Archive of posts from Saba-News.com Archive Saba News
The focus in year 2015, when it comes to Kingdom Relations will be on the evaluation of the constitutional relations that went into effect on October 10, 2010, stated Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk on Tuesday, the day of the presentation of the 2015 budget. For the Caribbean Netherlands, this means that during the evaluation the practical side of the new status for Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba as Dutch public entities will be looked at, stated Plasterk in the draft 2015 budget that was presented to the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament. This writes The Daily Herald. The evaluation will be carried out by an independent committee. The Kingdom Laws in the area of financial supervision, police and justice for the countries Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten will also be evaluated. These laws will be evaluated by an independent committee.
“Economic cooperation within the Kingdom will, wherever possible, be further strengthened. The exchange of know-how and expertise in the area, among others, of competition, foreign trade and treaties will be key in this. The Netherlands can make capacity available for this on request of the countries. Other forms of cooperation will also be promoted. “Good governance is essential for further economic, social and cultural development. An efficiently performing government apparatus has the trust of the people. Effective collection of taxes prevents unnecessary deficits and problems with payment of the government. The Netherlands wants to contribute to the promotion of such values and goals in the Kingdom.
“The Task Force Children Rights, which has been established during the last Kingdom Conference, will present an action plan late 2014. This will form the basis of further efforts to improve children rights in the countries of the Kingdom. The progress and further actions will be part of the agenda of the Kingdom Conference early 2015.
“The Dutch Government will, together with the islands Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, draft a development plan in 2015. Central themes in this plan will be the economic development, combating of poverty and children rights. The plan will cover multiple years and can be adapted on per year on the basis of progress,” stated Plasterk.
The draft 2015 Kingdom Relations budget shows 258.9 million euros on the expenditures side and about 36.4 million euros on the revenues side. About 61.5 million euros is allotted for the so-called guarantee function of the Kingdom, which includes contributions for the cost of the Dutch Caribbean Court of Justice, the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard and the local National Detectives Departments. A total of 196.5 million euros has been allotted to “promote the autonomy of the Kingdom partners.” This chapter has as objective to support Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten to strengthen their government administration, their economic development, education and government finances. It also serves to strengthen the central coordination in The Hague for Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba.
