Integrity violations reports BES to be taken seriously

Govern­ment must take action when there are reports of possible integrity violations in the Caribbean Neth­erlands. This is stated by Transparency International in its “The Indispensable Link” study.

The conclusions and rec­ommendations align with an earlier report by the Sci­entific Research and Data Centre WODC. After the summer, the Dutch gov­ernment will announce its plans in this area.

“Civil society organisa­tions know how to find their way to existing report­ing channels well. How­ever, they observe that insufficient action is taken regarding their signals or reports of misconduct. This has diverse and complex causes, such as a lack of coordination and political-administrative blockades. Solutions require a decisive government that dares to make decisions, and not a government that simply refers people elsewhere,” states the document.

Transparency Internation­al conducted the research commissioned by the Min­istry of Justice and Security. They specifically examined the role of civil society or­ ganisations, for example in the areas of the environ­ment, the LGBTQ+ com­munity, consumer rights and employee or employer interests.

Two of the 12 interviewees wished to remain anony­mous. That in itself is a sig­nal that improvements are needed, wrote Transpar­ency International.

In the interviews, patron­age — also known as crony­ism — is frequently cited as a form of integrity violation. “In this context, civil society organisations on Bonaire pointed to political elites within the political system who are able to grant fa­vours to “the ordinary Bo­nairean” who in exchange supports the political party of those elites. They em­phasise that the occurrence of clientelism and patron­age is an open secret.

The small scale and mutual financial interdependence are seen as a cause of integ­rity violations, but also as a reason why individual citi­zens are reluctant to report incidents. There is a culture of silence and distrust, ac­cording to the researchers. Reports are often made through the larger organ­isations. “Consider, for ex­ample, the waste problem raised by Pro Lagun,” the researchers wrote.

Transparency Internation­al advises the Dutch gov­ernment and the Executive Councils of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba (BES islands) to take reports se­riously. There should also be a form of structural consultation between gov­ernment and civil society organisations.

“Too many civil society organisations do not feel represented by politics, nei­ther at the local nor at the kingdom level,” the report stated. Additionally, there is a need for financial sup­port to the organisations. Minister of Justice David van Weel responded posi­tively. The three islands will each receive a legal aid desk this year for legal assistance and equal treat­ment, he writes.

In addition, work is be­ing done on anti-corruption policy in cooperation with the Ministry of Home Af­fairs and Kingdom Relations BZK and the National Ser­vice Caribbean Netherlands RCN. The recommenda­tions may be incorporated into this. “I will inform you about the progress of this af­ter the summer recess,” Van Weel told Parliament.

The Daily Herald.