This year, the National ombudsman himself, Reinier van Zutphen, will be visiting Statia and Saba to meet the inhabitants and the organizations of the islands. He will be joined by several representatives of his office. As previous years, they will be available to everyone to hear the objections about local government performance.
From Monday April 11th until Friday April 15th, National ombudsman representatives Armin Dorn and Gaby von Maltzahn will have consultation hours on Statia and Saba. All individuals and organizations can file a complaint against the government and its public entities. There is no charge for the services of the ombudsman.
The National ombudsman investigates the proper functioning of the government, and examines its transparency, respect and engagement toward the public. The ombudsman also checks whether the government entities have a solution-oriented approach and are being honest and reliable. The National ombudsman recently issued a report that focused on the fact that the naturalization and immigration service (IND) did not address the heart of the matter nor personally interviewed the (appointed representative) of the wife during its handling of this matter. Proper communication between the government and the public is a very important topic for the National ombudsman, and it proved equally important to the plaintiffs that were heard during consultation hours on previous visits to the islands. The National ombudsman will address this issue in meetings with the local government next week.
Consultation hour Statia:
• Monday, April 11, between 2pm - 4pm at the Public Library
Consultation hour Saba:
• Wednesday, April 13, between 2pm - 4pm at Windwardside: RS Accounting (near RBC bank)
No appointment necessary. If you have any questions, please call 318 4413 (Statia) or 416 6648 (Saba) (only operational between April 11-15).
See www.nationaleombudsman.nl/cn for more information, or visit our Facebook page: Nationale ombudsman Caribisch Nederland.
