Kralendijk- The Chamber of Commerce and Industry Bonaire (the Chamber) has elected a new chairman and vice-chairman in its first board meeting of the year 2018. Huub de Groot was elected once again as president of the Board while Mr. H. J.L. Schoffelen was elected vice-president. The rest of the board of the Chamber of Commerce for this year consists of Evert Piar, T. Verheul and former commissioner Nina Den Heyer.

According to the Chamber, the focus will be on the implementation of plans drafted for the year 2018. The plan specifies what needs to be done to make the community more vital and to ensure a positive economic impact.

For far too long, according to the Chamber, only research and reports have been drawn up for the island, without providing a concrete follow-up. The Chamber points out that they cannot implement plans alone, but are dependent of all the other stake holders in the economy of the island.

One of the main partners of the Chamber at this point is the new Dutch cabinet, which has indicated that it is open to cooperation and investment on Bonaire. “Conditions are good and reliable public governance management and concrete plans which are both feasible and which are widely supported are supported by The Hague”, according to the Board.

The board points out however that they have little or no influence on Public Governance and that this is an area of concern for the Chamber. The key to success, according to the new board, is not in The Hague, but lies on Bonaire itself.