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PHILIPSBURG--Outgoing Minister of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure VROMI Maurice Lake wants the Council of Ministers to vote in its upcoming meeting on the pending purchase of the Vorst land in Cay Hill.
He is preparing an advice on the land purchase to take up in the Council of Ministers' meeting. The decision on whether or not the land should be bought for US $4.5 million "should be a council decision," instead of outgoing Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams "deciding for the entire council."
Wescot-Williams told the press on Wednesday of the offer to government of a reduced purchase price for the land from the property heirs. The property, earmarked for mixed commercial use, is now priced at US $1 million less than the original purchase price.
She also voiced her "personal" view to the press of preferring to leave the final decision about the land purchase to the new cabinet. Lake doesn't agree with Wescot-Williams' view to leave the decision on the Vorst land to the new cabinet.
Lake was "not surprised" by Wescot-Williams' comments about the Vorst land purchase and that of Plantations Industry and Golden Rock (commonly called Emilio Wilson Estate EWE).
"I am not here to play politics, but to make decisions in the best interest of this country. The prime minister has her own hidden political agenda and we can't mix the two together as a representative of the Council of Ministers," Lake said.
The EWE documents have "a lot of discrepancies," but Wescot-Williams "seems okay to move forward on this," said Lake. The two pending land purchases are "nothing new."
Lake wants ministers to discuss in the regular Tuesday council meeting the statements they plan to make in the Council of Ministers Press Briefing the following day. He wants Wescot-Williams to add an agenda point to the upcoming ministers' meetings to reflect his suggestion.
His aim is "to avoid" statements like the one about the Vorst land purchase as was made by Wescot-Williams.
Lake, who will continue his political career as a Member of Parliament when the new cabinet comes in, wants to see the format of the Council of Ministers meeting changed to one with more constructive discussions and decision-making.
