Thursday was 14 years since 10-10-10, when the former Netherlands Antilles was dismantled. Per that date Curaçao and St. Maarten became autonomous countries within the Dutch kingdom, similar to the situation of Aruba going back to 1986.
It is locally celebrated on the second Monday of October, a decision made by former Prime Minister William Marlin due to complaints about public holidays falling in the weekend and many employees not getting an extra day off. By the way this was actually not the 14th but 13th anniversary, as the first is always a year after the event; a common mistake.
As usual, the occasion serves to reflect on what has taken place since then and particularly whether the two islands and their people are better off. However, many factors other than constitutional status determine such, including – perhaps regrettably – the quality of one’s political establishment.
In addition, the socioeconomic and financial impacts of life-changing calamities such as Hurricane Irma in St. Maarten and the closure of Curaçao’s oil refinery, along with the COVID-19 pandemic, cannot be overlooked. Even the evaluation committee that advised extending the Kingdom Financial Supervision Act again until 2017 because the management of public finances in both countries is still not yet what it should be, acknowledged extenuating circumstances.
At the same time, crises such as the current one at energy provider GEBE can occur. Enhancing resilience to prevent, manage and deal with such shocks must therefore remain a priority.
Truth be told, there have been a lot of positive developments in many areas since 10-10-10, but also detrimental ones. It is partly a matter of perception, while lasting progress often tends to come with ups and downs.
Happy Constitution Day.
