PHILIPSBURG:--- Soon it will be fifteen years since the landmark date of October 10, 2010. It was a moment heralded as the dawn of a new era, filled with promises of autonomy, progress, and prosperity. Today, as we look around, we are forced to ask a difficult question: What do we have to show for it? The answer, unfortunately, is a landscape defined by stagnation, crumbling infrastructure, and squandered potential.
Year after year, massive budgets are funneled to the nation's leadership. The Parliament alone is allocated an astonishing 7.3 million guilders each year, with an additional 3 million guilders tacked on for so-called "associated costs." Digging deeper, the breakdown is even more appalling: of these sums, a staggering 1.7 million guilders is blown on rent. The remainder is absorbed by hefty salaries, frequent travel, and assorted perks—money that should have transformed the country but has instead evaporated, leaving no visible advancements for the people it was meant to serve.
The evidence of this failure is not hidden in complex financial reports; it is in plain sight. Consider the ambitious project of a new Parliament building. For years, it was presented as a symbol of our new status, a beacon of modern governance. Where does it stand today? The idea has all but vanished, a forgotten promise buried under layers of political inaction and questionable priorities. Similarly, the infamous "bridge to nowhere" stands as a monument to mismanagement—a costly structure that serves no practical purpose, symbolizing a government that has lost its way.
This lack of progress extends far beyond symbolic projects. It seeps into the very foundations of our daily lives. Our infrastructure is in a state of alarming decay. Roads are riddled with potholes, public spaces are neglected, and essential services are faltering. The institutions we depend on are in jeopardy. Our national telecommunication company struggles to keep pace, leaving us with unreliable connectivity in an increasingly digital world. GEBE, the national utility company responsible for our power and water, faces immense challenges, threatening the stability of services that every citizen and business relies upon.
How can a nation with such substantial financial resources find itself in this position? The issue is not a lack of funds, but a profound lack of accountability and vision. Resources are mismanaged, priorities are misplaced, and the gap between political rhetoric and tangible results continues to widen each year. While budgets are approved and funds are spent, the quality of life for the average citizen shows little improvement. We are paying for progress but receiving neglect.
The time for passive observation is over. Fifteen years of stagnation is a record of failure that can no longer be accepted. The citizens must demand more. They need transparency in how every guilder of public money is spent. They need accountability from their leaders for the projects they promise and fail to deliver. Mosly they need a fundamental reform that shifts the focus from political self-preservation to genuine national development.
Let us reclaim the promise of 10/10/10. It is time to demand a government that builds not just bridges to nowhere, but pathways to a better future for all.
