The Per­manent Committee for Kingdom Relations of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament is asking for more atten­tion for Bonaire, St. Eu­statius and Saba.

In a letter that she sent to the other permanent committees of the Sec­ond Chamber last Fri­day, Chairperson of the Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations Mariëlle Paul requested the committees to in­clude two specific re­ports that have been drafted about the coor­dinating role of the Min­istry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations BZK with regard to the Caribbean Netherlands. It concerns an advice of the Council of State and a report of the In­tra-departmental Policy Research IBO Kingdom Relations.

Paul explained that regularly, the Commit­tee for Kingdom Rela­tions sought attention for the recommenda­tions of these two re­ports and the implemen­tation thereof. However, these recommendations not only touched on the Committee for Kingdom Relations and the Min­istry of BZK, but on all committees and minis­tries.

“After all. Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba are part of the Netherlands and the policy that is drafted in The Hague also counts for the Ca­ribbean municipalities,” stated Paul, who, on behalf of the Commit­tee Kingdom Relations, called on the commit­tees to include the re­ports and their imple­mentation in the han­dling of “all policy and legislation which also have consequences for the Caribbean munici­palities of our country.”

According to Paul, the Dutch government clearly stated in its April 8, 2022 response to the two reports that the col­laboration between the departments and the public entities needs improvement, the qual­ity and agility of the lo­cal governments and the civil apparatus need strengthening, and the Netherlands has to en­sure a better embedding of the Caribbean Neth­erlands in the Dutch sys­tems and structures.

The Daily Herald.