THE HAGUE - Former Governor Jaime Saleh of the Netherlands Antilles will be one of the speakers at a symposium organized by the BeNeLux University Center (BUC) on September 22.
The event, held in the council chamber of the municipality of The Hague, has the theme "A sustainable society and living culture within the Kingdom." Other speakers include former Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen. The plenipotentiary ministers Juan Thijsen, Carlson Manuel, and René Violenus will participate in a roundtable discussion.
Saleh, who serves as a councilor at BUC, will discuss "the constitutional relations within the Kingdom and the importance of the Benelux for the Caribbean region." His impressive track record (as a judge, president of the Court, and governor of the former Netherlands Antilles) was marred when it was revealed that he had received a fee of 2.9 million guilders as a commissioner of Ennia for attending 2 to 3 meetings per year.
During that period, owner Ansary withdrew about a billion guilders from the insurance company. This summer, it became clear that as a result, the fund from which the pensions of about 30,000 retirees in Curaçao and Sint Maarten must be paid will quickly run dry. Secretary of State for Kingdom Relations Alexandra van Huffelen has offered to 'lend' 600 million euros to the governments in Willemstad and Philipsburg to fill the gap, despite a negative advice from the Financial Oversight College. The Dutch Second Chamber Committee on Kingdom Relations will debate this issue on Wednesday.
Photo credit: Nico van der Ven