POINTE BLANCHE--The eagerly-awaited extension of the Pointe Blanche Prison to add an additional two levels on top of the existing facility has been delayed.
Justice Minister Dennis Richardson told The Daily Herald on Friday that although almost everything is in place, the financing cannot be secured, because the Committee of Financial Supervision CFT has not given the green light for the 2015 budget.
"Nearly all necessary preparations (plans/drawings, cost calculations, financial and technical reviews) for the expansion of the prison have been concluded. The last phase is the securing of the financing (loan). The fact that CFT has not given the green light yet for the budget 2015 means that the government of St. Maarten cannot access the necessary financing yet. That is the delaying factor," Richardson said when asked about the delay in the expansion.
Richardson said the financing is budgeted as a capital investment on the budget and not as an operational expense. "For that we need a loan... St. Maarten makes use of the loan possibility that the Netherlands offers on the basis of the CFT law."
He did not have the amount of the loan that is needed for the expansion readily available. Richardson and LICCOM signed a Letter of Intent last year August for the construction of two more levels on top of the existing prison at Pointe Blanche.
To house all inmates, the number of cells needs to increase and the prison needs to comply with international standards. Through the expansion, the prison was expected, with two levels, to double its capacity and offer the opportunity to house prisoners with all the necessary facilities.
