Constitutional changes
could cost millions more
THE HAGUE--The constitutional changes in the Netherlands Antilles could cost much more than the six billion guilders reserved for debt cancellation and extra investments in social-economic initiatives.
Sources in The Hague are estimating that the extra deployment of Dutch civil servants needed to guide the process into the right direction would cost between 100 and 200 million euros (US $145-290 million) However, it is being estimated that the actual costs would be much higher, Antilliaans Dagblad reported.
The costs of the operation would be higher than expected due to various reasons. One of the most important factors is the lack of capacity among civil servants on the islands. In many cases, the islands are also lacking in expertise, for instance in the field of international law, to be able to prepare themselves for their new statuses.
This particularly applies to Curaçao and St. Maarten which are being confronted with a complex package of laws. The new status as “public entity” of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba will also involve much more work by The Hague than previously expected.
Many rules and regulations prove to be outdated. Many ordinances have not been adapted to (international) treaties signed during the last decennia by the Kingdom or the Netherlands Antilles.
Because the Netherlands will be having the final responsibility for the three BES-islands where governance is concerned, the ministries in The Hague that are involved in the constitutional process would have no other choice than to make more manpower available.
Meanwhile, these ministries have sounded the alarm concerning the threatening deficits in their budgets. According to Antilliaans Dagblad the ministries are concerned about their discovery that the “backlog in maintenance” in the fields of education, health care, the police and infrastructure on the BES islands is much higher than had been assumed up till now. According to the first, cautious calculations, several tens of millions of euros extra would be needed to fix this backlog.
It was further stated that fear is growing that the Netherlands Antilles would be having more expensive surprises in store in the form of claims of damages by parties against former cabinets of the Netherlands Antilles.
Once she has returned from this week’s working visit to the Netherlands Antilles, the Second Chamber will be asking State Secretary of Kingdom Relations Ank Bijleveld-Schouten to present a complete overview of all the costs the Netherlands is providing for constitutional change in the Netherlands Antilles.
