GREAT BAY--Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams has formally written to the Minister of VROMI requesting a response to the Performance Audit on the Building Permit Process, conducted by the General Audit Chamber. The audit identifies significant concerns, including outdated legislation, inconsistent application of policies, lack of transparency, integrity risks, and operational bottlenecks within the permitting system.
Wescot-Williams said that given these findings, and the fact that the Minister did not respond during the audit process, she has requested the following:
1. A formal reaction from the Minister to the auditโs conclusions.
2. A clear implementation plan covering all recommendations issued by the General Audit
Chamber.
3. A detailed timeline for actions such as automation of the permitting process, legislative
modernization, zoning implementation, and improvements to transparency and integrity
safeguards.
According to the Member of Parliament, these reforms are essential to restoring public trust, ensuring a fair and accountable permitting system, and supporting sustainable development for Sint Maarten. A response from the Minister is requested within 3 weeks.
On November 21 ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด' ๐๐ณ๐ช๐ฃ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฆ published a report on the findings of the General Audit Chamber which concluded that serious risks of fraud and undue influence are built into St. Maartenโs building permit system. The General Audit Chamber found that the absence of written procedures, informal consultations with applicants and external agencies, limited oversight, and the fact that the Minister does not have to document deviations from technical or internal advice, together create vulnerabilities that can be exploited.
"To complement the audit work, a survey was conducted among persons and entities who submitted building permit applications between 2020 and 2024. While not representative, the Audit Chamber notes a response rate of 89 out of 269 (33%). Many respondents reported dissatisfaction with the current process, uncertainty about processing times, and that environmental consequences should play a more prominent role in the assessment process. ๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ซ ๐๐% ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฉ๐จ๐ง๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ข๐๐๐ญ๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ง ๐จ๐๐๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐๐๐ข๐ญ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ข๐ซ ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง. ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง, ๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ง ๐ข๐ง๐๐ข๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐ก ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐๐๐ฎ๐ซ. Considering the sensitive nature of the question, the Audit Chamber notes it is possible that some respondents may have chosen not to disclose their experiences out of concern for repercussions. These findings suggest that integrity risks exist within the permitting process."
To read that article click here: https://www.thepeoplestribunesxm.com/articles/audit-chamber-flags-fraud-risks-in-st-maartens-building-permit-system
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https://tribune-site.webflow.io//articles/wescot-williams-asks-minister-to-respond-to-audit-chamber-report-on-building-permits
