Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba sent delegations to the Nether­lands last week for meetings about changes to two draft laws that have been unilater­ally imposed by Dutch State Secretary of Kingdom Rela­tions and Digitalisation Zsolt Szabo.

Szabo sent letters to the Dutch Second Chamber of Parliament last month that outlined amendments to the Public Entities Act of Bo­naire, St. Eustatius and Saba WoIBES and Finance Act of the Public Entities of Bo­naire, St. Eustatius and Saba FinBES. These laws outline the structure and financial obligations of the local gov­ernments of Bonaire, St. Eu­statius and Saba in relation to The Hague.

The islands want the su­pervisory position of King­dom Representative to be abolished, but Szabo’s new amendments have retained the post.

Citing recent interventions in Bonaire and St. Eustatius, Szabo described the position as the Dutch government’s “administrative eyes and ears in the region” and told Mem­bers of Parliament (MPs) that it is needed for “good intergovernmental supervi­sion on Bonaire, St. Eusta­tius and Saba.”

The previous draft laws were the product of years of negotiations between the three islands and The Hague, culminating in a conference in the Netherlands in March 2024.

Just six days after Szabo’s briefing to parliament last month, the three Island Councils sent him a letter that protested his unilat­eral decision-making and requested an urgent meeting. Last Thursday, during a trip planned as a follow-up to their letter, the representa­tives of the BES islands met with the Second Chamber’s Committee of Kingdom Af­fairs.

“The islands’ delegation emphasised the importance of involving the islands when things concern the islands because the primary concern is not the proposed changes, but the unilateral approach taken by the State Secretary in modifying agreements without consulting the peo­ple that these changes will affect,” according to a press release issued by Saba’s gov­ernment last Friday. “Key discussion points included the need for more frequent consultations and commu­nication to enhance clarity, mutual understanding, and alignment with the islands’ needs.

“The key principle, ‘If it’s about us, not without us’, resonated as an important principle of good governance during this session.”

Szabo told Dutch MPs last month that, because of the amendment, they should not expect the draft laws to be submitted to parliament be­fore the beginning of 2026.

This delay has direct con­sequences for the planned increase in the number of Island Council Members and Commissioners in the three islands. This was supposed to go into effect in 2027, but Szabo said it will now be pushed back to 2031.

Under the original plan intro­duced by former State Secre­tary Alexandra van Huffelen, Bonaire’s Island Council was set to increase from 9 to 15 seats by 2027, with a further expansion to 19 seats by 2031. St. Eustatius was expected to see its council grow from 5 to 11 seats in 2027, while Saba’s council would expand from 5 to 9 seats.

The Daily Herald.