KRALENDIJK/DEN HAGUE: In a press release the leader of M21, Daisy Coffie, puts forward a number of points for attention when it comes to the newly appointed director, Maarten van der Scheer.

“I have taken note of the appointment of a new director for Bonaire International Airport – BIA. It concerns a young man of 42 years. I am not criticizing the appointment of this 42-year-old European Dutch young man, as I believe he is qualified for the position. What I cannot agree with is the policy that is being pursued with regard to our own local people. I wonder if none of our people on Bonaire or from one of the other islands of the former Netherlands Antilles or from abroad has applied for this position?” Coffie asks.

The politician points out that the highly qualified Bonairean Michael Nicolaas was director at the time and everyone knew that he had a temporary appointment because of his age. “Why wasn’t a local person recruited at the time to walk with him as a ‘counterpart’ to gain the necessary skills, knowledge and experience so that that person could take over the position when Nicholas retired? Why was no local person placed next to Jos Hillen as a ‘counterpart’, so that Hillen could prepare him or her to take over the position when he or she left?”, are questions that Coffie puts forward.

Explanation

“The young man who has now been appointed has also gone through the process of studying and working to gain skills, knowledge and experience so that he is well prepared to be selected for the position. Were there no capable people within the BIA itself who could be prepared to hold the position in the past period? These are questions that deserve to be answered by the responsible commissioner and who must certainly come to the Island Council to be accountable. I still have one hope left. I hope that the appointment of this European Dutch young man is not indefinite. Because if that is the case, it would mean that for the next 23 years the position will not be available to our local people, assuming his retirement age is at least 65”, said Daisy Coffie.

Strings

Finally, Daisy Coffie states emphatically: ‘I hope that it is BIA’s policy that this young man will be given an employment contract of between 3 and 5 years and that it will be conditional on one of our own people being appointed as a ‘counterpart’ in addition to him. acquire the necessary skills, knowledge and experience so that when the employment contract has expired, we have one of our own people who is well prepared for the position” says Coffie.

The politician of the one-man faction also states that the policy advocated by the party does not only apply to the position of director at BIA, but to all other government participations and also to the OLB managements. “It is unacceptable that we create key positions for people from outside the island, while our own professionals have to stand on the sidelines watching them be left out. This simply cannot and should not be. This policy must be fundamentally changed. The development of our island must in the first place be supported by our own people. As long as we don’t have the right people ourselves, we can get help from outside, but the goal should always be that we have to take matters into our own hands. That is what M21 stands for and that is why we make the difference”, says Coffie.