Dutch government: we will only give Caribbean island aid if PM steps down

By:

Simone Rensch

27 Nov 17

The Dutch government will not provide any aid to help Saint Martin recover from Hurricane Irma unless the prime minister steps down, the cabinet has said.

The prime minister of the Caribbean island nation William Marlin has yet to resign, despite having lost a no-confidence vote on 2 November.

Until he is deposed, the Dutch government has said it will not deliver €550m in aid of the devastations caused by the hurricane in September.

The island nation is half part of France and half Dutch. In September, the French president Emmanuel Macron pledged €50m to help the Irma hit territories.

Following the hurricanes in the Caribbean, many governments were not able to release aid funds to affected countries because they were deemed too rich.

But the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee changed its international rules so that previous aid recipients could receive temporary overseas development assistance in the event of humanitarian crisis.

The UK government released €35m (£32m) emergency aid to its overseas territories hit by Irma in September as well as pledged to match public donations to the British Red Cross for victims of the hurricane, up to €3.36m (£3m).