News item | 15-09-2022 | 9:00 am
Better service from banks. Easier access to a notary. These are 2 of the topics that the Taskforce Bottlenecks in the Caribbean Netherlands will be working on. State Secretary Alexandra Van Huffelen of Kingdom Relations and representatives of the public entities Saba and St. Eustatius made agreements about this on Wednesday 14 September.
“During my visits to the Caribbean Netherlands, I heard from many people how incredibly difficult it is that, for example, no notary is readily available. Or that there is little to choose from in terms of bank and that even debit card payment is sometimes very complicated. These are problems for which we must find a solution. They make life difficult and they stand in the way of good economic development”, says State Secretary Van Huffelen.
That is also the goal of the task force: to solve bottlenecks that stand in the way of further sustainable, economic development.
Bruce Zagers, Island Commissioner of the Saba Public Entity: “The topics that this task force is working on have been bottlenecks for years that we as the island government and the Saba entrepreneurs’ association have drawn attention to. Not always with the desired result. This is therefore an important moment as these issues seem to be receiving attention from all the ministries involved. Access to banking services, or something as simple as having a zip code, sometimes gets lost on the political agenda in The Hague. However, it is essential for our still developing island. I am therefore pleased that the agreements about this task force have now been officially recorded.”
Deputy Government Commissioner of the Public Entity of St. Eustatius Claudia Toet: “The notarial services on St. Eustatius and Saba have recently been restarted. We are very happy with this service which is necessary for the islands. We will work well together in the task force to ensure the long-term sustainability of services on the islands. In doing so, we look at all services that are crucial for the development of St. Eustatius.”
The problems that the task force will deal with are often complex and require a joint approach by all parties involved. That is why it was decided to set up this joint task force, which should produce an action plan by the end of this year.
The public body Bonaire participates in this taskforce as an ‘agenda member’ and is thus involved in the initiatives of the taskforce.