BONAIRE--The government of Bonaire has lost its majority in the Island Council, after the lone councilman of "Pro Hustisia i Union" (PHU) Rafael Santana announced he no longer supports the party's own Commissioner Michiel Bijkerk.
This means that the Executive Council can now count on the backing of only the Democratic Party (DP) of Bonaire with three seats and "Movementu Boneiru Liber" (MBL) with one seat, shy of a majority in the nine-seat Island Council. MBL had already complained that Santana was talking to opposition party "Union Patriotiko Boneriano" (UPB) with four seats about forming a new coalition.
Bijkerk had denied such and said there was no reason for a split, but his party's representative in the Island Council obviously saw it different. Santana sent a letter to Lt. Governor Glenn Thode stating that he no longer supports Bijkerk.
The problems started when Bijkerk paid Santana 1,500 US dollars from his own pocket several months to function full-time. Members of the Island Council of Bonaire are paid on a part-time basis.
When it turned out the extra salary was not in keeping with applicable regulations Santana wanted to repay what he had collected so far in instalments, but Bijkerk would have nothing of it. Thode had sent a letter to the commissioner telling him to stop the extra payments and have Santana immediately refund the amount already paid out.
According to the Lt. Governor, both Santana and Bijkerk were violating their oath of office by respectively giving and collecting the extra money. Doing so also made the councilman financially dependent on the commissioner, constituting a potential conflict of interest in the eyes of Thode.
Dutch Second Chamber member of Antillean origin Cynthia Ortega-Martijn said she had seen the political crisis coming during her recent visit to the island. "The instability of the local government added fuel to the fire of discontent among the population. Bonaire needs to be governed and a new, stable coalition is an important condition for such," she said.
Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/20393-bonaire-govt-loses-majority.html
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