The Deputy Prime Minister who is directly in charge of VROMI said the fire department has some concerns about the safety of the building and unless the fire department signs off on the building, he has no intention of signing off on the building permit for the new parliament building. While these are pending, parliamentarians are not able to fully move into the building due to constant power outages. Minister Heyliger said that GEBE is also waiting on the building permit before they change the wires leading to the meter. The Minister said the Ministry of VROMI has held some discussions with the general secretary of parliament as well as with the president of parliament and the proprietor of the Caribbean Palm Building who now has to provide the Ministry with the building plans. Heyliger said just after the dismantling of the Netherlands Antilles (10/10/10) no one wanted to sign the request for the building permit and as such no one submitted a request for the building permit. The request for the permit was later submitted Heyliger said but there are some issues and concerns of the fire department since the building did not meet the fire codes of St. Maarten. Heyliger said because of that, the fire department gave a partial negative advice on the application for the building permit. Heyliger made it clear that no one is intentionally holding up the processing of the building permit since no request was submitted in the beginning. The Minister confirmed that there are certain challenges in processing the building permit but as soon as the fire department approves the building then he can sign off on the issuance of the building permit. The Minister also made it clear that he has no intention of taking responsibility for the lives of 15 parliamentarians and their staff.
Building Permit for Caribbean Palm Still Pending ---Heyliger says unless Fire Department Approves the Building, Permit will not be issued.
The Deputy Prime Minister who is directly in charge of VROMI said the fire department has some concerns about the safety of the building and unless the fire department signs off on the building, he has no intention of signing off on the building permit for the new parliament building. While these are pending, parliamentarians are not able to fully move into the building due to constant power outages. Minister Heyliger said that GEBE is also waiting on the building permit before they change the wires leading to the meter. The Minister said the Ministry of VROMI has held some discussions with the general secretary of parliament as well as with the president of parliament and the proprietor of the Caribbean Palm Building who now has to provide the Ministry with the building plans. Heyliger said just after the dismantling of the Netherlands Antilles (10/10/10) no one wanted to sign the request for the building permit and as such no one submitted a request for the building permit. The request for the permit was later submitted Heyliger said but there are some issues and concerns of the fire department since the building did not meet the fire codes of St. Maarten. Heyliger said because of that, the fire department gave a partial negative advice on the application for the building permit. Heyliger made it clear that no one is intentionally holding up the processing of the building permit since no request was submitted in the beginning. The Minister confirmed that there are certain challenges in processing the building permit but as soon as the fire department approves the building then he can sign off on the issuance of the building permit. The Minister also made it clear that he has no intention of taking responsibility for the lives of 15 parliamentarians and their staff.