PHILIPSBURG--On Tuesday, February 22, Members of Parliament (MPs) questioned the draft policy for the issuance of long-lease land presented by Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI Egbert Doran. These questions related to the environmental aspect, the avoidance of biases, the protection of data and potential disadvantages for locals.
In the central committee meeting, MPs discussed the entire topic related to the draft policy for the issuance of long-lease land as presented by Doran in a public meeting on February 2. As proposed by MP Rolando Brison and approved by Parliament, the previous meeting was closed to allow further discussion of the draft policy in the committee meeting.
In his opening remarks, Doran mentioned some of the recommendations recently made by the Integrity Chamber to ensure that the drafted conditions are not unnecessarily (dis)advantageous or creating biases within the process.
For example, he stated that his ministry has decided to establish a policy on the issuance of long-lease land before adding other aspects such as renewals, transfers and extensions.
In their advice, the Chamber also stated that the condition that applicants must be employed full-time may unnecessarily disadvantage persons who are part-time or self-employed, with sufficient income. Doran said that self-employed persons can apply as entities and that he will look into the part-time aspect.
VROMI is also looking into the recommendations related to the requirement of maximum income and the advice to reach out to applicants who have applied more than 18 months ago so they can meet the new conditions, said Doran.
The minister also said that VROMI is trying to overcome some technical challenges to improve and fully digitalise St. Maarten’s land registry system.
MP Brison had numerous questions regarding the draft policy. He asked if the ministry made a distinction between commercial and residential long lease concerning the condition of one long lease per person or entity. In other words, would that mean that someone is permitted to have one of each or one in total, Brison asked.
He also questioned what the ministry’s definition of “person” or “entity” is and what kind of conditions the minister is permitted to add to the lease.
Additionally, Brison suggested setting a minimum period of time an applicant has to have been registered on the island. “For example, with the Friendship Treaty, an American can come to St. Maarten and register almost immediately in St. Maarten and become a registered person. We do not want to promote that of course and we do not want everybody coming here and just grabbing land that is destined for locals,” he said.
Brison likened the required certificate of measurement of the land to an easter hunt where persons have to go to the Kadaster to find the measurements of a specific piece of land. He questioned if that meant that, if someone is one metre off on their request, maybe they do not qualify, whereas someone with “inside information” would have the precise details.
Brison also mentioned that larger companies might have an advantage over locals as they generally have more resources to pursue the issuance of land.
Other questions related to the environmental aspects of the issuance of long-lease land, in particular in the case of water rights as Brison argued that these are valuable from both a monetary and environmental standpoint.
MP Raeyhon Peterson mostly spoke of Doran’s ability to establish the policy and its conditions. He argued that the legislation ultimately allows the minister to decide the conditions and the purpose for the issuance of long-lease land.
“If you continue in the law, you will find that most of the things that the law regulates, although a lot of them I do not agree with, they do not refer to the minister’s “bevoegdheid” [ability – Ed.],” he explained. Within the current national ordinance, Peterson argued, the conditions on which the minister can make final decisions is unclear.
According to Peterson, the policy should ensure that there are objective regulations in place as a supplement to the existing legislation. “When there are controversies, like Allegria, or let’s say for example a minister awards land to his family, or extended family, or even close friends – the goal of the policy would then have to be the solution. So that according to the policy, the objective regulations put in the policy, published for the public, that these persons being awarded land by the minister, would be justifiable,” he explained.
MP Chanel Brownbill said that “the issuance of long-lease land can be a bit complicated in terms of how much land is left and who can qualify.” He argued that many persons acquire land but are not aware of the necessity of making up a deed. Brownbill asked the minister if the land is retrieved if they have not established a deed within one year or if these persons get a second chance to do so.
Brownbill also questioned the procedural differences between commercial and personal applicants and if the size of the allotted land depends on the proposed usage of the parcels. His last question pertained to the ability of pensioners to acquire long-lease land as they often have limited resources.
MP Christophe Emmanuel was the last speaker and questioned various aspects of the draft policy. He asked the minister what is considered significant financial resources and how persons are expected to get a pre-approved mortgage without the proof of obtaining the land.
He also wondered what kind of further information would be relevant for VROMI to request after the elaborate application process and what the ministry meant by including “legally recognised partners” as it was unclear to him where these would be legally recognised on St. Maarten.
Additionally, Emmanuel asked why persons leaving social housing would get precedence over others and how the ministry plans to ensure the protection of applicants’ personal data to prevent the misuse of their information by persons involved in the process.
Lastly, Emmanuel questioned the number of remaining pieces of long-lease land. “Because we keep hearing that there is no more land, but that is absolutely not true,” he said. Emmanuel said there is not much flat land left, but that the government has access to a lot more land in the hills.
Today, February 23, MPs will further discuss the issuance of long-lease land during a public meeting regarding the status of the Over The Bank case and the draft policy as it relates to the court verdict on January 28.
