Integrity, fighting corruption
needs attention, says Dutch PM
ST. EUSTATIUS--Integrity and fighting corruption, especially in St. Maarten, are the main points that still require work, says Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende. He made his statement in St. Eustatius after a meeting with the Executive Council.
Balkenende started his official five-day visit to the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba on Monday. Accompanied by State Secretary of Kingdom Relations Ank Bijleveld-Schouten and Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles Emily de Jongh-Elhage, among others, he visited Saba in the morning and landed in St. Eustatius at 2:17pm.
He was welcomed by Lt. Governor Hyden Gittens, his wife Sylvana Gittens-Brading and Protocol Officer Mercedes Lopes-Spanner. Balkenende went directly to the Government Guesthouse where the Executive Council holds office and had a meeting with Gittens and Commissioners Julian Woodley and Roy Hooker.
After the meeting, Balkenende repeated his statement of last Saturday that there was still quite a bit of work left to reach the target date of December 15 for attaining a new constitutional status. The BES islands Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba will have direct ties with the Netherlands, while Curaçao and St. Maarten are each seeking autonomous status within the Kingdom.
Balkenende underlined the responsibilities of the local authorities and reiterated that the reason for his visit was to talk about solutions.
He said the Netherlands and the islands had been working together to solve the debt problem, but a lot had to be done as well on issues concerning financial management and rule of law, including anti-corruption measures, especially in St. Maarten.
Another matter that needs more attention is the standard of living for the BES islands, such as education, health care and police organisation.
“Within this framework we are doing whatever is necessary to improve the quality of life for the people. We are talking about the standard of living,” Balkenende said.
He pointed out that the islands had entered “a new period” and said he was in favour of good contacts between the Netherlands and the islands.
He called the December 15 target date “a point of concern.” “There is an ambition to realise the date, but it will not be easy. We have to work hard to find solutions to pending concerns. Not all problems have been solved.”
The intention is there, but there is no guarantee that the December 15 date will be realised, he said.
Balkenende believes there is a reason to speed up matters. We ought to deal with issues such as the rule of law and financial management, he said.
After the brief meeting, both the press and Balkenende visited Auxiliary Home Foundation and afterwards the St. Eustatius oil terminal. The entire delegation returned to St. Maarten at 5:40pm.
Balkenende will have a meeting with the St. Maarten Executive Council today, Tuesday. Afterward he will visit the Courthouse, where he will deliver a speech on law enforcement and good governance.
