The current penitentiary at Pointe Blanche
PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten and the Netherlands are seeking to come to an initial agreement by Monday, February 15, on the United Nations Office of Project Services’ (UNOPS’) proposal to build a new prison to replace the outdated Pointe Blanche prison. This is what Justice Minister Anna Richardson said in response to written questions posed by The Daily Herald about the plans to build the new prison.
UNOPS submitted a proposal on November 23, 2020, and it was shared with the Dutch government, which has allocated some 30 million euros for the project via the yet-to-be-realised Caribbean Body for Reform and Development COHO. The St. Maarten government accepted the Dutch financing agreement that would establish the COHO in December 2020.
Richardson has stressed that the proposal is a draft and is subject to change.
“The proposal that was presented is a draft proposal, or as UNOPS refers to it, a ‘zero draft report’. It is not an official document yet. Since received, discussions on the draft proposal with our partners, the Netherlands and UNOPS have been ongoing. Please note that much of what is written in the draft report is still subject to change.
“Comments and feedback have been provided to the draft report and the amended proposal is expected to be sent to us within short. With respect to the timeline, I have been advised that, as noted in the country package under measure H.21, St. Maarten and the Netherlands are still looking at February 15, to come to an initial agreement on the UNOPS proposal,” she said.
When asked about the new prison’s detention capacity and operational cost, Richardson said these figures are to be determined after an initial agreement has been made.
“The discussions with the partners, including UNOPS, are still ongoing. After an agreement is reached with UNOPS, a UNOPS team will come to St. Maarten to conduct a detailed assessment of our detention situation, gather data, analyse data, meet with relevant stakeholders, etcetera, after which, among other things, a determination will take place of the required capacity for our detention system,” she said.
Richardson told Members of Parliament (MPs) in December 2020, that the project would be done in two phases. The first phase will last some 13 months, while the final phase will take four years.
