ORANJESTAD – On Thursday February 7th the Deputy Director of the VNG Pieter Jeroense visited Statia to explore how the Vereniging Nederlandse Gemeenten (VNG) could better assist the municipalities in the Caribbean part of The Netherlands. 

Apart from attending the annual VNG Conference held in The Netherlands, parties agree that the islands should benefit more from the wide range of services that are offered through the VNG.

Capacity remains a great challenge for the islands, and the VNG is willing to help in this and other areas that can affect effective governance. Statia Government and the Central Government signed the (Afsprakenakkoord 2024 – 2027) Statia Agreement on November 17th, 2024. Included in this package is the commitment of the National Government to assist St. Eustatius with key and difficult to fill positions.

Specific needs

VNG on request of the Ministry of Interior and Kingdom Relations has started the dialogue process to first ascertain the specific needs of St. Eustatius.