News item | 07-07-2023 | 15:02
The public body of Sint Eustatius has regained full authority to draw up and implement its own budget. This came into effect on 20 June, with the signing of the Royal Decree for Article 15 of the Sint Eustatius Restoration Facilities Act by HM de Koning. The State Secretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations has informed the public entity of this and has informed the Senate and House of Representatives.
The return of the budget right is a next step in the restoration of democracy on the island, after the administrative intervention of 2018. The Executive Council and the Island Council of Sint Eustatius will again be responsible for, among other things, drawing up the annual accounts and the budget. In her letter to the public entity, the State Secretary writes that she is pleased that an important step has been taken in phasing out the administrative intervention. She points out that it is also important after this step that the public entity continues to work on sound financial management. It is also important to work according to the agreed work processes. The island government has committed itself to this via the Memorandum of Understanding.
The final step in the process will be the appointment of a Lieutenant Governor for Sint Eustatius. For this it is important that all improvement steps have been taken and all measures implemented. Recruitment for this position is ongoing.