THE HAGUE - According to the outgoing Undersecretary for Kingdom Relations, Raymond Knops, it is difficult to understand that the CAS (Curaçao, Aruba and St. Maarten) countries cannot politically confirm the agreement reached on the COHO (Caribbean Organ for Reform and Development) Consensus Kingdom Act. This worries Knops quite a bit. He wrote this today in a letter to the Dutch Parliament.
The establishment of the Kingdom Act Aruba Financial Supervision (RAft) is therefore also out of sight. According to the Undersecretary, it is of great importance that after a year of intensive cooperation, the agreed legal basis is laid under this cooperation. “From the very beginning, promoting the creation of the COHO Statute Act by governments has also been part of the conditions for liquidity support. Just like the progress on the implementation of the national package, it is important that the right steps are also taken in the process of the Kingdom Act and that progress remains sufficient," said Knops in his letter.
Confusion arises
As a result of the public reactions of the Prime Ministers of Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten and the media reports based on this, the Dutch undersecretary notes that confusion has apparently arisen on a number of points.
The lack of political approval raises the question for the Dutch government as to what position the countries now take. “I recognize that countries are generally working diligently on the implementation of the country package, but 2022 will be dominated by (difficult) decisions and implementation. The fact that the countries are not taking the next step in the legislative process raises the question of the genuine will and willingness to get started seriously with the Consensus Kingdom law and the necessary reforms. Now that it is unclear at this stage where the countries stand, it is not sufficiently clear to the Dutch government where we stand," Knops writes.
Reflecting on the future
That is why the Undersecretary has proposed to postpone the full decision-making process during the Kingdom Council of Ministers on 17 December. “This gives us all space to reflect on whether and how we can fruitfully enter into the intended collaboration for six years, taking into account previous agreements.”