Caneye conference agrees on
need to tackle social housing
PHILIPSBURG--The urgent need for a workgroup comprising representatives of the housing foundations of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba to tackle the many challenges associated with social housing on the islands was specifically underscored during the tenth Caneye housing conference that ended Thursday.
Reflecting on this urgency, Caneye and St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation Director Michael Fowler concluded the all-day workshop held yesterday by noting that, as it had been highlighted that there were many similarities and differences in the social housing situations on the islands, there was need for a concrete plan of action to be put in place, starting with bilateral contacts before initiating a work group.
Highlighting the social housing situations on the islands, Caneye Assistant Director Maria Cristina Laclé mentioned some of the obstacles experienced by the housing foundations on the islands.
Starting with Aruba, she said that since financial assistance from the Netherlands had stopped in 1992, it had been a challenge to put in place an alternative funding source. In addition, new projects cannot be commenced because of liquidity problems, as well as the fact that securing financial support from special funding authorities and foreign investment has been unsuccessful.
In Bonaire, she said, financial assistance stopped in 1993 and the foundation had become too dependent on local banks for financing the construction of housing projects.
In Curaçao the payment of rent was an issue, along with not having the legal grounds to raise rents and not enough funds to cover expenses, as well as no availability of land for the construction of new projects.
In Saba she said obstacles lay in incomplete administration and financial reports, along with the restructuring of its organisation.
St. Eustatius’ obstacles are based on a delay in request for financial assistance because of incomplete financial reports, as well as documents having been lost in a fire and the new staff of the foundation being busy setting up a modified organisation.
St. Maarten’s obstacles she mentioned were the foundation’s weak financial situation, incompletely justified financial engagements, no land availability for the construction of new projects and the rent policy not being socially aimed.
Stressed throughout the conference was the need for financial assistance, which many felt should be provided by the Dutch government. However, in his presentation on the housing situation in the Netherlands, Dutch housing foundation representative Victor Schaap mentioned discussions with housing corporations in the Netherlands that might invest on the BES islands Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba.
St. Marten and Curaçao would not be involved in this deal, based on the pending new constitutional status for these two islands, Schaap suggested the only way to work around this would be to revisit the Kingdom Law on housing corporations. This, he said, could be achieved by looking into the independent needs of the islands and formulating a workgroup.
Reflecting on this statement, St. Maarten’s Housing Affairs Commissioner Theo Heyliger also suggested that what best suited each island should be sought. He said for St. Maarten the focus should be on organising comprehensive town planning to accommodate the growing population. Apart from this, he said that once structured, the renewal and rejuvenation of the projects should continue to prevent the creation of slums.
He mentioned that the NAf. 2.3 million first phase for the beautification of Belvedere was already in design, to be followed up with another NAf. 2.3 million for the second phase. He also noted that there were discussions with private enterprises with the aim to assist in purchasing land to develop more social housing projects.
He suggested that banks consider giving out more housing loans than car loans, as the business sector and the social community went hand-in-hand in creating housing opportunities. He suggested too that employers invest in safe and affordable living situations for their employees in their work plans.
He said focus needed to be placed on more affordable and above substandard houses to prevent the further development of crime, youth delinquency and hurricane hazards, as some living arrangements on the island could be compared to the third world. He said developments in social housing should be responsive to socioeconomic changes, bearing in mind changes in the islands’ social life.
In conclusion, he said the relationship with the Netherlands regarding housing should become more bilateral and multilateral, as too often housing was placed on the back burner. He said housing should be looked at as an investment rather than a burden.
Highlighted by the workshop, which featured several speakers comparing the social housing situations on the islands, the financial situation of social housing and possible solutions, was the need for more autonomy of housing corporations, better collaboration of the housing foundations, more public/private sector initiative, better financing mechanisms, more financial assistance from funding agencies, and exploring island specifics.
