On St Eustatius the water supply is not in order. At the moment, it happens regularly that there is no water from the tap available. This is serious now that hand washing is an essential tool in the fight against the COVID-19 virus. In the short term, the government does not appear to offer a solution, as evidenced by answers to Parliamentary questions.
In the meantime, the National Ombudsman has received information on the seriousness of the situation. After concrete signals from residents of Saint Eustatius, the National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen has decided to launch an investigation of his own motion into the problems with drinking water on Sint Eustatius.
In this investigation, the National Ombudsman asks a number of questions. How did it get to the point where citizens on St. Eustatius barely get water from the tap? What measures are being taken to enable handwashing? What can citizens count on now that it appears that the water supply will not have improved structurally until the end of 2020?
With the sending of letters to the Government Commissioner Mr Van Rij, the State Secretary BZK Mr Knops and the Minister I&W Mrs Van Nieuwenhuizen, the investigation has been formally opened.
