The financial supervision of the public entities of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba will have a different character. In the autumn, State Secretary Alexandra van Huffelen (Kingdom Relations) will present proposals for amending the finBES Act, which contains rules for the financial policy of the islands.

The law that came into force on 10 October 2010 assigns the BES Financial Supervision Board a strong role that, as it turns out in practice, is not complete in line with the budget rights of the Island Councils and differs from municipalities in the European part of the country. The intention is that supervision at the front end of the budget cycle disappears, and control only takes place after the decision-making in the Island Council has been completed.

The current system is based on distrust. Moreover, the far-reaching involvement and ‘information hunger’ of the Cft places a heavy demand on time and energy, especially from the Finance departments of the islands. In recent years, Bonaire and Statia have made great progress in the field of financial management. Saba has always had that in order.

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