“Solve problems faster,” is the message sent by the mayor of Hoogeveen, Karel Lohuis. According to him, we face major obstacles in the Netherlands that must be addressed more quickly. He hopes that the new government will soon give municipalities more freedom to resolve matters on their own. “What's holding us back?”
Loohuis made the call during his New Year's address at Tamboer in Hoogeveen. “If we want to be able to live comfortably in our beautiful municipality of Hoogeveen, install power connections and give entrepreneurs the opportunity to innovate, we must ensure that everything can be done faster.”
According to the mayor, this is not possible at the moment, because procedures for this type of thing take a long time. He calls for laws that speed up everything. “Now we just keep floundering.”
The city's mayor believes The Hague should stop putting forward schemes “in which everything and everyone must fit.” “Let municipalities, whether they work together in (sub)regional contexts or not, offer their own solutions that scale. The governments closest to their populations know the possibilities and impossibilities better than anyone else.”
It is also stated that individual interests play a very large role in the proceedings. “We have gone further in this regard. Of course we have to ensure that there are opportunities for participation and that the individual can continue to appeal to an independent judge. But this does not have to take years. Years in which everything comes to a certain point. A dead end, while there “A great call to address the problems.”
Lohuis also said that many residents are concerned about whether the government will meet with them. According to him, they have lost or are in danger of losing confidence in the government. “They no longer believe that solutions to social issues will be found. If there is one lesson to be learned from the results of the recently held House of Representatives elections, it is that this conversation is absolutely necessary,” he added.
He believes that recognition is required. “Concerns about health care, climate, economic uncertainty, housing, inequality, politics and immigration. It feels like an open door, but I will open it wide again. Talking to each other is the only solution for our community.”
This was Loohuis's last New Year's speech in the municipality of Hoogeveen. In April, he passed the baton to Martin Brockelmann (32), who is still active as a local councilor in the municipality of Hardenberg. Brockelmann became the youngest mayor of Drenthe.
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