All for the lack of money

A presentation by constitution expert Prof. Jan De Boer started off by explaining that the emergency legislation is not a government initiative but an obligation under the Constitution that should have been regulated since 10-10-10.

And there are more obligations under the Constitution that must be put into effect via national ordinances. Or that already exist but have not been put into operation via enforcement laws. Such as the Mental Health Law, a Complaints Committee, a proper functioning Rental Committee and a Child Abuse Reporting Point.

But an additional consequence that functions as the primary explanation of why these laws are not timely or correctly applied is the lack of budget.
So we can write about all of these topics, but if there is no money to apply these laws – and the resulting obligations – then we are just as far from the ideal situation as we are today. And this is the essence of the problem we have in this country.

All this because of a lack of money. A situation that has only been exacerbated by the corona pandemic. It is clear that this cannot continue like this. We have a beautifully worded constitution with all kinds of guarantees for democracy with the guarantee-function of the Kingdom as the supreme guarantee within the Dutch Kingdom constellation.

But the pertinent question is, what do these safeguards represent if human rights violations are still taking place. See our article about the effects of the lack of the rule of law. All under the guise of lack of money?

Where’s the priority statement in the Constitution to make sure this doesn’t happen? Where is the guarantee of ensuring that the government and all of its entities ensure that people’s rights and bodily integrity are safeguarded and protected at all times?

We need to make it absolutely and abundantly clear to ordinary citizens what their fundamental rights are and how these should be guaranteed: through good governance, sufficient tax revenues and optimal use and spending thereof via an always balanced budget and the application of the rule of law always as the guiding principles.

If the little bit of money that is left finishes, what will we get? Another state of emergency resulting in a police state? Under the guise of law and order to take control of the situation when things get out of hand? Just think of lootings, riots and arson. All for the lack of money.

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Video presentation Edsard Ravelli

Presentation Prof. Jan de Boer

For more news out of our special print edition, read: https://issuu.com/insidestmaarten/docs/stmaartennews_edition_vol_1_nr_11