Dear Editor, For many years now, a small number of goat owners have been allowed to let their goats roam free on the island. Despite the destruction the goats have caused on the island and to people’s personal property, the goat owners never pay for it. They are never held …
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COLUMN: The Hague needs to show more respect for the proud politicians on Saba
By Ronald van Raak. It was a typical story that I was told on Saba, the beautiful island in the Caribbean, which has been part of the Netherlands since 2010. After the hurricane Irma, the King came to visit to see the damage. But the Sabans had cleared up so …
Read More »Opinion: suggestions for improving the pond at Cove Bay
Dear Editor, The new stone and soil retaining wall at the swim pond at Cove Bay has apparently reduced the inflow of floating seaweed (I believe that this is mainly sargassum). However, it has also created essentially a dead sea zone within the pond now. The is no marine life, …
Read More »Opinion: Dr. Willem Cecilia shares his views on the Administrative Agreement in Bonaire
The Administrative Agreement signed this week has evoked many and sometimes violent reactions in which words were used as ‘intervention’, ‘under guardianship’ and ‘gentle instruction’. The comparison is steadily drawn with St. Eustatius where one does not hesitate to say that the intervention on Bonaire looks different than on St. …
Read More »Opinion: Our Parliament will have the last word on our social minimum
Dear Editor, I have followed the debate on the social minimum for the Caribbean Netherlands between the members of the Kingdom Relations committee of the Second Chamber and state-secretaries Knops (Kingdom Relations) and Van Ark (Social Affairs). I am rather disappointed with the point of view of both state-secretaries and …
Read More »State Secretary Knops’ answers to Kingdom Relations Committee questions
Dear Editor, After the Committee for Kingdom Relations of the Second Chamber visited the Dutch Windward Islands mid-July they fired no less than 46 question at State Secretary Knops. These questions were answered by him on August 28. I would like to comment on two of the answers the State …
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