Caretaker Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk (third left) meeting with the Island Council of St. Eustatius on Monday.
ST. EUSTATIUS–With a noticeable presence of members of the Caribbean Netherlands Police Force and the Royal Marechaussee, Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations BZK Ronald Plasterk made a farewell visit to St. Eustatius on Monday. During his visit, Plasterk met with the members of the Executive and Island Councils. Speaking about the political tensions between the Governments of the Netherlands and Statia, Plasterk said there is a “lack of communication, collaboration and respect.” In stating that not all had been negative during his tenure at the Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations where the relation between The Hague and Statia is concerned, Plasterk, during his visit, pointed at several policy areas in which achievements have been made, such as in education, healthcare, childcare funding, as well as a poverty alleviation fund.
He also said that persons could see on their water bills that they are being subsidised for the tap water they receive.
“These are a few issues in which we have managed to improve the lives of the people of Statia. That is the ultimate goal of everybody I have spoken to today. It is significant that things are improving. Of course it is never going fast enough, and there is still a lot to be done.”
Political tensions
Speaking about the political tensions between Statia and the Ministries in The Hague, Plasterk said: “I think we all need to work hard to resolve some of the tension. I think it would be in the good interest of the people of Statia if we spend less time fighting each other and spend more time sitting down and listening to each other, within the confines of the law and the context of our Constitution, to find ways to improve the lives of the people.”
With that purpose in mind, he commissioned a Committee of Wise Men to give advice on the current situation on the island. The Wise Men are due to visit Statia for the second time in September, during which time Plasterk hopes they will get a chance to speak with more people on the island.
“I will take the findings of the Wise Men very seriously, and knowing that this is my farewell trip, I am sure that my successor will take that advice very seriously,” Plasterk said, in inviting everyone to give their input to the Wise Men.
He said he is totally convinced that everyone he spoke with on his visit has the best interests of the people of Statia in mind. “I think it is time for everyone to settle down, be pragmatic, and work together and sort out the things they need to improve the island.”
Speaking about the alleviation of poverty, Plasterk said that State Secretary of Social Affairs Jetta Klijnsma had started on mapping out what the standard of living on the Caribbean Netherlands’ islands should be. However, “It would help to manage the economy to develop. People will not get out of poverty if the economy does not improve, and that will not happen if people don’t have a constructive way of collaborating for the interest of the people of Statia.”
Supervision
Minister Plasterk said the first steps to have the preliminary higher supervision removed is to be polite, pragmatic, practical, and willing to collaborate. “Everyone has heard too much rhetoric, and I do not want to add to that. We should all really tone it down and work within the confines of the laws that we have.”
He said he “fully acknowledged” that the people are of the opinion that eventually the constitutional position of Statia should change. “I am not sure if that is a good idea, but the people are of that opinion. Right now, I believe that everyone should work within the constitutional status they have right now and be constructive in that context.”
Speaking about the appointment process of a new Island Governor, Plasterk stated that will depend on the advice of the Wise Men. “That is crucial and I am sure my successor will listen to their wise advice. I have full faith in the Wise Men; one who is from the Caribbean, and one with much experience from the Netherlands part of the Kingdom.”
Asked about the Spies Report, which was drafted on the Minister’s advice, Plasterk said that one of the conclusions in the report was that it was not deemed necessary or wise to change Statia’s Constitutional status. The Plan of Approach was also drafted based on the Report. “Implementation of the Plan of Approach has stalled because of the deteriorating relations between Holland and Statia,” he explained.
Stagnation
Asked about whether he believes that Statia has gone through stagnation or that things have improved since 10-10-10, Plasterk stated that the Spies Report showed that education, healthcare and several other areas have improved significantly. The report also states that in areas such as infrastructure and the social system there is still a lot to do.
“Psychologically if persons look around and see positive things they take these for granted quite easily and focus on the things that still need to be done. If we evaluate things from a couple of years ago, we would see a lot of positive things have been done. It is not to deny that there is a lot of work that should be done, but we should also look at what has been done.”
Taking taxes as an example, Minister Plasterk said that people were overlooking that prior to 10-10-10 many people were not paying taxes. “The tax laws have not gone up, the collection of taxes is now stronger than it was before,” he said.
Asked about when the tendering for the road project would start, Plasterk said that when visiting Saba earlier on Monday he noticed that the road had improved since he visited the island last, whereas on Statia there is no improvement. “This is because there is a lack of communication, collaboration, and a lack of respect for people’s goals. The Commissioners and the Public Entity should work with personnel from Rijkswaterstaat and the Ministry of BZK to get the process started. Because of recent events the dialogue has stopped.”
Asked about the reduction of Windward Islands Airways Winair flights to and from the island, Minister Plasterk said this is primarily the airline’s responsibility. He said he knows that the issue affects travellers and has an impact on the economic development of Statia. He said the Governments of St. Maarten, Saba and Statia should work together to tackle the problem.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/68587-there-is-a-lack-of-communication-collaboration-respect-says-plasterk
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