The Government of Bonaire to Launch Survey to Assess COVID-19’s Impact on Businesses Nationwide
The Public Entity of Bonaire (OLB) and Chamber of Commerce (CoC) are launching a survey to help assess, measure, and analyze the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on businesses. This survey will feed into a more comprehensive Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) that will detail the pandemic’s social and economic impacts in Bonaire and further guide the government’s response and recovery planning.
In 2020, the government of Bonaire approached the World Bank for technical support in conducting the PDNA. As a key input to the PDNA, the survey will focus on a variety of topics such as business development challenges, operational limitations and access to resources. The work will be financed by the European Union-funded Technical Assistance Program for Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance in Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) managed by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR). The program is part of the Caribbean OCTs Resilience, Sustainable Energy and Marine Biodiversity Program (RESEMBID).
The survey will be issued to all business owners in Bonaire from March 15 to 26, 2021 through direct mailing through the Bonaire Chamber of Commerce and can be accessed on both the Bonaire Chamber of Commerce and OLB websites. All survey responses will be kept private and confidential and general results and findings on COVID-19’s impact on the business sector will be presented in the PDNA and posted on the affiliated organization’s websites. Survey results will also be presented to the relevant ministries in The Hague to accentuate the need for more extensive and comprehensive economic measures.
“As a nation, it is important that we step up and proactively gather data about the many challenges that the Bonaire business community is facing during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis,” remarked Mr. Hennyson Thielman, Commissioner in the Executive Council of Bonaire.
Ambassador Fernando Ponz Cantó, who heads the EU Delegation to Guyana, Suriname and for the Dutch OCTs and St Barthélemy, said “the EU continues to support Bonaire in its endeavors to respond adequately to the negative impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, through the EU funded RESEMBID programme, and is pleased with the launch of this survey which will focus on social and economic impacts from the loss of tourism”.
The government of Bonaire encourages businesses from all industries to complete the survey in order to obtain a comprehensive picture of COVID-19’s many socioeconomic impacts. To accommodate Bonaire’s diverse business community, the survey is available in three languages: Dutch, Papiamentu, and English.
The collaborating organizations – The Public Entity of Bonaire, Bonaire’s Chamber of Commerce, and the World Bank – are partnering for the first time to conduct this very important, timely research. The organizations are keen to apply their collective knowledge to generate actionable insights about the COVID-19 crisis.
The survey scheduled for early March will expand on a previous survey conducted by the Bonaire Chamber of Commerce by focusing on more comprehensive questions that quantify the financial impacts of COVID-19 on Bonaire’s businesses.
Media contact
Afdeling Communicatie
Directie Bedrijfsvoering en Ondersteuning
Openbaar Lichaam Bonaire
Bulevar J.A. Abraham 27
Kralendijk, Bonaire, Caribisch Nederland
E: communicatie@bonairegov.com