No hurry
News that the Constitutional Affairs Commissioner (see last Thursday’s edition) wants to talk about the December 15, 2008, target date for St. Maarten to become an autonomous country in the Dutch Kingdom is most welcome. While deadlines are important – among other things, to maintain a certain momentum in a process – it is the content that matters most in the end.
Doubts about the attainability of the target date have been and are still being raised frequently in The Hague and Willemstad, but also Philipsburg. There are serious concerns regarding law enforcement and good governance, among other matters, that may warrant taking a little more time to do things right.
The political restructuring direction group won’t have its proposals ready by the end of March, as planned, for the political steering group to decide on. The decision as to whether December 15, 2008, is still feasible has therefore been delayed to the end of April, or even early May.
Realistically speaking, the current target date is practically impossible to meet considering the work involved, also when it comes to St. Maarten and Curaçao working together when it comes to the Central Bank, General Pension Fund APNA and Social Insurance Bank SVB. Up to now very little headway has been made in negotiations about these matters considered crucial by The Hague.
In addition, if the December 15, 2008, date were to be maintained it would mean that the duly elected Island Council would be in office only one year of its four-year term. An election would have to be held for a 15-seat Parliament to replace the 11-seat Island Council.
The concern that because of the delay the debt relief issue might be separated and that Curaçao as seat of the Central Government and with 14 seats in the 22-seat Antillean Parliament may not be interested in completing the process of constitutional change is understandable, but there is no reason to rush matters either.
In the end it’s making sure that the changes are in the general interest that counts.
Some are also worried about the changing political climate in the Netherlands, with right wing groups on the rise. That is only the more reason to seek compromise in the current talks, because, as in all negotiations, it’s a matter of give and take.
The upcoming constitutional reforms and accompanying debt relief are simply too important to rush through. The necessary preparations need to be in place to make sure the changes are for the better, rather than the worse.
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