BONAIRE–The much talked about agreement between the island government of Bonaire and the Netherlands was inked Wednesday afternoon. The signed document, which aims at providing much needed assistance to the island and its residents, was signed during a press conference held on Wednesday.
Signing the document on behalf of the Netherlands was the State Secretary of Kingdom Relations, Raymond Knops, while the Island Governor of Bonaire, Edison Rijna endorsed the text on behalf of the local government. Prior to the signing of the paper, there was widespread speculation that the agreement was aimed at Holland taking over the government of Bonaire, as is the case in St. Eustatius.
However, during an Island Council meeting on Wednesday and with the exception of one Island Council Member of the opposition party, Clarke Abraham of the PDP, eight members of the Island Council of Bonaire voted in favor of the declaration.
The opposition party MBP under the leadership of Island Council Member Elvis Tijn Asjoe also voted in favor of the Mission Statement. Speaking to our affiliate Bon FM shortly after, the State Secretary Knops noted that the agreement means a lot for the island, as it is designed to fulfill the demands of Bonaire in the areas Social Structure, Infrastructure, Finance and Compliance.
He remarked: “It is a priority list of all the things that have been more or less ignored in recent years or have been too complex to solve.”
