Philipsburg: -- The recent island council debate on the issuance of building and hindrance permits was just an eye opener compared to the reality of what is really taking place on St. Maarten and who are the ones that stand to benefit in the building boom. While the economy maybe booming and the present recession may not be affecting as much as it is around the world.
The shack in this first photograph shows that the person or persons that are living in this shack is hardly making it even though working a full time job. Worst of all it seems as though the inspectors at ROB has not seen this home which has no utilities, and sanitary provisions. The makeshift step calls for real concern if these persons are to be rescued from any type of natural disasters.
Not very far away is the construction of a massive home which is built directly on the retaining walls another catastrophe waiting to happen in case of hurricanes. One would believe the inspectors who inspected this building would question the density as well as parking space since the building has four floors. Sources told this media house a building permit is yet to be issued for the building that however, could not be confirmed.
While further down the road in St. Peters are two major Shanty Towns one known as the Spanish Shanty Town and the other the Haitian Shanty Towns. Already in 1995 the island government had the ROB destroyed several of these shacks due to the fact they cannot withstand a hurricane but over the past 14 years the director of ROB who lives not far away has turned a blind eye on the reconstruction of these shacks on government owned land. This of course annoys many locals since they have to go through government bureaucracy to add another bedroom to their home. 
Driving down LB Scot Road in the vicinity of Dollison Drive is another concern since several illegal buildings were constructed without the necessary building permits, yet the homeowners who are all foreigners managed to get documents from government departments to obtain water and electricity from GEBE. Among these buildings is a three story building that belongs to the present director of ROB Joseph Dollison. While Dollison sure do have his permit in place, there is a huge question of parking for his three story building. Neighbors in the area said Dollison was on their case when they were building. He even threatened to issue a building stop to a local family whom he said did not have sufficient parking space.
Driving round St. Maarten (Dutch side) can be done within minutes if the traffic permits, but taking a closer look at the concrete boom then one really has to question if those at Public Works (ROB) are doing what they are supposed to do or if they are actually doing what they are paid to do. Is it those that pay first are being served first or it is the other way around first come first serve? Is the million dollar question for our elected officials to answer?
Getting into Cay Hill there are two buildings, one that has no building permit yet there is electricity and water connected to building, how the owners did get that done is still a mystery.
The other building sure does have several extensions to which there is no permit. But knowing who the owner of the property is already tells the story of who did what. While just on top of Cay Hill is this beautiful home with three floors, the density of the area should come under questioning not withstanding there is absolutely no parking but no one so far did anything.
There is another unfinished building with countless floors in Cay Hill that it is understood has no building permit and the extension of the building is far from finish.
Getting across the hill in Cay Hill, is the Ice Factory that to date has no building permit. This factory is located next to the Cay Bay cemetery and not too far away from GEBE power plant. Is there a hindrance permit for the factory? is the next big question that no one wants to answer since the owner is local and someone who ran behind the island government for years for the necessary permits and to date it has not being granted. 
This media house understands the owner of the Ice factory had enough and he eventually built his factory which is operational without the necessary legal documents.
Not far way is another concrete jungle that has to be questioned. The building which stands just behind a Chinese restaurant on Union Road has hundreds of shacks that are being rented out to foreigners some of them hardly have proper access to the place they call home. Not so far away there is a home that is presently under construction without the necessary permits. When confronted by this reporter the response we get is "I am from here".
The most outrageous of all these buildings is the Border Bar located in Oyster Bay. The number of floors from the road is not visible however this reporter managed to count at least five floors while no one can tell how many rooms are being built at this exotic club. SMN News understands that the owner of this property did not even apply for a building permit. While they maybe in position of a building permit for the previous building there was none officially granted for the extensions. The concerns of this building seem hazardous since the construction looks shabby, not sufficient parking knowing the type of business that is at the location.
While the few photographs we show you here would enlighten our readers as to what is really happening in society one would beg to know who is really in charge of all this lawlessness. If the director of ROB somehow is not doing his job, then what happens to the commissioners who are driving around St. Maarten like everyone else? Most importantly one wonders what is the role of the Lt. Governor who is suppose to make sure law and order is respected on St. Maarten. Does the governor ask about these gigantic buildings that he did not sign a permit for or is he turning a blind eye to the reality of what is happening on the island? Is he capable or have the strength to deal with what is before him and when would he really act is indeed the million dollar question.
In this series we focused on some of the smaller buildings but in our follow up SMN News will surely bring you the images of those that belong to the real monsters. "The developers."
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