Letter El Hage to Dutch media

June 06, 2012 5:31 PM

KRALENDIJK - At this moment there are no signs of social unrest or forms of protest that indicate any threat for the public order. This is not consonant with the peace-loving character of the Bonaireans, deputy Burney el Hage wrote in a letter to the Dutch media on behalf of the Board of Governors.

El Hage wrote this letter after the Dutch media made much of the petition that a small group of islanders had presented to the lieutenant governor. In that petition the group called attention to their discontentment on some developments on the island. “The Board of Governors of Bonaire applauds that citizens make use of their democratic right but simultaneously deems it their duty to guard against an image that is not representative for Bonaire and its inhabitants”, El Hage wrote in his letter.

In several referendums Bonaire has convincingly chosen to leave the country Netherlands Antilles and enter into direct bonds with the Netherlands and thus remain part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Furthermore, the hopes of the people were running high. El Hage wrote that in those moments of joy, insufficient attention was paid to the complexity of the entire operation and that many changes must be realized step by step because of meticulousness.

According to El Hage, it’s true that much has improved since October 10th 2010, for example regarding public health and education. However, it’s also true that several matters directly affecting the citizens and the business community hadn’t gone well.

For instance, the parties had the ambition to tackle poverty, but the latter only increased the past one and a half year, and of course the dollarization and implementation of a new tax regime had a huge impact. Furthermore, the island council was assigned several tasks with the new political relations for which tasks The Hague would arrange a contribution toward the municipal fund. Inquiry by the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations revealed that this contribution had been much lower than expected. Consequently, the island council was unable to meet all obligations to the citizens. The investment climate for entrepreneurs deteriorated while the island actually needs economic development to recover on their own.

El Hage thinks The Hague lacks the ability to access the urgency of some problems and how these require an immediate and especially practical approach.

According to El Hage, the vast majority of the people acknowledge much has already improved and realize how much work is being done to tackle matters that require improvement. And yet, the Board of Governors may not ignore the petition. For that reason, the Board of Governors once again emphasized the concerns that were raised frequently the past months in The Hague, in a letter to the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. In an open dialogue, the Board of Governors hopes to solve several urgent matters that concern the people in a swift and practical manner.