Nearly one in six provincial administrators hold an additional position without disclosing it, according to research by BNR. Among them are the provincial leaders of VVD, SGP and ChristenUnie.
In order to prevent conflicts of interest, deputies and commissioners in most provinces must publish an overview of their ancillary positions online. BNR compared these registers with the public data of the Chamber of Commerce and verified whether the directors held positions not made public. Of the 80 provincial administrators in our country, 13 held a position that was not listed online at the time of the survey.
According to the provincial administrators, these were often administrative errors. For example, MP Bert Boerman (CU) from Overijssel was missing no less than three additional positions, according to his spokesperson, the result of the transition to a new website. ‘During the move, someone forgot to put those features on the site. Features have now been added,” he said.
“After research, I decided publication was not mandatory”
But in other cases, features appear to have been deliberately left unlisted. For example, Cees Loggen (VVD, North Holland) MP is the owner of a BV which is missing on the province site. According to his spokesperson, this is a stamrecht BV, a tax construction which is used to have severance pay paid in a more favorable tax manner.
“Upon taking office, Mr. Loggen reported the BV to the external committee which screened the deputy candidates and reported it to the King’s Commissioner, in accordance with the guidelines of the Interior”, writes the spokesman. “At Mr. Loggen’s request, research was conducted into the need for publication.” As Stamrecht BV did not pay any money during Logging’s time in office, “it was decided that publication was not mandatory”.
The closed case turns out to still be a source of income
Other board members also appear not to disclose further positions publicly, but report them to the ministry. Until recently, Esther Rommel (VVD, North Holland) said online that she closed her one-man business as a tax lawyer when she joined the provincial government. However, her self-employed registration is still active and investigations show that she too still earns money from her business. “She reports her income to the Ministry of the Interior,” writes a spokesman. The information on the website of the province of North Holland has now been adjusted.
According to Arco Timmermans, a special professor of public affairs at Leiden University, such omissions damage trust in the provincial government. “Just mention it,” Timmermans says. “If you don’t, it sounds like you have something to hide.”
Patchwork of codes of conduct
The law on the provinces obliges deputies to publish these functions, but this must not be done online. According to the law, the “deposit for inspection at the provincial house” is sufficient. Additional codes of conduct vary from province to province. For example, the one in South Holland requires online publication, but elsewhere this requirement is absent. Timmermans therefore supports a single national scheme. “Just let the interprovincial council set standard rules,” Timmermans says. “Right now the regulations depend too much on the hustle and bustle here and there.”
Overview of additional undisclosed positions
Rene Paas (CDA – King’s Commissioner – Groningen)
Board member of the Kraus-Groeneveld Foundation
“We suspect this position has not been listed on the province’s website since April 2016, when Mr Paas succeeded CdK Van den Berg. Apparently something went wrong then. The CdK is officially represented when the council meets.’
Johan Hamster (CU – Groningen)
Vice-President of the Association of Groningen Municipalities
“This was an unpaid position associated with the position of Mr. Hamster as councilor of Stadskanaal municipality. With the end of the assessorship – on January 26, 2022 – this office also ceased. A check was carried out at the VGG on Friday, March 10, the change was long gone, but had not yet been worked out. This was discovered when the annual accounts were drawn up.”
Berend Potjer (GroenLinks – South Holland)
Treasurer of the GroenLinks Zuid-Holland Foundation group of friends
‘The data in the Chamber of Commerce is outdated: in 2019 Sinan Özkaya took over this unpaid role from Berend. GroenLinks will change this.’
Jeannette Baljeu (VVD – South Holland)
Member of the Supervisory Board of the Dutch Institute for Maritime Research Foundation
‘This is a paid position. The position was neatly reported internally but unfortunately did not end up directly on our website. Thanks to your notification, it’s now on our website.’
Harry Maas (SGP – Zealand)
Party Secretary for SGP Group Zeeland Support Foundation
‘Each party divides functions. Also SGP Zealand. He is not registered among the accessory positions, nor does he intend to do so.’
Hans Oosters (PvdA – Utrecht)
Board member of Klein Bretelerfonds
The chairmanship of the Supervisory Board of Pieter van Foreste ended the CVDK on October 1, 2022. With this, the membership of the board of directors of the Klein Bretelerfonds ended automatically. Apparently this hasn’t been regulated by the organization yet. The commissioner asks the organization to do it. The indemnity was paid to the provincial fund».
Bert Boerman (CU – Overijssel)
President Stichting Kampen International Cooperation, treasurer Stichting Een Helpende Hand aan Romania and member of the recommendation committee Stichting Behoud Bovenkerk Kampen.
‘Overijssel province moved to a new website and someone forgot to put those features on the site during the move. The functions have now been added.’
Cees Loggen (VVD – North Holland)
General manager and sole shareholder of Icelo BV
‘Mr Loggen’s BV is a BV in its own right and is not remunerated. Upon taking office of him, Mr. Loggen reported the BV to the external committee which screened the deputy candidates and reported it to the King’s Commissioner, in accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of the Interior.’
Rosan Kocken (GroenLinks – North Holland)
Stichting Beheer Derdengelden Kocken Van der Stel
‘This feature should actually (yet) be there. The deeds for cancellation are now in the Chamber of Commerce. We have now added the feature to his page until the unsubscribe is official.”
Esther Rommel (VVD – North Holland)
Sole proprietorship Fiscalibre
‘Unfortunately, the information on our website was incorrect. Esther Rommel’s individual business is still in business. The deputy has agreed with the King’s Commissioner that she will continue her case. You report your income to the Ministry of the Interior. The information on the website has since changed.’
Martijn van Gruithuijsen (VVD – North Brabant)
Member of the Supervisory Board of the Circular Biobased Delta Foundation
“The file ended up between two stools in 2021 when the wallet was handed over to Deputy Spierings. Gruithuijsen was later removed from this post, but that has not changed in terms of the statute. This feature has now been mentioned on the site.’
Lia Roefs (PvdA – Limburg)
Vice-President of the Federal Partnership Land van Cuijk
‘The position is still registered in the Chamber of Commerce by mistake. It has not been exercised since 2013. This will be rectified.’
Avine Fokkens Winery (VVD – Friesland)
Board member of Stichting Waterrecreatie Nederland
“Deputy Fokkens-Kelder was given this additional position fairly recently. According to the information I can find now, it was just before the summer holidays. We will adjust the information on the site this week.’
Source: BNR
Fernando Dowling is an author and political journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. He has a deep understanding of the political landscape and a passion for analyzing the latest political trends and news.
