State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops announcing the partial return of democracy to St. Eustatius.
ST. EUSTATIUS–Residents of St. Eustatius will be able to elect a new Island Council on October 21, 2020, State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations BZK Raymond Knops said.
Knops is currently in Statia and announced the partial return to island democracy during a townhall meeting at Mike van Putten Youth Centre on Monday. He simultaneously informed the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament of his decision to restore democracy on the island.
However, a return to full democracy is not yet possible, Knops said. He has put together a four-stage plan under which Statians will be obtaining self-governance step-by-step. Initially, many official powers will remain in the hands of Government Commissioner Marcolino “Mike” Franco.
In the second phase the Island Council will obtain the power to appoint and dismiss commissioners and in the third phase they will also receive the authority to draft a budget. The Island Council will then also take up responsibility for the civil service and obtain other legal powers. An Island Governor will also be appointed in this stage. For the time being, the government commissioners will remain in function as supervisors.
Only in the fourth and final phase will the administrative intervention be fully terminated and the government commissioners dismissed.
Part of the audience during Monday evening’s townhall meeting at Mike van Putten Youth Centre/Lions’ Den.
The Dutch Government took over in Statia in February 2018 due to what it described as illegality, maladministration, discrimination and intimidation in Statia. Knops said that since then much has been improved.
“The situation we found a year and a half ago was very serious,” said Knops. “A great deal of work has been done since then, and the initial results are already visible. Given the progress that has been made and my strong belief that the Statia people should be able to elect their own representative body, I intend to hold elections for the Island Council on October 21, 2020. This is a major step towards a gradual return to a normal administrative situation.”
Knops reiterated at the townhall meeting that the intervention of February 2018 was made necessary by the gross neglect of duty on the part of the Statia authorities at that time.
It was a situation characterised not only by lawlessness and financial mismanagement, but also by threats and insults, arbitrary practices and the pursuit of personal power at the expense of the residents of St Eustatius. That state of affairs and the physical neglect of the island had far-reaching consequences for the daily life of the island’s people, Knops said.
Thanks in part to the civil-service organisation and residents, the first results are now visible in both the physical and socio-economic domains. He mentioned, for example, the repairs to the eroded cascade on the cliff and ongoing efforts to stabilise the cliff itself.
In a report to the Dutch Parliament’s Second Chamber, Knops said the focus also remains on the issue of rainwater collection to prevent further erosion and ensure that the agricultural and livestock sectors have an adequate water supply.
He said improvements have been made in the waste-processing sector with the addition of a new incinerator, and 300 car wrecks have been removed from the island. The completion of the Cherry Tree road project has been delayed, but is expected to be completed by March 2020.
This year, the BZK Ministry has set aside structural funding to lower rents, and a partnership agreement has been signed between the public entity St. Eustatius, Dutch housing association Woonlinie and the ministry aimed at the construction of new social housing and the renovation of existing stock.
An additional 400,000 euros has been earmarked to repair homes, and agreements have been made about the “social minimum,” which should result in higher benefit payments and lower social insurance payments. Also, the Bes(t) 4 kids programme has improved the level of childcare and before- and after-school care.
Despite the progress that has been made, there are still major backlogs in certain areas and more time will be needed to make systematic changes, Knops said.
“For this reason, the parties concerned will continue to work gradually towards a sound administrative structure, an effective civil-service organisation and healthy financial management. This will provide a solid foundation on which newly-elected island authorities can build.”
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/91208-update-statians-back-to-the-polls-on-october-21-2020
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