That is one of the major accomplishments that the delegations from Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba were able to secure during the so-called Caribbean Netherlands week in The Hague this week.

 

Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk announced at a press briefing on Thursday that his ministry will make half a million euros available to further work out the islands’ development plans with the expertise of the Ministries of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations, Economic Affairs and Infrastructure and Environment. Plasterk will be the coordinating minister in this. According to Plasterk, the Dutch Government has the ambition to remove the physical and social backlogs together with the island governments. “We recognise that more needs to happen. The pace at which the various backlogs will be removed is dependent on the budgetary possibilities. We cannot do it all at once,” he said.

 

Plasterk further announced that 7.5 million euros would be made available for investments in nature and sustainable development. The rest of the funding for the adjusted development plans will be further worked out in the framework of the preparation of the 2014 budget of the Dutch Government. The Dutch Government, within the budgetary space that is available, will help to realise the implementation of some of these development plans through extraordinary allowances or interest-free loans. “The regulations of interest-free loans should not obstruct the realisation of plans,” said Plasterk. The Committee for Financial Supervision CFT will have to establish that the islands can repay the no-interest loans.

 

Statia Commissioner Koos Sneek said he came to The Netherlands with “mixed feelings” and “well aware” that the Dutch Government was seriously cutting cost. “I had not set my expectations too high, but at the end of the week I am not pessimistic,” he said. Sneek emphasized that improving things for the people of the islands did not always necessarily have to put pressure on the budget. He was content that Dutch Ministries now seemed to understand the need to draw up norms for the level of services on the islands. He also mentioned the positive meeting with Minister of Public Health Edith Schippers about the health care package on the islands and the proposal that the islands presented to look at alternatives to reduce cost in health care together with a work group.

 

Saba Commissioner Chris Johnson said that he was happy with the commitment of Minister Plasterk to help in getting across the political message to his colleagues in the Dutch Council of Ministers that St. Eustatius and Saba want to eliminate the general consumption tax ABB and to return to the Turnover Tax (ToT). Johnson said the idea was to reduce the red tape and costly control system that accompanied the ABB. “We ask to give us a chance to develop ourselves without too much bureaucracy and a simpler tax system,” he said.

 

When asked if he supported a return of the ToT, Plasterk said it was good to have heard the arguments of the delegations as to why this tax should replace the ABB. “We have to keep a close watch on the pros and cons of the different taxes,” he said and added that the tax system should be as simple as possible, easy to execute and not overburdening. He promised that he would be in contact with the Dutch Ministry of Finance on this matter.

 

Regarding levying ToT in St. Maarten on goods that are exported to St. Eustatius and Saba, Plasterk said the Dutch Government was still trying to work out a solution with the St. Maarten Government on this. He said the ToT was part of a longer list of issues that The Hague was trying to work out with Philipsburg in the interest of St. Eustatius and Saba, such as the medical evacuation helicopter, the airport tax and the fibre optic cable.

 

(The Daily Herald)