Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
THE HAGUE--The Democratic Party D66 in the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament and the liberal democratic VVD party will be diametrically opposing each other on the validity of the July 2014 instruction to Aruba during a debate with Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk today, Thursday.
The finances of the Aruba Government will prominently feature in today's meeting which takes place at the request of the Second Chamber's Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations to discuss financial supervision in the Dutch Kingdom, including St. Maarten and the Caribbean Netherlands.
It will not be the first time that Member of the Second Chamber Wassila Hachchi (D66) will raise the validity of the instruction that the Kingdom Council of Ministers gave Aruba's Governor Fredis Refunjol in July this year not to sign the 2014 budget until an in-depth analysis had taken place.
Member of Parliament (MP) André Bosman (VVD) will contend in today's meeting that the Kingdom Government was right to give Aruba an instruction. Aruba's recent budgets, the large national debt and the consequent risks that the Dutch taxpayer runs make that decision a "very wise" one, according to Bosman.
All parties in the Second Chamber agree that Aruba's government finances have become untenable with the large budget deficits over the last years and a steeply increasing national debt. Parties don't agree on the manner in which the Kingdom Government is tackling this issue under the guise of having to safeguard good governance in the Kingdom.
In today's debate, Hachchi will be asking Minister Plasterk whether the Kingdom Council of Ministers acted in accordance with the Kingdom Charter when it gave Aruba an instruction. During the October 1 Kingdom Relations budget debate, Hachchi already questioned the legality of the Aruba instruction.
According to Hachchi, the question as to whether The Hague acted correctly in Aruba's case not only damages the relations in the Kingdom, but it also makes a "mockery" of the Kingdom's rule of law, she stated during the October 1 debate.
Hachchi pointed out that intervening in an autonomous country like Aruba or St. Maarten should absolutely be the last resort. Intervention may only take place when all other options have been exhausted and all diplomatic routes have been taken. Hachchi has initiated the process to have the Second Chamber request advice from the Council of State on the Aruba instruction.
Bosman will present a different opinion in today's meeting. The safeguarding of good governance is a responsibility of the Kingdom Government. Bosman said he would be referring to the recently published article of Dutch good governance and post colonial relations expert Dr. Oberon Nauta.
Nauta stated that The Hague is compelled to come to the aid of Kingdom countries that are in serious financial trouble. Nauta said that the international accountability of the Kingdom Government was an additional argument for applying the guarantee function to ensure good governance.
Countries in the Kingdom have to stick to the principles of good governance and make every effort to improve integrity and proper finances. "That is the Charter. Everybody who wants to get out of the Kingdom may do so. People can be angry at me, but I say take it or leave it," he told The Daily Herald on Tuesday.
The debate with Plasterk to discuss the instruction that St. Maarten Governor Eugene Holiday received from the Kingdom Government to hold off on the ratification to appoint the members of the next Council of Ministers until a profound screening had taken place of the candidates with the use of Dutch experts will take place next week Wednesday, November 12.
