THE HAGUE--Talks between the Governments of the Netherlands and St. Eustatius have resumed, Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk announced on Thursday. “That is good news,” he said.

 

Parties are talking again after a stalemate between Oranjestad and The Hague that lasted for several months following Plasterk’s decision on June 10, 2015, to place the island government under administrative supervision and to give an instruction in the financial sphere.

 

“Things appear to have gotten back on the normal track,” said Plasterk during a debate with the Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament. On the agenda of that meeting were current issues relating to the Caribbean Netherlands, including the St. Eustatius supervision and instruction.

 

Plasterk said the process has started to implement the Plan of Approach, a plan that is aimed at getting a grip on and restoring the administrative and financial problems of the St. Eustatius Government. He said the issue will be on the agenda when he visits the Windward Islands in the spring of 2016.

The Plan of Approach, which was drafted in September this year, focuses on three main themes: the strengthening of good governance; the improvement of the management process of the St. Eustatius Government, and arriving at a sustainable control of the financial situation.

 

The effect of the Plan of Approach should be a form of good governance that is acceptable to all parties involved. The implementation of the plan will take place in phases. Ultimately, the plan will serve the interest of the island and its inhabitants, as stated in the 35-page document.

 

Plasterk made his remarks in relation to the concerns expressed by the Second Chamber. “Things are not going in the right direction,” said Member of Parliament (MP) Roelof van Laar of the Labour Party PvdA, who specifically asked about the status of execution of the Plan of Approach.

Van Laar wondered whether it was necessary to extend the authority of the National Government Representative (“Rijksvertegenwoordiger”) Gilbert Isabella to intervene. “Doesn’t the Representative need more tools to adequately deal with the situation? Local government representatives can obstruct things for a long time,” he said.

 

Minister Plasterk stated in his response to Van Laar’s proposal to give the National Government Representative more authority that this was not needed at this stage. He added that he was open to suggestions if the constitutional evaluation established that the Representative’s instruments proved inadequate to deal with situations such as the one in St. Eustatius.

 

Van Laar also addressed the “persistent rumours” about vote buying and the fraud with votes in St. Eustatius. “It is difficult to check these rumours, but it underlines the need for a stricter adhering of the regulations during elections.” Van Laar proposed to have external observers posted during the elections. “Whatever is true of these rumours it has to stop,” he said.

Plasterk said that he too had heard of the rumours, but added that no formal complaints have been filed at police about the buying of votes. He stressed that the selling and buying of votes was a serious offence. He said that there could also be a legitimate reason for the excessive number of votes by proxy (“volmacht”).

 

The Minister said that he would discuss the “proper way” of investigating the large number of votes by proxy when he meets with the Electoral Council. He promised to follow-up on Van Laar’s suggestion to talk about the importance of honest elections with the partners in the Kingdom. “I don’t mind discussing this with the other countries, but in principle it is a local affair,” he said.

 

 

The Daily Herald