PHILIPSBURG--The resettlement of persons who live near the landfill on Pond Island is still under discussion, confirmed Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI Christopher Wever at the live Council of Ministers press briefing on Wednesday. When asked by reporters for an update on the project, he said no persons have been resettled yet.
Wever said the project is still in the “discussion phase” between government, the National Recovery Program Bureau (NRPB) and the World Bank. “There still is an official contract to be signed together [with stakeholders – Ed.] as to what the agreements will be,” he said.
Wever also said the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour VSA is responsible for identifying the persons to be resettled.
Wever emphasised that works at the landfill and the resettlement project are no longer tied to each other. “What was part of the agreement is now not linked to the works being carried out at the landfill. So now it is just two separate projects ... not that one has to wait for the other [to start],” he said.
