Published June 22 2009
Philipsburg: --- Several red flags were raised when the inspectors from SOAB began their investigation at the department of ROB/VROM. In the preliminary report which was submitted to the island Lt. Governor it stated that the executive council should conduct an indebt investigation into domain affairs. The investigation conducted by SOAB showed that there are irregularities at the department even though an indebt investigation was not conducted in that specific department.
One of those flags was the fact that several civil servants working both at the department and in offices of commissioners managed to secure domain land even though their request was recent. The report stated that a detailed control was not done at that department yet the discrepancies were written on the wall. Several persons who just recently requested domain land including workers of the department already got the land even though there are persons on the waiting list long before them.
Among those persons who received domain land is the head of domain affairs. Sources told this media house that this person was allowed to choose the parcel of land they wanted, and when they were not satisfied with what was available they created a plot of land. The parcel of land that was approved by the executive council for the head of domain affairs was not designated for development but as the head of the department that person was allowed to create the plot which was given to department head and the daughter of the former leader of government, these plots it is understood is located in Pointe Blanche. Also receiving a plot of land in the same area is the head of inspections another senior civil servant.
The source said the acting head of VROM also managed to secure a plot of land in Pointe Blanche, while a senior civil servant in the department got a parcel of land in the name of teenage daughter who is studying abroad.
Among the recipients is the executive assistant to one of the commissioners whose land is located in the St. Peters area while the campaign manager for another former commissioner also received a parcel of land in Pointe Blanche even though he already occupies a parcel of domain land.
Another highlight in the SOAB report is that the director of ROB is not in control of that department. The rules and regulations are not being upheld and procedures are not being followed. It is not clear, if the director is aware of the discrepancies or if he is part of the ongoing scheme. Based on these facts the SOAB advised the executive council to relieve both the director and his assistant from their positions and to hire an interim manager who would bring about order in the entire sector.
While the SOAB is calling on the executive council to conduct an investigation it must be clear that all domain land that is granted to applicants has to be approved by the executive council.
Even though the current executive council is not responsible for the decisions taken by the former executive council, there are two persons who are still part of this new executive council and were aware of the unfair distribution of government land. Those two persons who obviously have some say in these matters are Commissioner Theo Heyliger and the Chairman of the Island Council Franklyn Richards. Efforts made to contact both men for a comment proved futile up to press time.
Sources told this media house that several department heads who already own land managed to secure domain land.
CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS ON VROM HEAD STRENGTHENING—DEPARTMENT HEADS MUST GO—SOAB ADVISED.
PUBLISHED JUNE 22 2009
Philipsburg: --- Following the questions posed at Monday’s Island Council meeting SMN News feels compelled to publish two of our stories that were published during the month of June.
The Federal Detectives have intensified their investigations into the extortion case against head Delano Richardson. SMN News understands that the detectives were on the island last week and they questioned the director of ROB Joseph Dollison.
The source said Dollison was questioned on the issuance of building permits at his office. It is said the detectives are also interested in speaking to Claudius Buncamper who is presently off island. Buncamper also works in the same department that handles the issuance of building permits. SMN News understands the senior civil servant is expected to be back at work on Monday.
The prosecutor’s office searched the home of Richardson on 18th December the same day he was relieved from his job after a developer Luis Goia supplied the island Lt. Governor with a letter and tape claiming that Richardson was trying to extort monies from him in exchange for a building permit.
Chief Prosecutor Taco Stein confirmed the detectives were on island and they did speak with Dollison. Stein said he does not know if the investigators would be speaking with Buncamper, however, he did not rule out the possibility that Buncamper maybe a witness in the case.
In the meantime, the investigations conducted by SOAB are now over and an interim report is now with the executive council.
SOAB was mandated to conduct two assignments from the former executive council regarding the application and issuance of building permits.
In the interim report, it states that the executive council is advised to hire someone else who has never worked at the department to bring about order. It has been determined that the Director of ROB Joseph Dollison and his assistant Claudius Buncamper have no control over the day to day management of the sector and they should no longer be working in that department.
Furthermore, the department is in chaos, the inspectors even found files in the toilet some of which were destroyed with water. Also astonishing is that some of the files the SOAB were looking for mysteriously disappeared.
SOAB finds there is no clarity in the job description given to the director Joseph Dollison especially when it comes to the dossiers that are under the value of Naf. 500.000. While this is the rule the director should follow it is said that nothing of this nature is clearly outlined on paper. Meaning that the executive council never gave Dollison his directive on paper outlining his job description as director of ROB, it was also discovered that both Dollison and is assistant Buncamper has signed permits with a much higher value. The SOAB found several files, which should have been signed off by the executive council, were signed off by the acting director of ROB.
The inspectors also found files that were botched by those working in the department. Another blatant fact is that several civil servants working in the department were conducting private work for developers. One such person who was making electrical plans was the former head of the inspections department since this civil servant earns more money with his side job than he does as a civil servant.
A situation that clearly shows there is a conflict of interest with the side jobs and the government function. Civil servants also act as advisors to the developers, for example, they advised the Blue Mall developer to cover at least two floors of his building with mud so it would not count as floors; another clear indication of conflict of interest. Several files were taken away from the regular staff and were handled by the director and his assistant. One such file is the Travel Inn that was signed by Claudius Buncamper, the original copy of the permit could not be found. The inspectors of SOAB also found that the department of inspection is willfully left out of the process, since they receive directives from Dollison and Buncamper.
Another hindrance found at ROB is the lack of sufficient staff that is hindering the control process.
There are instances found where no building permit should have been issued and building stops should have been given. However, this was not the case as the permits were issued even though basic requirements were not met. The SOAB in their investigations found that there are several buildings that do not meet the legal standards and to date no action has been taken by ROB.
Most importantly, several files or applications for building permits were incomplete yet the permits were issued by the director or his subordinate. One such file that had several missing documents is Olzina N.V that is located in Cay Hill.
Furthermore, they discovered that the sector does not live up to the rules and regulation regarding the issuance of building permits. There are cases where the inspection of the building takes place after the permits have been issued.
It is further understood that the final report will be sent to the prosecutor’s office where a criminal investigation would begin. The information in the report issued by SOAB is comparable to the information the present executive council released while they were in opposition. Another person that shed a lot of light on the discrepancies at ROB is the former VROM head Delano Richardson.
SMN News has decided to publish these stories once more so that our readers can see what the report states. This media house understands that the final report by SOAB is yet to be concluded and will be submitted to the prosecutor’s office.
