That St. Maarten was once again depicted as corrupt, financially irresponsible and practically overrun by organised crime in a Dutch television programme (see related story) should surprise
nobody. After all, that has been the prevalent tone among not only parliamentarians and public administrators but also the media in the Netherlands for quite a while.
This kind of generalisation and exaggeration is usually not very useful, especially to law-abiding citizens trying to improve matters. However, much of it is the result of undesirable developments on the island like vote-buying and bribery court cases, apparent financial mismanagement, reportedly widespread human trafficking as well as other perceived irregularities and unsavoury practices within society.
Arguing about the unfair total picture being painted at this time therefore makes little sense. The best way to address the negative image created is through concrete deeds, such as finally setting up the long-awaited Gaming Control Board (GCB) and structurally putting the budget in order.
The Integrity Chamber is an example of the safeguards that are to help tackle and prevent possible abuses and transgressions in the public sector. Hopefully Friday’s review of the ordinance to establish such by the Constitutional Court at the request of the Ombudsman won’t be misinterpreted as trying to get out from under the agreements made on this issue.
Instead, the goal is to ensure adequate protection for the rights of individuals in the country. Although that may not directly interest politicians in The Hague because islanders play no role in electing them, it does regard citizens of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and consequently the European Union (EU).
As there is no Kingdom Parliament to control the Kingdom Council of Ministers that consists mostly of Dutch cabinet members to begin with, elected representatives in The Hague shouldn’t see things just from the perspective of the Netherlands, but rather from that of the whole kingdom. Getting them to do so more is always a difficult proposition, in which actions tend to speak louder than words.
