Henk Kamp named
BES Commissioner
THE HAGUE--Former Dutch Minister Henk Kamp (56) has been appointed Commissioner for the BES islands Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius for three years with effect from January 1, 2009.
Kamp, currently a Member of Parliament for the liberal VVD party, will serve until the end of 2011 as the right hand of Dutch State Secretary of Kingdom Relations Ank Bijleveld-Schouten overseeing the phased transfer of the three islands to the Netherlands as “public entities.”
Kamp will be based in Bonaire, but will travel to the two other BES islands Saba and St. Eustatius on a regular basis.
Quality, speed and decisiveness have been identified as key elements that will be necessary in integrating the BES islands into the Netherlands in the next two to three years and Kamp, with his experience in Dutch politics and contacts, is seen as someone with the necessary qualities for the job.
He carries sufficient weight, making him an ideal candidate for the position, said Bijleveld-Schouten at a well-attended press conference in The Hague Tuesday evening.
Kamp’s tasks will include motivating the islands, the Antillean Government and the Netherlands to work on concrete solutions to realise a speedy and transparent transfer. The Commissioner has to make sure that the plans and actions of the Dutch ministries match the daily practice on the three islands. He will channel the information requests of the Dutch departments.
In addition, the Commissioner will act in a speedy and decisive manner. He will have direct access to those politically responsible at the level of the Kingdom Council of Ministers and also on the islands. Those factors are essential to solve political deadlocks and issues of competence, explained Bijleveld-Schouten.
The State Secretary said she was very glad Kamp had accepted the job and described him as a solid candidate with multiple experiences on several levels of government.
Kamp once served as an Alderman and Council member of a small municipality in the province of Gelderland. Before being elected to Parliament, Kamp was a member of the Provincial States of Gelderland. He served as a Member of the Second Chamber for 13 years. He also was Minister of Defence and of Public Housing, Physical Planning and Environment VROM.
Kamp said at Tuesday’s press conference that in his capacity as Defence Minister, he had visited the islands several times. He had also made personal visits to the islands.
He sees his appointment as a challenge. “It is quite a special task to bring three islands into the Dutch Constellation. It is a task that will require cooperation with all involved.”
He stressed that cooperation was vital in this process, more important than to show who had the most power. He mentioned cooperation with the local governments, with the Central Government and its Prime Minister and the Governor of the Netherlands Antilles. He specifically mentioned St. Maarten, which, as he put it, was important, because it is Saba’s and Statia’s lifeline.
The idea, Kamp said, was not to get stuck in “endless discussions,” but to take decisions that would benefit all. “I will do my best, so that I can tell the State Secretary in three years that this operation was successful,” he said.
Kamp, a tax controller by profession, will give up his seat in the Second Chamber for this project. He said the VVD faction was doing well. “It is a good moment to leave,” he said and indicated that he will keep all options open for the future. Asked by a member of the Dutch media whether this was a step down on the ladder, he said: “No, this is a terrific and challenging job.”
Kamp will be succeeded in Parliament by Ton Elias, a communication specialist and former journalist.
