Oranjestad- According to State Secretary Raymond Knops there is a positive development taking place in the Statian Economy.

Apart from the fact that many investments are currently made, according to Knops, many new companies have been established on the island. “Over the past two years we have seen the establishment of many new companies. Over hundred of these companies have registered with the Chamber of Commerce”, said Knops in a short video, talking about positive developments on the island.

According to Knops many things are already happening on the island with more to follow. “Projects like the infrastructure such as the Cherry Tree project, the project to deal with rainwater and the restoration of the Cliff”, said Knops.

According to Knops much work is being done by the Government commissioner Franco, his assistant (Stegers) as well as the Government employees on the island.

New jobs

According to Knops, most people working on the projects are local people. “The work is done by as many local people as possible, people from St. Eustatius”, according to Knops in his video which published, among others, on various social media.

Knops’ positivism about the local economy seems to be supported by figures of the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) which show that over 250 jobs had been added to the Statian economy.

In all fairness it should be noted that all positive developments cannot be attributed to Holland alone. If over 100 companies were added to the local economy over the last two years, the positive development in companies (and jobs) would also date back to the period when the PLP/Merkman coalition was still in charge of the local government.