PHILIPSBURG:--- Acting Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Infrastructure and Environment Melissa D. Gumbs issued a clarifying statement on Friday night regarding an announcement of closure by the Department of Permits for the period of July 28 to August 22, 2025.
“Firstly, I would like to apologize to the media and the general public, as I believe the statement that was issued did indeed lack some clarity about the Department of Permit’s plans for that time,” Gumbs stated in her release. “I understand that the message may have been confusing, and as Acting Minister of VROMI, I take responsibility for that confusion.”
Gumbs further clarified that the Department’s planning does not involve a “stop” order for the intake of new permit applications. Rather, the Department of Permits will accept new applications via scheduled intakes as usual. However, from July 28 to August 22, 2025, the available intake days will be limited to Tuesdays and Thursdays. This allows the department the opportunity to, as much as possible, focus its resources on finalizing a portion of the considerable backlog within this particular block of time.
“The Minister of VROMI, Patrice Gumbs, has stated publicly to the media and to Parliament that the backlogs facing VROMI departments are considerable,” the Acting Minister continued. “There have been times in the past where scheduling has been put on a tighter leash to allow for better human resource allocation internally, to mitigate the burnout risk for civil servants.”
Gumbs noted the chronic understaffing issues facing most ministries in the Government, but that are particularly prevalent within VROMI. She commented that, unfortunately, the issue is a systemic problem and admits that solving it is nothing that can be done overnight.
“Again, as Acting Minister, I apologize for the confusion caused by today’s earlier messaging,” Gumbs concluded. “And I look forward to the public’s cooperation as the Department of Permits focuses on chipping away at the backlog while continuing to receive new building permits for the coming month.”
PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament Omar Ottley has formally submitted a series of questions to the Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (VROMI) via parliament in response to the Ministry’s recent announcement that the Permit Department will temporarily stop accepting new permit applications from July 28 to August 22, 2025, to address a growing backlog.
BES ISLANDS:--- On World Mangrove Day, the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA) is sounding the alarm: mangroves, nature’s coastal protectors, are under serious threat across the region. Found only on Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao and St. Maarten, these salt-tolerant forests are among the most powerful ecosystems in the Dutch Caribbean. They absorb up to 10 times more carbon than tropical rainforests, buffer coastlines from erosion and storms, and provide nursery grounds for countless marine species. Yet across the islands, mangroves are declining fast. But there’s a path forward, if we act now. Alarming Findings: The recently published State of Nature Report for the Caribbean Netherlands, by Wageningen Marine Research and subsidized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security, and Nature (LVVN), reveals a disturbing trend for mangroves. The report identifies coastal development and erosion, exacerbated by poor water management and sedimentation, as the primary threats to mangroves today. The report finds that, on Bonaire, many mangrove areas exhibit declining ecological conditions, particularly in areas such as Lac Bay and Lagun, where hydrological disruption is severe. Sediment buildup is suffocating root systems, and degraded upstream catchments are funneling more runoff into mangrove zones than ever before. Although this report focused on the mangroves of Bonaire, these threats and environmental patterns are also observed on the other three islands (Aruba, Curaçao, and St. Maarten).
