Reappointment of deputy Kingdom Representative for Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba
The cabinet has agreed to the nomination for reappointment of Mr Jan Helmond MPM as acting Kingdom Representative for the public entities Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. Mr Helmond has held this position since November 2017. The extension will take effect on November 8, 2023. The reappointment will be formalised by Royal Decree.
The appointment is a temporary one, because the WolBES and FinBES Reform proposal for a new law (Herzieningswet WolBES and FINBES) proposes to abolish the position of (acting) Kingdom Representative and to assign these duties elsewhere. Until this proposal for a new law is passed and the duties of the (acting) Kingdom Representative have been assigned elsewhere, the performance of these statutory duties must be ensured.
The acting Kingdom Representative is the administrative link between the Netherlands and the public entities. One of his responsibilities in that role is to promote smooth cooperation between the civil servants of the central government working on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba and the island administrations. The acting Kingdom Representative also sees to good governance. Furthermore, the acting Kingdom Representative has an important task where security is concerned. For example, he adopts the coordination plan for inter-island disasters and crises in the Caribbean Netherlands.