The monicker insinuates a colourful and hilarious portrayal of characters in a fictive setting. But the following is a reality for many on St. Eustatius, resulting from the designation of the Island as a Public Entity of The Netherlands as of 10-10-10.
The Executive Council at the time consisting of 2 CPA’s and a self-proclaimed financial wizard agreed (were instructed) to surrender all the Islands income/revenues, assets, real estate to The Netherlands, without any sort of guarantees for the Islands Administration or its Inhabitants. Emasculate the powers of The Representatives of The People of
St. Eustatius by banishing the Island Council, rendering the highest legislative body in the territory obsolete. A perfect coup d’etat, in essence, sanctioned the annexation of St. Eustatius by The Netherlands. All under the favouring influences of the Regional and International Communities.
These folks, ‘Registered Accountant’, are supposed to foresee and project future prospects based upon analytical facts. Yet agreed on an Administrative System construction for the Island, whereby, the island is stripped of all their income generating streams, and deemed still capable of carrying out an effective administration with all its responsibilities and obligations.
The Netherlands – the Federal Government – confiscated all the income of the island territory. Introduce new taxes on the community, some of which are the competences of the municipalities - as is the case on the main land. Engineered an Administrative System to starve the Local Government of every avenue to generate it own income.
In example: The ABB – 6% on all Imports + 4% on all Services – replaced the 3% Turnover Tax (And Profit tax). The ABB is paid by everyone – residents and businesses alike. The turnover Tax was paid solely by the businesses on the island. Noteworthy, the largest company, the multi-national, was, and is still exempted from all the taxes applied upon the People of St. Eustatius. Starting January 2016 the ABB percentages are geared to increase to 8% on Imports and 6% on Services, respectively.
The resulting taxes and regulations not only debilitated the Local Government but annihilated the Local Business Community. Paving the way for a takeover of the private sector by ‘outside’ investors.
Dr Da Costa Gomez in 1954 at the birth of The Netherlands Antilles advised his compatriots to keep the Dutch as far away as possible. It will seem that all the committees commissioned by The Netherlands are corrective measures to undo the
granting of these islands the Autonomous Status promised by The Queen to the colonies. All the islands are being crippled by The Netherlands to forge a dependency. Although, the sentiment amongst the population in The Netherlands is to rid themselves of these islands. The Dutch politicians are beset to rake and plunder these islands for their own self interests.
Today, we have a steering committee designated to manage the affairs of the Public Entity St. Eustatius – composed of three appointed figureheads by The Federal Government – setting aside the members of the Executive Council duly appointed by The Representatives of the People of St. Eustatius.
Irony has it that our ‘Two and Half Accountants’ are all settled within the Administrative System of the day. Overseeing on behalf of The Federal Government the very island territory they swore, and were paid to protect from foreign intervention. We, The People, are not faultless herein, believing too much in the romanticized, fabled disposition of the Dutchman – that, we were prone to have missed the methodical and sometimes brute realism that it is all about business for them.
Curacao and St. Maarten served up the smaller islands as the sacrificial lambs to The Netherlands to attain their ‘Country Status’, failing to secure a position for St. Eustatius, Saba and Bonaire in the Kingdom of The Netherlands as the forefathers intended. Dealing from a place of weakness The Netherlands succeeded in alienating the islands from one another and in turn reaffirmed their stamp on the fabric of life on each of the islands. Since 1994 The Federal Government had been posting ‘Technical Assistance’ in the Finance and Tax Departments on all the islands. Thus, the inner working of the
administrative system on the islands is familiar and well known to all except it seems the administrators on the islands itself. Hence, we are confronted daily with mandates, instructions and sometimes plain extortionist tactics from The Hague in order to circumvent our inalienable rights to self-determination, to govern ourselves.
Exploitation and plundering of the island’s resources is a clear violation to United Nations resolutions – which states that ownership, control and permanent sovereignty of natural resources, including marine resources are beholden to the Island as part of their
Heritage. Yet The Federal Government wants to validate her actions by extolling ‘Good
Governance’ and ‘proper’ financial management as a ruse.
Setting aside a dutiful elected Island Council and Executive Council of the Public Entity of St. Eustatius – and, substituting same with Agents of The Federal Government. Keen on executing the mandates of The Kingdom Council of Ministers by establishing in the Public Entity the mechanisms to rightfully rake and plunder the islands’ resources.
A position granted ‘unbeknownst’ by the ‘Two and Half Accountants’ at the expense of
The People of St. Eustatius.
We are calling on the same Regional and International Communities to sit idle no more. And, to call The Netherlands to order under auspices of the United Nations General Assembly (Decolonization Committee) and The European Courts of Human Rights to stop the pilferage of the islands’ resources and the systematic denial of the basic Human Rights of the Population of St. Eustatius. For the process engaged to instill the Public Entity in the island is fraught with illegalities and coercive measures intent to circumvent the will of The People of St. Eustatius by margins in excess of 98% in Referenda in 2005 and 2014 not to be Integrated and forming an integral part of the European part of The Netherlands.
