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The coordination of the Dutch Government on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba will be one of the topics during the so-called Caribbean Netherlands Week in The Hague from October 28 to November 1, writes The Daily Herald. Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk stated this in a letter that he sent to the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament on Monday. In the letter, which was released on Tuesday, the minister gave an update on his visit to Curaçao and Bonaire last week.
The topics of the Caribbean Netherlands Week came up in a meeting that the Minister had with Bonaire’s Executive Council. Plasterk will take a decision no later than May 1, 2014, on the extent of the coordination by Dutch Ministries, the National Government Service RCN on the islands and the National Government Representative (“Rijksvertegenwoordiger”). The Minister has ordered an evaluation of the coordinative role of the Dutch Government entities, which will start before the end of this year. The evaluation will focus on the functions, not on the persons in charge of the coordination of tasks and will also address the context of the situation of the local governments and the size of the communities.
Plasterk confirmed that Secretary General of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations BZK Richard van Zwol visited St. Eustatius and Saba last week to talk about the Dutch Government coordination on and behalf of the islands. Van Zwol has requested the islands to make their views known during the Caribbean Netherlands Week.
Other topics that will be discussed during the Caribbean Netherlands Week between Plasterk and government representatives of the Dutch public entities include the general evaluation in 2015 of the constitutional structure that went into effect on October 10, 2010. Plasterk consulted with Bonaire’s Executive Council on the process and the range of the evaluation for the Caribbean Netherlands. The Bonaire Development Plan is another topic on the agenda of the meeting with Plasterk during the Caribbean Netherlands Week. This week of meetings is held twice a year. Representatives of the islands meet with the various Ministries that week.
In his letter, Plasterk also referred to the crisis in Bonaire’s Government and the troubled relations of Island Governor Lydia Emerencia with the Commissioners, part of the Island Council and National Government Representative Wilbert Stolte. Plasterk spoke with all parties during his visit to the island last week. “I spoke with all parties about the continued unrest in government. There is a risk that this unrest will eventually adversely affect the citizen of Bonaire. But, I also saw government officials and politicians who work for the common cause in an inspired manner often within difficult surroundings. That is why I am convinced that Bonaire will be able to normalise the relations,” Plasterk concluded.
