THE HAGUE--The report of the General Audit Chamber about the Dutch aid for St. Maarten’s recovery after Hurricane Irma is not complete and the conclusion that not one roof has been restored is incorrect, according to Dutch State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops.
“The General Audit Chamber has focused on a couple of projects that are being started with the World Bank, and not on all projects. That wrongfully creates the impression that nothing has happened, and that is not the truth,” said Knops in journalist Sven Kockelmann’s Radio 1 programme on Monday. Knops was asked to react to the conclusions of the General Audit Chamber that little had been spent of the Dutch financial contribution more than a year after the disaster.
He explained that the Dutch government had financed a number of early recovery projects directly with local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) whereby roofs were repaired and people took part in a large training programme. As part of the early recovery, the Dutch government also funded the school meal programme executed by the Red Cross.
Knops added that indeed there were a number of larger projects that had not materialised as yet. He mentioned the airport and the dump. He said the dump, which he called “the elephant in the room,” had been neglected for 40 years. “It is one big mess and we are trying to solve it with the help of experts. The airport has not been fully repaired as yet. These are projects that you cannot get done in a short period of time.”
He said the St. Maarten government’s cooperation and the speed with which it operated were also factors in the execution of the recovery projects financed though the Trust Fund, which is managed by the World Bank.
The Dutch government has allotted 470 million euros for this Trust Fund in which it has already deposited 262 million euros. Projects are being prepared or executed for an amount of 262.5 million euros.
The last two tranches in the amounts of 120 million euros and 88 million euros are expected to be deposited on April 15, 2019, and October 15, 2019, respectively, it was stated in the General Audit Chamber’s report released last week Thursday. The Dutch government has also provided liquidity support of some 38 million euros to help the St. Maarten government in these trying times.
Knops emphasised that it concerned Dutch taxpayers’ money and that he was responsible for the proper spending of it. “Of course, I wish for things to go faster, but it concerns a lot of taxpayers’ money and I am responsible. That money has to benefit the people of St. Maarten. I want the guarantee that it is correctly spent, and if I don’t have that guarantee, it won’t happen,” he said.
“In St. Maarten I imagine that they also want to see things move more quickly, but in the past year, the body politic has not always been focused on the reconstruction. It was sometimes focused on other things and that caused delays,” said Knops. He said transparency and integrity were prerequisites. “The conditions have been clear from day one and we will stick to that.”
The recovery programme financed from the Trust Fund should be completed by 2025. “Of course, we will try to have the projects completed before that time. But that also depends on the cooperation of the St. Maarten body politic and the willingness to be transparent,” said Knops.
He acknowledged that there would “always be tension” between making sure that the money was cautiously spent and providing fast assistance to those in need.
https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/83750-knops-calls-audit-chamber-recovery-report-incomplete
