End to Municipal Cooperation with the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba - 16-12-10

In December 2010 the programme Municipal Cooperation with the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba came to an end. The programme started in 2008 and was preceded by a similar programme between 2006 and 2007. The objective of the programme, which was financed by the Dutch Ministry of the Interior, was to strengthen the capacities of the island governments of six Dutch Caribbean islands. This was done by financing, facilitating and organizing exchanges between the islands and Dutch municipalities.

An example of successful and sustainable exchange is the twinning between Bonaire and Breda in the field of environmental issues. Breda among others assisted Bonaire in trying to protect its fragile coral reefs of waste water. Employees of Breda conducted multiple support missions to Bonaire, but also hosted interns from Bonaire in reverse. During the three year programme 57 internships of island government staff in the Netherlands and 38 support missions of colleagues of Dutch municipalities to the islands were completed. In addition, 6 study visits to the Netherlands and 4 training series were organized.

The programme supported the historical constitutional changes that took place on the Netherlands Antilles, forming two new countries and three special Dutch municipalities. The clearest example of this support were the efforts of VNG International to spread knowledge on the beneficiary islands and constitute a culture change regarding a dualistic local political system (instead of the monistic system the preceded it).