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During a press conference on Friday November 9th 2012 the Kingdom Representative Wilbert Stolte has presented the results of the follow –up assessment of the perception study Caribbean Netherlands. The results show that satisfaction among residents of the Caribbean Netherlands about education, health care, security and the Police Force has robustly increased compared with one year ago. Purchasing power is still a point of concern.
About the quality of the medical care 61% is satisfied (was in 2011: 36%). 48% feels more secure since (was 31%). About the services of the tax department, 67% is satisfied (was 39%). 56% is satisfied about education (was 48%).
This greater satisfaction translates for a part in the report mark. There where the National Government received a 5.4 last year, a 6.1 is now scored. This, due to the robust increase in satisfaction regarding the services, modest increase can result in the concerns with respect to the purchasing power, according to the report. A percentage of 67% of the population of the Caribbean Netherlands argue that they have fallen behind in purchasing power since 10-10-10. In 2010 this was, for that matter, 81%. In respect to the income development in 2011 the majority (57%) were still positive. Now, 38% foresees an improvement in income. The report indicates that these concerns about the purchasing power possibly also resound in the confidence in the future of the islands. In 2011 58% was still positive about this, in 2012 this percentage dropped to 41% percent. This is in line with the development of the consumer confidence in the European Netherlands.
Purchasing power
The Kingdom Representative, during the press conference, went into the measures which were recently taken by the government in order to bring financial relief. He mentioned among others more fiscal measures and measures in the area of social benefits as these were agreed upon recently during the CN week. Also, he mentioned the possibility which the public entities have in the area of price policy.
The Kingdom Representative made an appeal to shopkeepers, the population and the media to ensure that the government now brings the agreed upon measures into practice. He expressed the hope that the shopkeepers will take their responsibility to actually lower the prices.
Background research
On assignment of the Kingdom Representative research bureau Curconsult has for the second time carried out the perception study among 650 residents of the three islands of the Caribbean Netherlands. The study answered the question: “How do citizens of the Caribbean Netherlands experience the changes due to the amended constitutional changes within the Kingdom and how has the service of the National Government agencies developed?”
The complete report is available HERE
Source: Press release RCN, November 9, 2012
But who knows somebody on Saba who filled in a questionaire. That is not a civil servant?
Meanwhile I feel that customs and the tax office is doing the island a lot of economical damage!
As of the 1st of January the businesses need to clear there own paperwork and this takes so much time that the prices will go up again. Meanwhile we still have an army of customs officers picking there noses the whole day except on Wednesdays when the boat comes in. They get a nice dayly allowence, a car, an apartment.
While the rest of the island suffers! The island is getting less and less attractive for tourists, because we are getting to expensive. Compare us to other islands!
Meanwhile the Dutch government is killing the entrepeneurs on the island with laws and taxes!
Some people say that the civil servants we get here from Bonaire and Holland are here because they are absolutely useless at there home base, so their bosses dump them here.
I think that we can conclude by now that it is absolutely true.
Amen…..that’s what I say for the longest time now. Concerning the paperwork and asycuda clearance: we (SBA) are working on it already for awhile and there are things happening right now after our intervention and the meeting the commissioners had in Bonaire last week. I left the training session under protest. Its hard to find some high ranking Dutch civil servants with common sense on Bonaire.