SXMElections.com

PHILIPSBURG--National Alliance (NA) Member of Parliament George Pantophlet has called for Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten to give an update on when the renovation works on the St. Maarten branch will resume. The work on the building was stopped almost two months ago, after Central Bank ended its contract with the contractor Taliesin Construction NV.

Work on the building on W.J.A. Nisbeth Road has been stalled since the contract ended. The contractor has taken the matter to court.

Pantophlet said the issue of the renovation project "can have financial consequences" for taxpayers. "Terminating the contract means that a new contractor will have to be hired, this translates into additional cost for the people."

Central Bank has been asked by this newspaper for an update on the renovation project, but no information has yet been received.

For Pantophlet, another pending matter is the St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC). Plans to renovate the facility are warranted, he said in a press statement issued Monday.

Before the September 2014 Parliamentary Elections, Social and Health Insurance SZV was instructed by then Public Health Minister Cornelius de Weever to facilitate the renovations and expansion of SMMC. The instruction was said to be required by law, based on Article III of the National Ordinance on SZV.

"What happened to this process or was it a campaign ploy? During election campaign, there were large billboards with promises to the people of St. Maarten. But it seems this very important issue has been placed on the back burner until another election," he said.

In the sphere of health insurance, the MP still awaits answers to questions posed to government more than 3 months ago about patients referred by their doctors for treatment overseas, who have not received a date from SZV.