Parents residing in the Caribbe­an Netherlands are even closer to paying a lot less for day care and after-school programmes, as there is much support among members of the Dutch First Chamber of Parliament for the draft law Childcare BES. Al­though the First Cham­ber does not deem it necessary to hold a de­bate on childcare, the senators do not want to accept the law without voting. This was dis­cussed by Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations KOREL in a meeting on Tuesday, May 14.

Tekke Panman of the BBB Party suggested adopting the law pro­posal as a formality; that is, accepting it without having to vote. This in it­self is quite surprising, as his other party members voted against the law in the Second Chamber of Parliament.

Boris Dittrich of D66 does not agree with this suggestion, as he thinks it is disrespectful to Bo­naire, St. Eustatius and Saba to let such an im­portant law pass without proper voting and state­ments.

Peter Schalk of the SGP would also like to make a statement on why his party does not agree with the law.

The law will thus be submitted to a plenary vote in the First Cham­ber. The good news is that many members seem to support the law — and that parents in the Caribbean Netherlands will soon pay less for childcare.

Parents in Bonaire still paid US $140 to $350 per month for child care in 2018. Currently, parents pay, on aver­age, a monthly contribu­tion of US $75 to $100 for daycare, and $40 to $100 for after-school programmes. However, they are going to pay even less in the foresee­able future. By 2027, their contribution will only amount to 4% of the total cost. Parents who cannot afford this contribution can ask the local government for fi­nancial support.

The Daily Herald.