THE HAGUE - Undersecretary of Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops will not be shocked by the questions that the members of the Second Chamber Committee for Kingdom Relations have submitted about the conditions that the Dutch government has set for new loans to Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten.
In terms of content, the parties seem to have little objection to the conditions imposed, more questions are raised about the procedure followed and the chosen form: the short time that countries were given to study the bill before it was discussed in the Kingdom Council of Ministers and their involvement in the establishment. A recurring question is whether the countries will also be represented in the 'Caribbean reform entity', which must supervise the use of the loans and the reforms.
The VVD party considers it more urgent that the countries immediately start to collect taxes more than a new tax system is introduced. D66 wants to know how measures are prevented from harming the economies of Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten. GroenLinks appeals to Knops to ensure that "vulnerable groups in their already not rosy living conditions" are affected.
Referring to the experience with the World Bank in the reconstruction of Sint Maarten, the SP party has doubts about the effectiveness of a new "independent institute" that will supervise. The PvdA asks for an overview of how the vital sectors in Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten are supported and spared.