PHILIPSBURG--Approximately NAf. 27 million has been budgeted to build a new prison, announced Justice Minister Egbert Doran at the live Council of Ministers press briefing on Wednesday morning.
“We all know we have an issue in terms of capacity at the prison,” said Doran, adding that this is a step in the right direction to ease congestion at St. Maarten’s house of detention.
More resources allocated to justice, police and detention in the 2020 budget was one of the two conditions tied to St. Maarten receiving approximately NAf. 50 million in liquidity support from the Dutch government. Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs and Finance Minister Ardwell Irion travelled to the Netherlands two weeks ago to negotiate the release of the liquidity support.
“In speaking with Minister [of Interior Affairs and Kingdom Relations – Ed.] Raymond Knops, they also agreed that [a new prison] is an urgent matter,” said Irion at the Council of Ministers press briefing.
Irion said on Wednesday evening that all the budgeted funds may not appear on the 2020 budget. As the new prison is a project that is likely to stretch beyond 2020, only portions of the total funding will be allocated and spent this budgetary year, he said.
Doran declined to answer questions from reporters about whether the new prison would be built in the same location as the current one in Pointe Blanche. However, he did say that the project is still in the discussion phase.
