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On Wednesday April 20th , 2016 residents of Saba talked to the members of the delegation of the Dutch Senate currently on a working visit to the territories of the Kingdom in the Caribbean. During a meeting held at Breadline Plaza, Saban residents shared their personal experiences, concerns, wishes and hopes for the future.
The 12 person Senate delegation and support staff also met with members of the legislative and administrative councils of the government of the Public Entity of Saba.
Leader of the Senate delegation, Ruard Ganzevoort, and delegation said that it is clear that each island is different. Therefore the concerns of the inhabitants of Saba were different from those on Bonaire, although there are some similarities.
On June 21st , 2016 a debate with the Dutch government will take place in the Senate about the meaning of the integration of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba in the Dutch government system. They will also debate the reaction of Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, Ronald Plasterk, to the Spies Evaluation Report.
On Wednesday April 20th , 2016 residents of Saba talked to the members of the delegation of the Dutch Senate currently on a working visit to the territories of the Kingdom in the Caribbean. During a meeting held at Breadline Plaza, Saban residents shared their personal experiences, concerns, wishes and hopes for the future.
The 12 person Senate delegation and support staff also met with members of the legislative and administrative councils of the government of the Public Entity of Saba.
Leader of the Senate delegation, Ruard Ganzevoort, and delegation said that it is clear that each island is different. Therefore the concerns of the inhabitants of Saba were different from those on Bonaire, although there are some similarities.
On June 21st , 2016 a debate with the Dutch government will take place in the Senate about the meaning of the integration of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba in the Dutch government system. They will also debate the reaction of Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, Ronald Plasterk, to the Spies Evaluation Report.
Press release RCN.
I am spending a few days hiking in the beautiful nature of Saba. On my second day I was so lucky to run into the meet & greet of the delegation of the First Chamber with the Saban citizens. In The Netherlands you can only meet these people during election time and then only for a few seconds. So this was a once in a life time opportunity to get to meet the cooks that run the political kitchen.
It was a very amazing experience. They all knew what great progress the local government had made in the improvement of the infrastructure, largely with my tax money. But none of the delegates I spoke with had an idea about the great, much more important challenges that are ahead of the Sabans.
There is the enormous alcohol and drug problem that is not being addressed by the Government Health Department, there is the unwillingness of the customs to check the obvious importers of drugs, there is the police force that only reacts very slowly to calls from citizens and then often claims that they are not authorized by their superiors in Bonaire to act, there is the agriculture program that does not make any progress because the local government refuses to properly address the goat issue. Still significant sums go to the goat owners who only reduced their stock by 75% last year, so this year the same numbers are roaming the island again, eating all the vegetables and plants in the gardens, there is the large brain drain. There is the sky-rocketing cost of the educational system: more than 3 adults per student in the secondary school. Where in The Netherlands can I find a school with this level of luxury? There is the tax system that kills most initiatives of the local entrepreneurs.
The meet & greet was at the end of their visit to Saba. These people had no idea about these issues or at least, in the discussions with the locals that I overheard, they claimed they had never heard of these!!!! What have they been doing? Yet they are supposed to discuss the conclusions of the Spiess report in the First Chamber in a few weeks time. To be honest: I am chocked!
I did not meet all delegates. The VVD delegate seemed to be the most diverted from reality, but the younger delegates were seemed more interested to discuss with the Sabans. There is hope for the future.