Lack of VROMI Policy Victimizes Many in Government Land Distribution Part 6 ~When did things go wrong?~

The ongoing Saga at Vineyard Heights/ Over the Bank, currently leads back to decisions made by former Minister of VROMI, Angel Meyers. 

Meyers first addressed the issuance of land during a Council of Minister’s press briefing on September 7, 2016. Over 50 persons were promised land and received draft decrees or letters of intent with a government stamp and signature of the Minister. Statements made by former VROMI department head and current Party for Progress Member of Parliament (MP) Raeyhon Peterson depict a worrying procedure. Current VROMI Minister Egbert Doran also stated several times that the issuance was done wrong. 

The Ministry of VROMI is currently conducting an internal investigation into the Over the Bank project and requested persons in possession of documents to submit their information. During Doran’s presentation in Parliament on September 22, 2021, he stated documents he received from the public were internal documents. He stated, “Mr. Chairman we have persons sending internal advices with their names on it… how is that even possible? How is it that somebody from within the community could have a signed document that went through Domain Affairs, the SG at the time, the minister at the time? This is not normal Mr. Chairman.”

During the 2016 press briefing, Meyers stated that what he did is according to government procedures. He stated that, upon becoming a minister, he received a transitional document of the ministry’s activities that included the Over the Bank property. In discussions with the Secretary-General, he indicated that the project will continue. Terms of reference for the infrastructure bid were approved between February and March 2016, and published in the local papers. On April 21, 2016, the award assignment for the subdivision of the property was approved by the Council of Ministers. The National Alliance, Democratic Party, United St. Maarten Party, and independent Members of Parliament Maurice Lake and Silvio Matser formed the government during that time. 

Meyers added that in June 2016, ICE signed and agreed to work on the subdivision of the property which was completed in July 2016. “Along with the ministry, I received the final version of the subdivision of that property and so the process began.” 

During the briefing, Meyers said the government received close to 300 requests for land “specifically for Over the Bank”. 

“Some requests came in alluding to a previous request that was submitted,” Meyers added. Whether the issuance of land was related to the then-upcoming election, Meyers said, “that is far from the truth.” He stated that the process started in December 2015 when he became a minister. He referred to the project as a “master plan, I would say, of providing affordable housing to young professionals apart from the subdivision for granting of residential lots over the bank.” 

When a reporter questioned him on the selection process Meyers gave an unclear response. “In terms of who gets what, I indicated to the Ministry there is no policy in place. The longstanding - I would say policy then - is that the minister determines. It has always been so. I have indicated to the Ministry to at least put a policy in place.” 

He added that his target group was young professionals and he asked the ministry for a list of requests going back several years. “They gave me a list from January to August 2016. They said they couldn’t go further back - something with the system and thing.” In that list, he looked at whether persons already owned property. 

MP Peterson told a whole different story of what took place in an interview. He stated that the advice for issuing land to persons was not done by the department of Domain Affairs. Meyers provided the department with advices and decrees on a USB stick already made up in the name of the department. Peterson said no one in the department ever saw the names or was able to conduct background checks. “The instruction that we got then was that no- it needs to be done quick.” Besides the ongoing court case for the land, Peterson objected to Meyers’ plan because the infrastructure was not yet in place. 

Peterson added the former department head, Darryl Stuart, left abruptly due to the pressure to render positive advices on decisions he disagreed with. Peterson and Stuart proposed to have an independent party - a notary - facilitate the issuing of the parcels through a raffle but their proposal was shut down.