News item | 29-09-2023 | 2:45 PM
The Council of Ministers has approved the nomination for reappointment of Mr. Jan Helmond MPM as acting Kingdom Representative for the public bodies of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba. Mr Helmond has held this position since November 2017. The extension will take effect on November 8, 2023. The reappointment will be formalized by Royal Decree.
The appointment is temporary, because the WolBES and FinBES Revision Act bill proposes to abolish the position of (acting) Kingdom Representative and to transfer these tasks elsewhere. Until this bill is adopted and the tasks of the (acting) Kingdom Representative are assigned elsewhere, these statutory tasks must be able to be carried out.
The acting Kingdom Representative is the administrative link between the Netherlands and the public bodies. In this role, he is responsible, among other things, for promoting good cooperation between government officials working on Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius and the island governments. The acting Kingdom Representative also monitors good governance. Furthermore, the acting Kingdom Representative has an important task in the field of safety. For example, he establishes the coordination plan for cross-island disasters and crises in the Caribbean Netherlands.