Since July of this year, the Dutch government has a new minister for Foreign Trade and Development. Minister Reinette Klever is from the far-right political party PVV (Freedom Party) and she has been very critical towards development aid in recent years. With the Dutch Foreign Ministry being the main sponsor of the We are Able! programme, this appointment has significant impact on our partnership and the future of our consortiums efforts for disability inclusive food security.
In November, minister Klever had to defend her budget for 2025 in parliament. In such a debate, one would expect to hear pride and enthusiasm from a minister that holds the most important government position for the development sector. After all, she knows best about the results and achievements of the Dutch efforts in collaboration with local partners and CSO’s abroad. But sadly, defending her budget cuts was the only thing she did. She was even questioned by Members of Parliament about her willingness to stand for the most vulnerable worldwide.
The decision to reduce the ‘Strengthening Civil Society’ fund with 70%, (from 1.4 billion to 400 million EUR) was one of the main critiques from Parliamentarians during the debate. This decision was characterized as ‘using a chainsaw to cut down Dutch knowledge and expertise’ by the opposition. Additionally, the minister was put under pressure because of the government’s decision to decouple the size of the development budget from economic growth. This was a best practice for more than fifty years, for which the Netherlands is renowned in the international community. In response, the minister kept repeatedly pointing at her assignment to reduce the budget for development to explain her actions.
The full content and impact of minister Klever’s policy will be published in early 2025. The chances of seeing a follow-up of the We are Able! programme from 2026 onwards, funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have however become much less likely. This period, although somewhat grim, has also shown that Dutch society still cares about development cooperation. There have been prominent features of the topic in the Dutch media, reaffirming the ‘how and why’ of development cooperation and the irrational budget cuts in that light. As We are Able! we are determined to continue to fight for disability inclusive food security policies, development programmes and aid.
Source photo: Nederlands Dagblad.
