THE HAGUE – Undersecretary of the Interior and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops has pledged 16.5 million euros in humanitarian aid to the three islands of Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten and the three BES islands for the next three months.
With that money, food packages and hygiene products can be bought and distributed for those in need. In Curaçao alone, an estimated 50,000 people depend on food aid because of the corona crisis.
Aid will be routed through existing channels of local organizations that are already operational and not through island governments. But the final form in which the aid will take place has not yet been determined.
Knops is willing to expand the aid to the islands considerably, generously even, but does impose conditions on it. For example, he thinks that government officials and politicians should give a signal by doing something about their own salaries.
The Netherlands is not prepared to continue to provide aid if countries do not solve their problems with tax collection and public finances. Countries must take action and now is the time, Knops said.
