Dear Editor,
2018 will go into the history books as the year when the national government has intervened through the Temporary Law Neglect of Tasks St. Eustatius. The island council was dissolved, the executive council dismissed and the governor honorarily discharged.
A government commissioner has taken their place and, together with his deputy, he is running the day-to-day affairs of the island. Although slower than most of us were expecting, changes and improvements are now well underway. Concrete plans with our road infrastructure, a new airport terminal building, the tackling of our erosion problem, all are becoming visible. Many homes have been restored or rebuilt after the damage caused to them by the hurricanes of 2017. Beautification projects of our cemeteries and other sites are in the completion stages. The project to remove the car wrecks off the island has entered its second phase.
What can we expect in 2019? All in all, state-secretary Raymond Knops sums up some 12 criteria that still have to be met in order to have Statia return to its normal settings. The island council elections scheduled for March 20 will therefore not go ahead. The state-secretary will evaluate in September, based on the progress in these areas, whether and when island council elections can be held on our island.
It appears that for many or most of us Statians the fact, whether elections will be held or not, is not an issue. My personal opinion is that it at least borders to a conflict with our constitutional right to vote. I also believe that, even taking into consideration the criteria mentioned by Mr. Knops, postponement of elections would not have been necessary if the state-secretary had taken heed of the advice of the Council of State and he had included a transitional period in the temporary law. In such a transitional period the kingdom commissioner will remain in place and will work next to an elected island council for the time being. The fact is, he did not take over this advice and I guess we have to live with this.
Still I believe that for this intervention to be successful this transitional period is a necessity to allow for a responsible transition to a normal situation. The temporary law, however, does not provide for such a transitional period and should therefore be amended. As soon as there have been island council elections as it is now, the kingdom commissioner’s task will end. This will hold a very high risk that the island will return to the same situation as before the intervention, which de facto means that the measure has failed. This need to be avoided at all cost.
Economical-wise and regarding our infrastructure I believe 2018 has shown an upward trend, a trend I expect to continue in 2019. A number of infrastructural projects are coming on stream, which will create work for our local contractors and employment for our people. This will go hand-in-hand with private construction initiatives. The first visible example of this is the construction of a 40-room boutique hotel at the East side of the island. The Statia Way project is proving that agriculture is a possible addition to our economy and I hope it will continue and expand in 2019. We have also experienced improvements in the communications sector with better Internet and a more stable electricity supply. Both are prerequisites for investment and the development of our economy. Most high tension cables are now underground. Per January 1, 2019, water and electricity tariffs will both be reduced. This is another positive development as it will improve the spending power of our people.
Minimum wage, old age pension and child allowance all will increase in 2019, while social premiums to be paid by employers will be reduced. Although still no social minimum has been established for the Caribbean Netherlands, these measures undoubtedly will improve the lives of in particular the lower income groups. I anticipate that in 2019 we will get closer to the setting of a social minimum or at least to a better understanding of the poverty level on our island and what other measures are needed to deal with it.
I also have noticed that the Dutch housing corporation Woonlinie has returned to the island. So, I expect that we will see some improvements in 2019 in the area of social housing such as the upgrading of the Golden Rock houses and the construction of new low-income homes.
My wish for 2019 is that the relative peace we have experienced in 2018, after the previous tumultuous years, will continue. I also wish that sometime in the year we will return to an elected island council. But more importantly, I wish that this council will be made up of representatives who are able to unite and who will work together towards a more self-sustainable Statia.
Rest me to wish all Statians living on the island as well as living abroad a prosperous and healthy 2019!
Koos Sneek
