PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams refused to divulge much information at the Council of Ministers press briefing on Wednesday when asked about the purchase of the land from the Vorst family in Cay Hill by Minister of VROMI Maurice Lake.
Wescot Williams said the matter of the land purchase has been on the agenda of the Council of Ministers for some time now but the matter is still under discussion. She admitted that all Ministers do need permission (decision taken by the Council) before they could sign on behalf of government, since that Minister would be signing on behalf of the country.
When asked if the matter was placed on the agenda prior to the sale or after; Wescot Williams said she simply could not divulge information on matters that are being discussed in the Council of Ministers meeting. However, SMN News learnt that the Minister of VROMI brought the land purchase up when he wanted the Prime Minister to give him a Landsbesluit for the purchase of the land.
The purchase agreement states that the Minister bought 11.129 square meters of land for 5.5 USD dollars. In that same agreement reference was made to a lease agreement the Government of St. Maarten entered into which was signed by former Minister of Justice Roland Duncan. Further research by SMN News shows that Duncan signed a letter of intent to lease 18 000 square meters of land from the Vorst family for a period of 60 years.
The total cost for that lease if it was materialized would have been 8.8 million dollars, a mere $146.000 per year. Information SMN News received is that while Duncan signed a letter of intent with the Vorst family he made sure he entered an escape clause in the agreement that would not bind or cost government a dime if the sale did not go through. It is understood that Duncan intended to lease the property when he was making plans for the Justice Park, the two plots of land Duncan wanted to lease were to build homes for civil servants working in the Justice Ministry especially those that are brought in from Holland.
The Vorst family has decided to take the Minister of VROMI to court since he already signed the purchase agreement and to date they have not been paid. That case is scheduled for Friday, while the National Alliance has called for an urgent meeting of Parliament to discuss the purchase of the property. One newspaper stated that the meeting will be held on Thursday but up to Wednesday afternoon some Members of Parliament indicated to SMN News that they did not receive their convocation for the meeting.