Dutch MPs debate whether 30 million euros is enough for BES livelihoods

The Dutch government’s planned thirty­million-euro annual invest­ment in the livelihoods of residents of Bonaire, St. Eu­statius and Saba came under scrutiny during a “Tweede Kamer” (Second Chamber) debate on the Caribbean Netherlands.

The 30 million euros is in­tended to strengthen liveli­hoods and implement rec­ommendations concerning the social minimum. Sev­eral Members of Parliament (MPs) welcomed the ad­ditional funding but ques­tioned how it will be spent and whether it will be suffi­cient.

PRO MP Mikal Tseggai said the investment was needed but criticised plans to use part of the funding for infra­structure such as drinking-water lines and fibre-optic networks.

She pointed to plans to spend eight million euros on Bonaire to replace the seawater intake essential to drinking-water production, 1.7 million euros on replac­ing leaking water lines on St. Eustatius and 2.1 million eu­ros on the island’s fibre-optic network.

Tseggai argued that infra­structure investments should be funded through the bud­gets of the ministries re­sponsible for those services rather than money intended to improve livelihoods. She said the government should instead use the money to ad­dress recommendations con­cerning the social minimum, reduce the cost of living and strengthen social security.

D66 MP Heera Dijk took a different view, arguing that infrastructure such as fibre-optic connections can directly contribute to liveli­hoods by improving access to education and strength­ening the islands’ earning capacity.

CDA MP Tijs van den Brink also said he was satisfied with the planned use of the 30 million euros, including in­vestments in energy, water and telecommunications in­frastructure.

The debate took place ahead of the 16th anniver­sary of the constitutional changes of October 10, 2010, which established the current constitutional status of the Caribbean Netherlands.

The Daily Herald.