Maarten's share should be paid soon, as the process for payment has been set in motion.

According to sources, The Hague is not amused that again Curaçao and St. Maarten have failed to pay on time. During the May 11 meeting of the Kingdom Council of Ministers, Ministers Plenipotentiary in The Hague Sheldry Osepa of Curaçao and Mathias Voges of St. Maarten were urged to make sure that their governments paid up right away.

The Presidium of the Coast Guard will discuss the outstanding bills in a meeting later this week. The governments of all four countries in the Dutch Kingdom are represented in the Presidium.

The annual operational cost of the Coast Guard, 16.6 million euros, is divided among the countries according to a fixed ratio. The Netherlands pays the largest percentage – 69 per cent – followed by Curaçao which contributes 16 per cent. Aruba's share is 11 per cent and that of St. Maarten is 4 per cent.

Member of the Second Chamber André Bosman of the conservative VVD party criticised Curaçao's and St. Maarten's non-payment and said this was a matter of being a trustworthy government with integrity. "These issues are best measured through finances," he said.

Member of Parliament Ronald van Raak of the Socialist Party (SP) said the two countries' attitude was "unbelievable." He was especially fed up with the Government of Curaçao and called for a "break-up" with Willemstad. "It doesn't make sense to keep giving last warnings to the Schotte cabinet," he said.

PHILIPSBURG--IGA announced today that Le Grande Marché is becoming Le Grande Marché IGA. According to Managing Director Anil Sabnani, the store will remain open without interruption during the conversion.

IGA is a chain of grocery stores active in more than 30 countries. Unlike the chain store business model, IGA operates as a franchise through stores that are owned separately from the brand. Many of these stores operate in small town markets and belong to families that manage them. Since its founding in the United States as the Independent Grocers Alliance, IGA has expanded into the world's largest voluntary supermarket chain with more than 5,000 member stores. The headquarters are in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Sabnani said joining IGA's alliance would enable him to serve St. Maarten better. He said this alliance would give him the opportunity to provide customers with a broader selection that includes IGA's extensive line of private label products and better service from the store's IGA training-certified employees.

"We can give St. Maarten the best of both worlds: the kind of friendly, responsive service you get from a store locally owned by people you know and trust, and the assurance of quality programmes and services from a globally-recognised brand," Sabnani says.

The first phase of the conversion will include the addition of a variety of IGA exclusive brand products. Many of these products will be sampled in the store. "While we will continue to offer the extensive variety of products from around the world, the IGA will help us better serve the diverse base of customers in St. Maarten," said Sabnani.

Employees will undergo training through the IGA Coca-Cola Institute's online and classroom training and employee certification programmes, ensuring that they are prepared for advancement in their careers and shoppers receive the best shopping experience available.

Finally, as a locally owned and operated store, Le Grande Marché will offer events and in-store programming designed to give back to the community of St. Maarten.

Former Minister of Infrastructure Theo Heyliger disclosed recently that Prins Bernhard Bridge was being redesigned and the entire junction area was scheduled to be redone. This project will see the removal of the last traffic lights on the island, to be replaced by a roundabout. This artist's impression of the roundabout is just a preliminary look at what the minister had in mind. It should be noted that this was only a prospective view and not the final rendering. At present it remains to be seen if new Minister of Infrastructure William Marlin will proceed with the upgrading of the area.

ANGUILLA--A high powered delegation from Anguilla was in French St. Martin on Friday, May 18, to discuss the measure announced that holders of Anguillian passports would need to obtain visas to visit St. Martin.

After discussions the French authorities have put the issue on hold and say that the matter will be raised at a higher level in Paris.

The delegation included Governor Alistair Harrison, Chief Minister Hubert Hughes, Minister of Home Affairs Walcott Richardson, Permanent Secretaries Aurjul Wilson and Foster Rogers, Claire Haskins from the Attorney General's Office and Kim Cutler from the Governor's Office.

The Government of Anguilla has announced that it was pleased with the decision and is ready to continue discussions to bring this issue to a satisfactory conclusion.