This was mainly due to last week’s leak, which showed that the government probably won’t go along with what the region wants, according to De Wit. “The region actually wanted 30 billion euros, plus the costs of the damage repair and reinforcement activities,” he says. “But the government is thinking of 20 billion euros, including damage repair and reinforcement activities, and this is very little.”
‘The Region actually wanted 30 billion euros, to which the costs for repairing the damage and strengthening activities would be added’
De Wit points out that the same damage repair and reinforcement activities will already cost more than 5-10 billion euros, based on what is now available. But even after the gas tap has been turned off, he expects that the ground will still be restless for a while, and therefore there will be more damage.
Prospect
Furthermore, he considers it important to take into account the perspective of Groningen. “Because how do you want to leave the province behind in a positive way for future generations, what does it take?” De Wit continues. ‘More funds are needed for this.’
While he acknowledges that 10 billion is still a lot of money, De Wit believes it does not exceed what has happened in the Groningen region. Not only in the field of care, but also in terms of facilities and quality of life. “There are not only cracks in many people’s walls, but also in their souls,” he continues. “So the moment you want to pay off a debt of honor as a cabinet, you really have to do something about it.”
To commit
De Wit particularly expresses the hope that the cabinet will commit itself to long-term goals in Groningen, instead of a sum of money. “That a number of goals are simply set, for example when it comes to people’s health or quality of life,” he continues. “And that the cabinet ensures that people can live as comfortably in Groningen as they do in the rest of the Netherlands.”
According to the president of the CDA party, in addition to the words of the Hague, it is also time to act. Therefore, he calls the ambition to complete all reinforcement tasks by 2028 unfeasible. “What needs to happen is that if the cabinet makes a commitment, that too will be implemented,” he concludes. (…). ‘The money has to actually get here, and the state has to not stand against the people, but rather around the people. They want to see how we can solve it together.’