Oranjestad, St. Eustatius- Koos Sneek of the one-man fraction List Sneek feels that having a locally owned shipping company, is one way of achieving a lower cost-of-living on the island.

“There are several studies and research showing that the cost of living is extremely high on Statia”, says Sneek. While, according to Sneek, several measures have already been taken to reduce the cost of living, much more needs to be done.

ABB

One of the issues Sneek sees is the ABB on costs of transportation. “Transport costs to Statia are already extremely high. An ABB levy of 6% on these transport cost significantly increases the cost of importing goods. This unnecessarily contributes to higher cost of living and higher cost of doing business”. It is therefore that Sneek is of the opinion that ABB on transport cost should be abolished all together.

Vessel

Another option, according to Sneek would be to for the island to have its own shipping company. “Investment in a locally owned shipping company needs to be encouraged and stimulated. This can perhaps be combined with a ferry service”, says Sneek.

However, this still is not enough. Sneek also feels that local companies need to come together to achieve lower costs for consumers. “Businesses need to be encouraged to do collective purchasing whereby in larger quantities or in bulk can be purchased directly from suppliers is the USA and Europe”.

According to Sneek, in this way the expensive charges for the route St. Maarten – Statia will be avoided. “The additional advantage is that when buying directly from the supplier, the margins of the wholesaler in St. Maarten will be avoided as well, resulting in lower prices for the
consumer”.

Other measures Sneek deems necesary when it comes to achieving lower costs of products is the lowering on harbor fees for cargo vessels and more local food production.

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