PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister of St. Maarten Sarah Wescot Williams announced on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers press briefing that the Council of Ministers invited the Vorst family to a meeting which will be held on Thursday to further discuss the purchase agreement Minister of VROMI Maurice Lake signed on behalf of the Government of St. Maarten. Wescot Williams said one the points of discussion with the Vorst family will be how binding the purchase agreement is since the Minister did not get the Council's approval prior to signing the agreement for the purchase of the property.
SMN News learnt that the Vorst family had a sales agent negotiating the sale of the property for $225.00 per square meter but the persons that were interested in the property mainly to build low income homes stopped negotiations because they felt the land was already over-priced. However, Minister of VROMI Maurice Lake abandoned a lease agreement former Minister of Justice Roland Duncan had agreed upon and signed a purchase agreement for $494.00 per square meter. SMN News asked the Prime Minister if she was aware that someone was negotiating with the Vorst family and if she knew that the price per square meter was within the $200 to $300.00 bracket. The Prime Minister explained that during the month of May 2014 the Council of Ministers received the signed purchase agreement for the land belonging to the Vorst family. This agreement she said was signed by the Minister of VROMI, she further explained that when that document was presented to the Council of Ministers they posed several questions regarding the purchase. Wescot Williams said since then they have been discussing the purchase of the Vorst property, "to this day the council does not have sufficient information to agree on the price for a square meter of land the way it is described in the purchase agreement. Secondly, we do not have the guarantee that government is not bound by the purchase agreement signed by Minister Lake." Wescot Williams further explained that the Government of St. Maarten is looking to find a solution and resolution to the ongoing saga.
Wescot Williams said the Council of Ministers will also be meeting with the owners of Emilio Wilson Estate on Thursday.